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.

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.

This new era of journalism is sticky for publishers. They are currently faced with revenue loss, layoffs, and much more since tech giants are prioritizing clicks over quality content. They invest heavily in creating reliable information, yet the rise of AI-fueled search results threatens to divert traffic away from their sites, potentially cutting off vital revenue streams. 

To stay afloat, publishers continue to focus on diversifying their revenue streams. From launching e-commerce platforms to fostering vibrant online communities, they are rethinking their strategies to build stronger, more direct relationships with their audiences. This shift not only helps mitigate the risks posed by AI-driven search engines but also enhances brand safety and boosts audience lifetime value. By embracing these changes and prioritizing community engagement, publishers can create sustainable business models that support quality journalism.

We spoke with Max Weiss, OpenWeb’s Chief Strategy Officer, about his work at OpenWeb, how the new era of digital media is affecting publishers, and ways they can thrive in this new norm.  

Andrew Byrd: Can you walk me through the work you do at OpenWeb?

Max Weiss: OpenWeb is on a mission to build a healthier open internet. We do this the best way we know how: by building innovative technologies that turn content creators (publishers, brands) into the hosts of thriving, healthy communities. Our best-in-class moderation tech leverages AI to keep those communities healthy and engaging, bringing data and revenue to publishers. Today, we work with more than 5,000 top-tier publishers, hosting more than 150 million active users each month.

As the Chief Operations Officer, I collaborate with our CEO & founder, Nadav Shoval on our mission to help the media industry thrive on the open internet (simple, right?). On a day-to-day basis, I spend a lot of time meeting with leaders in the media industry and working with my teams (product, partner success and trust & safety most often) to help them solve their problems, from audience retention to addressability.

AB: How has the media industry evolved recently, and what are the main challenges publishers are facing today?

MW: Even for an industry marked by constant change, the past year has been eventful. We’ve seen a lot:

• Huge advances in AI changing everything from traffic sources to staffing needs.
• Dramatically falling search and social media referral traffic.
• Google’s flip flop on deprecating third-party cookies more times than I care to recount. 
• Slow-moving but advancing government regulations.
• New social channels for reaching and engaging audiences (which tends to further distract publishers and drain their resources).
• And more…

All together, this means many publishers face risks to their bottom line. There’s a widespread acknowledgement that they need to diversify revenue streams. That’s where we come in – we believe, as do an increasing number of publishers, that building a strong, loyal community is the best way to push back against the tide.

AB: Can you elaborate on the importance of diversifying revenue streams for publishers and how it can impact their sustainability?

MW: From ecommerce and events to entirely new and productized verticals (like for instance, WSJ’s Buy Side and recipes vertical), publishers are doing so much to diversify their revenue. These initiatives are most successful when they’re built on top of a thriving, loyal community — one that congregates around the publishers’ content, most commonly in the comments sections. That community of users and super users multiply the impact of everything else a publisher does to diversify revenue. After all, if a publisher launches a store, who do you think is buying the t-shirt or hat with the publishers’ logo on it?

To get there, publishers need to change their mindsets. They need to begin to think about their content at the beginning of a conversation and themselves as the host of that conversation, rather than simply posting content to social media or their website. We’ve seen it work countless times. A strong community increases time on site, pages per session and return traffic — and increases revenue.

AB: How is AI influencing search results, and what are the potential benefits and drawbacks for publishers?

MW: AI-powered search is just the latest example of how tech companies are taking publishers’ content, monetizing it, and then keeping that new revenue for themselves.

AI-powered search is an existential threat to publishers as it cuts them off from any form of revenue they would generate from web traffic. 

At worst, this is a zero-sum game: AI results keep traffic on search engines themselves, and away from publishers. But publishers are pivoting and building direct traffic streams to rely less on SEO and more on strategies that use 1:1 relationships with users to bring traffic directly to their own sites. By turning inward, publishers will be able to focus on what they do best – fostering and hosting communities around content –something an AI search summary can never do. 

AB: Can you explain the role of community engagement platforms like OpenWeb in helping publishers build a community of registered users?

MW: OpenWeb provides publishers a tailored and unique community engagement experience. The community is similar to a social media platform, all hosted directly on their properties. OpenWeb fosters engaged conversations around topics that matter, in turn, building loyalty with their readers.

A staggering 88% of online users won’t return to a site if they have a bad peer-to-peer experience. In short: negative interactions can cause readers to completely write off a site, even if they aren’t part of the conversation.

Healthy community drives more registrations by converting passive readers into engaged and registered users. Online, engaged communities can help publishers make more revenue from their readers, by making their site a destination and engaging with users. 

AB: How can publishers balance the need for premium inventory with ensuring brand safety and focusing on audience lifetime value?

MW: Thanks for this question. This is one of the things we at OpenWeb have spent years working on. Publishers can increase LTV and maintain high levels of engagement by hosting a community — starting with comments. That has been known for decades, at this point. But starting in the mid-2010’s, brand safety and suitability were called into question. 

As a result, publishers got out of the habit of interacting with their users on their own properties, and outsourced those community-building efforts to the social platforms. But, with advances in AI and Machine Learning, it is now not only possible but profitable for publishers to host healthy, engaged communities at scale. Quality conversations are one of the best ways to transform casual visitors into loyal users who drive more engagement, spend more time on-site, and are more likely to return over time — that’s LTV.

The post The Shift to Community-Driven Revenue in Digital Publishing a Q&A with Max Weiss, OpenWeb appeared first on AdMonsters.

Increasingly, traffic is moving towards environments outside the browser, making the need for other types of identifiers all the more imperative. So perhaps folks shouldn’t be so alarmed over Google’s announcement to not replace third-party tracking cookies with alternative identifiers. Instead, maybe it’s time to welcome the challenge and start getting more creative about how we all plan for the future of digital advertising.

Along those lines, four ad tech CEOs shared their takes on what the cookieless future will mean for advertising strategies and which tactics professionals can use to avoid disruption and increase ROI with more effective datasets.

Paul Roberts, Founder and CEO, Kubient: Right now, we’re at the mercy of Big Tech, and unfortunately, Google is choosing to flex its muscles after we’ve already started to understand how to thrive in the cookieless world. Kubient recently conducted a survey that uncovered 1 in 3 respondents stated a lack of cookies is their major concern. 

But they should fear not as this only creates more opportunities for creativity and to hone in on the potential of direct buys. Advertising professionals will need to audit their current tech stack and weed out unnecessary partnerships that will no longer provide immense value to continue to engage with potential customers, companies. I foresee more direct partnerships starting to form between SSPs, DSPs, and overall more supply path optimization strategies, so advertisers are working with approved first-party data and insights. 

Frank Maggio, CEO and Founder, React: Cookies evolved in a world where media platforms served ads to anonymous consumers, and this anonymity led to a depersonalization that made it okay to track consumers.  

It’s time to step back and rethink HOW we advertise and explore what we can do to incentivize consumers to share more about who they are, what they like, and how they feel. Let’s protect, respect, and reward consumer data and attention — that’s how relationships are built!

Alon Leibovoch, CEO and co-founder, BrandTotal: Roughly 90% of an advertiser’s budget is spent on programmatic advertising. With the end of the third-party cookie and Google’s plans of not creating an alternative, this will hinder programmatic advertising measurement and performance, making it harder to reach audiences, and result in a painful loss of transparency for advertisers. Now, it’s on advertisers to make the industry relevant again, put hyper-targeting in the past and leverage the data earned through direct customer consent.

Nadav Shoval, CEO and co-Founder, OpenWeb: As Google’s news indicates, publishers and content providers have to establish deeply autonomous and private relationships with their audiences, so they will be able to create valuable first-party datasets in a privacy compliance way. Now more than ever is there a need for platforms, such as OpenWeb, that provide the ability to create an identifiable audience through registration, while simultaneously building and retaining first-party data and maintaining the utmost privacy.

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