Agencies push curation upstream, reclaiming control of the programmatic bidstream

"Butler/Till is moving past this approach by pushing curation upstream, deciding what inventory should even be allowed into the auction rather than relying on DSP-side filters to clean things up downstream. That shift runs through SWYM.AI 's SelfCurate platform, which gives the agency's traders direct, self-serve control over supply before it reaches the DSP. Instead of bundling fixed lists they can dynamically score, filter and assemble inventory from a defined set of SSPs as campaigns run - producing a smaller, more intentional bidstream not because DSPs are being asked to "do better" but because fewer, higher-quality impressions are permitted into the marketplace to begin with."

"Call it dynamic curation. And it's being used for all the agency's programmatic buys in the open web, not just a particular part of it. Increasingly, those deals are being re-assembled continuously. As Scott Ensign ,chief strategy officer at Butler/Till, explained: "Something like 80% of our spend is through deals, and more and more of those are curated dynamically." Moreover, because that curation is happening at the supply level, the agency is inherently choosing how inventory flows into the auction - favoring direct, authorized paths and suppressing redundant or resold routes to the same impression. That, in turn, limits MFA exposure and unnecessary intermediaries without sacrificing reach."

Agencies plan to tighten the definition and application of curation in 2026, reclaiming control over supply selection and usage. Earlier curation relied on static publisher lists and pre-assembled PMPs, providing baseline quality controls but limited adaptability. Butler/Till moved curation upstream via SWYM.AI 's SelfCurate, enabling traders to self-serve, score, filter and assemble inventory from defined SSPs before reaching DSPs. Dynamic curation produces a smaller, intentional bidstream by permitting fewer, higher-quality impressions into the marketplace. The approach favors direct, authorized paths, suppresses redundant or resold routes, limits MFA exposure and unnecessary intermediaries while maintaining reach and continuously reassembling deals.

Read at Digiday