The Big Story

Keep the cookies; hold for consent. We unpack Google’s reversal on third-party cookies and what it means for the ad industry, which was preparing for a cookieless future.

This week, we bring on the CEO and CTO of privacy tech startup Anonym, which was acquired by Mozilla, to talk about PETs (privacy-enhancing technologies) and how Mozilla plans to use its tech to create a more private internet.

The move from in-store to digital shopper marketing continues, as United Airlines, Costco, PayPal, Chase and Expedia make new retail media plays. Plus: what the DSP Madhive saw in advertising sales software company Frequence.

SPO is moving from efficiency to curation to ranking the top 500 publishers. We talk through industry reactions to The Trade Desk’s SP500+ product. Plus: Seedtag acquired Beachfront, a deal that’s emblematic of multiple trends in CTV, privacy and the rise of contextual.

The open web is getting smaller, with the squeeze happening in two directions: Curated deals are skimming the cream off the open web, and exposed made-for-advertising websites are shuttering.

Well, that’s a wrap on Programmatic IO Las Vegas 2024! The AdExchanger editorial hopped on stage for a live recording of The Big Story to round up all the moments that made us go “a-ha” this week, including observations on commerce media, CTV and generative AI.

Made-for-advertising (MFA) sites are roosting in reputable publishers’ subdomains. IDs are declared inconsistently. And the established third-party measurement companies are sitting on the sidelines.

Will data dazzle media buyers at this year’s TV upfronts? Plus: Why recent changes to Google search results have decimated traffic for some digital publishers – and rewarded others.

Cookies aren’t going anywhere. Behind Google’s third missed deadline to remove third-party cookies from Chrome. And what it means for ad tech.

TV ad buying platform Cadent acquires AdTheorent, setting its sights on omnichannel. Also in this episode: The less-than-kosher attribution game that retail media networks are playing with brands.

More granular video classifications are replacing outstream video, but the move may devalue some inventory. Plus: GPTs are coming for contextual.

In a world without cookies, ads aren’t viewable and yield goes down. But it’s still early days. Mediavine SVP Amanda Martin shares early results from its Privacy Sandbox tests.

Need ad creative? Here’s what you need to know about using a generative AI startup to make your ad. Plus: Reddit opens its books before a planned IPO.

After Temu’s 5+ Super Bowl ads and billions in ad spending, will people shop like a billionaire? We discuss the strange profligacy of the discount shopping app.

The gap analysis of the Privacy Sandbox is out – and the gap is large. Plus, a case for why hype about first-party data hasn’t been matched in reality.

Getting personalization right remains tricky, and AI will only make it trickier. Then, inside Privacy Sandbox testing and the rise of curation tech.

This week’s theme is programmatic excess. We start with bid duplication and end with VideoAmp’s fall back to Earth.

At CES in Vegas, streaming services are turning out in force. Then, the lawsuit that pitted LG Electronics against Alphonso (now LG Ads), the startup it acquired.

The end of third-party cookies is upon us, and independent ad tech is diverging on the best approach for cookieless targeting. Meanwhile, agencies and marketers are zooming out from programmatic to a bigger picture that’s focused on first-party data.

Marketers are wasting 25% of their ad spend on made-for-advertising websites and inefficiencies. And the ANA thinks consolidation and education are the solutions. Plus: 2024 ad spend will grow, but at a slower rate. And streamers will grapple with CTV’s rising ad spend and linear TV’s accelerating decline.

Google search ads appear on a host of unsavory and offensive sites, according to recent Adalytics research. And without any transparent reporting from Google, marketers can’t do anything about it.

DSPs and SSPs are being graded by TAG TrustNet on whether they comply with a key transparency initiative: sharing log-file data. Find out who’s passing and who’s failing. Then, we count the ways CTV suppliers are embracing programmatic buying.

As Omnicom’s $835 million acquisition of commerce specialists Flywheel Digital attests, commerce media is flush. Then, why the most sophisticated and data-rich programmatic marketers are intrigued by custom algorithms.

The impact of tech on monetization – from SPO sustainability initiatives to the looming end of the cookie and the challenges of implementing its replacements – has publishers feeling jaded. Plus, for retail media fans: inside the Pantry Wars.

Yahoo Backstage, a sorta SSP, is emblematic of a­n SPO trend that hops over either DSPs or SSPs. Plus: a primer on the ecommerce ad metrics and tools changing how marketers buy digitally, from ACOS to TROAS to cost capping.

Scam ads featuring AI-generated celebrities are catching the FTC’s attention. Hear what the creator economy fears about generative AI. Plus: the latest on the US v. Google trial.

Does Google have a monopoly on search? The trial to answer that question is underway, and we go through the juiciest highlights.

We recap what we learned in data privacy, retail media and connected TV at this year’s Programmatic IO.

The widening “trust gap” between consumers and the ad industry is enough to make a chief privacy officer quit. So Arielle Garcia did. She explains why.

Media mix modeling is back in fashion. Meta, Amazon and Google are finding ways for marketers to measure the effectiveness of their entire advertising spend. Should we trust them?