ACHIEVING A 50%+ REDUCTION IN CPA THROUGH STRATEGIC SUPPLY INTELLIGENCE AND SUPPLY-SIDE TARGETING
Smart Supply leverages AI-driven supply intelligence to optimize programmatic inventory at the source. In collaboration with leading SSPs like PubMatic, it filters high-performing, brand-safe supply agnostically enabling precise segmentation and an outcomes-first approach using quality, scalable inventory.
THE CHALLENGE
An insurance-sector client partnered with Smart Supply to drive conversions for its membership insurance offering while lowering CPA via a programmatic campaign. The client had previously focused on DSP-side targeting but wasn’t seeing the conversion efficiency they needed. To address this, the strategy relied on supply intelligence and strategically optimized, brand-safe premium inventory. The client’s objective was to improve performance while minimizing CPA.
THE SOLUTION: CONNECT + SMART SUPPLY
Smart Supply partnered with PubMatic to execute the campaign exclusively on the supply side. Using PubMatic’s Connect platform, the team activated curated deals, tapped into advanced data capabilities, and implemented real-time optimizations. The result was a sell-side, outcomes-driven strategy, powered by proprietary signals and guided by human expertise.
Key elements included:
- Flexible inventory management tools for optimal campaign setup and dynamic in-flight optimization.
- Cost-efficient, outcomes-based supply-side audiences that enabled precise targeting while maintaining budget efficiency.
- Access to premium inventory native to PubMatic, allowing the application of optimization constraints without sacrificing scale.
Smart Supply activated a display deal ID by filtering supply through affinity-aligned inventory segments, filtering for audiences who were either nearing their insurance policy expiration, actively shopping for insurance, or most likely to file a claim. Real-time, in-flight optimizations were applied to reduce CPA. Inventory selection was informed by historical performance data from the insurance vertical, prioritizing sources with high conversion potential to accelerate performance.
After gathering initial conversion data during the second week, Smart Supply implemented several supply intelligence-driven optimizations:
- Refined the audience mix by removing filters with low engagement or weak conversion performance.
- Applied real-time blocklists to exclude non-converting or high-volume, low-value sources.
- Continuously adjusted the deal structure using CPM performance insights and always-on supply path optimization, improving cost-efficiency across the campaign lifecycle.
Insights & Learnings:
- Interest-based audience filtering proved highly effective, with selected segments outperforming broader categories—even with higher data CPMs.
- PubMatic’s addressable data graph and real-time optimization rules enabled deal configurations that maintained sufficient inventory scale while excluding underperforming segments.
- By week 4, after audience optimization, CTR slightly declined (~0.038%) but CPA became most efficient—suggesting that refined supply-side audience targeting drove fewer but more intent-driven clicks.