The ANA Q2 2025 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark Finds $26.8B in Wasted Programmatic Spend | About the ANA | ANA

The ANA Q2 2025 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark Finds $26.8B in Wasted Programmatic Spend

Marketers Shift Toward Quality as CTV Grows and MFA Spend Falls,
with ANA Launching New Online Benchmark

NEW YORK – August 14, 2025 – The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) today released its Q2 2025 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark, revealing that despite measurable progress in cleaning up the digital supply chain, $26.8 billion in global media value is still lost each year to inefficiencies.

The latest data illustrates a market in transition. Marketers are directing more budget toward curated, higher-quality environments, with private marketplace transactions now accounting for nearly 88% of all programmatic spend. At the same time, CTV’s share of programmatic spend jumped to 44%, introducing new opportunities for premium inventory but also exposing gaps in measurement and efficiency

The study showed the TrueCPM Index, a key measure of media efficiency, dropped from 37.8% to 36.5%, even as paid CPMs remained steady. Efforts to curb waste are paying off, however, Made-for-Advertising exposure is now at its lowest point since tracking began, dropping to a median of just 0.8% of spend, down from 15% only two years ago. Sustainability is also becoming a stronger priority, with carbon emissions per ad dollar falling 10% since last quarter as marketers consolidate supply paths and reduce reliance on high-emission inventory.

Introducing the ANA Online Benchmark for real-time efficiency analysis

To help marketers close the remaining $26.8 billion inefficiency gap, the ANA is making programmatic performance data more accessible with the launch of the ANA Online Benchmark. For the first time, all ANA and TAG TrustNet members, not just Benchmark participants, can tap into real-time dashboards, quarterly trend analyses, and side-by-side performance comparisons across CTV, web, and mobile in-app environments, as well as private and open marketplaces. The ANA Online Benchmark tool enables marketers to spot inefficiencies, track progress, and make smarter, faster investment decisions, without waiting for the next quarterly report.

“The gains we’re seeing in MFA reduction and supply path curation are encouraging, yet the billions in unrealized value and dip in efficiency make it clear that optimization and transparency must remain top priorities,” said Bob Liodice, CEO of the ANA. “With introduction of the ANA Online Benchmark, marketers will have additional capability to view and optimize programmatic efficiency in real-time to reduce programmatic waste.”

Supporting Q2 Findings
The following additional findings highlight where the industry must still improve:

  • Efficiency gap persists: TrueCPM Index slipped from 37.8% to 36.5%, reflecting a widening gap between cost and quality.
  • CTV impact: CTV’s share of programmatic spend jumped from 30.4% to 44.2%, but with lower media productivity scores, widening efficiency gaps. Supply paths are slimming down: Median SSP count fell from 19 to 17, and active domains dropped by nearly half — from 53,799 to 28,958.
  • Marketplace trends: PMP share of spend surged from 64.5% to 87.8%, with PMP CPMs averaging $7.15 vs. $4.41 for OMP.
  • MFA progress: Median MFA spend fell from 2.3% to 0.8%, though top-quartile marketers still spent up to 28.7% on MFA domains.
  • Sustainability: CO₂ emissions per ad dollar dropped from 0.10kg to 0.09kg; OMP buys remain up to 7x more carbon-intensive than PMPs.

Press Contact:
Jocelyn Weiss
jocelyn.weiss@digennaro-usa.com

About the ANA

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is the definitive voice of the marketing industry. Since 1910, we have set and advanced the agenda for marketing transformation, connecting over 1,600 member companies to an influential global network, insights and resources that drive growth. Our members represent 20,000 brands and $400 billion in annual marketing investment. Through industry-leading research, the CMO Growth Council, and our proprietary Growth Agenda and Practices, the ANA empowers marketers to shape the future of marketing and create lasting impact for their organizations and the industry.

About TAG TrustNet
Launched by TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group), the global certification program to strengthen safety and transparency in digital advertising, and developed in partnership with technology partner Fiducia, TAG TrustNet is the always-on industry utility for connecting and matching impression log-level data (LLD) at scale. As a global cross-industry initiative, TAG TrustNet automates the deterministic reconciliation of impression LLD across the supply chain and generates immutable records as ‘shared truth’, a unified record for every single ad running through the supply chain made available in near real time.