The Current

In a recent op-ed, Shirley Marschall explores the never-ending walled gardens or independent stack debate. "The ad tech industry, as a whole, has developed a habit of framing these options as ideology, a controversial topic that’s primarily discussed on stages, in trade press, and across LinkedIn," says Marschall. Read on to discover the real reasons buyers choose convenience over control — and why the open ecosystem needs to get easier, not just better.

For years, retail media networks have raced to prove they could operate like media companies — scaling ad platforms, expanding measurement capabilities and building full-funnel offerings for brands. That’s all well and good, but Ace Hardware wants to make sure it doesn’t lose sight of its core and unique offering. Molly Hjelm, corporate VP and head of retail media at Ace Hardware Corporation, joins The Big Impression to discuss why the future of retail media will depend on retailer relationships, local relevance and fully embracing the “retail” in retail media: https://bit.ly/4dVIXva

At its recent TV upfront presentation in New York City, Fox executives touted that the company is expecting at least 15 million viewers for each U.S. match of the World Cup, and 150 million combined viewers across the entire tournament. It’s why experts say that live sports offer unmatched scale and attention, and the World Cup is likely to be no different. But will that translate to advertising growth? And how does the tournament impact other media consumption?

From billboards looming over highways to the digital banners flashing on your phone, to large plasma screens in storefronts and pamphlets being handed out on the street, it seems that in India, everyone is always trying to sell you something. For years amid that noise, digital advertising has grown on the promise of delivering measurable attention at scale. But increasingly, the question is no longer whether an ad is seen or even remembered, but whether it can demonstrate a measurable impact on business outcomes.

TV built its empire on reach. Now it must prove impact. At this year’s upfronts, the biggest networks — NBCUniversal, Disney, Paramount, AMC — made outcomes their central pitch. The problem? Unlike Google or Meta, TV operates in an open ecosystem where no single company owns the identity data, the measurement and the attribution. The question isn’t whether TV can drive results. It’s whether the industry can prove it and change a buyer’s mind mid-flight.

In this episode of The Build, Mike O'Sullivan and Ian Meyers sit down with Ari Paparo to discuss VAST's origin and uneven adoption, the creation of the IAB Tech Lab after Ari ran out of patience with the IAB's technical rigor, the consolidation wars of the mid-2000s, and Beeswax — where he's unusually honest about what he got right, what he didn't, and where he held a strategy longer than he should have: https://bit.ly/4nWTWbn

When Publicis Groupe announced Sunday that it would acquire LiveRamp for $2.2 billion in an all-cash deal, the reaction across the marketing industry was swift, and deeply skeptical. Can LiveRamp, a platform that has long positioned itself as the “Switzerland of the identity landscape,” maintain that neutrality once it's tucked inside one of the world's most competitive agency groups?

Can we keep up with agentic AI? Should bots be making purchases for us? Will bots be marketing to bots? JPMorganChase's Ozzie Solares answers it all in this scenic lightning round. Watch the full video: https://bit.ly/4uWjMhO

It’s nearing winter in Australia, and for fans of the AFL - Australian Football League, that means one thing: Footy season is in full swing. Audiences aren’t just watching live — they’re scrolling, streaming and replaying. Here’s how second screens are reshaping media buying.

During the first upfronts with agentic AI as the major part of the pitch, live sports, performance and outcomes were this year's big buzz words. If you missed all the networks' upfront presentations, from Disney, NBCU, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox and Amazon, read our recap here: https://bit.ly/3Rgkyrm