• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, Yesterday

In news that cannot be good for publishers, CPMs for display prospecting ads plummeted by 27% in Q1, hitting a low in February, according to AdRoll.

And they failed to rebound in March and April, as they did after a lull—apparently not so big a one—in early 2024. 

“Since prospecting campaigns are designed to build brand awareness by targeting upper-funnel audiences, they typically have a longer return period,” the study says. “When companies anticipate business uncertainty, these campaigns are often the first to face cuts.” 

Did they say uncertainty? 

Yes. “Driven by uncertainty of the administrations tariff and trade policies, the U.S. consumer sentiment index lost more than 20 points in the first five months of 2025, reaching the lowest point on record in nearly 3 years,” the study notes.

In contrast, display retargeting costs fell by 8%. This suggests that brands are prioritizing high-intent audiences and performance-driven strategies.

Maybe it doesn’t need to be explained, but the study carefully points out that programmatic auctions are handled by either supply side platforms (publishers) or display side platforms (advertisers). 

“Since the amount of advertising space offered by the publishers doesn't typically fluctuate, changes in CPM are mostly driven by advertisers' demand for ads,” it continues.

What should marketers do? 

“As brands tighten budgets, lower-funnel campaigns remain a lifeline for performance,” says Courtney Herb, senior director of brand marketing and public relations at AdRoll. “While retargeting offers immediate return on investment, marketers shouldn’t ignore the long game. Capitalizing on lower CPMs to maintain brand visibility now will pay off when consumers return to spending.”

And publishers? They just have to roll with the punches, no pun intended.