#ad-tech

#ad-tech

"If a picture paints a thousand words then why can't I paint you?" - David Gates/Bread I don't know if humans created paintings before they created language, but it's safe to say that telling stories through images is one of our oldest forms of communication. Fast forward to today and the leaders of the out-of-home advertising industry - "it's not just billboards anymore" - are working to modernize their business with the latest developments in artificial intelligence and advertising technology. How are they doing? To answer that I spent some time with a group of folks at the vanguard of the business.

It might seem like a daunting time to buy new stocks. The S&P 500 is hovering near all-time highs and trading at historically high valuations, and some unpredictable headwinds -- including tariffs, geopolitical conflicts, and a government shutdown -- could pop that bubble. But if you have $1,000 to set aside for a least a few years and can look past those near-term challenges, there are still plenty of growth stocks worth investing in.

More than 70 companies gathered for the workshop, roughly half of which were publishers - a handful from Europe. The rest were a mix of big tech representing their respective LLMs, tech vendors and cloud edge companies Cloudflare and Fastly, who are now taking a far more active role in helping publishers block unauthorized bots, shifting from background tech enablers to vocal gatekeepers in the AI era.

Newly added partners include Samsung, LG Ads, Hallmark Digital, Vevo, Allen Media Group's Local Now, Future Today's FawesomeTV, MediaCo's Estrella and Canela, along with Yahoo DSP; FreeWheel and PubMatic; Screenvision; and Nexstar Media Group, Scripps Networks, Reelz and Audyns.

Because at its core, growth isn't just about KPIs or quarterly results. Every success story begins with people. Building long-term impact in any industry requires investing in individuals both as professionals and as human beings. That is why the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, alongside gender equality and personal development, must sit at the heart of ad tech's future.

Digital is no longer just a marketing channel, it's the backbone of business. Global ad spend is expected to reach $740B by 2025, reflecting both opportunity and increasing complexity. Every day, your teams or agencies juggle dozens of platforms - Google, Meta, Amazon, DSPs - each with its own setup rules, metrics, formats and workflows. Add evolving AI tools, tighter deadlines, demand for hyper-personalization and pressure for performance... and the stakes rise fast.

Long-time ad tech exec Jeffrey Hirsch, a veteran of PubMatic, AudienceScience and ValueClick, has seen the ad tech industry evolve from its early ad network days to today's increasingly AI-powered programmatic ecosystem. Now, as the newly appointed CEO of QuantumPath, he wants to use his experience in the trenches to help media buyers automate complex workflows and better streamline campaign management. Hirsch officially took the reins at QuantumPath on Tuesday after serving as a strategic advisor since June.

XPLN.AI, the ad attention measurement and optimisation specialist, announces the opening of its new office in Milan along with the appointment of Anna Iuculano as managing director Italy. Following a recent €7m (£5.9m) fundraising round, XPLN.AI is significantly accelerating its international expansion, with the opening of six offices in Europe, the United States and Asia Pacific in 2025, to meet the rising demand for attention-based solutions to measure advertising effectiveness.

Advertising tech publishers are striving to maximise their revenue, as the economic climate continues on a precarious trajectory. A large portion of advertisers are tightening their belts, seeking to activate campaigns with reduced budgets, and as a result, directing less spend to publishers. Smaller advertisers particularly are likely to feel the financial pressure, as they attempt to make budgets go as far as possible.

This partnership reflects the continued focus of Amazon and Netflix on expanding their advertising businesses. This deal strengthens Amazon's role in advertising and also points to its growing position as a key backend service provider. With Prime Video boasting more than 300 million ad-supported viewers monthly, AMZN is becoming a one-stop shop for advertisers looking to reach a massive audience.

Meta Platforms and Pure Storage are poised to benefit as artificial intelligence spending continues to surge in the years ahead. Morgan Stanley analysts estimate artificial intelligence (AI) spending across infrastructure and software will increase more than 600% by 2028. Buying stock in Nvidia and/or Palantir has been a popular way to capitalize on that trend, but investors should consider Meta Platforms and Pure Storage.

On Tuesday, Roqad, a company that now describes itself as "the LiveRamp of Europe," announced its acquisition of Zeotap-Data, the third-party data division of Zeotap, a startup that once wanted to be the LiveRamp of Europe. Both companies declined to share the financial terms. Roqad CEO Carsten Frien told AdExchanger the deal will help Roqad expand its identity resolution business through access to scaled third-party audience segments and Zeo tap Data's integrations with around 30 ad tech partners, including The Trade Desk, Adform, Google's DV360 and Amazon DSP.

Put another way, SSPs are being cut out of deals as much as possible in the interest of supply-path optimization - which means more demand is flowing through OpenPath, TTD's direct connection to publishers. Oh, and TTD gets more revenue in the long run. But should all SSPs really be classified as resellers? Under the IAB's ads.txt spec , publishers can declare SSPs as either direct or indirect sellers of their ad inventory. And if the SSP is authorized as a direct seller in ads.txt, then it "is indeed a direct supply chain," according to Jounce . But a recent update to TTD's partner portal says: "We consider SSPs to be intermediaries because they are not a direct path to inventory." That's why, when a publisher sells inventory through an SSP and OpenPath, TTD's Kokai platform penalizes the SSP path and prioritizes OpenPath . TTD defends this approach by noting some SSPs take exorbitant cuts of publisher revenue and claiming that OpenPath funnels more money to pubs. But one anonymous source tells Digiday they've seen publisher payouts drop 50% as TTD directs more spend to OpenPath.

"In a increasingly divided world, there are a few things that can bring people together, and sports is one of them," Gorman says in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "Brands want to surround themselves with those moments that people are finding joy in."

Advertisers now have access to independent, transparent, and unbiased infrastructure that operates at scale across the ecosystem, restoring control for buyers and prioritizing their interests for media campaign performance.

The Trade Desk has joined the S&P 500, reflecting a notable achievement for the company and emphasizing its financial strength and stability post-revenue decline.