October 24, 2023 | By Robert Andrews

The rapid evolution of the digital landscape, with new channels like Connected TV (CTV) and retail media, demands a multi-faceted planning, buying and measurement approach that, for many, adds up to fragmentation and labor.

That is why many in the industry go on advocating for standardization.

For Megan Pagliuca, Chief Activation Officer, Omnicom, the solution starts with CASA –  the Council of Accountability and Standards in Advertising, started by Omnicom to push for standardization.

Reimagining the Advertising Landscape

According to the launch announcement, CASA, with four branches – Social, SSP, CTV, and Retail – aims to streamline this process.

Its SSP Standardization Initiative is aiming to achieve better curation of ad supply.

CASA has been engaging with six of the major SSPs to establish the capabilities needed to enable buyers to curate premium inventory at scale.

It follows concerns expressed by an ANA study that shows lack of transparency in the programmatic ad supply chain could be costing $13 to $20 billion.

Hold Sellers Accountable

“There needs to be more of a systematic way where the buy side can funnel requirements and hold the sellers accountable to standardization,” Pagliuca says in this video interview with Beet.TV.

Pagliuca emphasizes that CASA’s role is not to replace industry bodies like IAB, but to complement them. “It’s really about feeding in those requirements to that industry body,” she clarifies.

CASA has been part-driven by the likes Ben Hovaness and Rob Pearsall from Omnicom Media Group, and their collaborations have influenced some of the key pillars adopted by GARM.

Standardizing Retail Media

Pagliuca also joins the growing call for standardization in retail media. It is a fast-growing ad category, but one in which ad supplies may be predisposed to offer unique solutions.

Pagliuca sees massive growth potential, but the lack of standardization is problematic. “Without standardization, you don’t know what amount of your spend is working and you’re not going to increase spend unless there’s clear accountability,” she explains.

For her, the focus is on consistent sales lift measurement and being able to measure the incrementality of video with retail sales.

Breaking Ground with CTV

Although CTV is relatively young, CASA is already striving to introduce standards.

Pagliuca highlights a recent breakthrough with NBC, where it achieved show-level transparency in programmatic advertising.

“This is huge because in linear you had show-level transparency, but you didn’t have the ability of decisioning that you have in programmatic,” she reveals.