At Smadex, clean and high-performing supply is the backbone of every successful campaign. We sat down with Sebastian Iturralde, Senior Supply Manager at Smadex, to discuss how we eliminate ad fraud, simplify CTV fragmentation, and secure premium placements for brands.
1. Advertisers often worry about their ads showing up in low-quality apps or websites. How does Smadex curate its supply pool to ensure that brands bid only on premium, high-engagement inventory?
“For me, premium supply is about quality, not simply volume. At Smadex, we prioritize direct inventory, curated deals, and trusted SSPs, while filtering out fraudulent IPs, suspicious bundles, long reseller chains, and placements that consistently underperform. This combination of technology and ongoing performance analysis ensures we invest in inventory that delivers real engagement, not just cheap impressions.”
2. Beyond just cutting costs, how does buying inventory directly from top-tier SSPs actually improve a campaign’s win rate and performance?
“Buying directly gives us more transparency, stronger signals, and fewer intermediaries. It also helps us reduce latency, avoid duplicate auctions, and access better pricing and deal priority. Ultimately, this enables our bidder to make smarter decisions and compete more effectively for the impressions most likely to perform.”
3. It’s one thing to say a supply path is clean, but how do third-party integrations like IAS and MOAT help actively enforce that promise every single day?
“IAS and MOAT add an independent layer of measurement to our own controls. They help us continuously monitor viewability, invalid traffic, and placement quality, giving us objective signals to identify issues and refine our blocklists and supply strategy. A clean supply path isn’t a one-time certification, but needs to be measured and enforced every day.”
4. Premium CTV supply is notoriously fragmented across device makers, streaming apps, and major broadcasters. How does Smadex consolidate this network to give advertisers direct, unified access to the big screen?
“Our role is to simplify that fragmentation. We integrate with leading SSPs and build direct relationships with publishers, broadcasters, streaming platforms, and device manufacturers. We then bring that inventory together on a single buying platform, using curated deals and consistent targeting, reporting, and optimization, so advertisers can access the big screen without managing dozens of separate relationships.”
5. Looking at the supply landscape today, what should brands look for in a DSP partner to ensure they are getting clean, premium traffic instead of wasted impressions?
“I believe brands should look beyond the size of a DSP’s supply pool. The key questions are: How direct is the inventory? How transparent is the supply chain? How is quality measured? And how quickly is poor inventory removed? The right partner should combine trusted integrations, strong fraud and viewability controls, transparent reporting, and continuous performance-based optimization.”