The ad tech industry is experiencing a transformative shift. Media entities are navigating a challenging landscape characterized by declining profits and the continuing phaseout of third-party cookies. In these times, self-serve platforms are emerging as a compelling solution, offering significant benefits to both the buy-side and sell-side markets.

However, despite many advantages,  there are still a limited number of self-serve platforms available today and even fewer that provide complete independence from vendor support teams.

Navigating Profit Loss and Cookie Phaseout: A Publisher’s Path Forward

One primary reason publishers seek to regain control within their ad tech stack is the need to address declining profits. The traditional programmatic advertising model, which relies heavily on third-party cookies, is becoming unsustainable. Brand publishers are increasingly returning to direct campaigns, which often necessitates expanding their sales teams — overhead smaller publishers can’t afford.

Signal loss also pushes publishers to explore alternative revenue streams and monetization models. In this landscape, working with multiple intermediaries and not having a clear view of how the publisher’s data is collected and processed becomes especially unsustainable.

Taking Back Control: How Self-Serve Platforms Empower Publishers

Self-serve platforms offer a viable solution by not only enabling publishers to leverage their first-party data more effectively but also tools and capabilities to manage advertising campaigns in a privacy-compliant manner.

Operational efficiency is another critical factor in the success of any advertising campaign. Self-serve platforms streamline the ad buying and selling process, reducing the time and resources required to manage campaigns. Publishers can quickly set up, monitor, and adjust their Prebid configuration in real-time, leading to more effective and timely optimizations.

Fully automated publisher systems handle everything from inventory management to bid optimization to A/B testing, freeing up valuable time and resources.

Breaking Barriers: Self-Serve Solutions for Smaller Publishers

The ad tech industry is characterized by high entry barriers, particularly for smaller media entities. Top SSPs often have stringent minimum requirements not just in terms of traffic volume and geolocation, but also brand safety commitment and privacy integration, forcing smaller and regional publishers to work through agencies.

That’s what makes self-serve platforms so appealing. Publishers can often get around the minimum requirements and obtain direct SSPs while simultaneously working with resellers’ accounts. This allows them to manage both until they secure their own direct accounts.

Smaller media entities can leverage self-serve platforms to manage their ad campaigns independently and plug in their direct SSP accounts without the need for agency intermediaries, something that previously was only accessible to media with their own in-house Prebid.

The pay-as-you-go model, which many self-serve platforms operate on, benefits Tier 2 and Tier 3 publishers by offering a flexible, cost-effective solution that aligns with their often unpredictable traffic levels. A monthly fee often comes with access to a suite of advanced features and tools that might otherwise be out of reach for smaller publishers. However, a scalable, usage-based pricing model ensures that even publishers from less economically robust regions can leverage enterprise-grade technology without being burdened by unsustainable fees.

Why Ad Tech Vendors Are Embracing the Self-Serve Revolution

The trend that has become evident in the last couple of years is that initiatives like The Trade Desk’s OpenPath challenge SSPs’ traditional value propositions by altering the dynamics between the buy-side and sell-side.

The shift is clear: as supply path optimization wars intensify, SSPs are trying to differentiate and are moving towards a SaaS model, positioned as a necessary change to foster more meaningful, strategic, and economically viable partnerships.

Very simply, with ad tech entering the era of disintermediation, ad tech vendors are following suit.

Earlier this year, Setupad launched a fully automated self-serve platform for Prebid. Yieldbird introduced an all-in-one extension for GAM (essentially a self-serve interface). Hashtag Labs, PubWise, and Assertive Yield, to name a few, are all platforms offering exclusively Prebid-as-a-Service products. Not to mention the industry powerhouses Pubmatic’s OpenWrap and Magnite’s Demand Manager and other SSPs with their non-public self-serve offerings.

The Buy-Side Boom: Why Advertisers Are Going Self-Serve

It’s not much different. There’s a lot of demand from programmatic advertisers for self-service buying right now. Advertisers benefit from easy targeting, access to first-party data, and control over their campaigns. And it’s not a secret that advertisers often find their ads missing the target audience (especially SMEs), particularly with a loss of signal.

DSPs like AdLib and AdRoll rebranded themselves into “self-serve DSPs.” Infillion acquired MediaMath, officially admitting the reason for the purchase was to add self-service capabilities to its core business.

The buy-side self-serve industry is dominated by giants like The Trade Desk and DV360, but, just as on the sell side, the customization depth of these platforms varies. Moving towards the self-serve route isn’t just smart due to a growing interest in self-serve advertising, but also because of the wider trend that seeks to exclude DSPs from the supply chain.

Last year, both Magnite and Pubmatic cut out DSPs by launching ClearLine and Activate, respectively, products designed to give advertisers direct access to CTV and online video inventory.

Differentiating your offering comes with a lot of first-mover advantages. For example, accumulating vast amounts of data sooner than competitors is perhaps one of the most valuable for DSPs.

What’s Holding Back Ad Tech’s Self-Serve Evolution?

Although the trend is obvious, the majority of ad tech players still haven’t advanced their offerings or haven’t made it public.

Why? Building a robust platform requires significant upfront investment in technology and infrastructure. Transitioning existing customers to a self-serve model can be challenging, as it requires changing established workflows. Vendors are also afraid to sacrifice the existing revenue shares that bring great profits.

The readiness of the market to adopt a self-service model can significantly impact its success. And big publishers, to no one’s surprise, are very slow to change their ways.

However, with ad tech being as fragmented as it is now, it leaves few options but to advance and differentiate.

The complexity of the UI of the two behemoths in the self-serve space offered by Pubmatic and Magnite opens a lot of room for smaller ad tech vendors to differentiate and offer a compelling solution with flexible pricing. However, one area where you can’t compromise is technological capabilities.

The post How Self-Serve Platforms Are Revolutionizing Ad Tech and Empowering Publishers appeared first on AdMonsters.

Technology is evolving faster than we can blink and it’s becoming clear that it’s time creativity and control were reclaimed. As monopolies and walled gardens dominate and limit access, the balance between innovation and content creation is more crucial than ever. In a rapidly changing ecosystem,  publishers are exploring strategies to navigate an open internet increasingly challenged by distribution obstacles and signal loss.

Once a beacon of free and open access, the open web faces an identity crisis. Media companies that once thrived on direct consumer connection are struggling with the rise of walled gardens. Marketers, for their part, acknowledge their role in building these silos as they increasingly funnel media budgets into tech giants. Reclaiming control of data, creative strategies, and audience engagement is critical to preserving the future for both sides.

Publishers should not look at these shifts as threats but as opportunities to develop new strategies that align with consumer behavior and market demands. 

From the rise of social-driven search and FAST channels to Google’s ongoing antitrust trial, ProgIO spoke to many of the challenges facing publishers today. As the industry continues to push for transparency, fairness, and a more open ecosystem, the path forward depends on innovating while maintaining trust with consumers and each other. 

Here are our top takeaways from Day 1.

Breaking Free: How Marketers Can Reclaim Creativity in a Tech-Driven World

Eoin Townsend, Chief Product Officer at Cadent, talking about convergence at programmatic IO. Photo by Donna Alberico.

Eoin Townsend, Chief Product Officer at Cadent, walked us through industry shifts driven by audience, inventory, optimality, and privacy. He says, “The technology we have today is not the technology we’ll have tomorrow.”

Let him tell it: marketers need more control to move away from monopolies and hone in on new technologies to transform their roles in the industry. Eoin emphasized that marketers spend too much time on tech rather than creative marketing. We are evolving from scale, automation, and walled gardens to a new phase focused on integration, alignment, and collaboration. 

More highlights from his talk:

• Let AI automate the hard stuff.
• Take advantage of multi-faceted solutions that integrate third-party data and work across walled gardens.
• Adopt new technology and legal frameworks to ensure compliance and consumer trust.

Eoin’s main argument is: “Let marketers be marketers” free them from technological constraints!

The Future of the Open Internet Is?

Allison Schiff, Managing Editor at AdExchanger, Ben Hovaness, CMO at OMD, Cavel Khan, Chief Growth Officer at Group Black, and Ari Paparo, CEO & Contributor of Marketecture Media discuss the future of the open internet. Photo by Donna Alberico.

What is the open web? The term has gotten lost in the mix, and AdExchanger’s Allison Schiff ensured the panelists revealed the definition from their perspectives early in the session. According to Ari Paparo, CEO & Contributor at Marketecture Media, if you can access a website for free and buy ads freely, it is part of the open web. 

Media companies are losing distribution channels and struggle to connect directly with consumers. What are the biggest challenges of the open web? Walled gardens and signal challenges. Can marketers blame consumers for this mess? Not exactly. Marketers helped create the walled gardens by continuing to invest in and work with them.

“The open internet lost the resources to create the content and do a lot of things that it did to keep the communities it had built,” revealed Cavel Khan, Chief Growth Officer at Group Black. “That’s why we are all seeing the decline over the last three years. Big publishers are going out of business or restructuring.”

More key points from this session:

• The cloudiness around Chrome’s plan for cookies makes it difficult for publishers to determine the best strategy to combat signal loss. 
• Publishers have great tools like WordPress, Beehiiv, and Ghost, along with podcasting, as new solutions for reaching people and monetizing those connections. 
• When asked what the future of the open internet was, the panelists responded bright, sleek, diverse, and changing. 

TikTok, The Latest to Step In the Search Game

AdExchanger’s Executive Editor Sarah Sluis sits down with Blake Chandlee, President of Global Business Solutions at TikTok, to talk about the platform entering the search business. Photo by Donna Alberico.

TikTok is the app beating Google as the number one search engine. With data showing significant search activity on the app, we’re learning that rich, social media-driven search results are key for connecting with consumers and influencing their discovery and purchase intent. It’s no surprise the company is investing in bringing advertising to search. 

“There are two key data points that triggered this for us. One is that independent research proves that 55% of people get their search results from social media and video,” said Blake Chandlee, President of Global Business Solutions at TikTok. “It was just a very good box of rich examples. An example might be if you’re planning to travel to Singapore when you visit a traditional search engine, you’d find links to guide you through that process. On the other hand, you go on to TikTok or some other platforms where you’ll get really rich videos of people like you going through the same decision-making with their experience. It’s a very different experience in the back end of this.”

Ads have been part of TikTok’s monetization model for a while now, but the TikTok shop shook up the game when it came to fruition last year. Live-streaming allows creators to earn money by getting “tipped” from their audience, while the TikTok shop facilitates seamless transitions within the app. TikTok’s investment in logistics and the closed-loop shopping experience allows it to fully capitalize on the commerce generated by creators.

More interesting insights:

• The social media company’s motto: “Don’t make ads, make TikTok’s” works.
• TikTok caters to its users’ diverse interests, allowing brands to connect with highly engaged audiences.
• Ensuring that ads are native is key; don’t oversaturate because ad fatigue can be real.
• TikTok stands out because it is independent and doesn’t rely on partnerships or external links for e-commerce.

Why The Trade Desk is Winning According to Wall Street

Shweta Khajuria, Managing Director of Wolfe Research shared her predictions for the industry from an investor’s perspective. Photo by Donna Alberico.

With the ongoing regulatory scrutiny of Google and the pending cookie deprecation, scale and first-party data are both emerging as leaders in the industry.

Shweta Khajuria, Managing Director at Wolfe Research, dove deeply into The Trade Desk’s success. Partnering with agencies leads to higher retention rates. Product innovations like CTV and UID2 have kept The Trade Desk at the top of the industry. Also, their independence and omnichannel approach allow them to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest. 

“Trade Desk saw the potential of bidded programmatic and connected TV before most others in the industry,” said Shweta. “As a result, with the head start that they saw, they saw a step change in their growth rates and trajectory.”

Shweta also predicts that Google will spin off one of its ad tech businesses, which could level the playing field. 

Shweta’s other predictions:

• The Trade Desk’s Open Path and Magnite’s clear line anticipate the convergence of the demand and supply sides.
• Efficiency gains will be necessary, and pricing pressures might arise as DSPs and SSPs merge.
• Larger publishers may develop their yield management systems, leading to supply-side consolidation.
• The demand side might gain an upper hand due to its proximity to ad budgets.

Google on Trial: The Battle for Fairness, Transparency, and the Future

Allison Schiff talked to Claire Atkin, Co-founder & CEO of Check My Ads and Jason Kint CEO of Digital Content Next about the ongoing DOJ vs. Google antitrust trial. Photo by Donna Alberico.

Google’s monopolistic practices have heavily hindered the publishing industry, and we are all standing on our toes, waiting to see the outcome of this decision. Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next, explained how Google is extracting value that should go to newsrooms and entertainment companies. 

Jason talked about “dynamic revenue sharing,’ where Google manipulates bid prices to maintain its margins, often behind publishers’ backs. With a press box seat at the trial in Virginia, he says Google’s defense strategy is to confuse the market and redefine it to include more competition, like TikTok or TV. Isn’t this what we’ve all been thinking? Isn’t this a weak defense?

It was great seeing Claire Atkin again doing her best: exposing the real. According to Claire, Google plays a huge role in monetizing misinformation and lacking transparency. Smaller businesses suffer since they don’t receive funds or adequate support from Google when campaign issues arise. Claire argues for log-level data transparency and know-your-customer laws to ensure fair practices. 

Other important highlights:

• Judge Leonie Brinkema is skeptical of Google due to evidence purging, which impacts the credibility of Google’s witnesses. 
• The trial is part of a broader antitrust movement against major tech companies, and breaking them up could lead to more opportunities and fairness in the industry. 
• Both speakers hope to see a future where advertisers can better track and verify their ad placements, leading to more accountability and fewer fraudulent practices.

FAST is Moving Fast

Katie Barrett, Head of Strategic Sales at LG Ad Solutions talks the future of FAST at AdExchanger’s Programmatic IO Day 1. Photo by Donna Alberico.

Several factors are contributing to the rise of FAST, such as subscription fatigue and evolving audience behavior. On a daily basis, consumers are shifting their mindset from avoiding ads to accepting them if they come with free content. 

“We see that 53% of our consumers are spending at least 2 hours a day in FAST, and the average time of the session is 73 minutes,” said Katie Barrett, Head of Strategic Sales at LG Ad Solutions. “Eighty-seven percent of FAST users have free streaming channels they watch regularly. This shows high levels of habitual viewing. Eighty-one percent believe that FAST streaming channels offer high-quality content. This is important because this perception of fast being low quality is being challenged here.”

Contrary to popular belief that FAST viewers are less engaged or loyal, Katie argues they are developing strong followings due to curated content. The stereotype that FAST viewers are solely budget-conscious is false, as the data shows a diverse and affluent audience.

Other Factors of FAST:

• The median income of FAST users is $85,000, with an average of $110,000, and 43% earning over $100,000 annually. 
• FAST is popular among family units, with a high percentage of users owning homes, being married, and having children, underlining its family-friendly nature.
• FAST is a valuable platform for brands aiming to reach key demographics.

On the Horizon: A New Era for Publishers and Marketers

Publishers and marketers are standing on the brink of significant change. With walled gardens tightening their grip and signal loss challenging traditional methods, publishers are redefining their approach to audience engagement, while marketers are pushing for more autonomy in how they reach and connect with consumers. 

From publishers exploring innovative content distribution methods to marketers reclaiming creative control, the next chapter is about pushing beyond the familiar and embracing new opportunities. 

The journey doesn’t stop here. Day 2 included more revelations and strategies, so stay tuned for our Programmatic IO Day 2 wrap-up on Monday. We’ll dig deeper into the discussions, highlighting key takeaways and what lies ahead for publishers and marketers in this fast-moving space. 

The post PROGIO Day 1: The Next Chapter for the Open Internet, Google vs. DOJ Face-Off, and More 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.

The Trade Desk’s recent release of its Top 100 List has sent ripples through the digital advertising ecosystem, sparking more drama than the latest season of your favorite reality show. 

Known for its influential role in the ad tech ecosystem, The Trade Desk’s move to create this list has sparked a range of reactions from industry experts, publishers, and advertisers alike. I sat down with Albert Thompson, Managing Director of Digital at Walton Isaacson, to get the lowdown on what this really means for publishers and advertisers.

Unveiling the List

Thompson, a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing, provided an in-depth analysis of what The Trade Desk’s Top 100 List means for the industry and whether it reshapes the narrative of what constitutes “premium” in the digital advertising space.

“The idea of a premium internet, according to who? Premium according to what?” he questioned, pointing out that this feels like a throwback to the ComScore ratings. Remember when anything under a million visits was considered chopped liver? Yeah, we’re not trying to go back there.

The Debate Over “Premium”

Thompson didn’t mince words, emphasizing that the concept of premium status is subjective and often exclusionary. The list is as subjective as picking the best pizza in NYC. “It lacks culture, which is intrinsic to what people desire the most,” he said. While intended to highlight quality, it misses considerable cultural and contextual factors that define digital consumption today. The Top 100 might have the heavy hitters, but it’s missing the soulful, indie corners of the internet where niche communities thrive.

Attention vs. Viewability 

In the age of TikTok and viral cat videos, capturing attention is the real MVP. Thompson emphasized that we’re in an “attention era,” not just about how long an ad is seen but how deeply it engages. The Top 100 List might focus on viewability, but where’s the love for those who master the art of holding our ever-fleeting attention spans?

Thompson underscored a crucial shift: from valuing ‘viewability’ to ‘attention.’ In an era where capturing consumer attention is paramount, a list based solely on viewability metrics might not accurately reflect the real engagement levels and consumer decision paths. This shift raises questions about the relevance and utility of the Top 100 List for marketers who must navigate an increasingly fragmented digital landscape. 

Exclusions and Their Implications

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – the glaring omissions. Critics argue that by not including diverse and culturally rich platforms, The Trade Desk might be inadvertently sidelining important voices. “Where are the Web3 platforms, AI-powered sites, luxury brands, women-centric brands, BIPOC communities?” Thompson asked. This exclusion could divert precious ad dollars away from these crucial players, leaving them out in the cold.

The Concept of Gated Communities

Thompson made a poignant point about the creation of digital gated communities. “Are we looking at an agenda where those with the most resources define what’s best for everyone else?” It’s a digital class divide, and those not on the list might feel like they’re on the wrong side of the tracks.

Global Implications 

The discussion expanded to the global stage, where Thompson questioned the relevance of an American-centric ‘premium’ concept for international audiences. “What do we say to the global internet? Is this the version of premium for people in Nigeria, the UK, or Africa? Because contextually, there’s a lot missing from this conversation.” He pointed out that the list lacks context for non-U.S. markets, potentially alienating global players.

The Role of Code on Page Intelligence 

Another key focus of the conversation was the significant shift in how digital activity is monitored and analyzed. Forget cookies; it’s all about code-on-page intelligence now. Thompson explained this as the new gold standard for measuring user engagement. It’s like knowing what people actually do with their food instead of just knowing they’ve got it on their plate. This approach could redefine what makes digital real estate valuable.

Code-on-page intelligence is a more accurate measure of user engagement and content relevance than traditional session data and cookies. This approach offers deeper insights into consumer behavior, potentially redefining what constitutes valuable digital real estate.

What Should Publishers Do? 

Thompson’s advice to publishers? Double down on your unique value and communicate that to brands. “Assert your will and relevance,” he urged. Focus on verticalization – organize content and advertising strategies by specific market segments (e.g., automotive, beauty, finance). Cater specifically to niche markets and make your unique content indispensable to brands. his method could help publishers carve out a niche and remain competitive, even if they don’t make it onto lists like The Trade Desk’s Top 100. 

Adapt and Innovate

Thompson reassured that while lists like The Trade Desk’s Top 100 have their place, they should not be the sole determinant of a digital platform’s value. “Highlighting top players is fine, but to suggest they are the only ones that matter is ludicrous,” he concluded. 

The conversation underscores the need for a more inclusive and contextually rich understanding of ‘premium’. In a digital world as diverse and dynamic as ours, success will come to those who adapt, innovate, and stay true to their unique value propositions.

The post Albert Thompson, Digital Innovator Reacts: The Trade Desk’s Controversial Top 100 List appeared first on AdMonsters.

The 2024 Top Women in Media & Ad Tech will award 130 honorees, including: Sherry Weiss, Dow Jones; JiYoung Kim; GroupM; Kimberly Gilberti, Experian; Mandy Hunsicker Adams, The Home Depot; Crystal Johnson, Sonobi, Stephanie Layser, Amazon Web Services, and many more.

View the full list of 2024 Top Women in Media & Ad Tech Honorees.

The Top Women in Media & Ad Tech Awards feature two special recognition awards as the top honors of the 2024 program. These are the Industry Impact Award and the Catalyst Award.

Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan will receive the Industry Impact Award, presented to an individual who has truly set the standards for creativity, innovation, and leadership throughout her career. As a pioneering female entrepreneur in ad tech, Kamakshi founded two companies and steered them to successful exits. She is the co-founder and former CEO of Samooha, a data collaboration company that was acquired by Snowflake in 2023. LinkedIn acquired her previous company Drawbridge in 2019. She spearheaded the integration process and led the identity charter for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions until 2021. Kamakshi’s impact reaches far beyond her own businesses. Since 2018, she has served on the Board of Directors at iHeartMedia, and previously held a position on LiveRamp’s board until 2020. She currently serves as a Senior Director of Product Management at Snowflake, leading the product vision and strategy for Snowflake Data Clean Rooms.

Samantha Jacobson, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of The Trade Desk, is the recipient of the 2024 Catalyst Award, honoring a woman who has driven tremendous growth for her business and team over the past year. Samantha earned a seat on The Trade Desk’s Board of Directors in 2024. She’s led many of the company’s most strategic initiatives, including Unified ID 2.0, a new identity fabric that paves the way forward for the advertising industry, and Kokai, an AI-driven media-buying platform.

“The Top Women in Media and Ad Tech Awards spotlights the immense impact of women in the media and ad tech space. The women honored in 2024 are leaders, mentors and change agents in the industry, making a lasting mark on their teams, companies and the industry as a whole,” said Lynne d Johnson, Content Director of AdMonsters and the annual awards show host alongside Sarah Sluis, Executive Editor of AdExchanger. “In spotlighting their achievements, we shape how women in ad tech are seen widely.”

The Top Women in Media & Ad Tech Awards Gala will be co-located with the AdMonsters Ops Conference on Monday, June 3 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. The gala will take place in the evening, immediately following day one of the conference. To purchase tickets to the awards gala, click here. Individual tickets and tables of 10 are available for purchase. Table purchases come with priority seating and ensure attendees are seated together.

Tickets to AdMonsters Ops are available for purchase separately.

The post 2024 Top Women in Media & Ad Tech Honorees and Special Recognition Awards Announced appeared first on AdMonsters.

Minus all the fancy tiers, their initial subscription model, and the exclusively intriguing content attracted subscribers and made them the category leader and most popular SVOD platform that they are today.

These days, they are just doing too much, and it shows after a recent Q1 earnings call, their CEO Reed Hastings acknowledged a need for something to change.

“Think of us as quite open to offering even lower prices with advertising,” Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings said Tuesday after announcing earnings.

Netflix Sees New Lows

It’s quite clear to the majority of the world that Netflix has been making a ton of changes, and in January, they raised the price of the standard tier plan by $1.50, making it now $15.49. For their premium plan, which includes “Ultra HD,” subscribers are paying a whopping $19.99 a month, phew!

With this being said, it comes as no surprise that Netflix announced on Tuesday an alarming net global subscriber loss of 200,000 in the first quarter of 2022. Simply put, it’s getting too pricy, and their competitors, other major legacy-owned premium streaming services, are way cheaper.

This news also led to Netflix’s stock market value decreasing, now at ~$212.75, and the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform predicts it will lose two million subscribers in Q2 yikes.

This is the first time Netflix has lost subscribers in over ten years, and they’re wearing their hearts on their sleeve regarding how they feel about it.

These all-time lows have Netflix execs contradicting themselves as they are now exploring other avenues of advertising.

Hastings said: “Those who have followed Netflix know that I’ve been against the complexity of advertising and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription.”

“But as much as I’m a fan of that, I’m a bigger fan of consumer choice. And allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price and are advertising-tolerant to get what they want makes a lot of sense. So that’s something we’re looking at now.”

Who Even Has Their Own Netflix Subscription These Days?

At this point, the streaming service recognizes how password sharing may have contributed to this loss, as it disrupts the platform’s ability to monetize the service entirely. Netflix claims that password sharing took place in around 100 million additional non-paying households, including 30 million in the U.S. and Canada.

Netflix will do anything to get their numbers back up, and they’re looking to crack down on password sharing. According to analysts, this pressing issue has led Netflix to consider charging users who share passwords with people outside their homes an additional $2 to $3 a month. (They’re already testing password-sharing crackdowns in Latin America.)

Now this sucks for consumers.

How Will Netflix Make This Happen?

Since Netflix has excluded itself from this aspect of the media industry for so long, the only way it will be able to bring its new ad-based subscription tier into fruition is by partnering with ad tech firms. We bet that they’ll also launch a self-service option, or build out their own ad tech, as other streamers have.

According to Netflix execs, they plan to start selling ads in the next year or two, and ad agencies and CTV tech companies are yearning for a piece of the pie. “Netflix has some of the most coveted Connected TV inventory in the world right now,” said Adam Epstein, co-president of Perpetua, an ad tech software firm.

The Trade Desk has developed a reputation for partnering with media companies and publishers on ad tech and seems to be an optimal fit for Netflix to partner with on their ad infrastructure. TTD most recently linked up with Disney+  to provide the media conglomerate with programmatic activations, as well as the ability for buyers to execute digital upfront commitments across all of  Disney’s inventory — including HULU‚ via one deal ID.

“Netflix has been really good at licensing and producing content that resonates specifically in different geographies,” said Andre Swanston, senior VP of the media and entertainment vertical at TransUnion, the consumer data technology platform. “They should use that same mindset to customize these ad models.”

What Does This Mean for Other SVOD Platforms?

The ad-supported video-on-demand market has evolved and is now “too big to ignore.” Some consumers have shown that they are open to settling for a cheaper option with ads, like on Hulu, so Netflix thinks it could work for us if it works for them. But will this ultimately take away from Netflix’s credibility and reputation? They took pride in being ad-free for so long.

Some of Netflix competitors also suffered losses after news  broke about the streaming giant’s potential plans to break their ad-free promises. After-market trading of Roku was down 6.5% to $109.18, while Paramount Global sank 5.2% to $34.38, Walt Disney dropped 5.2% to 125.07, Warner Bros. Discovery went down 3% to $23.75.

If Netflix was the first SVOD to see these kinds of extreme losses, one might predict that other SVODs can expect to see similar results in the near future.

Other Variables Affecting Netflix Subscription Decreases

Many believe other variables contribute to the massive Netflix subscription decline. For one, ad tech twitter has found that TikTok has hypnotized the consumer, so we are sure that takes away from SVODs.

The most interesting theory I’ve seen on the Netflix subscriber decline is the rise of TikTok. All of our free time to consume entertainment is now taken. And it’s zero sum going forward.

So time spent scrolling TikTok is time you aren’t watching Netflix. https://t.co/02ec6Sacws

— Dare Obasanjo (@Carnage4Life) April 21, 2022

And then, of course, there is the new content or lack thereof. The Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards days are over, and many consumers feel that this new Netflix content just ain’t it.

Netflix: we can’t figure out why we’re hemorrhaging hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

Also Netflix: pic.twitter.com/sDGqiXL75l

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 21, 2022

The post Netflix Considers Ad-Based Subscription, Could Shake up SVOD Business appeared first on AdMonsters.

Fox Entertainment owned, ad-supported video-on-demand service, Tubi now joins a growing list of publishers supporting Unified ID 2.0 as “the first CTV publisher to implement Unified ID 2.0 to solve for the future of identity.”

Tim Sims, Chief Revenue Officer of The Trade Desk, the company that developed the technology, said, “Unified ID 2.0 is a collaboration among everyone within the advertising ecosystem to pioneer an interoperable, soon-to-be open-source ID solution that helps advertisers connect with audiences while keeping consumer control and privacy in mind.”

For the Trade Desk, Google’s latest announcement to delay its cookie plans has been bittersweet. TTD’s stock rose 16% upon the news and the ad tech company now has more runway to perfect its cookieless solution. But since Google still holds massive weight in driving the direction that the industry will travel, this could ultimately signal bad times for TTD.

The really good news here is that Tubi will start sending identities into the bidstream, making user data under UID 2.0 a lot more useful. But will brands find more scale across their targeted audiences? That is, at least for all parties involved, the ultimate goal.

Tubi is already working with LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution to create addressable audiences that are more appealing to advertisers, while also providing their own audience with more relevant advertising. “Addressability has always been important functionality,” says Tubi’s Chief Revenue Officer, Mark Rotblat.

But the question still remains, will digital publishers follow suit — or will they continue to just wait and see?

The post Tubi Becomes First CTV Pub to Implement UID 2.0 appeared first on AdMonsters.