A $30M programmatic program, sharpened.
A fast-growing B2B software company had scaled programmatic from a $20K pilot to roughly $30M a year. The spend was working. The question was where money was going that it shouldn't.
Situation
Programmatic had grown across CTV, audio, display, online video, and YouTube faster than most software companies of comparable size manage. Performance looked strong in the agency reporting. Leadership wanted an independent view before committing the next year's budget.
What we did
We audited the full program across The Trade Desk, Amazon DSP, and YouTube: attribution accuracy, supply path, inventory quality, brand-versus-performance balance, and measurement. A three-day log sample showed 53 supply-side platforms routing the same inventory. The legacy first-touch attribution model had been crediting programmatic with roughly twice its actual contribution. YouTube cost per trial had risen 26% on a doubled spend base, consistent with creative fatigue and saturation. We then built a sequenced 12-month roadmap: rebalance the channel mix, curate supply, sign direct inventory and data partners, and consolidate measurement into a single source of truth.
Outcome
Ten findings, each tied to a dollar figure and an owner. A conservative $4.5M to $6M in annual efficiency identified without adding budget. A board-ready roadmap the internal team now runs.
Facing something similar?
Fifteen minutes. We’ll tell you whether the pattern matches and what we’d do first.