‘Tis the season: Curated deals for year-end campaigns

By Cortney Frank
Head of Marketing - Advertise
November 20, 2023

As the weather cools, pressure heats up for programmatic media traders to run flawless campaigns — even when media budgets and objectives change unexpectedly. Consider this blog our gift to you: a survival guide to year-end programmatic trading. If you’re scrambling for top-notch inventory for last-minute campaigns, we’ve got you covered. Let’s get into how curated private marketplace deals (PMPs) are an ideal solution for your holiday campaigns.

Estimated reading time: 1 minute


How to make PMPs more effective for year-end campaigns

Selecting a PMP can seem overwhelming, because there are so many great deals — the solution is to leverage curated inventory packages that bundle the PMP deals based on easy-to-find categories. This strategy is especially useful for Q4 when last-minute campaigns and media budgets show up. When “use it or lose it” ad spends are on the line, every day (or hour, let’s be honest) can have a huge impact on campaign performance and ROAS (return on ad spend).

The holiday season is a pivotal time for businesses to connect with consumers and drive sales. Ever since arriving on the programmatic scene in 20141, PMP deals have been a powerful tool for advertisers looking to target their audience effectively. This year, PMP deals might just be the perfect gift for your holiday campaigns.


🔔 Ring in the season with curated inventory packages 

We know as much as you do that Q4 means high pressure plus maxed-out bandwidth. You’re balancing a million year-end campaigns (all with separate KPIs), ongoing optimizations, end of year reporting wrap-ups, QBR decks, work holiday parties, life holiday parties, managing PTO, and everything in between. Wouldn’t it be great to streamline your day-to-day programmatic trades by easily assigning a curated, brand-safe inventory package that delivers better performance? It’s not too much to ask for.

This winter, there is a huge opportunity for brands to harmonize with the spirit of the season on sites that align with specific campaign objectives. Selecting from a menu of hand-curated PMP deal combos means programmatic traders can save precious time — all while making campaigns more efficient. 


🛷 Sleigh your campaigns this winter with PMP deals 

Verve Group has a library of brand-safe, private marketplace deals — they’re part of our Curated Inventory Marketplace. In fact, we have seasonal packages crafted to maximize reach and drive performance across screens, including connected TV (CTV). Give yourself the gift of checking off all those boxes on your campaign to-do lists!


‘Tis the season for these holiday packages: 


icon representing holiday food and recipe ad inventory for programmatic PMP deals

Holiday food and recipes

Whether planning for the first or fifteenth holiday meal, folks start recipe preparation weeks in advance. Make sure to reach your target audience as they learn new recipes while they visit meal sites and watch their favorite cooking shows.


icon representing shopping and eCommerce apps for programmatic PMP deals

Shopping and eCommerce

Trends point toward more digital-forward shopping experiences. Holiday eCommerce sales in the US are projected to increase by 11.3% in 2023.2 From big purchases like a car to DTC retail and convenient online grocery experiences, this deal enables you to reach shoppers during major holidays. (More online sales = better ROAS on your QBRs!)


icon representing health, wellness, and fitness apps

Health, wellness, and fitness

New Year’s resolutions are around the corner which means more and more nutritional, fitness, and mental health research and app usage. Deliver mindful content to curious and engaged audiences focused on physical and mental health.


icon representing local and global weather ad inventory, including weather apps, for programmatic PMP deals

Local and global weather

Holidays and vacations go hand-in-hand. Those who are traveling this season will rely on weather apps and local coverage. Make sure to serve ads to your strategic audience while they’re actively engaged and planning their family travel. Whether the weather’s frightful or delightful, your target audience is sure to pay attention.


🎁 Wrapping up: Holiday campaign takeaways 

Streamline your Q4 media buying and campaign management by making the most of PMPs. A library of curated deals empowers programmatic traders to create highly effective and impactful holiday campaigns. Resources like our Curated Inventory Marketplace save time and ensure campaigns are targeted, effective, and aligned with the brand’s values.

Curated inventory deals and programmatic PMPs can help you save time all year long. (By the way, we already have plenty of curated deals for Q1 planning that span premium sports, CTV, and more!) To learn more about Verve Group’s deal library, and to review deal details spanning featured inventory, scale, ad sizes and formats, and more, get in touch

We’re happy to discuss how you can connect with your target audience in a meaningful way, while driving sales and maximizing ROI during the festive season and beyond.


  1. Source: Emodo ↩︎
  2. Source: eMarketer ↩︎
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