In the early days of advertising automation, the gap between programmatic’s promise and reality couldn’t have been wider. Fraud, non-transparent buying practices, and the race to the lowest CPMs had eroded established standards of quality, performance and fair value between advertisers and publishers. Through their industry trade association, thirty premium content publishers engaged Morgan Digital Ventures to develop the business case and launch plan for a new kind of marketplace — one that would distinguish premium inventory from the low-quality open web. The result was the creation of TRUSTX in 2016, which grew into a profitable $30 million gross-media business within five years, while delivering top 20% yields for its premium publisher members.