Marketing

Competition between DSPs and SSPs was extra spicy this year. The Trade Desk’s aggressive posture against SSPs – which it branded as “resellers” contributing little to the programmatic supply chain – sparked countless hot takes on ad industry social media channels and in AdExchanger columns. Thought leaders also had plenty to say about increased competition […]

Generative AI tools crept closer to the uncanny valley this year as tools like OpenAI’s Sora or Google’s Nano Banana, have flooded the market. Marketers have higher expectations than ever for AI to streamline marketing processes and save dollars. The novelty of generative AI has worn off and marketers want controllable, consistent tools that can

2025 — what a ride in media. Even for battle-worn publishers already so well accustomed to rewriting their playbooks to adapt to whatever hot plate has been flung at them (the print-to-digital crash, endless Google algorithm swings, Facebook’s pivot away from news, the cookie collapse, to name a few), 2025 was pretty rough.  The stomach-dropping

This story was originally published on sister site, Modern Retail. 2025 was another challenging year for the retail industry, as tariffs added another crushing blow to an industry that had already been dealing with sky-high inflation and waning VC dollars in recent years. The numbers lay bare how challenging it was for the retail industry:

Interested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel. It’s been another year of ups and downs in the marketing and media businesses — and Digiday+ Research tracked them throughout the year, surveying publisher, agency, brand and retailer professionals at regular intervals throughout 2025. This is a member-exclusive

This was the year AI went from being a future concern for publishers to being part of their daily reality. In 2025, generative AI was weaved into traffic analyses, licensing negotiations and product development. Clicks from search waned. AI answers increasingly replaced blue links that drive people to publishers’ sites. Some companies struck AI content

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem …  The post Comic: Season’s Beatings appeared first on AdExchanger.

This story originally published on sister site, Glossy. When Pandora rolled out its first AI-powered service agent earlier this year, the goal wasn’t to showcase cutting-edge technology. It was to survive the peak holiday shopping season without sacrificing the customer experience or margins. The agent, dubbed Clara, launched as a chatbot on the brand’s website

TV ad measurement is breaking down. Privacy restrictions are mounting, traditional identifiers are disappearing, and the deterministic measurement advertisers once relied on is harder to maintain.  On this episode of Inside the Stack, Cynopsis’ Lynn Leahey speaks with Benjamin Heaton, Senior Director of Product Management at Tatari, about what’s actually wrong with TV measurement and

As programmatic means of investing in channels spreads further across the media landscape, there remain a few gaps where it’s neither efficient nor even doable. One of those less developed areas is product placement and sponsorship opportunities, which are either unwieldy or downright un-buyable. But Omar Tawakol, CEO of Rembrand, has his eye on a