As programmatic ad spend rises in the US, so does the amount wasted due to supply chain complexities and made-for-advertising websites.

• $26.8 billion of programmatic ad spending will be wasted this year, a 34% increase since 2023, according to new research from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).
• Less than half of every programmatic dollar actually reaches consumers, with transaction costs eating up nearly 30% and media productivity losses another 26.3%, according to December 2024 data from the ANA.

For consumer packaged goods (CPG) company Georgia-Pacific, those inefficiencies were a catalyst to bring programmatic advertising in-house.

“We found that the CPMs were typically higher when we worked with an agency, and there were a lot of hidden costs that we didn’t have as much transparency into,” said Paras Shah, senior director of digital media at Georgia-Pacific.

By moving in-house, Georgia-Pacific aimed to cut supply chain fees, improve effectiveness, and strengthen integration with brand, creative, and retail media teams.

But the decision was not just about saving money—it was about control.

“We thought we would have a lot more control and a lot more agility in how we set up campaigns, how we measure them, and how we make optimizations,” Shah explained.

For example, Georgia-Pacific shifted from exclusion to inclusion lists to better control where its ads appear.

• “Most people… just implement only block lists. What we actually found is that that was a big problem because you don’t know where your ads show up,” he said.
• Using curated site inclusion lists alongside third-party ad verification, Georgia-Pacific ensures its ads appear only on approved sites and reach real people—not bots.

Putting strategy into motion required the right partner—and for Georgia-Pacific, that was Yahoo DSP.

• “Having a responsive and lean digital media strategy that’s measurable was critical,” said Shah. “And Yahoo’s vision was focused on aligning with the client goals, leveraging technology to really deliver results efficiently, and supporting media effectiveness.”

The bottom line: For brands with tightening budgets, Georgia-Pacific’s example shows that in-housing—paired with curation—can deliver efficiency and quality.

Although the transition comes with hurdles—from attracting specialized talent to determining the most effective optimizations—Shah said the benefits are worth the challenge.

“We were able to break down the entire media supply chain to get maximum value on the programmatic vehicle,” he said.