CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL MARKETING AND ADVERTISING
Meet the 2026 Finalists!
The AdExchanger Awards recognize the organizations, technologies and teams driving measurable impact across today’s advertising ecosystem.
The 2026 finalists have been announced, featuring standout organizations including NBCUniversal, DoorDash, Comcast Advertising, FreeWheel, Magnite, PubMatic and many more. From breakthrough technologies and data-driven campaigns to visionary leadership and innovative media strategies, this year’s finalists represent the work setting the standard for performance, innovation and growth.
Winners will be revealed live at the AdExchanger Awards Gala during Programmatic I/O New York on September 28 at the New York Marriott Marquis, where senior leaders from across advertising, media and ad tech will gather to celebrate the industry’s most impactful work.
Meet the Finalists!
Agency, Consulting, & Publisher
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Best Use Of AI or Technology By an Agency
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InterMedia AdvertisingClosing the Loop: How CarShield, InterMedia, and NBC, Paramount & Tubi Innovated Direct Buying For Performance CTV -
PubMaticButler/Till and PubMatic's First Fully Autonomous Campaign -
Stream CompaniesRetail Ready -
The ShipyardBehavioral AI: Predictive Targeting Gets an Encore After Boosting Revenue 20.3%
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Best Use Of Data By An Agency
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Adelaide MetricsHow Publicis Integrated Media Quality Data at the Heart of Haleon’s Global Media Growth Model -
Butler/TillButler/Till’s Bayesian MMX + Halo Analysis: Doubling a Launch Pharma Brand’s Media at 17.7x Return -
Innocean, Wienerschnitzel and BasisInnocean x Wienerschnitzel x Basis – the Top Dogs in QSR -
InterMedia AdvertisingClosing the Loop: How CarShield, InterMedia, and NBC, Paramount & Tubi Innovated Direct Buying For Performance CTV
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Rise, a Quad AgencyRedefining Measurement for the Invisible Search Era: Rise’s AI Referral Agent Reporting System
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Best Use Of Technology By A Publisher or Media Seller
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FutureFuture Optic: First-Of-Its-Kind Solution Built for AI Discovery -
People Inc.D/Cipher Off-Property Intent Targeting Utilizing People Inc. 1P Data -
Spectrum ReachAnoki's ContextIQ for Live News Delivers Increased Sales for InterMedia and CarShield
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Excellence in Publisher Growth & Monetization
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Media TradecraftWith Custom Technology + High-Touch Service, Media Tradecraft Rewrote the Monetization Playbook -
PrimisPrimis Video Discovery: Turning Publisher Audiences Into Sustainable Revenue -
RaptiveBuilding the Future of Publisher Growth, Monetization, and AI-Powered Discovery -
TaboolaDeeperDive: How Taboola Turned AI's Biggest Threat to Publishers Into a Growth Platform
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Maximizing Impact for the Open Web
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SWYM.aiButler/Till, Geloso & SWYM: Maximizing Open-Web Value Through Intelligent Supply Decisioning
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Campaigns
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Best Data-Driven CTV Campaign
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Blis, part of T-Mobile Advertising Solutions + hunterblu mediaHow Carrier-Grade App Data Turned CTV Engagement Into Retail Sales Lift for Trace Minerals -
Comcast AdvertisingComcast Advertising Proves TV and Streaming Drive Real Sales for Papa Murphy’s -
Gracenote + Index ExchangeGo for Dos: How Gracenote and Index Exchange Helped Dos Equis and dentsu X Transform Programmatic CTV with Content Data -
MadhiveMadhive’s Maverick AI-driven Campaign Delivers 4X Better Performance for a Department Store Chain -
Spectrum ReachHow Spectrum Reach Redefined Data-Driven CTV Performance
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Best Programmatic Out-Of-Home Activation
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Big HappyBig Happy x poppi x Sodexo: Driving Standout Performance With Splashy DOOH -
PerionHow Volkswagen Conquered Rival EV Drivers with Precision DOOH -
PerionVaseline Malaysia: Live UV Data Powers a Real-Time DOOH Alert System -
Strategus, LLC.Strategus x Makeup By Mario: A Sephora-Focused DOOH Campaign That Sold Out Ethereal Eyes Makeup Palette Again
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Most Innovative Marketing Campaign
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AdsWizzWeather-Triggered Audio: How AdsWizz and Winstar Turned Forecasts Into Concert Ticket Sales -
Glance / InMobiGlance CTV's FRAME Ad Experience Drives Peak Brand Awareness and Recall for Fossil -
Intent IQMaking the Unreachable Reachable: Horizon Media, Bob's Discount Furniture & Intent IQ Unlock Growth in ID-Less Media -
InterMedia AdvertisingThe First Privacy-Safe Framework for Show-Level Buying and Optimization in Programmatic CTV -
The ShipyardRewriting the Rules of Premium CTV Buying -
TransUnionBring Clarity to Chaos: How TransUnion Turned Mindshare Into Market Share -
Uber AdsHow Uber Put "Share a Coke" in Motion
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Individual & Overall Awards
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Best Account Support
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Basis and Noodles & CompanyBasis Feeds Noodles & Company with Delicious Data -
Emily ZhaoWorkmagic, Data Science
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Leadership In Advertising
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Aman SareenRZR, CEO -
Mark MarshallNBCUniversal, Chairman, Global Advertising and Partnerships -
Melinda Han WilliamsDstillery, Chief Data Scientist -
Scott EnsignButler/Till, CSO -
Toby EspinosaDoordash, Vice President of Ads
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Responsible Media
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DSPoliticalDeploy: Advancing Responsible Media Through Increased Transparency, Privacy, and Accountability in Political Advertising -
Gracenote + Index ExchangeShining a Light on the CTV Bidstream: Gracenote & Index Exchange’s Drive for True Media Transparency
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Rising Star - Leadership Under 40
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Brandon BurasUniquely Digital -
Harry TongPubMatic -
Kamya ElawadhiDoceree -
Laura HicksGumGum
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Technology & Service Provider
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AI Innovators - Commerce Media
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adMarketplace, Inc.adMarketplace's AI Discover: Delivering Intent-Based Monetization and Reshaping the AI Search Experience -
CommerceIQCommerceIQ's Agentic Retail Platform -
Envive AIHow Envive AI Unlocked $5.35 Million in Revenue for Beauty Brand Supergoop! Through Goal-Oriented Commerce AI -
RoktThe Rokt Brain
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AI Innovators - Creative and Content Optimization
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AdGreetzBizGreetz AI®: A SaaS (Or Managed) Creative Platform Orchestrating 50+ AI Models With Proprietary Creative Agents -
AnokiAnoki AI: The Company Teaching Machines to Understand Video & Streaming TV Like Humans -
BluefishThe Agentic Marketing Platform for the Fortune 500 -
SmartlyTurning Intelligent Creative Into an Enterprise Performance Engine
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AI Innovators - Data, Measurement, Performance
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HightouchHightouch Ad Studio, Operationalizing AI for Modern Performance Marketing -
PermutivePermutive’s AI-Powered DMP Delivers a 17% Boost in Active Attention for The Irish Times -
SWYM.aiGeorgia-Pacific & SWYM: Applying AI Intelligence & Decisioning Before the Bid -
UpwaveUpwave’s AI Agent, Bayes: Bringing Brand Measurement into the AI Era
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AI Innovators - Video/Streaming/CTV
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FreeWheelFreeWheel's AI Innovations Are Transforming How Premium Video is Bought and Sold -
MagniteMagnite’s streamr.ai Makes Streaming Advertising More Accessible and Scalable -
PerionPerion Outmax: The AI Agent That Manages Cross-Platform Video as One -
RibeyeAI-powered revenue acceleration and ad operating system built for local media
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AI Innovators - Agentic Platforms & Operating Systems
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AgentioThe AI-Native Infrastructure Powering the Future of Creator Advertising -
DstilleryDstillery's DS-1 Agentic AI Advertising Platform -
PubMaticPubMatic’s AgenticOS: The Autonomous Campaign Operating System -
SkaiSkai's Agent-Native Operating System for Marketing -
SwivelHow Swivel Powered the First Agent-to-Agent Media Transaction and Built a Category for the Industry
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Best Data Technology
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AmperityFrom Fragmented Data to AI-Powered Customer Intelligence -
DeepIntentHelix AI from DeepIntent -
PixabilityPixie by Pixability: The First Agentic AI Curation and Optimization Solution for YouTube -
VidmobHow AI Can Transform Creative Data into a Scaled, Predictive Value Lever for Marketing
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Best Demand-Side Technology
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DeepIntentThe DeepIntent DSP -
fullthrottle.ai®fullthrottle.ai®: One platform to build audiences, activate omnichannel media, and measure results down to the transaction. -
Intent IQIntent IQ’s IDeal 360: unlocking growth through amplified audience activation, attribution, & insights in ID-less media
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Best Identity Technology
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AcxiomAcxiom Real ID: The Trusted Identity Foundation -
AdstraAdstra's Conexa: Composable Identity Resolution for the Modern Enterprise -
DSPoliticalVoter-Optimized CTV: An Identity-First Approach to Audience Activation in a Signal-Loss Advertising Era -
Intent IQIntent IQ’s Distributed Identity Technology & IIQ ID: bridging the gap between publishers & advertisers for ID-less audiences
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Best in Commerce Media
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Firecracker PRShirofune: Driving Commerce Media Toward Profitable Customer Growth -
IncrementalIncremental: Replacing ROAS With Causal Decisioning at Scale -
PacvuePacvue AI-Powered Commerce Media Operating System -
Uber AdsUber Advertising x Alexa+: 12 Days of Sleigh
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Best Industry Startup
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GenuinThe AI-Native Media Infrastructure Rebuilding How Publishers Own and Monetize Audiences -
PurePlay AIReal-Time Signals. Agentic Action. Superior CTV Performance. -
TaivThe Missing Layer of Sports Media
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Best Measurement or Analytics Capability
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MeasuredProof, Not Platform Metrics -
MutinexReimagining Marketing Measurement: Mutinex and Hershey’s AI-Driven Analytics Transformation -
PurpleLabPurpleLab Enables True Outcomes-Based Healthcare Advertising At Scale
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Best Privacy Technology
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InuvoIntentKey by Inuvo Replaces Consumer Identity with Concept Intelligence -
SafeGuard PrivacySafeGuard Privacy: The Global Infrastructure for Privacy Compliance in Digital Advertising -
YobiYobi Advertising Decisioning Model
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Best Sell-Side Focused Technology
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Index ExchangeIndex Cloud: Bringing Intelligence Inside the Exchange -
OpenXOpenXBuild: Maximizing Every Ad Dollar Through Custom Decisioning -
Optable x UnityHow Optable and Unity Unlocked Brand Demand for 256M Gamers Across North America -
SWYM.aiGeorgia-Pacific & SWYM: Applying AI Intelligence & Decisioning Before the Bid
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Most Innovative Use of CTV Technology
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Brand MetricsProving CTV works, from inside the streaming environment -
InterMedia AdvertisingThe First Privacy-Safe Framework for Show-Level Buying and Optimization in Programmatic CTV
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MadhiveMadhive Redefines Local CTV Through Maverick AI Agents -
RZRRZR Performance CTV: A Decade of Mobile Measurement Discipline, Applied to the Living Room
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Awards Gala
Winners will be honored at the AdExchanger Awards Night Party on September 28 during Programmatic I/O New York—an evening that brings together senior leaders across the programmatic ecosystem to celebrate the talent behind the work and network among the best in ad tech.
This is more than a ceremony, it’s a moment to showcase your work among the companies and decision-makers defining what works in modern advertising.
Tickets are on sale now.
When:
The AdExchanger Awards Gala
September 28, 2026
Where:
Programmatic I/O New York
New York Marriott Marquis
1535 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
Pricing
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME IN NEW YORK
Pair your Gala celebration with Programmatic I/O New York, two days of candid conversations about what’s actually working across AI, signals, CTV, commerce data and the evolving programmatic ecosystem.
JUDGES
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Shasta Cafarelli
SVP, Media InvestmentTinuiti -
Brian Chap
CEOTech Recipes -
Ian Meyers
Director of EnigneeringThe Trade Desk -
Brendan Norman
CEO & Co-founderClassify -
David Nyurenberg
SVP, DigitalInterMedia -
Priti Ohri
Co-Founder & CEOAdvertible -
Nicole Perrin
EVP of Business IntelligenceAdvertiser Perceptions -
Emily Proctor
Managing Director, Data & Technology SolutionsOMD -
Brittany Slattery
Chief Marketing OfficerOpenAP -
Melinda Han Williams
Chief Data ScientistDstillery -
Alessandro De Zanche
FounderADZ Strategies -
Karan Virani
Lead Product ManagerYelp
PRESENTED BY:
Sponsorship
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For details and custom packages, contact sales@adexchanger.com.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
Contact
Should you have any questions about the categories, rules, or gala for the AdExchanger Awards, please contact Alex Audrain: