Media.net launches sell-side attribution tool with Claritas

Media.net announced a partnership with Claritas on October 1, 2025, to launch ELEVATE, described as the first sell-side attribution, measurement, and optimization solution designed for the open web. The collaboration between the search intent-powered supply-side platform and the data-driven marketing attribution provider aims to address measurement gaps that have historically limited performance visibility in programmatic advertising.

The announcement marks a departure from traditional buy-side measurement approaches. ELEVATE operates within the sell-side path itself, embedding attribution capabilities upstream in the supply chain rather than relying on advertiser-side tracking mechanisms. Media.net's inventory intelligence combines with Claritas' deterministic audience data and artificial intelligence-driven attribution to enable real-time measurement and validation of impressions without requiring additional technical implementation such as tags or pixels.

Vaibhav Arya, CEO at Media.net, stated that "the open web has always had the scale and the audience — what it's been missing is a better understanding of what sell-side signals drive performance." He explained that ELEVATE addresses this by "embedding attribution directly into the supply path, helping publishers receive higher CPMs by allowing buyers the confidence to invest with precision."

The platform's technical architecture enables comprehensive attribution across multiple conversion types, including site visits, app installations, lead generation, and purchase transactions. ELEVATE analyzes end-to-end performance signals to facilitate what Media.net describes as intelligent sell-side decisioning, automatically routing inventory toward strategies that demonstrate the strongest results across display, video, connected television, and audio formats.

Ken Lagana, Chief Revenue Officer at Media.net, emphasized that the solution extends beyond basic measurement capabilities. "ELEVATE goes beyond measurement and performance — it creates a rising tide across the open web," Lagana stated. "By bringing clarity, proof, and insight to every impression, ELEVATE empowers buyers, publishers, and consumers alike, driving stronger outcomes and higher expectations across the ecosystem."

The platform's core functionality centers on four primary capabilities. First, it identifies specific areas of the open web that generate results, analyzing the intention, context, content, inventory types, and environments associated with high-performing impressions. This data informs optimization strategies that can be scaled across campaigns.

Second, ELEVATE measures true incremental lift by comparing campaign results and isolating strategies that deliver actual new value rather than simply capturing existing demand. This addresses a persistent challenge in digital advertising measurement, where attribution models often struggle to distinguish between incremental conversions and those that would have occurred regardless of ad exposure.

Third, the platform enables continuous optimization through Media.net's dynamic traffic-shaping capabilities and sell-side decisioning mechanisms that direct inventory toward the highest-performing supply sources. Fourth, activation requires no additional technical implementation, eliminating the need for tags, pixels, or other tracking infrastructure that typically requires coordination between multiple parties.

The solution also attempts to address structural inefficiencies in programmatic advertising markets. Media.net identifies several specific problems that ELEVATE targets: high-performing inventory that gets deprioritized by demand-side platforms, Safari and other cookieless traffic that receives less investment, and algorithmic preferences for volume over quality that disadvantage smaller publishers with strong conversion rates.

PPC Land has extensively covered challenges in programmatic advertising measurement, particularly as third-party cookie deprecation has complicated attribution models. The platform's analysis has highlighted how changes in tracking capabilities have created measurement blind spots, especially for publishers operating outside major walled garden ecosystems.

By providing visibility into supply pools regardless of cookie availability, ELEVATE attempts to restore access to audiences that have become harder to track and measure. The platform incorporates contextual signals and alternative identifier technologies to maintain measurement capabilities across cookieless environments, shifting focus from impression quantity to conversion quality.

Paul Rossetti, Chief Revenue Officer at Claritas, described the technical rationale for the partnership. "ELEVATE turns proof into performance — giving advertisers the clarity to see what works and the power to optimize it in real time," Rossetti stated. "Partnering with Media.net was essential because their sell-side intelligence combined with our attribution makes it possible to deliver accountability and outcomes across the open web like never before."

The implications for publishers center on potential revenue optimization. By demonstrating which inventory generates actual conversions rather than relying on proxy metrics or buy-side assumptions, publishers may be able to command higher cost-per-thousand-impression rates for inventory that proves effective. This could particularly benefit smaller publishers whose conversion rates might be strong but whose scale doesn't trigger algorithmic preferences in demand-side platforms.

For advertisers and agencies, ELEVATE represents an alternative measurement approach that doesn't depend on their own tracking infrastructure. The sell-side positioning means attribution data originates from the supply path itself rather than requiring coordination of tracking pixels across multiple publishers. This could simplify campaign measurement, especially in scenarios where technical implementation of buy-side tracking proves challenging.

The platform's real-time optimization capabilities also differ from post-campaign analysis approaches. Rather than evaluating performance after a campaign concludes, ELEVATE's integration into the supply path enables dynamic allocation of inventory based on ongoing performance signals. Media.net indicates this happens automatically through traffic-shaping mechanisms that favor higher-performing supply sources as campaigns run.

Media.net operates as an independent supply-side platform focused on contextual and search intent signals. The company positions itself as providing "context-rich, open internet scale with the performance opportunities of walled gardens." Claritas describes its platform as combining patented artificial intelligence, a privacy-compliant identity graph, and closed-loop attribution to provide visibility into audience reach, engagement patterns, and conversion drivers across channels.

The October 1, 2025, launch date positions ELEVATE in a programmatic advertising landscape increasingly shaped by privacy regulations, cookie deprecation, and demand for performance accountability. Attribution and measurement have become central challenges as traditional tracking methods face technical and regulatory constraints. Solutions that operate without third-party cookies or extensive tracking infrastructure address growing market needs.

The marketing community has grappled with measurement fragmentation as different platforms use varying attribution models, lookback windows, and conversion definitions. Industry discussions on PPC Land have examined how fragmented measurement creates challenges for budget allocation and performance comparison. A sell-side attribution solution introduces a different data source into these discussions, potentially providing a counterpoint to buy-side measurement or enabling validation across multiple measurement approaches.

Whether ELEVATE gains adoption will depend on factors including data accuracy, integration with existing workflows, and advertiser willingness to incorporate sell-side measurement into optimization decisions. The platform's requirement for no additional technical implementation may lower adoption barriers, but questions about methodology, data privacy compliance, and measurement validity will likely shape market reception.

Media.net indicated that advertisers and agencies interested in activating campaigns through ELEVATE can contact buyer@media.net for additional information. Specific details about pricing models, minimum spend requirements, or geographic availability were not disclosed in the announcement.

Timeline

• October 1, 2025: Media.net and Claritas announce the launch of ELEVATE, the first sell-side attribution, measurement, and optimization solution for the open web
• October 1, 2025: Platform goes live with capabilities including real-time impression measurement, cross-format attribution (display, video, CTV, audio), and automated inventory optimization
• October 1, 2025: Media.net begins accepting inquiries from advertisers and agencies interested in activating ELEVATE campaigns

Summary

Who: Media.net, a search intent-powered supply-side platform, partnered with Claritas, a data-driven marketing attribution provider, to develop and launch the solution. The platform targets advertisers, agencies, and publishers in the programmatic advertising ecosystem.

What: ELEVATE is described as the first sell-side attribution, measurement, and optimization solution for the open web. It combines Media.net's inventory intelligence with Claritas' deterministic audience data and AI-driven attribution to measure, validate, and optimize impressions in real time without requiring tags, pixels, or additional technical setup. The platform provides attribution across multiple conversion types and enables automated traffic-shaping based on performance signals.

When: The partnership and platform launch were announced on October 1, 2025, in New York.

Where: ELEVATE operates within the sell-side path of programmatic advertising transactions across the open web, covering display, video, connected television, and audio formats. It addresses inventory globally through Media.net's supply-side platform.

Why: The solution aims to address measurement gaps in programmatic advertising, particularly challenges with high-performing inventory that gets overlooked, cookieless traffic that gets deprioritized, and algorithmic preferences for volume over conversion quality. By embedding attribution directly in the supply path, ELEVATE attempts to provide performance visibility that has been limited by traditional buy-side measurement approaches, potentially enabling publishers to command higher CPMs and advertisers to optimize with greater precision.