058: The Silent Shift In Paid Media That No One's Talking About (Yet)

Hello, you lovely Creatives!

Welcome to Volume 5️⃣8️⃣ of Creative Cuts 🔪 - your weekly dose of creative strategy from your friends at CreativeOS.

And today on the cutting board…

If you’re running ads for an eCommerce brand…

(Or any brand for that matter)

Chances are most of your budget is going to Meta and Google.

And for a while, that worked.

High intent audiences.

Efficient conversion tracking.
 
Reliable ROAS.

But the game is changing. 

And fast.

• Attribution is a mess.

• Ad costs are climbing.

• Targeting is getting more restrictive.

• Entire industries are being crushed overnight.

Brands that don’t adapt will get left behind.

And the solution? 

Diversification.

Let’s break it down.

The Problem: Walled Gardens Are Getting Smaller

For years, the duopoly of Meta and Google has dominated digital advertising. 

They offered unmatched scale, automation, and an endless stream of buyers.

But that dominance comes with a cost.

1. CPMs are rising – Meta’s CPMs have jumped over 30% in some industries in the last year alone.
   

2. Targeting is eroding – With privacy updates and regulatory crackdowns, audience segmentation isn’t what it used to be.
   

3. Attribution gaps – The post-iOS14 world makes it harder to track where conversions are actually coming from.
   

4. Account instability – Ad accounts get flagged, restricted, or shut down with little explanation.

Brands that have been 100% reliant on these platforms are feeling the squeeze.

So where do you go from here?

The Answer: Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising isn’t new—but the way brands are using it is.

Think of it as the open web’s version of performance marketing. Instead of being limited to Meta and Google, you can reach your audience across:

• Streaming platforms (Hulu, YouTube TV, Roku)

• Mobile apps (Candy Crush, news apps, fitness trackers)

• Digital audio (Spotify, podcasts, radio)

• Display networks (news sites, niche blogs, shopping platforms)

Here’s why it matters:

1. There’s More Scale Than You Think

Most brands think programmatic = banner ads on sketchy websites. That’s outdated.

Platforms like The Trade Desk allow you to access billions of premium ad placements across high-quality publishers.

And unlike Meta or Google, you aren’t limited to the same audience pools your competitors are bidding on.

2. Targeting is More Granular

With Meta, your targeting is what they allow you to target.

With programmatic, you can get hyper-specific:

• Purchase intent data

• Behavioral signals

• Contextual placements

• Retargeting across multiple platforms (not just within Meta’s ecosystem)

And because programmatic isn’t as restricted as Meta, brands in industries like health, finance, and supplements can use targeting capabilities that simply aren’t available on social platforms.

3. You’re Not at the Mercy of One Platform

When Meta goes down, or ad accounts get restricted, businesses scramble.

But with programmatic, you control your ad ecosystem. You can distribute your budget across multiple channels and reduce dependency on any single platform.

How Brands Are Using Programmatic for Profitability

Some of the savviest brands are already leveraging programmatic to unlock new revenue streams. Here’s how:

✅ CTV + Retargeting for Full-Funnel Conversion

• Run top-of-funnel awareness campaigns on Connected TV (Roku, Hulu, etc.).

• Retarget engaged users with high-intent ads across mobile and display.

• Use QR codes or website tracking to bridge the gap between TV and direct response.

✅ Cross-Platform Audience Building

• Use programmatic ads to drive initial site traffic.

• Retarget those visitors through Meta, Google, and email.

• Sync Meta and Google with your programmatic campaigns for a seamless multi-touchpoint approach.

✅ Expanding Beyond Meta’s Restrictions

• If you’re in a restricted industry (health, finance, supplements), programmatic gives you more flexibility in how you reach and engage audiences.

• Bypass restrictive platform policies and still reach high-intent buyers at scale.

✅ Reducing Dependence on Unstable Ad Accounts

• Many brands have lost Meta ad accounts overnight. Programmatic ensures that doesn’t take down your entire acquisition funnel.

• Diversify spend across multiple demand-side platforms (DSPs) to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket.

What’s Next?

This isn’t a question of if brands should diversify their ad spend. It’s a question of when.

And the best time to start was yesterday.

• If your CPMs on Meta are rising, programmatic can provide a cost-effective alternative.

• If you’re struggling with attribution, programmatic provides cross-channel tracking and direct integrations with platforms like Northbeam.

• If your brand is overly reliant on one platform, this is your wake-up call to expand.

The brands that win in 2025 and beyond won’t be the ones throwing all their budget into Meta or Google.

They’ll be the ones who know how to play the entire game.

And right now, programmatic is the next big move.

See you at the forefront.

Chase.

That’s all! If you’re looking to find inspiration or get the best ad templates out there, come hang out with us at CreativeOS and tell your friends!