PUBMATIC'S ACTIVATE UNLOCKS GREATER EFFICIENCY, REACH AND ENGAGEMENT FOR KINESSO AND A LEADING ENERGY BRAND

In the traditional programmatic setup, advertisers typically operate across disconnected platforms — a DSP for buying and an SSP for supply access. This approach can create friction at the points where platforms connect — in the form of fee leakage resulting in reduced working media budget, reduced transparency into supply quality, and slower optimisation due to disconnected data flows.

Kinesso wanted to find a better way. Working with PubMatic, they set out to test whether Activate — PubMatic’s direct to supply media activation platform — could deliver superior reach, transparency, cost efficiency, and stronger engagement (CTR) compared to a traditional set up utilising an existing buying platform. The question was simple: what happens when you remove the inefficiencies from the programmatic stack and give buyers a more direct path to premium

Activate is built on a fundamentally different model. Rather than routing campaigns through multiple intermediary platforms, Activate enables buyers to transact directly through PubMatic’s supply-side infrastructure; significantly reducing the fee leakage, data limitations, and transparency gaps that the traditional bid request/bid response model creates by design. The result is greater control over supply quality, a more direct path to premium inventory, and the ability for buyers and publishers to work in true coordination — all within a single platform.

To ensure a fair and measurable comparison, Kinesso and PubMatic conducted a rigorous three-week A/B test. Identical curated Auction Packages were deployed across both Activate and the existing buying platform, using the same display ad formats, targeting parameters (inclusion lists and third-party audiences), and budget. By keeping all campaign variables consistent, any performance differences could be directly attributed to the platforms themselves.

The campaign was optimised against Kinesso’s key performance indicator — click-through rate (CTR) — while also measuring delivery, cost efficiency, and reach diversity across premium publisher inventory.