The Programmatic Waterfall: Where Your Media Budget Disappears (And How to Pull It Back) #DigitalSense

We often talk about programmatic advertising as if it’s an elegant machine-automated, intelligent, efficient. And to be fair, it can be. But more often than not, it operates like a waterfall of media investment, where your carefully planned budget pours in at the top and vanishes through hidden portals along the way.

That’s what the latest Captain #DigitalSense Shorts episode explores. When Jerry dons the glasses and becomes the Captain, he’s transported to a real waterfall, only to discover that much of the water (read: budget) never reaches the lake below. Instead, it’s being pulled off-course by a chaotic series of floating media portals, each leading to a different dimension in the programmatic multiverse. Some valuable. Some… definitely not

The Multiverse of (Media) Madness

These swirling portals represent the many players in your programmatic supply chain: platforms, tools, targeting layers, and publishers. Each takes its cut. Some add real value. But others?

•  Made-for-advertising websites - algorithmically-pleasing but consumer-hostile. Low-quality content, AI clickbait, recycled stories designed to game metrics rather than deliver real attention.

•  Fraud & fake traffic - bots, spoofed URLs, and actors siphoning budget before your ad is even seen.

•  Multiple SSPs, DSPs, and verification layers - necessary tech, but often overlapping and under-scrutinised.

•  Over-targeting & expensive data overlays — trying to reach micro-audiences at macro cost.

•  Creative mismatches - even on great inventory, ineffective or resized creative still underdelivers.

In the episode, the Captain steps into these parallel worlds, literally becoming a plastic toy in one and a clay figure in another, to experience first-hand how alien these environments can be. Shiny from the outside, but built more for machines than for humans.

This Isn’t Just Storytelling - It’s the Data

• The ANA’s 2023 report found only 36 cents on the dollar reaches the end publisher. The rest? Fees, fraud, waste.

• ISBA’s transparency study found over one-third of impressions in the open marketplace went unmatched, and nearly 15% of spend remained unattributable.

• MFA sites made up 21% of impressions but only 4% of attention time. That’s a lot of money for very little value.

• And beyond wasted spend, every unnecessary redirect, bot call or duplication also contributes to your campaign’s carbon footprint.

Despite years of attention on the issue, the situation remains worryingly opaque in many campaigns and continues to quietly undermine media sustainability, both financial and environmental.

So How Do You Regain Control?

The solution isn’t to reject programmatic. It’s to scrutinise the waterfall - and close the wasteful portals.

1. Use inclusion lists, not just exclusions

Build lists of high-quality, trusted publishers. Blocklists can’t keep up with the long tail. Industry groups like the ANA now recommend starting with 75–100 core domains but more advanced approaches will keep some nuance, especially around diverse publishers. You just don’t need multiple thousands.

2. Review and rationalise your tech stack

You need DSPs, SSPs, verification partners - but not necessarily all of them at once. Ask: who’s truly adding value? Who can be consolidated? Some intermediaries have a financial interest in keeping things complex, so marketers must push for simplicity.

3. Audit MFA exposure

Use tools and partners that can flag made-for-advertising domains and remove them from your buys. Some DSPs now allow you to specifically exclude MFA content.

4. Own your log-level data

This isn’t just a best practice; it’s a lever. Owning or requesting access to log-level data helps you map fees, spot waste, and take back control. And often? It’s as simple as asking. You’d be surprised how many platforms clean up their act when they know someone’s watching.

5. Balance targeting with simplicity

Don’t layer on so much data that you spend more finding your audience than you gain by reachingthem. Sometimes a broader, contextual approach with trusted media partners will do more for your brand than a hyper-targeted open exchange buy.

6. Tighten campaign setup governance

A surprising amount of waste creeps in before a single ad is served. Poor naming conventions, misaligned objectives, missing verification tags - it all adds up. Tools like Adfidence offer visibility into your campaign setup across platforms, helping you catch issues early and keep execution aligned with strategy. It’s not glamorous, but in programmatic, execution hygiene is often where the real battle is won.

The Bigger Picture: A Healthier Media Ecosystem

When you reduce waste in the waterfall, the benefits aren’t just yours:

• More budget reaches real journalists, creators and entertainers

• Consumers see better quality, less repetitive ads

• Fewer bots get paid, and fewer carbon emissions pile up

• Creative has more impact when it lands in the right place

• Your results improve - and your conscience can sleep easier

Programmatic doesn’t have to be a mystery. But it does require governance, transparency, and some good old-fashioned curiosity.

What to do next:

• Run a programmatic audit: Where is your spend really going?

• Clean your inclusion lists and cut out MFA

• Ask your agency or DSP for log-level data access

• Explore PMPs or direct publisher deals for high-quality inventory

• Review procurement and contracts: Are you asking the right questions upfront?

• Treat your media budget like an investment in the ecosystem, not just an expense

In the end, the Captain escapes the multiverse by finding a cleaner, more direct path to effective media.

You can do the same. Just maybe skip the part where you become a clay figurine.