MIAMI – TripleLift, the programmatic ad platform best known for its native advertising roots, is doubling down on what Chief Executive Dave Helmreich calls the “last mile of performance:” creative. In a wide-ranging interview, Helmreich laid out the company’s latest initiatives to help publishers, advertisers and streaming platforms deliver more meaningful, less intrusive advertising experiences—while unlocking new revenue in the process.
Rebranding around creative
“Creative is the last mile of performance,” Helmreich said in this interview at the POSSIBLE conference. “Without beautiful creative, customers aren’t going to enjoy the experience with marketers, and engagement will suffer.”
That belief led TripleLift to rebrand earlier this year, putting creative execution at the heart of its identity. The company now positions itself as a “creative SSP”—a supply-side platform that enables custom-built, high-performing ad formats rather than generic, commoditized units.
“There’s a lot of non-differentiated SSPs out there,” Helmreich said. “What sets us apart is our ability to dynamically assemble custom formats using real-time data, component-level details and signal intelligence.”
Working with Roku and DirecTV
TripleLift’s strategy is already finding traction in streaming environments. Helmreich cited the company’s work with Roku, where ad formats are integrated directly into the show, including overlays and split screens that maintain the immersive feel of the content while delivering brand messages.
“We can create less disruptive, more engaging formats,” he said. “It’s not just good for viewers — our data shows a 94% brand recall rate and significantly higher engagement.”
With DirecTV, TripleLift is also engineering programmatic pause ads, capitalizing on user-initiated pauses to deliver creative in moments when consumers are more likely to be attentive.
“It’s a win-win,” Helmreich said. “It’s a new monetizable asset for publishers and a better brand opportunity for advertisers.”
A unique Amazon partnership
One of TripleLift’s most high-profile innovations is a collaboration with Amazon. Dubbed “responsive e-commerce units,” this integration pulls real-time product details — including prices, promotions and images – from Amazon product pages and dynamically assembles ad units to run on third-party inventory across the open web.
“These units perform three times better than traditional formats,” Helmreich said. “It’s incredibly powerful, and we’re excited to bring that same capability to other retailers.”
Publishers, DSPs and Brands
While creative is the hook, TripleLift’s business model is grounded in connecting all parts of the ad supply chain. The company continues to serve premium publishers across display, mobile web, in-app, online video, vertical video and CTV. At the same time, it works daily with demand-side platforms like Google, The Trade Desk, Amazon, Yahoo and StackAdapt to deliver inventory that is “uniquely tailored to their marketers.”
TripleLift is also spending more time directly with brands and agencies.
“Marketers care about creative. They care about engagement. They care about beautiful experiences,” Helmreich said. “So we’re helping them understand the impact of bespoke formats—not just the pipes.”
The Bottom Line
In an era where user fatigue with ads is high and publisher differentiation is low, TripleLift is betting big that creative customization — not just targeting or scale — will define the next phase of programmatic success.
“We’re not just about placement,” Helmreich said. “We’re about impact.”
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