How should a brand set and track a diverse media spend target?
Part of Fair publisher planning
The short answer
A diverse media spend target is a goal for the share or amount of a brand's media budget that reaches qualifying diverse owned, local or independent publishers. A sound target starts from a measured baseline and real inventory, uses a written counting rule, tracks delivered spend by publisher, keeps its quality checks and reports shortfalls instead of filling them.
Key takeaways
- Choose the target type deliberately: a share of spend, a dollar amount, a number of publishers paid or a place in each request for proposals.
- Write the counting rule before the first dollar moves: which groups, which evidence, and how a publisher in two groups is counted once.
- Programmatic spend can count only when delivery is reported by publisher and joined to a verified register.
- A target never overrides suitability or quality rules; a shortfall is reported as a shortfall.
- Phased targets, like Canada's federal Indigenous procurement target, give buyers and publishers time to build the supply.
How should a brand set a diverse media spend target?
Definition
- Diverse media spend target
- A dated goal for media spend with publishers that meet a brand's written qualification rule, stated as a share of a defined budget, an amount, or a count of publishers paid, and measured on delivered spend.
The industry guidance is wary of a bare percentage. The Guidelines for Buyers (opens in a new tab) from the 4A's, the ANA and AIMM, published in May 2022, say supplier diversity "isn't about checking a box or increasing spend from X percent to Y percent." The same document lists goals buyers can set: "an increased percentage of spend, increased actual spend, hiring more diverse suppliers, and having diverse suppliers included in more RFPs." Each type rewards a different behavior, so the choice belongs in the policy.
| Target type | Example wording | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of spend | A set percentage of display and video spend | Scales with the budget and is easy to compare year to year | Falls when the budget falls; can be met by a few large outlets |
| Amount of spend | A dollar figure per year | Gives publishers a predictable sum to plan around | Must be reset when budgets change |
| Publishers paid | A number of qualifying publishers with delivery each quarter | Spreads money across more outlets, including small ones | Can reward thin buys too scattered to matter |
| Inclusion in requests | Qualifying publishers invited to each request for proposals | Opens the door early, before plans are fixed | Invitations alone do not move money |
Five steps to a target that holds up
- Measure the baseline. Tag last year's delivered spend by publisher against the counting rule, so the target starts from a real number.
- Check the supply. Use an inventory forecast such as Display & Video 360's Inventory Availability report, which predicts impressions matching targeting criteria, for the qualifying publishers in the brief's markets.
- Pick the type and the scope. Say which budgets the target covers, such as display and video in the United States and Canada, and which it excludes.
- Phase it. Set a first year level the supply can carry and a later level that depends on building more qualifying inventory.
- Name an owner. Give one person the tracking, the register and the report, with a review date.
Which publishers count toward the target?
The 4A's, ANA and AIMM guidance says "Every marketer and agency must make their own decision on how they qualify 'diverse suppliers'" and lists the cases to decide: diverse owned and diverse targeted, diverse owned but not diverse targeted, diverse managed but not diverse owned, diverse targeted but not diverse owned, and certified or not. The diverse owned media guide covers the ownership tests themselves. A spend target adds the counting questions.
| Case | Counts toward the target? | How to record it |
|---|---|---|
| Certified diverse owned publisher | Yes | Certificate number and expiry on the register |
| Self described diverse owned, certificate requested | Only if the policy says so; otherwise pending | Tagged pending with the date of the request |
| Diverse targeted, not diverse owned | Only if the policy names this group | Reported on its own line |
| Independent or local publisher | Only for an independent or local target, not the diverse owned one | Separate tag and separate total |
| Publisher in two qualifying groups | Yes, once in the overall total | Listed under each group, counted once in the sum |
| Spend via a network that sells multiple sites | Only the share delivered on qualifying sites | Delivery by publisher, not by network |
The two group row borrows a rule from official statistics. The US Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey technical notes (opens in a new tab) count firms by "the person(s) owning 51 percent or more of the stock or equity," and a firm reported in two racial groups is included in each detailed estimate but "would only be counted once" toward the higher level total. A media report that adds group totals together without that step overstates the whole.
How do you track progress against a target?
Programmatic tracking needs extra care. The 4A's, ANA and AIMM guidelines note that "an agency placing a buy with a minority-owned publisher through a demand-side platform and a supply-side platform would not be counted as Tier 1 or Tier 2 investment" under traditional procurement tiers, and suggest one fix: "create a private marketplace of diverse suppliers and buy direct." Whatever the path, delivery has to be reported by publisher.
In Display & Video 360, the report dimensions (opens in a new tab) include Publisher Property, "A publisher's site or app where your ads served," and Publisher Property ID. Joining that field to the register gives delivered spend per qualifying publisher. Use one cost basis for the numerator and the denominator: the metrics reference (opens in a new tab) separates media cost from total media cost, which adds data and partner fees.
Monthly tracking check
- Delivery is pulled by publisher property, not by line item or deal name alone.
- Each delivered domain is matched to the register by its exact domain.
- Spend on sites outside the register is excluded from the numerator.
- Numerator and denominator use the same cost basis and currency.
- Publishers in two groups are counted once in the overall total.
- Certificates that expired during the month are flagged for renewal.
How do targets fit with suitability and quality rules?
A target changes where the brand looks, not what it accepts. Qualifying publishers pass the same suitability tolerances, made for advertising checks and selling path checks as other sites. The rules that need changing are the ones that measure size instead of quality, such as popularity cutoffs and keyword blocklists, which the fair publisher planning hub covers.
Supply is a known constraint. The same buyer guidelines state that "Within the diverse media marketplace, there is limited inventory available for brands," and list remedies: grouping programmatic suppliers into private marketplaces, smaller media companies joining together as an ad network, and co-branded content. Phasing gives those remedies time. Canada's mandatory minimum 5% Indigenous procurement target (opens in a new tab) for federal contracts was phased across 32, 20 and 44 organizations, with all departments and agencies to meet it by the end of fiscal year 2024 to 2025.
How can PlacementGraph help build the qualifying list?
How should progress be reported?
| Line | What it shows | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Target and scope | The goal, the budgets it covers, the period | Unchanged from the policy unless a change is declared |
| Delivered share or amount | Spend on qualifying publishers against the target | Cost basis and currency named |
| By group | Each qualifying group on its own line | Groups overlap; the total counts each publisher once |
| Publishers paid | Distinct qualifying publishers with delivery | Shows whether money is concentrated in a few outlets |
| Shortfall and cause | The gap, and whether supply, suitability or budget caused it | No unverified sites added to close it |
| Register changes | Publishers added, expired or removed, with reasons | Lets a reader see why the base moved |
Keep the report about publishers. It can say which outlets were paid and how they qualified; it should not describe the race, beliefs or income of their readers, which the plan has not measured. The responsible media investment framework covers the wider report a brand gives leadership.
What does a target look like on a real plan?
Fictional example
A Missouri and Kansas child care network sets its first target
A fictional network of child care centers in Kansas City, St. Louis and Wichita asks its agency for a display plan beside parenting, family finance, local schools and community news content. Leadership wants a target for spend with Black owned and Hispanic owned publishers in its markets.
The agency tags last year's delivery and finds the qualifying share close to zero, mostly because no register existed. It writes the counting rule: certification or a state certifying agency listing, self described owners tagged pending, and publishers in both groups counted once in the total. The first year target is a share of display spend set from the publishers' own available volume, since the forecast tool shows little for the smaller sites.
The segment runs as its own private marketplace deal. Two applicants are left out because their pages fail the made for advertising review, and the report says so. At year end the target is missed by a small margin; the report shows the gap, the cause (two outlets with no programmatic path, now bought direct) and a second year level tied to the new direct buys.
Frequently asked questions
Can programmatic spend count toward a diverse media target?
Yes, when delivery is reported by publisher and matched to the register. Open exchange buying across a broad domain list is harder to attribute, so qualifying publishers are easier to track through a dedicated private marketplace deal or a direct buy. Spend through a network counts only for the qualifying sites it delivered on.
Should agencies carry their own target?
The 4A's, ANA and AIMM guidelines suggest marketers consider goals and incentives for their agencies as well as for internal teams. If an agency carries a target, it should use the client's counting rule and register, so the two reports never disagree about what counted.
What if there are not enough qualifying publishers in a market?
Report it, then widen the supply instead of the definition. Buy direct from outlets without a programmatic path, group small outlets into one private marketplace deal and invite qualifying publishers into requests for proposals early. Set the next year's level from what the new supply can carry.
Should a target cover YouTube creators as well as websites?
Only if the policy says so and the evidence exists. Creator ownership is a fact about a person, so qualification rests on what the creator chooses to state or certify. Track creators on their own line rather than mixing them into the publisher total.
Sources
- Guidelines for Buyers (Agencies and Marketers) When Doing Business with Diverse Media Suppliers (opens in a new tab)4A's, ANA and AIMM, May 2022
- Technical Information for the 2024 Annual Business Survey (ABS): Company Summary (opens in a new tab)US Census Bureau
- Mandatory minimum 5% Indigenous procurement target (opens in a new tab)Indigenous Services Canada, modified December 19, 2025
- Inventory Availability report (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help, Google
- Dimensions in reports (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help, Google
- Metrics in reports (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help, Google
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.