On this episode of Inside the Stack, Brian Gleason, CEO of Seedtag, explains why contextual is experiencing a resurgence, just as cookies, clicks, and predictable discovery paths are breaking down. The shift isn’t just technical, it’s philosophical.
For years, digital advertising centered on the “who.” Neuro-contextual flips that lens toward the “what” and the “how.” The focus is on what someone is experiencing and how that moment feels.
At the center of Seedtag’s approach is AI that goes beyond keywords to understand tone, emotion, and environment across web and CTV. And that distinction matters. A Nike ad doesn’t land the same way in a car chase story as it does in a story about someone training for a marathon.
Context, when done correctly, accounts for the content, the environment, and the emotion surrounding an ad.
To back this up, Gleason points to neuroscience research showing significant lifts in engagement and positive response when ads align with emotional context. This reinforces the idea that relevance alone isn’t enough. It’s actually in resonance where real impact happens.
For brands, this opens the door to emotional connection at scale without behavioral surveillance. For agencies, it offers a privacy-first planning signal that actually performs. And for publishers, it creates a path for quality content — not clickbait — to be rewarded again.
Contextual isn’t making a comeback. It’s growing up.
