X

Retail media gets its own special kind of AI agents; xAI has a CSAM problem; and Discord might be trying to go public.

People want news, but not from news outlets; X’s blue checkmarks are coming home to roost; and Meta is finally paying publishers (kind of).

LiveRamp’s gift could make IAB Tech Lab’s AI consent model workable; Spotify hypes video podcast growth and nabs a bigger ad margin; and Coke launches another AI holiday ad campaign.

My Marketing Pro has set out to automate the entire marketing process, from brainstorm to launch, via conversations with an agent.

TTD turns its back on SSPs; scientists are finding a home on Bluesky; and a hacker used Anthropic’s Claude to plan a cybercriminal operation.

The pivot to AI has led to a gap in many SaaS and ad tech companies’ payment models; AppLovin bounces back in Q2; and Grok might be your newest media planner.

X will begin scoring ads according to Elon Musk’s aesthetic preferences; what those Sydney Sweeney jeans ads say about how brands capture attention online; and a Google exploit lets sites be deleted from search results.

Can Google AI overview and other search chatbots cancel each other out?; say goodbye to both Demand Media and Linda Yaccarino.

Going For The Cinematic Effect; Do The Youngs Shop Google?; X Marks The Spot

Google’s pivot on IP addresses shows it fears competition; the FTC investigates media watchdogs for advising brands not to spend on X; and Mondelez accuses Aldi of copying its snacks.

Etsy sellers aren’t feeling great about the US tariff situation. Plus, X’s data licensing and subscription revenue is increasing.

No, “ROMO” doesn’t have to do with the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback. Plus, X is dealing with the fallout of a massive data breach.

Canadian tech investment firm Redbrick has acquired Paved, a programmatic newsletter platform for publishers that specializes in native ad formats.

PMax has joined Search as what Google dubs “the power pair.”  Plus, TikTok usage and ad spend are still dropping.

More dollars are flowing through the Amazon ads machine. Plus, are advertisers coming back to X out of fear of the Trump administration?

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

Paramount and Nielsen have ended their measurement standoff. Plus, a new survey says digital ads now cost more and convert less.

Coinbase has acquired a blockchain-based advertising and attribution startup. Plus, is brand safety on social media a myth?

Google holds court with bloggers bumped from its search algorithm; a backlash is brewing as the online recommendation engine goes into overdrive; and X pushes conservative politics to accounts with nonpartisan interests.

A tool popular with law enforcement can track devices to sensitive locations. Plus, black boxes are getting a bit more transparent.

Oracle’s advertising and third-party data businesses are officially kaput; political pollsters are abandoning misleading online data; and AI-generated slop is already overtaking the internet.

Two of the EU’s biggest Big Tech antagonists are set to resign; a GAM breakup could usher in post-ad-server programmatic; and how Google kept Prebid separate from the IAB Tech Lab.

In today’s newsletter: How loosened ad restrictions helped snacks take over America; Brazil’s X ban dings stan culture; and Roblox partners with Shopify as it expands real-world ecommerce to all creators.

Instead of erasing the idea of brand safety, we should be developing smarter, more nuanced solutions that protect both news publishers and advertisers.

Since introducing ads two years ago, Netflix’s ad team has clashed with streaming management and studio execs. Plus, “brat” summer is over; “demure” autumn might be next.

Inside Publicis’ play to be both an agency and an ad tech company. Plus: the dissolution of GARM and what it means for the future of brand safety.

In today’s newsletter: How membership bundles are creating new forms of consumer-facing partnerships; typically unflappable platforms leap to action when billionaires are harmed by bad ads; and X’s GARM lawsuit helped politicize brand safety.

Hope you weren’t waiting to shop for Super Bowl ads – they’re almost sold out. Plus, Apple might be the ad tech dark horse.

The decision by WFA leadership to succumb to Elon Musk’s pressure is disappointing and dangerous – but it presents an opportunity to rethink our industry’s broken approach to brand safety, writes Arielle Garcia.

Shares of WPP took another thumping yesterday. Plus, advertisers are getting post-lawsuit cold feet about X all over again.