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 among DSPs themselves, as well as SSPs’ efforts to beat the perception that they’ve become commodified and interchangeable. And supply-path optimization (SPO) and competition in the middle of the programmatic marketplace were front and center for AdExchanger’s guest contributors.
Of course, the hottest topic across all industries – generative AI – drove a ton of thoughtful chatter from contributors, with advertisers attempting to separate the hype from reality. And some evergreen industry obsessions – like brand safety, media quality and the need to prove outcomes from ad campaigns – remained top of mind.
Here’s our rundown of the top 10 most popular guest columns of 2025 and why they resonated.
1. The Trade Desk’s Blue Ocean Moment: How The DSP Can Rewrite Ad Tech’s Rules
By Danilo Tauro, Aperiam Ventures
While The Trade Desk made news with its tough stance on SSPs, its efforts to remain competitive with its Big Tech rivals Google, Amazon and Meta also attracted a ton of industry attention. Wall Street, in particular, seemed dissatisfied with TTD’s lack of urgency in the face of growing competition from Amazon DSP, resulting in TTD’s stock price trending downward this year.
TTD is missing its true blue ocean opportunity to compete with the walled gardens, Tauro wrote. Instead of chasing CTV inventory or data, which are the specialties of platforms like Google and Amazon, he advised TTD to double down on what Big Tech can’t: independence and accountability.
2. SSPs Are Facing Extinction – And Only Bold Differentiation Can Save Them
By Scott Young, Transmit
The hard truth behind The Trade Desk branding all SSPs as resellers that need to be cut from the supply chain? Many in the industry agreed.
The perception that SSPs are interchangeable and, therefore, expendable, was caused by their efforts to be platform-agnostic, argued Young. He advised SSPs to differentiate themselves by focusing on their original value proposition: increasing publishers’ ad revenue yield.
3. The Death Of The DSP? How Ad Tech’s Cash Flow Crisis Threatens The Entire Ecosystem
By Chris Pettit, Revving
Microsoft shutting down its DSP (formerly known as Xandr and AppNexus) in May proved that competition isn’t just getting tougher among SSPs. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s move brought back bad memories of unpaid debts caused by the demise of MediaMath, another once-ascendent DSP, back in 2023.
When DSPs go out of business, the entire supply chain has to deal with the repercussions. So, publishers, SSPs and other industry stakeholders should prioritize liquidity on their own terms, Pettit wrote. It’s a pretty convenient argument coming from the CEO of a cash-flow management company. But Pettit shed light on a fundamental weakness baked into the programmatic supply chain – one that’s clearly a cause for concern among industry experts.
4. Marketing To Machines: A New Performance Strategy In The Age Of AI Agents
By Michael Lehman, Nativo
Consumers just don’t click links like they used to. And publishers – and brands alike – have had to adjust to shifting content discovery habits.
Simply put, the old SEO playbook is obsolete, argued Lehman. Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the new SEO. And brands that want exposure in search results need to ensure they’re top of mind for AI chatbots.
5. Goodbye, Outcomes Era: Why Quality Will Define The Industry’s Future
By Erez Levin, Emet Advisory
As we entered 2025, much of the ad industry conversation centered on the idea that digital advertising was firmly in its “Outcomes Era.” Marketers had become laser focused on proving that campaigns produced concrete results, rather than chasing vanity ad tech metrics like viewability.
But marketers’ obsession with outcomes is nothing new, Levin wrote, and it’s exactly what led them to chase vanity metrics in the first place. Plus, this fixation on performance has encouraged all kinds of attribution shenanigans, with powerful advertising platforms claiming credit for conversions even if their impact on the consumer’s decision was hard to prove. According to Levin, the better path forward for the industry is to focus on high-quality media and forging close partnerships with premium publishers that command the trust of their audiences.
6. Why Meta’s Exit From MRC Audits Should Be A Wake-Up Call For Marketers
By Nicole Scaglione, PubMatic
Brand safety is a constant concern for marketers and publishers. But it’s perhaps less of a concern for big social media platforms, who are handing content moderation over to automated systems and community feedback while embracing a flood of AI slop. Meta made social media’s priorities clear in October when it withdrew from the Media Ratings Council’s brand safety audits altogether.
These trends should cause marketers to reconsider their commitments to social video, argued PubMatic’s resident video expert – especially as programmatic CTV opens up more premium, brand-safe options.
7. The Brand Safety Myth: Why Most Marketers Don’t Need Brand Safety Verification
By Michal Fuchs, Zoomd
Speaking of brand safety, maybe marketers don’t need brand safety verification for every campaign use case.
Relying on verification vendors for avoiding invalid traffic and outright fraud remains important, argued Fuchs. But most advertisers don’t need to verify every single ad impression as brand safe, and doing so is probably causing more harm than good.
8. AI Is Everywhere, But Where Is It Really Adding Value?
By Angelina Eng, IAB
The ad industry has a tendency to rush into adopting shiny new technologies, argued Eng. That tendency is a huge risk when it comes to much-hyped but still disproven AI applications.
To avoid making the same mistake with generative and agentic AI, Eng offered advice for how advertisers can test these emerging technologies with discipline and an emphasis on clear business objectives.
9. The 7 Traits Every Ad Tech Leader Needs To Thrive In The Age Of AI
By Ann Blinkhorn, Blinkhorn LLC and Randall Rothenberg, Randall, Ltd.
Winning in advertising’s AI era will require leadership to develop entirely new skill sets. Two ad tech OGs with plenty of experience mentoring industry executives polled some of the top minds in digital advertising to see which traits they think will distinguish the next generation of leaders.
10. Closing The CTV Outcome Data Gap: Unlocking Smarter Optimization Strategies
By Cintia Gabilan, IAB
While plenty of big-picture topics dominated industry discussion this year, the nuts and bolts of running ad campaigns and measuring outcomes remained just as important as ever.
CTV is digital advertising’s hottest media channel, but it’s also one of the more inscrutable ones when it comes to measuring campaign performance. In this column, Gabilan detailed the difficulties industry groups face in creating a standardized conversion API for CTV – but why developing one is essential for the future of campaign measurement.
