Diverse-owned media

Pipelines to Progress: Connecting Diverse-Owned Media to Marketers at Scale

💡 TL;DR

Problem: TripleLift’s bi-annual Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey revealed a disconnect: marketers with DE&I budgets struggled to connect with diverse-owned publishers programmatically.

What I Did: Analyzed survey data, then led interviews with marketers and publishers to uncover misalignment in expectations, definitions, and access.


What Changed: Product and partnerships teams implemented new tooling and support systems that reduced friction and significantly increased participation and inventory access.

Click for the market report!

Problem

While major brands committed to economic inclusion in advertising, the infrastructure to deliver on that commitment was lacking.


TripleLift, as both a programmatic exchange and a minority-owned business, saw an opportunity—and responsibility—to bridge this gap.

Three core issues emerged:

  • Lack of shared understanding: Marketers didn’t clearly communicate DE&I objectives, and publishers didn’t realize they were key to enabling those goals.

  • Underestimation of value: Many diverse-owned publishers didn’t recognize that they were essential to unlocking a ~$5 trillion market of underrepresented audiences.

  • Technical barriers: Smaller publishers lacked the resources or support to make their inventory accessible at scale through programmatic pipes.

Research Goals & Methods

We set out to understand:

  • How marketers and publishers each defined “economic inclusion” in digital media.

  • What systemic or technical blockers were preventing collaboration.

  • Where UX or support interventions could drive scalable change.

Methods:

  • Quantitative analysis of NPS responses to identify themes and gaps.

  • In-depth interviews with 15 marketers and 12 diverse-owned publishers.

  • Stakeholder alignment workshops with product, partnerships, and marketing.

Findings & Insights

“We have the budget and the intent, but we don’t know where to place the dollars. The process is fragmented.”
— Agency Media Buyer, Fortune 500 CPG

“No one told us that our identity as a publisher mattered to buyers. DE&I efforts in digital advertising usually means diverse representation within the actual ad creative.”
— Founder, Diverse-Owned Publisher

Synthesis highlights:

  • Definition Disconnect: “Economic inclusion” was interpreted differently. Marketers viewed it as a spend mandate; publishers saw no clear path to participation.

  • Access Gap: Without self-serve tools or onboarding support, publishers struggled to integrate and scale.

  • Missed Market Opportunity: This wasn’t just an ethical imperative—it was a business opportunity. Connecting with diverse audiences meant access to a massive, untapped market.

Action & Impact

Presentation at Cannes ‘24!

What we built:

  • Improved onboarding flows and lightweight setup tools to make publisher integration seamless.

  • Marketer-facing UI enhancements to surface diverse-owned inventory more intuitively during planning.

  • DE&I Office Hours and resource hubs to educate both sides on expectations and impact.

Business Impact:

  • 📈 27% increase in participation in inclusion initiatives since H2 2024

  • 💰 32% QoQ increase in ad spend reaching diverse audiences

  • 🧩 147% YoY growth in diverse-owned publisher inventory available programmatically

Reflection

This project underscored the importance of aligning intent with infrastructure. Even with shared values, meaningful progress required shared definitions, better tools, and proactive education. If I were to do it again, I’d integrate a participatory design session earlier—giving publishers a direct voice in how tools were shaped.