ana milicevic

Despite their perilous position, some companies still aren’t preparing for the end of third-party cookies. But the lack of testing isn’t because they aren’t concerned.

Pundits predicted Microsoft would use Xandr to create an ad-supported video game content fortress, with the ad tech business getting exclusive access to Microsoft’s gaming IP. Any ambitions in that direction may now be on hold.

Musk’s promises to overhaul Twitter’s content moderation and user verification policies have caused brands and agencies to rethink their budgetary commitments to the platform. Plus, Musk’s seemingly disingenuous tone shift on advertising and his tweeting of fake news may make brands more inclined to pull budgets from a platform that was never seen as a must-buy anyway.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Against Mall Odds TikTok is many things: a payday for influencers, a news service, an entertainment provider, a music video player, a search engine and more. “Though, what executives really want TikTok to be known as is a digital shopping mall,” MarketWatch reports.  TikTok […]

The market is not being kind to digital media companies. The nearly 40% drop in BuzzFeed’s stock price on Monday and the decline of its valuation from $1.5 billion when it went public in December to roughly $300 million now is no doubt causing other digital-native publishers to rethink their IPO plans. But any doom and gloom about the long-term viability of digital publishers in public markets is likely overblown.

Even the experts at companies whose future depends on explaining the value exchange of personalized advertising to consumers struggle to make a convincing argument. Part of the problem is that the ad industry’s MO has been to “overcomplicate” matters, said Lauren Wetzel, chief operating officer at InfoSum, speaking at LUMA’s Digital Media Summit earlier this week.

Last week, a federal judge unsealed previously redacted portions of an antitrust lawsuit poking into Google’s allegedly monopolistic ad practices. Will these revelations actually change the way publishers and advertisers spend with Google, or is Google too entrenched? And how much ammunition do these disclosures give regulators in their quest to rein in Google? We asked the experts.

So, there’s an election or something happening in the United States right now? And, apparently, it’s also a workday. Sure. But there has to be a better strategy for getting through the day than repeatedly stress-refreshing the AP’s live election tallies. Here’s how the ad tech community is staying chill, if such a thing is […]

In these uncertain times … Sorry, scratch that and let’s start again. With the ongoing pandemic, the third-party cookie debate and Apple’s IDFA changes on the horizon, it’s easy to forget that there are actually other things happening in the advertising world right now. And this week on The Big Story we dig into them […]

Ad tech founders know how to spot a trend when they see one, but there are always the ideas that got away, or the startup inspiration that sparks from a current event or a chance encounter. Today, some founding industry vets have moved on and are applying their expertise chops to brand-new industries. Post-AppNexus, Brian […]