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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryAdtech & ProgrammaticCuration (Curated Marketplace)

Adtech & Programmatic

Curation (Curated Marketplace)

Packaging inventory and data from multiple publishers into a deal for buyers, often done on the sell side by SSPs or data companies.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Appears in Lesson 5 of Programmatic 101

Short answer

Curation is the packaging of inventory and data from multiple publishers into a single programmatic deal that buyers can activate, usually through a deal ID. It is often performed on the sell side by SSPs or data companies. Curated marketplaces aim to deliver specific audiences or quality standards at scale without separate publisher negotiations.