A new platform will let brands access handpicked ad inventory across CTV, video, display, and audio. Stagwell aims to cut out traditional ad-tech middlemen and boost transparency for clients.
Stagwell is set to launch an AI-powered marketplace designed to give brands and agencies more control over digital media buying. The new platform, called “Stagwell Curate,” will centralize curated inventory from connected TV, online video, display, and audio ads, drawing directly from publishers and ad-tech partners. By removing traditional ad-tech intermediaries, Stagwell intends to let clients determine how ad space is selected and bundled, rather than relying on automated third-party exchanges.
Matt Adams, global CEO of Stagwell Media Platform, said the company has combined preferred publisher relationships, private marketplace deals, and supply partnerships into a single scalable system. According to Adams, this approach allows brands to move beyond simply buying available inventory and instead access media that has been deliberately chosen for quality and performance.
Stagwell Curate, part of the Stagwell Media Platform, is positioned to offer advertisers better access to high-quality inventory and more control over media budgets. The Media Machine buying agents will connect directly to Curate, providing instant access to preferred publisher relationships, pre-negotiated private marketplace deals, and exclusive pricing. The platform continuously evaluates inventory using log-level data and supply-quality models powered by The Trade Desk's Sincera, aiming to surface premium ad-buying opportunities that traditional bid optimization may overlook.
By streamlining the programmatic supply chain, Stagwell Curate seeks to eliminate redundant intermediaries and reduce the risk of fraud. Traditionally, agencies have relied on demand-side platforms (DSPs) and trusted that the supply path was clean. Stagwell’s approach creates an agency-owned layer above the DSP, filtering and controlling eligible inventory before bids are placed. Data, intelligence, and quality standards are applied upstream, closer to the original source, to evaluate inventory before it enters the bidding process.
Direct integrations with partners such as FreeWheel and Magnite, along with connections to The Media Machine's AI buying agents, enable Stagwell to curate supply closer to publishers. This theoretically gives each media buying decision more data, transparency, and a fuller view of available performance opportunities. Clients including Nike, Lenovo, Target, Starbucks, and Bud Light are among those who could use the new platform, though it is not confirmed whether Bud Light currently does so.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) projects that total U.S. advertising spend across all media will grow 9.5% year-over-year in 2026, reaching an estimated $500.98 billion. This growth underscores the importance of platforms that offer greater transparency and efficiency in media buying. For more on how AI is reshaping agency workflows, see how Stagwell integrated Microsoft Copilot to accelerate paid search audits in this related report.
