As third-party cookies disappear from the digital advertising scene, publishers are waking up to a harsh reality: it’s time to rethink how they do business. For years, the industry has buzzed about data transformation, revenue diversification, and the importance of privacy regulations. But one key element is often overlooked — how to build a solid identity strategy that can reliably function within both the company and with external partners.

Here’s the bottom line: if publishers don’t focus on building a strong identity graph now, they’re going to fall behind. With so much change in the ecosystem, revenues shifting or diminishing,  it’s not just about survival — it’s about thriving in a privacy-safe, data-driven future.

Identity Plays A Key Role In The Future Of Programmatic Demand

Without third-party cookies, the ecosystem that once drove programmatic advertising is fading. Revenue is dropping, and many publishers are looking to rebuild addressability, opting to rely on rented identity solutions — those that pool data from other companies just to stay afloat. These solutions inject a quick fix, but in the long run, lack the required transparency and revenue models to make this a sustainable solution.

Publishers need their own robust identity architecture to not only bring in more money but also to reduce the total cost of ownership and increase margins.

More and more PII-based identifiers are emerging, but deploying multiple IDs can become complex. Additionally, it’s difficult to evaluate if and when hashed emails should be exposed on the page. Whether a publisher chooses a client-side or server-side deployment comes down to one question: how much risk are you willing to take when it comes to privacy?

The latest version of IAB Tech Labs’ OpenRTB enables to inject identifiers directly into the bidstream, adding transparency to the process. By collaborating with third-party data partners or industry solutions like ID5, publishers can inject their own identity signals into the bidstream, enhancing their ability to target users effectively and increase revenue, all while staying on the right side of data privacy.

Breaking Down the Data Silos

First-party data is gold for publishers right now but it’s difficult to mine. Many publishers are collecting a vast amount of data, including identity,  across different platforms — whether through ads, subscriptions, or events — which has led to a huge problem: fragmented data. This is amplified when there are multiple business units that all have different systems and policies. With no underlying identity architecture and different systems for managing content, consent, and customer data, many publishers find themselves staring at disconnected pieces of the puzzle.

That’s why the conversation around identity is so critical. If you’re not connecting the dots, you’re only looking at small pieces of the puzzle, effectively making decisions in silos. A unified identity framework tied to a data foundation, lets publishers see the bigger picture with an opportunity for cleaner data sets – how users engage, how that ties to revenue, and where there are opportunities to grow.

Creating a True Single Customer View

A single customer view is no longer a “nice to have” – it’s a must. This is the flip side of eliminating data silos, but it also connects to greater actionability concerning users. To maximize engagement and performance, publishers must track users across every device and environment they interact with. It’s about understanding your logged-in users and anonymous users, as both are crucial for monetization.

Building a persistent identity graph that updates in real-time helps publishers make informed decisions. This isn’t just about driving ad revenue; it’s about understanding every user touchpoint, from what content they consume to how they interact with your brand.

Getting Ready for What’s Next

The value of data is skyrocketing. To tap into that potential, publishers need more than just a surface-level understanding of their audience – they need a solid identity strategy & architecture. Identity sits at the center of every monetization and engagement opportunity for a publisher. As more advanced data analysis rolls out, these data foundations are critical to leverage newer approaches like AI, predictive analytics, and new data collaboration models. If you don’t have your foundation set, you’ll be left scrambling when the next big opportunity comes knocking.

Many publishers have under-invested in building a comprehensive identity strategy because of the level of cross-functional thought, effort, and collaboration required. However, waiting longer creates an even bigger risk to their business. If publishers don’t invest in data and identity now, they’ll be left out of emerging revenue streams.

The reality is clear: we’re entering a new era of advertising, and identity is at the center of it all. Those who get it right will have the upper hand in a cookieless world. The time to act is now.

The post Owning Identity in a Post-Cookie World: Why Publishers Need to Get Real About Data appeared first on AdMonsters.

Publishers and advertisers work with treasure troves of data that require working in the weeds. But sometimes, working too deep can give you tunnel vision and cause people to miss the bigger picture.  

This is especially true when working with diverse audience data. Some miss out on multicultural audiences with massive opportunity and spending power. According to the Nielsen-Univision ROI of Inclusivity Study, experts expect Spanish speakers in the U.S. to grow to over 75 million by 2030 and projected Hispanic buying power in the U.S. to reach $1.9 trillion by the end of 2023. 

Still, some brands are seeing the potential in Spanish-language media. “I’ve seen a major shift in how AVOD is serving Hispanic audiences, with brands growing recognition of the incredible potential within this demographic,” shared Isabel Rafferty Zavala, CEO of Canela Media. 

In fact, EDO just released a study  analyzing every national TV ad that ran on Spanish-language TV and the data shows that ads that run on these channels have been 31% more effective than those on English-language TV. Spanish-language streaming’s growth presents a unique opportunity for publishers to engage a vibrant audience and optimize revenue streams, while allowing advertisers to improve targeting and capitalize on innovative ad technologies. However, it’s crucial to represent these communities authentically.

The Surge in Spanish-Language Streaming

With a large and growing Hispanic population in the U.S. and abroad, streaming platforms are ramping up their offerings of Spanish-language content, creating fertile ground for publishers looking to reach Hispanic audiences through targeted advertising and cutting-edge ad operations.

Key Players and Market Growth:

Televisa-Univision’s ViX+ launched in 2022 after a major merger combining Mexican multimedia company (Televisa) and the largest provider of Spanish-language content in the US (Univision). Starting with an ambitious goal, they offer over 10,000 hours of Spanish-language entertainment, ranging from telenovelas to original productions. 

They now offer ad-supported and subscription-based models with TelevisaUnivision’s flagship streaming service, Vix, amassing 50 million monthly active users, up 70% over last year.

They also acquired a free, ad-supported streaming service — Univision’s PrendeTV — to complement their Univision NOw subscription service. 

Latino-owned Canela Media has capitalized on the surge of Hispanic viewers by offering free, ad-supported content across multiple genres. Reportedly the fastest-growing Hispanic media company in the U.S., the CEO Isabel Rafferty Zavala launched the streaming service to celebrate the U.S. Hispanic community by delivering culturally relevant high-quality entertainment.

“My role has been to push for innovation — whether through our content offerings or the technology we use,” said Zavala. And this is not just lip service. Canela Media offers a wealth of first-party data through Canela Audience Solutions, reaching 76M unique devices. The OTT-first data product accurately identifies Hispanic audiences across English and Spanish content.

Other players:

Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max are all embracing this trend, significantly expanding their Spanish-language libraries to cater to Hispanic viewers and international markets. 

Other players include fuboTV Latino, providing 65 Spanish-language channels, including Zona Fútbol and FOX Deportes. Then there’s Peacock’s Tplus, in partnership with Telemundo, offering telenovelas, news, and sports. Comcast’s NOW TV Latino provides over 25 live Spanish-language channels featuring a mix of movies, shows, sports, and news for diverse viewing preferences. 

Crafting Culturally Resonant Campaigns in a Multilingual Market

The rise of Spanish-language streaming opens new doors for publishers and advertisers. With bilingual and bicultural audiences, they can leverage advanced technologies to create practical and dynamic ad experiences explicitly tailored to Hispanic demographics.

Programmatic Advertising: Programmatic solutions allow for precise audience targeting based on language preferences, cultural nuances, and consumption habits to deliver highly relevant messaging to  maximize engagement.

For instance, Macarta used Amazon’s Spanish Language Targeting Program for geo-targeting Spanish-speaking consumers and delivering tailored messaging to increase traffic and sales. 

Dynamic Ad Insertion:  Spanish-language streaming platforms leverage real-time dynamic ad insertion to seamlessly integrate ads into content. Advertisers can adjust creative messaging based on viewer data, location, or even cultural events. By delivering ads at the perfect moment, this technology enhances viewer experience while boosting ad effectiveness. 

With Akta’s Cloud Video Platform, TelevisaUnivision’s ViX streaming service leverages DAI, replacing broadcast ads with digital ads on their streaming platform, according to Michael Cerda, CPO for Streaming at TelevisaUnivision.

Cross-Platform Campaigns: Advertisers can also explore cross-platform advertising strategies ensuring  consistent messaging by tying campaigns across ViX+, Canela, Pantaya, and mainstream services like Netflix and HBO Max to amplify reach.

Unlocking Revenue Potential Through Targeted, Authentic Engagement

Maximizing revenue in the Spanish-language streaming segment requires deeply understanding Hispanic audiences, who show strong loyalty to platforms offering authentic, culturally relevant content.

To capitalize on this, publishers should focus on audience segmentation by developing detailed viewer profiles based on region, language preferences (Spanish, English, or bilingual), and content consumption habits. 

“Targeted, personalized, culturally relevant ads will only increase in importance as time goes on. Audience data can help advertisers understand where their target audiences are consuming content and learn behavioral insights about them,” according to App Science.

AVOD platforms, such as Canela, offer a clear path to monetizing content through targeted ads, while SVOD caters to audiences willing to pay for premium, ad-free experiences. Hybrid models, like TelevisaUnivision, offer a combination of ad-supported and ad-free tiers and are also gaining traction, providing publishers with diverse revenue streams.

As EDO outlined in their study, Spanish-language TV’s impact is even greater when combined with a highly engaging streaming environment. For instance, auto brands advertising on TelevisaUnivision’s streaming service ViX were 29% more effective than Convergent TV.

According to Zavala, Canela Media owes its AVOD  success “to focusing its monetization strategies by connecting brands with content that reflects the values, diversity, and interests of our community, ensuring that advertising feels both organic and impactful.” 

Additionally, partnering with Hispanic-focused brands presents another lucrative opportunity. For instance, TelevisaUnivision’s partnered with United Airlines’ Kinective Media to integrate ViX streaming content into in-flight entertainment. The collaboration merged data assets, enhancing Kinective’s platform for targeted advertising, allowing TelevisaUnivision to drive ViX subscriptions and deliver ads to Spanish-speaking travelers.

Tapping Into Cultural Relevance for Lasting Impact

As the surge in Spanish-language streaming continues, publishers and advertisers have a unique opportunity to deepen their connection with a dynamic and growing audience. By embracing cultural relevance, leveraging innovative technologies, and fostering authentic partnerships, they can unlock new revenue streams while serving the diverse needs of Hispanic viewers. Success lies in understanding the nuances of diverse demographics, respecting cultural values, and delivering personalized experiences.

The post What the Surge in Spanish-Language Streaming Means for Advertisers and Publishers appeared first on AdMonsters.

Publishers, we know it’s been a wild ride lately. Between the impending third-party cookie total annihilation and generative AI nibbling away at referral traffic, finding ways to keep your audience — and your revenue — intact is more important than ever.

That’s why, in our new survey, we’re diving into audience amplification strategies. We want to hear from YOU about how you’re reaching audiences beyond your site and where you see the next wave of revenue opportunities.

Take the Amplify Your Audience Survey Now!

Your input will help uncover what’s working, what’s not, and what’s on the horizon for publishers. We’ll explore the balancing act of leveraging first-party data without losing your competitive edge and dive into tactics from retargeting to renting access to segmented data. With your insights, we’ll map out the best strategies to amplify your audience, drive revenue, and keep your content thriving in these ever-shifting digital waters.

The post It’s Time to Unlock Audience Amplification: Share Your Insights Now! appeared first on AdMonsters.

The open web is on life support, or so they say. But is it really dying, or are we just not giving it the oxygen it needs to survive? 

That was the big message during Programmatic IO’s session, “The Future of the Open Internet Is…?” featuring industry minds Cavel Khan, Chief Growth Officer, Group Black; Ari Paparo, CEO & Contributor, Marketecture Media; and Ben Hovaness, Chief Media Officer, OMD, with AdExchanger’s Allison Schiff moderating.

And if we’re honest, the conversation revealed a hard truth: the open web’s struggles go beyond the cookies crumbling — the question is: Are publishers ready to hustle for their piece of the pie?

So, What Exactly Do We Mean by the Open Web These Days?

Let’s cut through the noise — everyone’s got their own take on what the “open web” even means anymore. Is it about accessibility, privacy, innovation, or free speech? It depends on who you ask. 

Some say it’s the accessible, ad-friendly corner of the internet, free from the constraints of walled gardens. The last bastion of free, accessible content that isn’t fenced off behind a paywall or login screen. The digital playground where ads can be bought programmatically without a giant tech overlord controlling every move.

But, sadly, the truth is the open web’s territory is shrinking fast, with Google, Meta, and other walled gardens gobbling up a good 80% of ad spend. 

How did we get here? It’s easy to point fingers at Big Tech, but let’s talk about the industry’s own missteps that got us here.

The Blame Game: Did We Let the Open Web Slip Away?

“The industry is partially to blame,” said Khan, laying out how publishers lost resources as ad dollars poured into walled gardens. And he’s not wrong.

The ad tech ecosystem poured money into the platforms and watched them grow, thinking it was all just market dynamics at play. Meanwhile, independent publishers lost their funding, their communities, and, eventually, their place in the game. Publishers didn’t just roll over one day and lose; they were out-resourced, outspent, and ultimately outperformed in the battle for consumer attention. 

“Independent publishers lost their ability to sustain in the marketplace. That’s why we’re seeing the decline,” he added. It wasn’t like consumers suddenly stopped caring about quality content. Publishers couldn’t maintain what they built because ad dollars flowed elsewhere. Publishers ultimately handed the power over to the walled gardens.

“The big miss on the media side was that they let go of their distribution,” said Paparo. Publishers got too comfortable, relying on third-party tech and platforms for distribution, only to realize they became too dependent on these gatekeepers. For example, news publishers, in particular, put too much faith in platforms and aggregators like Google News.

Now they’re playing catch-up, scrambling to recapture those direct consumer relationships they should’ve built from the start — trying to regain what they gave up: their audience, data, and autonomy.

Signal Loss Ain’t the Only Problem Here

But, we can’t ignore the hard reality of signal loss draining value from the ecosystem. “If you suck signal out of an ecosystem, you reduce its value,” explained Hovaness.

Apple’s cookie crackdown in Safari sent shockwaves through the industry, leading to a split in ad pricing between Safari and Chrome, with Chrome’s value only shooting up simply because it still relied on third-party cookies.

Now, with Google flirting with its own version of App Tracking Transparency in Chrome, the industry is bracing for an even bigger hit. It’s the stuff that still gives publishers sleepless nights. But here’s where the conversation often hits a wall: What now? 

Sure, contextual is part of the solution, but let’s keep it 100 — it’s not a magic bullet. As Khan noted, consumers want more than just context. They crave hyper-personalized, relevant content, and right now, the algorithms in walled gardens are fumbling that bag too. 

The missing piece? True multi-touch attribution across platforms. As Khan put it, “We need to leverage technology in a different way, one that doesn’t create a new set of winners while leaving everyone else starving.”

Programmatic advertising might be good at identifying who you are, but it’s failing at figuring out when you’re actually ready to engage. This is where the open web has a shot to differentiate itself, but it’ll take more than business-as-usual tactics.

The Creator Economy: A Blueprint for Publishers?

Here’s where we can flip the script a bit. It’s not just about surviving the ad wars against walled gardens. It’s about publishers learning to think more like creators to reclaim their power. 

The creator economy is booming — worth $250 billion in 2023 and climbing. This economy is out here thriving, projected to double to nearly $480 billion by 2027. Why? Because creators aren’t waiting for consumers to come to them — they’re meeting their audience where they are. Newsletters, podcasts, social — you name it, they’re on it. Consumers are looking to creators for content that feels real, honest, and transparent

Paparo’s excitement around tools like Substack, beehiiv, and Ghost is spot-on. Even WordPress offers tools allowing creators to monetize through commerce and ad placements. This is also where companies like Group Black, Raptive, and MediaVine are ahead of the game, helping content creators secure and optimize ad revenue.

And you know what? Publishers need to pay attention. 

Some are. Think of Architectural Digest’s AD PRO members-only community for design professionals. Or how about Vox and SB Nation launching Top Secret Base, featuring exclusive content for subscribers on Patreon?

We can even look at publishers like Ranker, leveraging first-party data and building community-driven engagement to realize a 4x boost in revenue. That’s not magic; that’s strategy.

It’s time for publishers to rethink revenue streams, diversify content formats, harness first-party data to build meaningful relationships and stop expecting users to just stumble back to their websites out of habit. Meet them on social, in their inboxes, or through niche community hubs — whatever it takes. It’s time to carve out a new space

What’s most important is that you own that relationship with your audience.

The Path Forward: Reinvent or Get Left Behind

Now, let’s be clear: the open web isn’t going to resurrect magically. We shouldn’t try to turn back the clock lamenting the loss of signals or blame the platforms for hoarding ad spend. This isn’t about nostalgia; it’s about redefining the open web for what it can be.

The future of the open web isn’t in wistful “what ifs.” It’s in publishers getting their hands dirty, owning their distribution, and thinking beyond traditional models. It means building the tech stack to capture first-party data, finding new ways to engage, and creating a user experience that doesn’t just compete — it sets the standard.

So when the panel wrapped up with words like “bright,” “diverse” and “changing” to describe the open web’s future, I couldn’t help but add my own: resilient. But these words only mean something if publishers take action. The open web will survive. But it won’t be because we sat around and complained. It’ll be because we hustled, adapted, and fought for it.

The post The Open Internet’s Future: On Life Support or Ready for a Glow-Up? appeared first on AdMonsters.

PinkNews, a leading LGBTQ+ news and entertainment platform, partnered with OpenWeb to create a safer, more engaging space for its audience. Together, they are driving deeper user engagement while building robust first-party data. 

Through this collaboration, PinkNews is reaffirming its commitment to cultivating a supportive and respectful environment for its readers and strategically expanding its loyal user base. In today’s digital media landscape, publishers must focus on understanding and growing  their audience. 

“Our partnership with OpenWeb has empowered us to build an engaged and loyal readership—a key part of our growth strategy,” explains Sarah Watson, Chief Product Officer of PinkNews.

OpenWeb’s scalable content moderation technology has enabled PinkNews to expand its commenting feature to all visitors, resulting in a 200% increase in new registrations — a significant shift from its previous policy of limiting comments to paid subscribers.

In an AdMonsters exclusive interview, Watson highlights how important it is to listen to your consumer base. 

Andrew Byrd: Can you share more about the strategic decision behind partnering with OpenWeb and how it aligns with PinkNews’ overall growth and community engagement goals?

Sarah Watson: PinkNews has an incredibly vast and loyal user base across its various owned and operated platforms and social channels. Therefore, it was important for us to create a sense of community on our site.

In the past, we’ve enabled our readers to comment on articles and engage with one another, but maintaining a safe environment and keeping conversations civil with man-power alone became more and more of a challenge. By partnering with OpenWeb, we were able to relaunch commenting capabilities and reestablish open discussion and debate on topics and articles that our audience is passionate about. OpenWeb removed the heavy lifting of content moderation, enabling us to spend more time doing more exciting things, like analyzing discussion topics for future articles, joining conversations, and being entertained by our passionate readers.

AB: How has integrating OpenWeb’s AI-powered community experiences transformed how PinkNews engages with its readers?

SW: Given the incredibly high engagement levels we see across our social platforms, we were keen to create a safe space for our readers to interact with one another on the website and apps. Partnering with OpenWeb has helped us cultivate meaningful user engagement, boosting key metrics such as time spent on site, page views, and user lifetime value.

AB: Given that comments were previously limited to paid subscribers, what impact have you seen from opening comments to all visitors, especially regarding user engagement and loyalty?

SW: In a recent Reader Survey, which we run regularly, our readers already told us they were keen for comments to be released from the paywall.

They spoke, we listened, and we’re glad we did, as we saw an instant spike in registrations, and engagement with comments has continued to grow WoW ever since.

AB: Building robust first-party data is crucial for publishers. How is this partnership helping PinkNews enhance its first-party data collection, and what benefits are you seeing from this data?

SW: At PinkNews, several features are currently available to readers registering an account with us. These include a hand-curated daily newsletter, the ability to save articles, and now commenting. Our ethos is to only ask for data from our readers if we give something back in return, and the data we collect is minimal.

We want to create a unique and engaging experience for every reader, so by knowing a bit more about them, we can curate our content to suit them and engage with brands that are looking to target specific audiences with specific brand affinities or characteristics.

AB: Could you elaborate on the 200% increase in new registrations since partnering with OpenWeb? What factors have driven this surge, and how do you plan to sustain it?

SW: We have a highly engaged and loyal community, and we could see from our social channels that people were keen to start healthy discussions with one another. By removing the paywall from comments, we saw an instant surge in usage as there was no longer a barrier to entry. The registration process is very simple and straightforward, and there are no limits on how many times people can comment. All we ask for is that our readers keep things civil. 

AB: What specific challenges has PinkNews faced in fostering healthy conversations online, and how does OpenWeb help you overcome these challenges?

SW: PinkNews is not alone when it comes to facing moderation challenges. The vast majority of our audience wants to share opinions and have civilized discussions. Still, there’s a small subset of people and a large number of bots who see an open commenting field as an opportunity to spread misinformation and hate speech.

Through our partnership with OpenWeb, we are using technology to help us differentiate those individuals (whether human or bot) so that we can create a sense of community without alienating or upsetting our loyal readers.

AB: How do you see the partnership with OpenWeb evolving, and what future initiatives or goals do you hope to achieve together?

SW: Our partnership with OpenWeb has empowered us to build an engaged and loyal readership—a key part of our growth strategy. Thanks to their moderation technology, we’ve opened our comments to all users while ensuring conversation remains respectful and productive.

OpenWeb has a number of other initiatives that we’re keen to explore, which align with our goal of continuing to engage our readers and encourage repeat visits to our website and apps.

The post How PinkNews Leveraged OpenWeb to Boost User Engagement and Data Collection appeared first on AdMonsters.

We were all at the edge of our seats last week as the entire industry tuned in each day of the DOJ vs. Google antitrust trial. 

The ad tech world is on high alert, gripping the industry with every twist and turn. To help make sense of it all, the AdMonsters editors dive deep into the first week of the trial in our premiere episode of ‘Google on Trial.’ This is more than just a courtroom drama—it’s a potential turning point for publishers, advertisers, and digital media.

In this episode, Lynne, Andrew, and I unpack key moments, testimonies, and implications that could reshape how we think about Google’s role in ad tech. We explore everything from data brokerage and market manipulation to publishers’ challenging negotiations with Google. The discussion even touches on global regulatory impacts, secretive maneuvers by Google, and how small players might be the most affected.

Curious to hear the full breakdown? Watch the video and join us in dissecting this critical moment for the industry.

Lynne’s Takeaways:

Data Brokerage and Market Manipulation – Lynne references an AdMonsters article by Adam Heimlich, arguing that Google’s true power lies in its massive data trove and how it uses it to broker ad placements. Google’s dominance is not just about having better tech but leveraging data to manipulate the ad marketplace in its favor.

Global Regulatory Impact – The trial could have global implications. She mentions fines imposed on Google and Apple in Europe and the UK’s CMA pushing for more transparency in ad tech. This trial could be part of a larger global reckoning against tech giants like Google and Apple, or “GApple.”

Stephanie Layser’s Testimony – Lynne highlights former NewsCorp exec Stephanie Layser’s testimony about publishers feeling held hostage by Google’s dominance. The lack of transparency and the difficulty of finding alternative demand sources means that publishers are stuck with Google, despite the potential for higher costs and complications if they switch away.

Yakira’s Takeaways:

Negotiating with Google Was Never Easy – Yakira emphasizes Goodway Group’s Jay Friedman’s testimony, noting that negotiating with Google is almost impossible due to its dominance. Friedman compared the alternative options to Google’s services as choosing between high-end and budget hotels, underscoring the unrealistic nature of switching away from Google without suffering revenue losses.

Header Bidding Was ‘Not the Answer – Header bidding was supposed to provide an alternative to Google’s dominance, but it actually made things worse for some publishers. Gannett’s attempt to switch to header bidding led to a 15-20% increase in CPMs, illustrating the difficulty of finding viable alternatives to Google’s ad services.

Why Is Google Being So Secretive? – Google’s attempts to exclude certain testimonies and make the switch from a jury to a bench trial by paying the government $2 million. This move highlights Google’s extensive power and raises questions about their transparency and motives in the trial.

Andrew’s Takeaways: 

The Small Player’s Reliance on Google – Small businesses and publishers see Google’s ad tech as a cost-effective and streamlined solution. Breaking up Google’s ad business could complicate ad management and increase costs, negatively impacting their ability to advertise and grow.

Check My Ads’s Two Cents – Ariel Garcia from Check My Ads argues that Google’s monopolistic practices stifle competition and transparency in the ad tech space. The trial could lead to structural changes and more global regulation, and reignite discussions on legislative measures like the America Act for digital media transparency.

What’s Next?

The trial has highlighted the complexity of breaking up major tech monopolies, the potential ripple effects on small businesses and publishers, and the intricate balance between legislative oversight and market self-regulation.

Stay tuned for weekly updates and deep dives as we continue to unpack this monumental trial. We will bring you the latest developments and expert analyses on what it all means for the future of digital media and ad tech.

Bye everyone, and see you next week!

The post Inside the DOJ’s Big Tech Showdown: AdMonsters Breaks Down Week 1 of Google’s High-Stakes Trial appeared first on AdMonsters.

You must dig deep into each PET solution, to decide which works best for your business goals. For instance, how do you decide which Data Clean Rooms (DCR) fits best? 

DCRs offer a way to analyze sensitive data without compromising privacy or security. Myles Younger, Head of Innovation and Insights at U of Digital, likens them to a pivot table in Excel; data clean rooms grant users access to insights from large datasets without directly accessing the underlying raw data. This ensures that PII remains secure while enabling detailed analysis and actionable insights. 

As Younger points out, the key to success lies in how companies use clean rooms to drive client value. “Advertisers want what they’ve always wanted: new ideas, insights, and clear performance measurement,” he explains. 

Therran Oliphant, an advisor at Thirdwave and AdMonsters Advisory Board Member, adds that publishers are evaluating data clean rooms with more sophistication as they consider factors such as decentralization, privacy, and data orchestration. He points out that the ability to keep first-party data on-premise, without moving it into cloud environments, is crucial for many publishers and their ad ops teams. 

This decentralized approach allows them to retain full control over their data while leveraging the clean room’s tools to share only non-personal insights, ensuring both data safety and effective marketing execution. When used correctly, DCRs bridge the gap between performance optimization and data security, making them a vital part of the future of digital marketing.

We took a deep dive to discover seven of the top Data Clean Room solutions to help you find the perfect fit for elevating your business’s data strategy.

7 Top Data Clean Room Solutions

AWS Clean Rooms 

Amazon’s Data Clean Room solution, AWS Clean Rooms offers a secure solution for companies to collaborate with partners on data analysis without sharing or duplicating sensitive information. By setting up a clean room in just a few steps, businesses can securely work with other companies on AWS, using privacy-enhancing tools to protect their data. 

AWS Clean Rooms supports a range of use cases, from improving customer insights and optimizing advertising to enhancing reporting and research. Clients like Fox, Comscore, and Amazon Ads use this platform to unlock valuable insights while safeguarding data privacy.

According to Adam Solomon, Global Head of Business Development and Go-to-Market for AWS Clean Rooms, AWS sees itself as a facilitator, enhancing data clean rooms’ capabilities by enabling secure data sharing without moving it between platforms. 

AWS exemplifies this through partnerships with The Weather Channel and Lotame to enable faster and safer insight generation. Rather than competing directly with data clean room providers like Habu or InfoSum, their ultimate goal is to provide foundational privacy-enhancing technologies for others to build on.

InfoSum

InfoSum’s data clean room solution offers data protection and seamless collaboration through a match system that allows companies to analyze multiple datasets without moving or sharing data. Through decentralized data processing and patented ‘non-movement’ technology, InfoSum ensures that sensitive information remains private, eliminating data exposure or misuse risks. 

This privacy-first approach supports a range of data-driven strategies, such as audience planning, activation, and measurement, while providing superior speed and efficiency, even in multi-party collaborations. Its flexible, intuitive tools allow marketers to control their data processes without specialized technical expertise.

One of InfoSum’s key features is its ability to boost match rates by integrating with any identity provider, enabling seamless crosswalks and transparent match testing across multiple datasets. By connecting data silos both internally and with external partners, businesses can unlock valuable consumer insights and enhance targeting and personalization. 

What are some of their most prominent integrations? Netflix, Samsung Ads, and WPP’s data and tech platform Choreograph which is run mostly through GroupM. 

LiveRamp (and Habu)

LiveRamp’s data clean room technology provides companies with a secure environment to use and share data while maintaining consumer privacy. One of its key features is robust privacy and governance, which ensures data protection, giving media companies confidence in the safety of their information.

LiveRamp’s data clean room offers strong interoperability, allowing marketing organizations a seamless connection to their  partners (CTV providers like Amazon, Facebook, and Google.) Liveramp designed the platform for ease of use, making it accessible for marketers to analyze campaigns across multiple channels, including TV, CTV, and social media. 

By offering a unified view of performance data across all advertising channels, LiveRamp enables marketers to draw holistic insights, enhancing their strategic collaborations. Furthermore, it allows them to maximize every customer touchpoint, optimizing engagement. 

LiveRamp recently acquired Habu to assist with accelerating data collaboration with enhanced clean room tech. This is the industry’s only interoperable platform for seamless data sharing across all clouds and walled gardens.

Google Ads Data Hub

Google Ads Data Hub integrates with BigQuery to combine first-party data with Google’s event-level ad campaign data, providing valuable insights enhancing  advertising efficiency and optimize campaigns. It ensures user privacy by grouping results over multiple users and implementing robust privacy checks.

The platform supports access to Google, mobile device, and publisher-specific user IDs for comprehensive campaign analysis while maintaining strong privacy controls. Enhanced audience building and management capabilities are available for integration with other Google Ad products.

BigQuery Data Clean Rooms offers a secure, privacy-focused solution for managing and analyzing data without duplication. It helps publishers refine audience targeting, comply with privacy regulations, and collaborate efficiently with partners. With quick deployment through Google Cloud Console or APIs, it supports real-time updates and provides aggregated metrics for data-driven decisions.

Their most recent integration with DSP, Viant Technologies, allows seamless onboarding of privacy-safe first-party data into Viant’s Data Platform, enhancing targeting and measurement capabilities. 

Snowflake

Snowflake Data Clean Rooms, launched following Snowflake’s acquisition of Samooha in December 2023, integrates advanced data clean room technology into the Snowflake ecosystem. 

Now available through the Snowflake Marketplace, this offering simplifies setting up and using data clean rooms without incurring additional access fees. Snowflake Data Clean Rooms provide a user-friendly interface and industry-specific templates, allowing organizations to efficiently collaborate on sensitive data while maintaining strict privacy and governance standards.

To overcome the traditional barriers of data clean room deployment Snowflake designed its Data Clean Rooms solution, making it accessible to companies of all sizes. It facilitates secure, cross-cloud collaboration across AWS and Azure, and integrates seamlessly with Snowflake’s open data cloud ecosystem. By leveraging Snowpark for AI/ML and other built-in privacy features, Snowflake ensures that sensitive data remains within its secure environment while enabling deeper analytical insights. 

In addition, they have partnerships with Netflix and Snap. 

Optable

Optable’s data clean rooms offer secure environments where multiple parties collaborate on data while keeping the underlying data private and intact.

These clean rooms ensure that each participant maintains control over their data. Key features include permissioned access, where all parties must consent to any operations, and built-in privacy protections to safeguard information. Optable provides each customer with a secure data collaboration node (DCN) to store their data, and they can configure the connectivity and information transfer level within their own DCN.

Additionally, non-customers can download an open-source utility to manage their data independently. Optable’s versatile data clean rooms support various functions such as planning, measurement, and activation.

AppsFlyer Data Clean Room

AppsFlyer’s Data Clean Room offers a distinctive advantage with its advanced custom business logic and self-owned buckets. The custom business logic feature allows users to run tailored queries within the clean room, providing precise insights specific to their marketing needs. The self-owned buckets enhance data control by enabling users to manage data upload, integration, and access permissions independently, ensuring that all data handling aligns with their unique requirements and privacy standards.

Moreover, AppsFlyer’s Data Clean Room simplifies the reporting process with its user-friendly interface and automated report configuration. This solution streamlines BI tasks and ensures compliance with stringent privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. 

This clean room also encompasses a wide range of channels to provide a comprehensive view of your marketing efforts. This includes digital channels such as social media, search engines, display advertising, and video platforms. By integrating data from these diverse sources, the clean room allows you to gain a holistic perspective on campaign performance and optimize strategies across all your marketing channels while maintaining stringent privacy standards.

Debunking the Myths Around Data Clean Rooms

If you are hesitant to try out data clean rooms, Younger urges you to let go of your misconceptions. 

The biggest misconception about data clean rooms is that their use cases are new or unclear. In reality, most have been around for decades, such as publisher audience segmentation, advertiser audience onboarding, and event matching for post-campaign attribution. Data clean rooms simply represent the latest, most secure way to execute these longstanding processes with enhanced privacy protections.

“We work with ad tech companies and platforms across the industry, and the ones that seem poised for success are the ones that are positioning clean rooms as unlocks for client success, not as technical marvels,” says Younger. 

And for some experts, data clean rooms, or data collaboration as a more broad practice, will be a large foundation to uphold the industry. This is especially true as we shift toward first-party data assets as the prominent cornerstone of digital marketing strategies in a privacy-first world.

The post What Are the Top Data Clean Rooms Solutions? appeared first on AdMonsters.

Rumors are swirling that The Trade Desk (TTD) is quietly working on a smart TV operating system. If true, this bold move could shake up the CTV market.

According to a scoop from Lowpass TTD  has been secretly assembling a team, including former Roku employees, to develop this OS. They’ve been working on this project since the pandemic, and are said to go live in 2025.

So, what’s the play here? Is this about controlling CTV ad inventory? Absolutely. If this project comes to fruition, it won’t just pit TTD against CTV giants like Roku, Amazon, and Google — it will fundamentally reshape how ads are bought and sold in CTV land.

Owning the Ecosystem: More Than Just Ads

The Trade Desk’s ambitions go way beyond simply building a TV OS. This is about controlling the entire advertising infrastructure — from retail media to CTV to the open web.

It’s no secret, TTD has been digging into the $500 billion retail media pie, building partnerships with Walmart, Target, and Home Depot to leverage their goldmine of first-party data for ad targeting — while going head-to-head with rivals like Criteo and CitrusAds.

If TTD controls the smart TV OS, they won’t just be competing with Roku and Amazon; they’ll own the pipes through which ads flow, transforming themselves into the ultimate gatekeeper.

This move dovetails perfectly with TTD’s other plays. Think about how OpenPath bypasses SSPs to create a direct line between advertisers and publishers. Now imagine OpenPath combined with control of the smart TV OS — TTD wouldn’t just control ad spend, they’d dominate how the entire ecosystem operates.

A Unified Consumer Profile: The Holy Grail of Targeting

Retail media gives TTD an edge, providing crucial data for advertisers in a world where third-party cookies are phasing out.

Combining that data with CTV viewing habits opens a treasure trove of insights about consumers — from what they’re binge-watching to what’s in their shopping carts. For advertisers, that’s the holy grail of targeting. Talk about a 360-degree view of the consumer journey.

According to AdAge, TTD’s smart TV OS project is also about safeguarding data. With data signals like third-party cookies and mobile identifiers diminishing, this OS would allow the ad tech giant to create a data-rich environment, integrated with their Unified ID 2.0 identity solution.

This move is about more than just controlling ad delivery — it’s a way for TTD to hedge against future restrictions on data collection. By owning the OS, TTD would have deeper access to first-party data, including key signals like hardware addresses and IPs, making ad targeting and measurement much easier.

The Real Power Play: Controlling the Pipes

TTD’s smart TV OS could become the new middleman for CTV advertising, deciding who gets access to ad inventory and who doesn’t. By providing better-revenue-sharing deals and more flexibility for hardware manufacturers than their competitors, TTD could easily entice them to adopt their system. This could also mean attracting publishers who are frustrated with the rigid terms of existing platforms.

What makes this move even more powerful is the potential to bake Unified ID 2.0 right into the fabric of the OS<. With privacy regulations tightening, controlling the OS would position the ad tech behemoth to offer the granular targeting advertisers crave — without relying on third-party platforms like Roku or Amazon.

For Publishers: Is This a Goldmine or a Trap?

But things could get tricky for publishers. On one hand, TTD’s OS could offer more transparency and control, streamlining the process of accessing high-value inventory. TTD’s Top 100 Premium Publishers List already hints at the company’s desire to curate who is considered “premium” in ad land. If this OS follows that pattern, publishers could find themselves inside a new lucrative ecosystem — or left out in the cold.

If TTD can cut out the middlemen by building their own OS, they can offer publishers better revenue splits while controlling the data that flows through the system. This would also give them a massive competitive advantage.

The potential downside? With TTD controlling the data and distribution, the ad-buying process would be streamlined. But it could also increase publisher reliance on TTD’s ecosystem — a double-edged sword if there ever was one.

The Challenges Ahead: Not So Fast

TTD’s ambitions are grand, but their road ahead isn’t paved smoothly. The company faces stiff competition< from established players like Roku, Google, and Amazon, all of whom currently dominate the CTV market. Convincing TV manufacturers to adopt a new OS is no easy task, especially when TTD would be relatively new to this space.

Additionally, TTD’s reliance on Android AOSP (the same open-source foundation that Amazon’s Fire TV OS uses) could create conflicts with Google. In the past, Google has clashed with companies using forked versions of Android, and TTD could find itself caught in similar struggles. Technical hurdles aside, TTD has to convince consumers to adopt their platform — a significant challenge given the dominance of today’s streaming kingpins.

The Bigger Picture: TTD’s Long Game

Ultimately, TTD’s play for a smart TV OS is a bold move to integrate retail media, CTV, and open web advertising into one seamless ecosystem.

For advertisers, the appeal is clear — seamless, cross-platform targeting powered by first-party data from multiple sources allowing them to track and target consumers across every screen. This could redefine targeting as we know it.

For publishers, the opportunity to tap into TTD’s unified infrastructure could mean more revenue, but it also comes with risking over-reliance.

One thing’s for sure: The Trade Desk isn’t just building a smart TV OS — they’re building the future of digital advertising, one pipeline at a time. With each move, TTD is tightening its grip on the ad supply chain, positioning itself as the essential middleman for advertisers, publishers, and consumers.

The post Is The Trade Desk Building a Smart TV OS? Here’s What This Could Mean For the Advertising Ecosystem appeared first on AdMonsters.

For as long as retailers have existed, they have sought ways to monetize the audience they bring to suppliers. From end caps to circulars, retailers have been a pervasive, but understated, media partner to brands of all sizes. 

But nothing in history has the scope and potential of retail media–the process of selling inventory on their websites, and other owned channels, to brands. 

It’s quickly becoming a huge market for advertisers, reaching $46B of ad spend in 2023. That is significantly higher than CTV, which was estimated at $25B. It is also expected to reach $100B by 2026. 

While some might consider retail media a performance marketing channel, Upwave data busts that myth, showing it is also a brand-building powerhouse.

Upwave’s recent analysis of over 500 retail media campaigns, spanning 300+ brands, found that 96% of campaigns had a positive lift on at least one brand KPI, 87% of campaigns had at least one brand KPI that was above Upwave Norms, and 18.8% of campaigns exceeded Upwave Norms for all brand KPIs.

The Rise of Retail Media

As with other eCommerce advancements, Amazon deserves credit for building the modern retail media network environment. Once Amazon became the online store for virtually everything, they realized millions of people were coming by daily to buy a variety of things. Amazon could sell space on its various product and category webpages to companies looking to influence those visitors. That first-mover advantage has paid off. Over 75% of the current US Retail Media investment is spent on Amazon advertising. Walmart is second, via its advertising solutions division, Walmart Connect.

There’s a simple reason why so many retailers are joining the ranks of retail media: the channel can produce margins of up to 90%, according to the Boston Consulting Group. We’ve even heard that it’s not hyperbole to suggest retailers would gladly do away with selling goods if they could just make the same amount of money in the media. 

Now, brands as diverse as Uber, Sephora, Sam’s Club, and Best Buy all have their retail media networks.

Unsurprisingly, performance marketers have flocked to retail media as a way to monetize that audience immediately. And, sure, it makes perfect sense that people browsing a retailer’s website are considered to be in the market to buy now.

However, retail media is a huge opportunity for brand building, one not nearly enough companies are taking advantage of. That means industry watchers are potentially even underestimating the future revenue opportunities from retail media.

Here’s why.

• The massive first-party data retailers are sitting on. It’s no coincidence that retail media is at the top of the minds of all advertisers at a time when cookies are going away. Retailers are better equipped than almost anyone else to offer targeting capabilities to advertisers and their agencies. They have a plethora of data on hand about households, such as if they have kids. For example, a car manufacturer can more accurately advertise its suite of cars to the right buyers (e.g. a minivan to those with multiple children).

• Not everyone on those websites is in the market to buy. It’s hard to track down specific stats for how many people visit a website without adding something to their shopping cart but the overwhelming majority of visitors do not purchase at the time of visiting. Sometimes people are browsing and not looking for something specific. Even those looking to make a purchase could be stopped in their tracks by a brand-building ad regardless. 

• Non-endemic ads performed as well, if not better than endemic ones. Another myth busted for this channel, Upwave’s study found that advertisements featuring products not for sale on retail media sites outperformed those that you could buy in several key areas, including ad recall, consideration, and purchase intent. One reason is the ad stands out as unique amid dozens of product listings. For example, an ad for insurance may be more noticeable among kitchen staples on a grocery store website. 

• Its reach extends beyond the retail domain. Amazon has Prime, a video platform increasingly winning high-profile deals like NFL broadcasts and producing large-budget shows like Lord of the Rings. Walmart has agreed to acquire Vizio, a manufacturer of smart TVs. Rakuten purchased eBook company Kobo. That’s in addition to their ability to place ads on third-party sites they don’t own. Retailers and eTailers alike are looking to expand their reach as far as possible, given the data advantage they have on many other websites. Retail media offers much more than on-site placements because they can better validate those audiences.

• A strong trust factor. Individuals browsing their favorite retail websites, apps, or streaming from retailer-owned platforms, are likely to trust those who run ads on the site. A 2024 eMarketer study found consumers trusted ads on retail sites almost double that of social media or third-party marketplaces. Furthermore, slightly over 50% of respondents were more likely to buy items and try out a new brand they hadn’t purchased before if a retailer advertised them. This is especially important for newer brands looking to build up their name recognition and trust. Our study found retail media tied with online video as driving the most consideration against all other mediums. Frequent shoppers of a particular website could learn about a brand one day through a well-placed ad intended to drive consideration, and then return days or weeks later to make a purchase.

Now is the time for brand marketers to reevaluate their channel mix and take another look at this medium. By understanding that brand-building is a possibility in retail media it opens up the category for more growth than what is being predicted. All of our data demonstrates it’s a huge opportunity for brands looking to impact consumer behavior along the mid-lower brand funnel. Now is the time for brand builders to embrace the opportunity before the rest catch on.

The post Retail Media: As Important for Brand Builders as Performance Marketers appeared first on AdMonsters.

Identity resolution has become a Rubik’s Cube that everyone’s trying to solve.  

At AdMonsters Publisher Forum Boston, we got a front-row seat to the latest strategies and challenges in this space, thanks to a lively session with Christine Lee, Director of Data Partnerships at Fandom, and Tamir Shub, VP of Business Development at Intent IQ.

Addressability Meets Privacy: The New Balancing Act

Let’s face it: the identity game is rigged. Publishers are caught between the rock of addressability and the hard place of privacy. Lee laid it out clearly — Fandom, the world’s largest fan platform, is navigating a minefield of fragmented regulations and inconsistent user behaviors across devices and browsers. Think of it as trying to juggle on a tightrope while the wind’s picking up speed.

“We’re dealing with different browser types — Apple’s ATT, Firefox, Chrome, Safari — and each has its own set of rules,” Lee explained. She added, “It’s like trying to juggle different user behaviors across desktop, mobile, and mobile web while keeping an eye on the privacy landscape, which is extremely fragmented, not just globally but even within the U.S.”

Whether it’s Apple’s ATT or the ever-shifting sands of state-level privacy laws, Fandom is testing identity solutions to find that sweet spot where addressability meets privacy without losing sight of either.

Fandom’s Secret Sauce: Testing, Testing, and More Testing

But, with over 100 ID solutions on the market, not all options are worth your time. As Lee pointed out, “We’ve leaned into testing a variety of ID solutions in the space, including Google initiatives, Amazon initiatives, and our partnership with Intent IQ. But it’s difficult to compare apples to apples because every vendor has a different methodology.” The real challenge is figuring out which ones move the needle.

Fandom has actively experimented with many ID solutions, but they’re not just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. The key is to be selective — testing the ones that make the most sense for their audience and business goals.

By working with Intent IQ, Fandom saw revenue uplifts from 55% to a whopping 140% across different properties, proving that the right approach can help publishers thrive in this new identity landscape. But it’s not just about the numbers. Lee emphasized the importance of comparing these results side-by-side with traditional methods — a task easier said than done. Still, Fandom’s commitment to rigorous, strategic testing sets them apart from the pack.

Identity Graphs: The Backbone or the Achilles’ Heel?

If identity resolution is a puzzle, then identity graphs are the pieces that need to fit together perfectly. But, as Shub pointed out, not all graphs are created equal. The crux of the issue? Accuracy. Without frequent updates and a reliable truth set, you might as well be hiking with a faulty compass.

“Identity solution infrastructure is founded on its identity graph. But the accuracy is only as good as the graph and the data it uses,” Shub stated. “Without frequent updates, the data becomes irrelevant and misleading. That’s why refresh rates are critical.”

And let’s be honest: no one knows what a post-cookie world will look like. We’re all betting on a hypothesis. The regulatory landscape is murky, platform decisions are unpredictable, and consumer sentiment is a moving target. In this climate of uncertainty, it’s easy to get swept up in solutions that might not hold up under scrutiny.

There’s an urgent need for a standardized way to validate these graphs because trusting data without validation is like betting on a rigged horse race. It’s a gamble, and not one publisher can afford to lose. As Shub pointed out, “Currently, there’s no tool available that can validate data accuracy on a household level ID or person level ID.”

ID Bridging: A Savior or a Mirage?

With the deprecation of third-party cookies looming like a storm cloud, ID bridging has stepped into the spotlight. But as with any tech innovation, it comes with its share of controversy. Critics argue that ID bridging while promising, is fraught with transparency issues, potential fraud, and ever-present privacy concerns. Some in the industry see it as a Band-Aid on a bullet wound — helpful in the short term, but not the long-term solution we need.

ID Bridging is almost directly correlated to the impending demise of third-party cookies. While publishers and tech companies scramble to maintain addressability, there’s growing concern that with no universal standard, ID Bridging could create more problems than it solves. Shady practices, lack of transparency, and fragmented user data are just a few of the issues that put the buy side on edge.

Yet, this is where Intent IQ aims to stand out from the pack. Their technology is built with transparency and accuracy at its core. Beyond following the new IAB standards, the ad tech vendor sets a high bar for others to meet. By ensuring their identity graphs are refreshed every 48 hours and maintaining over 90% deterministic accuracy, they’re working to shut down skepticism and build trust on both the buy and sell sides.

The Buy-Side Perspective: Scaling the Heights with Alt IDs

While publishers are busy fine-tuning their strategies, the buy side faces another set of challenges. Shub gave us a peek into how agencies grapple with the scalability of alternative IDs. The promise is there, but the execution? Not quite hitting the mark — yet.

“Agencies report that alternative IDs didn’t generate the results they were hoping for,” Shub noted. “They’re saying the solution was promising but lacking scale. It’s not just about scale; it’s about having the expertise in identity — specifically.”

Intent IQ is working closely with agencies to overcome these hurdles, with successful campaigns already showing significant performance gains. “For example, we’ve delivered a successful campaign with Involved Media, leading to a 77% increase in leads for an education client,” Shub shared.

It’s a tough climb, but the right tools and partnerships are helping the buy side make headway.

Takeaways for Publishers: Test, Partner, and Evolve

The identity resolution space isn’t just evolving; it’s mutating at a breakneck pace. For publishers, the mantra is clear: test relentlessly, choose your partners wisely, and stay agile.

Lee’s advice? Don’t just look at the numbers—look at the whole stack, and make sure you’re not comparing apples to oranges. “Continue to test various solutions, and make sure when you measure, you’re looking at your entire stack, not just certain demand channels,” she emphasized.

And as Shub pointed out, identity solutions should work for everyone involved, creating a win-win situation for both publishers and advertisers. “Identity is sustainable as long as it works for both sides,” he concluded.

The post How Fandom Is Mastering the Art of Addressability and Privacy With an Assist From Intent IQ appeared first on AdMonsters.