Direct Access Advertising Solutions

Streamlining how buyers and sellers manage data and transact programmatically.

What is Direct Access from Viant?

From non-value add intermediaries and low quality inventory to wasted ad dollars and impressions, today’s crowded supply path has unnecessary costs for digital advertising.

Direct Access, Viant’s innovative supply path optimization program, seeks to overcome these hurdles by bringing buyers and sellers closer through direct inventory and first-party data integration. The result is more responsible and sustainable planning, buying and measurement across today’s media landscape.

How Direct Access drives a more efficient supply path

  • Streamlined access to premium inventory at scale
  • Pricing efficiency to allow for more working media
  • Enhanced data operability for better campaign targeting and results
  • Future-ready and privacy-conscious integrations

Direct Access - Data Match

Data Match, an extension of Direct Access, provides walled-garden addressability and transparency into how CTV, Streaming Audio and other upper-funnel — and cookieless — ad channels drive audiences down the funnel, power purchase behavior and re-enforce loyalty.

Data Match’s unique integration with our shared identifiers seamlessly connects agencies and advertisers to premium CTV publisher IDs to enhance addressability and leverage relevant first-party audience data. These data matches, made in a privacy-minded manner, enable broader target audience reach, better frequency controls and increased measured conversions to improve campaign performance.

Contextual CTV Advertising with IRIS.TV

As part of Direct Access, IRIS.TV — a Viant company — brings powerful contextual intelligence to CTV. By integrating the industry's leading content ID, the IRIS_ID, Viant enables advertisers to activate rich IRIS-enabled™ contextual, emotional, and brand suitability signals within premium inventory.

The Viant DSP with IRIS.TV

Together, Viant and IRIS.TV enable advertisers to plan, execute, and measure CTV campaigns with unmatched efficiency, accountability, and precision. In combination, they provide advertisers:

  • Seamless access to IRIS-enabled™ publisher inventory
  • VPPA-compliant, privacy-first targeting
  • Independence from SSP-curated deal ID limitations

Direct Access CTV and Audio Publishers

Learn More About Viant’s Direct Access Solution

Supply Path Optimization (SPO) FAQ

What is Supply Path Optimization in Advertising?Expand

Supply Path Optimization (SPO) is the process of evaluating and selecting the most efficient, transparent, and cost-effective paths to programmatic inventory. Rather than working with multiple intermediaries, advertisers use SPO strategies to buy media directly from trusted sources—reducing fees, minimizing fraud risk, and improving campaign performance.

What’s the difference between SPO and demand path optimization (DPO)?Expand

While SPO focuses on how advertisers buy inventory, Demand Path Optimization (DPO) is a publisher-side strategy that controls how demand flows into their inventory. Think of SPO as buyers choosing the best route in, and DPO as sellers managing how demand comes to them. Both aim to increase transparency and reduce inefficiencies in the ad supply chain.

Why is SPO important for publishers and advertisers?Expand

SPO helps advertisers eliminate unnecessary intermediaries, drive better performance, and ensure media dollars are spent efficiently. For publishers, it promotes direct relationships with buyers and improves revenue transparency. Both benefit from fewer hops, clearer reporting, and higher trust across transactions.

What are the main goals of SPO advertising strategies?Expand

SPO strategies aim to:

  • Improve transparency across the programmatic supply chain
  • Reduce ad tech fees and non-working media spend
  • Boost campaign performance and return on ad spend (ROAS)
  • Prevent fraud and low-quality inventory
  • Support sustainability goals by streamlining delivery paths

How does Viant’s Direct Access impact SPO efficiency?Expand

Viant’s Direct Access solution offers buyers a streamlined connection to premium publisher inventory—reducing reliance on opaque intermediaries. With features like Data Match, log-level transparency, and integrations with partners like Disney and NBCUniversal, Viant gives advertisers more control, better performance insights, and a cleaner, more efficient path to supply.

How can advertisers identify inefficient supply paths?Expand

Inefficient supply paths often show up through high tech fees, poor campaign performance, or a lack of transparency. Advertisers can use tools like log-level data and SPO tools—available through Viant’s platform—to uncover and eliminate wasteful paths, ensuring their budgets go toward high-quality, working media.

Can SPO reduce the carbon footprint of programmatic advertising?Expand

Yes. Fewer hops in the supply chain mean fewer server calls—and a smaller carbon footprint. Viant takes this even further through Adtricity®, its industry-leading sustainability initiative. Adtricity® helps decarbonize the programmatic supply chain by delivering media with 100% renewable energy and tracking emissions via partnerships with Scope3 and Cedara. Every impression counts—and with Viant, every impression can be carbon neutral.

What makes Viant’s SPO capabilities unique compared to other DSPs?Expand

Viant’s SPO approach stands out through:

  • Direct Access to premium inventory from leading publishers
  • People-based technology powered by Viant Household ID™
  • Log-level transparency and advanced reporting tools
  • Built-in sustainability via the Adtricity® program
  • Omnichannel execution across CTV, Digital Audio, DOOH, and more

Viant offers advertisers more than efficiency—it delivers clarity, control, and accountability at every step of the supply path.