Seni Thomas

Are third-party cookies off the table or not? The ongoing debate continues, but one thing is certain: transparency is crucial for players across the 2024 ad tech ecosystem. Publishers vs. advertisers, sell-side vs. buy-side, everyone is pleading for more visibility into the programmatic process to protect themselves and make more money. The IAB Tech Lab's updated bid request standards aim to make the process of declaring an identifier more transparent. Check out ADWEEK's article below and share your thoughts on the IAB's latest efforts to increase transparency. #ThirdPartyCookies #IABTechLab #Identifiers #IDBridging

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New Open Market episode featuring Jay Friedman, CEO of Goodway Group. This one’s packed with insights for anyone in ad tech, agencies, or media. Key Highlights: -Why Jay believes marketing belongs at the top of the boardroom agenda. -Goodway Group's incredible 95-year history and evolution. -How Jay’s perspective on remote work has shifted. -The critical role of incrementality in proving marketing’s value. -Smart advice for ad tech CEOs on how to effectively sell to agencies. As always, expertly guided by Joe Zappa. Check it out—link in comments.

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Last night’s Golden Globes didn’t just celebrate the best in film—it marked a critical juncture for award season marketing strategies. With Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist taking home top honors, the race for the Oscars is officially on, and the stakes for publicists, marketers, and social teams have never been higher. The next few weeks are a whirlwind: 🗳️ SAG Award nominations and Academy voter ballots go out this Wednesday, January 8. 🏆 Critics Choice Awards voting is still open, and results will be announced this Sunday, January 12. 🎥 Oscar nominations are revealed January 17. This condensed timeline puts immense pressure on award season campaigns and social teams to deliver narratives that resonate across audiences. It’s not just about getting the attention of voters—it’s about creating cultural moments that align with community and values, ensuring these films stay top of mind. Take Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist as case studies. Both films broke the mold: • Emilia Pérez leaned into bold, inclusive storytelling, capturing the hearts of a global audience. • The Brutalist positioned itself as a cinematic event, using its 3.5-hour runtime and VistaVision format to create a sense of prestige. Award season is where entertainment brands can shine by embracing some of the very principles Battenhall highlighted in our Year Ahead in Social Media Trends forecast: • Community and Culture: Campaigns need to foster real connections, making fans feel part of the journey. Wicked is a standout here—its stars have dominated traditional and digital media, from podcasts to viral social video trends like the “What Is This Feeling” dance. • Authenticity and Accessibility: Demi Moore’s heartfelt speech and Zoe Saldaña’s effusive gratitude exemplify how authenticity builds lasting emotional impact. For Wicked, the challenge now lies in turning its immersive, fan-driven buzz into tangible awards momentum. After falling short at the Globes, building critical wins leading up to the Oscars will be pivotal—not just for voter perception, but for maintaining the cultural relevance it has built so effectively. As we’ve seen with past campaigns, the most effective strategies unite traditional PR, social buzz, and fan-driven content under a cohesive story. At Battenhall we thrive at the intersection of strategy and culture, helping brands not only win the race but also build lasting relevance. 💬 How do you see award season campaigns evolving to meet the challenges of today’s fast-paced social media landscape? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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What role does contextual AI play in shaping the future of advertising? As end-users and technology companies increasingly prioritize privacy, contextual AI is poised to emerge as the primary tool for advertisers as it focuses on aligning the right messaging with the right context, making it essential for brands' future success. Kartal Goksel, CTO at Seedtag, believes that context reigns supreme when it comes to effective advertising. While the industry has typically depended on keywords and phrases to gauge context, he argues that a more nuanced, human understanding of context is crucial as this approach considers the broader meaning of words within the context of an article. Watch now: https://lnkd.in/e3aBPiYQ #ContextualAI #ConsumerPrivacy #ContextualAdvertising

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Why should political buyers warm up to CTV this season? Magnite's Head of Political Demand Erik Brydges spoke to AdExchanger about how political buyers are effectively using programmatic and ACR data.

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Netflix is the latest titan to recognize the value of programmatic advertising with the announcement of its strategy to distribute unsold OTT/CTV ad space across several different providers. The Trade Desk, Google DV360, Magnite are cited as the next batch of providers. Up until now, CTV media buyers had to go through Microsoft Xandr DSP or book with Netflix publisher-direct. It reminds me of the moment when Lamar Advertising Company took the same bold step to ensure their unsold space was programmatically available in top notch, third party SSP platforms like Place Exchange and others. It’s a rite of passage. Expanding the surface area of buy-side and sell-side platforms unlocks massive revenue dollars, when done right. Some of the smartest people in the world of business work at Netflix. This is proof of that. Many hands make light work! This layers on a new dimension for marketers when they say that they can now “Netflix and Chilll”. 📺😎👏🏼 #programmaticadvertising #ctv #innovation #followthemoney https://lnkd.in/gJU9ytZi

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📹 Amazon is Shaking Up the Streaming Advertising Market! 📺 In January, Amazon made a bold move by making all Prime Video subscriptions ad-supported by default. Just six months in, the impact is clear and brands need to pay close attention to how this will further change the advertising landscape: 🔸 Subscription Changes: Prime Video now defaults to ad-supported at $14.99/month for Prime members and $8.99/month for non-Prime members. Want ad-free? It’s an extra $3/month. 🔸 Market Impact: Amazon joins Netflix and Disney in offering ad-supported tiers, leading to an oversupply in the ad marketplace and therefore companies like Disney are now working harder to attract advertisers. 🔸 Ad Market Dynamics: Prime Video could add over 50 billion impressions to the connected TV (CTV) market this year. Amazon's aggressive pricing strategy is pushing down ad costs, with CPM rates between $30 and $35 which is causing competitors, like Netflix, to lower their CPM rates to stay competitive. 🔸 Competitive Edge: Amazon’s extensive audience reach and customer data from Prime gives it a significant advantage! They can integrate their search advertising with Prime Video, enhancing content monetization and lowering ad prices. 🔸 Market Trends: More consumers are opting for cheaper ad-supported streaming plans. MoffettNathanson predicts a 33% growth in advertising video on demand this year. 🔸 Industry Adaptation: Amazon's approach is pushing the industry to focuse more on market share over high ad prices. SO... What are some things you should be thinking about for YOUR brand? 🔹 Commitment to a proper investment and appropriate flight length 🔹 Plan for ample amounts of video development and to A/B test 🔹 Leverage your data to create tailored targeting 🔹 Take advantage of competitive pricing NOW - test early & often 🔹 Look for the halo effect and take advantage of retargeting 🔹 Up your influencer marketing game - it can boost your credibility, especially with young shoppers 🚀 Exciting times ahead for streaming and advertising! We're following them closely here at The Topo Agency, so if you looking to learn more follow along, reach out to me or someone from my team and as always head over to our website at www.thetopoagency.com to learn more about service offerings! #Streaming #Advertising #Amazon #PrimeVideo #Marketing #TechTrends

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Digital Out-of-Home (#DOOH) features and capabilities have considerably evolved over the last few years, but its definition hasn’t been updated. In partnership with members of the IAB DOOH Committee, we’re excited to release a formal definition for the entire industry to align to and build upon. Core Features include: ➖ Dynamic Content: Tailor messages in real-time based on demographics, location, or weather. ➖ Widespread Placement: Reach audiences in transit hubs, retail spaces, gyms, and more. ➖ Data-Driven: Leverage privacy-compliant data for precise targeting. ➖ Programmatic Buying: Simplify ad placements with efficient, scalable tools. Download Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH): Definition and Core Features now: https://bit.ly/424l3Ik

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Adtech M&A is certainly heating up. Last week Digiday reported that Teads is exploring various sale options. This kind of news piques our Quo Vadis curiosity. So we did our best to puzzle together a fundamental valuation model. As imperfect as it may be, our model tells us that $2.2 billion is close to the magic number. Get the details and see how we get there: https://lnkd.in/ee6wEyXM Subscribe to Quo Vadis to follow this very interesting adtech valuation story! #adtech #programmatic #radicaltransparency

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It’s here! Seedtag Academy has launched ‘Contextual for Advertisers’ Our most successful certification is back to include the current trends shaping digital advertising, with a whole new course that empowers advertisers to go beyond cookies, with the keys to privacy-first advertising, GenAI, contextual advertising fundamentals and how to launch your own campaigns in 5 steps. 🚀 Get certified for free - in under one hour: https://lnkd.in/eUaAZ5gN #SeedtagAcademy #Certification #ContextualAdvertising

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Practices like these do so much more harm to the open-web ecosystem than they do good for the few bad actors who, for a quick buck, poison their brands, blow years of hard-earned trust with their audience, and give "premium" a bad name. This is a tough time for open-web publishers. Search and social referrals are in the toilet and media buyers are moving spend to data-rich walled gardens. Adding subpar inventory exacerbates the problem, eroding trust and driving away both audiences and advertisers. After a quick cash injection, the temporary high will fade quickly. For what its worth, at TRUSTX, we've dedicated the last seven years (Happy Anniversary this Saturday!) to building a safe haven for high-performant premium programmatic inventory. Case study after case study proves that our publishers make more when they deliver brands the quality inventory and engaged audiences they want. Our job is to make it easy for brands to buy what they want to buy. My colleagues and I are doing everything we can to keep this crap out of our market. But even we don't know how we'd find this garbage if one of our publishers decided to give it a whirl. We're doing the best we can. If anyone sees MFA coming through TRUSTX, please reach out to us. We'll drop it in a heartbeat. Revenue or not, here we come.

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This is a VERY IMPORTANT READ - please repost (gift link): “Our industry is ageist as f*ck,” said Cindy Gallop. Gallop recalled a Fishbowl survey several years ago that asked industry professionals when they first experienced ageism. “Literally, the answers began in the early 30s; that was when people felt ageism kicking in.” .... Lisa Balser • Creative Director • Brand Coach • Certified Diversity Executive® • Author said, “I have personally experienced direct comments; I was called grandma by a direct report who was 24 years old when I was 30.” ... Many older professionals have been working with AI for 10 years and are “pioneering” the technology, argued William Charnock Five0 Consulting. “Especially if you’re young, this transition we’re in as an industry is totally new,” Charnock said. “It’s not. We’ve been through these transitions before. I’m 58 and I’ve evolved 10 times in my career.” .... There is the argument that, when companies need to cut costs, some of the people most vulnerable are those with higher salaries. But, at the same time, Balser said agencies are not hiring older professionals even when they agree to lower salaries, which they currently are. She said she’s seen older executives making $175,000 a year apply for jobs that are offering $100,000 a year or lower, and then they’re being told that they’re overqualified. Another indicator of ageism to some, including Edward Cotton and Balser, is that agencies are requiring fewer years of experience for senior executive roles. .. Gallop said one of the best skills an older employee brings to an organization is a sense of tranquility in tough times or periods of mass disruption, which is what the industry is currently undergoing. She said that as a young agency professional, she’d look to the senior executives in tense meetings or pitches, who always maintained a sense of calm, and that was something she strove to emulate as she climbed the ladder. “I’ve done a ton of pitches at BBH London BBH USA, where [agency founder] Sir John Hegarty was always the one joking and laughing and making sure that everyone decompressed,” Gallop said, adding that whenever young employees feel like “the sky is falling,” an older executive is there to reassure them it isn’t.' .. Gallop suggested eight ways the industry could end ageism in an Ad Age op-ed in 2019 including reshaping culture away from just focusing on the youth, using data to make the case for marketing to older consumers and encouraging every professional to publicly post their age across social media, thereby owning it. She said she hasn’t seen any results, more than five years later.' With great input and insights from Christie Cordes, Tony Stanol Simon Fairweather Sasha Martens Gian Carlo Lanfranco Greg Collins Patti Temple Rocks Lindsay Rittenhouse Ad Age https://lnkd.in/eam3KBC8 #LiveOlder #SayYourAge

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The stakes are high: Google's dominance in the digital ad market is under scrutiny. The U.S. Department Of Justice argues that Google's actions stifle competition, while Google counters that its innovations benefit the entire ecosystem. A key moment: Judge Brinkema's questions suggest she's not convinced by Google's market definition. The DOJ's case may prevail even under Google's own market definition. The outcome will have far-reaching implications for the digital ad industry, and not just in the U.S. #AdTech #Google #DigitalAdvertising

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For agencies, an expansion of streamers’ footprints to international markets could translate into an opportunity to access first-to-market opportunities and test new ad formats, but will also mean increased complexity for media buyers and creative work alike. #mediaplanning #mediabuying

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Nobody's had more starts and stops in the streaming industry than HBO. - From multiple acquisitions, deciding to build in-house, then outsource, then bring it back in-house. - From wholesale and direct to consumer subscribers, to going ALL IN on DTC, launching a product without two of the largest distributors, and now embracing channel aggregators again (Max just partnered with The Roku Channel) - From theatrical, to straight to streaming, to theatrical. This is the story of HBO's streaming endeavors over the years. #TBT S/O Skip The Streaming Wars

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In today's issue of AdExchanger, Anthony Vargas discusses why media mix modeling aka MMA is back in a big and more powerful way for marketers c/o the best new solutions like FutureSight.online with the founder and CEO of the business, Marilois Snowman and measurement and research legend, Josh Chasin. Read more! #adeffectivness #MMM #measurement #attribution #omnichannelmarketing

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#Speaker #Announcement #AdTech #Economic #Forum returns to the fabulous New York Times Center on March 19.  It's the best place to be if you're interested or vested in #adtech. Last April at our inaugural forum we brought 34 of the brightest minds to the stage to deliver #enlightenment 💡  #enlightenment is our primary unit of production. We produce it with four raw materials: #Content at the intersection of adtech, economics, and finance. #Conversation in the raw with zero no trade-press listening in. #Connecting with friends new and old. #Collaboration that turns into #deal making. If there is one thing that makes curating #ATEF worth all the effort it's hearing from so many people about the deals they got done by being there. When we produce #enlightenment, our guests get #deals done. Today we are announcing 12 #returning speakers and one #new speaker with several more speaker announcements happening over the coming weeks: Sir Martin Sorrell Brian Wieser, CFA Sanja Partalo Rishad Tobaccowala Joe Marchese Laura Martin, CFA, CMT Shweta Khajuria, CFA Eric Franchi Reed Rayman Brian O'Kelley Stephen Master Bob Lord and... Daniel Salmon #ATEF #NYC is invite-only or apply to attend. Are you in? https://lnkd.in/ewR6wpV3 If you're interested in #sponsoring ATEF NYC, reach out to me or Rob Beeler. We've curated a handful of creative sponsorships and we go "logo lite" at #ATEF so get involved soon and lock it in.

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Attention. It's hard to argue the benefits of buying media where consumers lean in and pay attention. But there's something bothering me about the recent attention on attention when, for the better part of the last 15 years, media buyers have been prioritizing the polar opposite. What's bugging me stems from my experience with TRUSTX during the last eight years. When we launched this premium marketplace in 2016, we promised brands and agencies 100% human and viewable inventory. We created an environment where brands pay only for ads that real people have the opportunity to see. The promise of premium, 100% viewable inventory remains foundational to the TRUSTX performance promise. The approach is incredibly effective. For example, when measuring cost-per-acquisition, which is a KPI that actually matters ... - Pharma: $31 CPA with TRUSTX vs. $85 on average through other exchanges - Auto: $8 CPA with TRUSTX vs. $22 across other exchanges - Subscription News Media: 80% lower CPA with TRUSTX vs. other exchanges TRUSTX has been beating the drum for eight years. We have a small but devoted client portfolio that that has become hooked on the quantifiable benefits of our approach. Despite TRUSTX's eight year offer, it feels like even with this new focus on attention, only a tiny fraction of the media buying community is willing to give up their addiction to cheap CPMs. That's why I'm bothered by the uptick in attention on .... attention. Because it's such an obvious way to increase working media value, yet the overwhelming majority of brands and agencies are ignoring it. Is the industry about to tip? Are we going to see agencies rewarded for metrics other than lowering CPMs? I'm hopeful we'll see movement in that direction. But personal experience strongly suggests that many media buyers are willfully not paying attention.

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