Environmental Sustainability Will Reform the Digital Ad Ecosystem. But How?
Sharethrough and AdExchanger partnered to survey leaders from brands, agencies, and ad tech companies on how sustainability pressures and initiatives are already reshaping their business practices. We focused on four essential questions:
How is the digital ad world reacting to sustainability pressures?
Thought leaders forecast a radical reformation and simplification of the digital ad value chain that seems to grow more layered and indirect every day. But how far off is that transformation?
Do we understand the problem?
We dug into brands’, agencies, and ad tech companies’ understanding of the key issues around sustainability in digital advertising. But knowing you’ve got a problem doesn’t mean it’s a priority. So, we also asked how they’re balancing sustainability against performance goals and cost pressures.
Are we making progress?
Saying you’re prioritizing sustainability (or even setting lofty environmental, social, and corporate governance, or ESG, goals) is a lot easier than actively making changes. We peeled back the “greenwashing” by asking if—and how—organizations are measuring the carbon footprint of their digital ad supply chain. Then, we asked what actions or initiatives are already underway to improve sustainability. And we exposed a significant divide in where brands, agencies, and ad tech companies see the biggest problem in the digital ad supply chain.
What’s holding us back?
Nearly all the leaders in our survey recognize the need to drive sustainability in their digital ad supply chain. But, spoiler alert: Just 16% are currently even measuring their digital ad footprint. We explored this disconnect, uncovering the main factors slowing or impeding sustainability efforts in digital ad ecosystem.
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Get an inside look at what brands, agencies, and ad tech companies are (and aren’t) doing today to prepare for and advance a more sustainable digital advertising ecosystem.
