“Mind-boggling”: the industry reacts to ISBA/PwC report

"Mind-boggling": the industry reacts to ISBA/PwC report

ISBA, the industry body representing advertisers, and consultancy PwC have finally released their long awaited report on the programmatic ad market – and for the first time advertisers have quantified the end-to-end value of its supply chains.

Two years late, which in itself points to the complexity of the numerous supply chains and the difficulty of tracking money and data within the system, the report unveiled some alarming figures.

However, while there is clear progress needed in the transactional transparency of the market, some experts have argued that there are more practical starting points for brands to unlock value in programmatic – particularly when research has shown that digital display currently delivers one of the lowest ROIs of any media channel.

Christian Polman, said:

Through hundreds of digital assignments, and by analysing over €3 billion in digital spend, we have learned that while disclosure and transparency can help advertisers to achieve greater control, in and of themselves they don’t guarantee that programmatic media buying will deliver better results. If the end goal for brands is to drive greater business performance and higher ROI, then brands shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that a lot of value is lost on the other end of the programmatic supply chain.”

According to Christian, brands should be looking at optimising the format, context, audience and creative execution of their programmatic campaigns to maximise attention and engagement, as well as monitoring viewability, brand safety, fraud and non-human traffic. He said:

Ultimately brands should take a holistic approach to improving the value they get from their programmatic media.”

 

To read the article in full, click here.

Ebiquity Insights

Equip yourself with the data, benchmarks, and strategic insights needed to navigate the evolving advertising landscape.

guides
The Guide to Contract Compliance Auditing in China
From measurement to management: the emerging role of MMM
June 11, 2026
guides
The Business Case for Responsible Media
Blog media transparency
Ten Years Later, Media Transparency Is Still Broken. Here’s What Marketers Need to Do About It.
June 8, 2026
FD influencer piece - larger image
Influencer marketing spend is growing. Are your controls keeping up?
June 2, 2026
research
Inside China: Solving a media market not built for international brands 
A comprehensive analysis of China's media ecosystem, with actionable strategies to optimise international advertising investment.
agency cost reductions
What do agency cost reductions mean for advertisers? 
March 12, 2026
Ebiquity Appoints David Swaebe as Head of Growth, Americas
March 9, 2026