AdExchanger doesn’t just cover the news. We amuse ourselves (and hopefully also our readers) with weekly comics inspired by a combination of what’s happening in the industry and, admittedly, nerdy wordplay that makes us chuckle.
Each of our most popular comics of 2022 is tied to key developments that went down in the world of media and data-driven advertising this year.
From the rise of alternative measurement currencies and retail media to CTV fragmentation and the launch of Netflix’s ad-supported tier (which was on our 2021 bingo card, so we were a little early), these are the stories that helped us animate the news in 2022.
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation – and Netflix’s own emphatic denials – the streaming platform launched an ad-supported tier in November in partnership with Microsoft’s Xandr.
The ad industry celebrated the infusion of premium CTV inventory – and ad tech CEOs licked their chops, too.
Netflix had good reasons for changing its mind. After soaring to new heights of consumption during the pandemic, subscriber growth started to slow in 2022. In April, Netflix’s share price hit its lowest point since early 2018 after the company reported its first subscriber loss in more than a decade.
The launch of Netflix’s ad-supported tier wasn’t without its hiccups, however. For example, Netflix refunded advertisers in late December after falling short of impression guarantees. But to be fair, it’s still very early days for Netflix’s foray into ads.
Go deeper: Why Netflix Chose Microsoft As Its Ad Tech And Sales Partner (July)
Ignoring The Third-Party Cookie Deadline
You know that story about the boy who cried wolf? Companies cry wolf, too.
Although Google swears it’s not bluffing about its plan to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome, Google’s multiple delays have become a bit of a meme in the ad industry.
Google’s initial announcement in 2020 about ending support for third-party cookies was a bombshell that lit the ad industry’s hair on fire. But its second deadline extension served to douse the flames of urgency. It’s hard not to procrastinate when the time horizon keeps changing.
Go deeper: Google Delays The End Of Third-Party Cookies (Again), From 2023 To The End Of 2024 (July)
As Nielsen struggles to regain its footing, smaller competitors are nipping at its heels with the help of broadcasters that are less than impressed – and more than frustrated – with the status quo of TV and cross-screen measurement.
As Kelly Abcarian, NBCU’s EVP of measurement and impact (and, it’s worth noting, a former longtime Nielsen executive), said on an episode of AdExchanger Talks in March: “Gone are the days of three networks, one screen, one ad and one way to count.”
But while we’re on our way to a multicurrency marketplace, we’re not there quite yet. Alternative currencies didn’t take center stage during the 2022 upfronts. Old habits die hard.
That said, watch this space in 2023. Nielsen may be busily working on ONE, but multiple alt currency providers are vying to drink Nielsen’s milkshake.
Go deeper: NBCU Creates A Currency Council To Bridge New TV Measurement Models (November)
Which retailer, hotelier, beauty brand, grocer or department store will launch the next commerce media platform?
That was a trick question. Because the answer is … all of them will!
So many retail and commerce media platforms launched in 2022, it was hard to keep track. It was the year that nearly anyone with their own inventory decided it was high time to start selling it.
Mobile expert Eric Seufert, who also runs Mobile Dev Memo, put it well: “Any company with sufficient supply of or access to consumer data – in a first-party environment! – is now presented with the opportunity to build an advertising network, where previously, that would have been impractical or even somewhat absurd, given the competitive landscape.”
Or, in short, “Everything is an ad network.” Which prompts the real question: Will 2023 be the year we reach peak RMN?
Go deeper: Retail Media Is About To Go Through Its Awkward Teenage Years (October)
There have been multiple studies over the years that call attention to the general lack of transparency in the programmatic supply chain.
In 2020, for example, ISBA in the UK found that publishers receive just 51% of ad spend – and 15% of ad spend can’t be attributed at all. Now that’s pretty murky.
Typically, people blame the supply chain itself for being murky. Programmatic is just so complex, what can ya do! But there’s another dynamic at play here, which is that certain parties just don’t want to know.
It’s called the fear of finding out. No one wants to learn that they’ve been tossing a large percentage of their budget in the toilet for years, and so they simply don’t bring it up.
Go deeper: Fighting FOFO In The Programmatic Supply Chain (August)
Although publishers rely deeply on Google’s advertising technology, a lot of sellers are skeptical that Google actually has their best interests at heart, which is putting it mildly.
In January, an amended antitrust complaint filed last year against Google was unsealed in a New York district court. The filing revealed even more details about Project Bernanke, a Google program that uses information from publisher ad servers to boost Google’s own ad-buying tech.
The program allegedly lowered bid density and artificially reduced clearing prices for publishers, which Google used to its commercial advantage.
The unredacted suit also shared more information on Jedi Blue, Google’s secret program to partner with Facebook as part of an effort to snuff out header bidding. (In September, a judge dismissed the Jedi Blue portion of the suit against Google but ruled that the majority of the rest of the case could proceed.)
Go deeper: More Details Revealed On Project Bernanke And Jedi Blue In Newly Unsealed Google Suit (January)
After a parade of ad tech companies marched into the public markets in 2021, IPOs froze in 2022 and ad tech valuations hit historic lows during the second half of the year.
To be fair, tech stocks in general were on the decline (which is a nice way to say it’s been bloody carnage out there).
But surprisingly, ad tech stocks rebounded during the third quarter. Guess CTV and retail media are meant to save us all?
Go deeper: Ad Tech Stocks Rebound – But Can It Last? (November)
A federal privacy law might not be in the cards anytime super soon – the American Data Privacy & Protection Act is stalled in the House – but the ADPPA represents the furthest that the US has ever gotten with a comprehensive national privacy law.
One main holdup is that some lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, won’t support a law that isn’t as tough as state data privacy statutes that are already on the books or coming into effect imminently.
The cold war over preemption continues, and, in the meantime, California, Virginia, Connecticut, Colorado and Utah all now have their own data privacy laws.
Go deeper: AdExplainer: Your CPRA Download (December)
When The Trade Desk launched OpenPath in February, it spelled danger for supply-side platforms.
Although SSPs demurred, creating a direct link between advertisers and premium publishers – a straight line between The Trade Desk’s DSP and publisher inventory – no doubt set off alarm bells in many boardrooms.
According to The Trade Desk, it’s not trying to disintermediate SSPs, but rather just eliminate unnecessary steps in the supply chain. (And there’s also the added benefit of cutting off a revenue source for Google’s Open Bidding.)
But regardless of TTD’s motivation, one thing is for sure: The role of SSPs is changing.
Go deeper: Is The Trade Desk Encroaching On SSP Turf With OpenPath? (March)
Connected TV is a fragmented labyrinth of supply sources.
Fragmentation causes challenges for advertisers and publishers. Viewing and identity data is all over the place, there aren’t really any measurement standards, and distribution partners don’t usually share data with buyers, which frustrates advertisers to no end.
But the fragmentation of content is also a user experience challenge. There are so many streaming platform subscriptions that users have to manage, it’s often hard to even know what’s available to watch where.
As Michele Madaris, a media director at integrated agency Boathouse, wrote in a May column for AdExchanger: “What we have now is a fragmented viewing experience across multiple devices (TV, desktop, mobile, tablet) and services (linear TV, OTT) – and they’re all fighting for the viewer’s attention.”
Go deeper: TV Buyers Demand More Transparent Measurement (October)
📢 A big shout-out to Nate Neal, the very talented cartoonist who brings our comic concepts to life each week!
