Data + Privacy

The two dominant emotions surrounding AI in marketing today are hype and anxiety. But we’re entering a new era – one built not only on automation but also on orchestration and intelligence.  Agentic AI doesn’t just streamline; it connects and accelerates. And that’s exactly what marketing has been missing. Still fighting for a seat at […]

Conventional wisdom often suggests performance agencies should stick to what they know best: client service and execution, using existing marketing tools. It’s a compelling argument that promises simplicity, focus and lower CapEx.  But this thinking ignores a fundamental reality facing today’s agencies: The market isn’t just oversaturated with options; it’s increasingly commoditized.  Every agency has […]

The Trade Desk recently classified SSPs as resellers and doubled down on a strategy that has been in place for years: establishing direct connections to supply sources. The stated goal is to deduplicate bid requests in pursuit of perfect supply-path optimization, all under TTD’s roof. This strategy shines a spotlight on SSPs, which are now […]

Advertising using AI-doctored images could spark legal issues if the images are misleading. Plus: the commerce reckoning.

For a long time, marketers have gotten away with flying blind. Campaigns have been run on a patchwork of incomplete inputs across various platforms, missing key fields and rarely aligned goals. Brands didn’t question performance. As long as the top line and bottom line were fine, who cares how clean the data was? The consequence? […]

From a $637 million PE acquisition of healthcare of a DSP to acquisitions of freshly minted startups, there’s been a flurry of ad tech deals this month. And they have one thing in common: AI.

U.S. consumers are warming up to generative AI and are increasingly leaning on AI-powered tools to enhance the online shopping experience. Despite the uptick in adoption, however, 85% of shoppers still have concerns about privacy, AI hallucinations and overuse of AI.

Google is running a search monopoly, but the remedies are light. How will this decision affect advertisers and competitors? Plus, Google Ad Manager is acting like a standalone SSP, a move that appears connected to the looming remedies phase of Google’s second antitrust case.

In the 31 years since the first banner ad appeared, ad tech has become essential to global commerce, directly employing 1.54 million people and generating $974 billion in revenue in the United States. This contributes to an overall digital economy valued at nearly $5 trillion, representing 18% of the nation’s GDP. Yet, despite ad tech’s […]

Pause ads are going programmatic, as connected TV ad buying becomes more automated. Plus: how publishers are proposing to be compensated by AI companies – and the odds that they’ll receive what they are asking for.