The news: The Trade Desk unveiled Deal Desk, a new tool to fix the inefficiencies in private marketplace buying, where up to 90% of structured deal IDs fail to scale. By automating deal creation via API and surfacing metadata like fit and availability, Deal Desk aims to save time and unlock premium inventory. Our take: As PMP spending overtakes open exchange buys, The Trade Desk is shoring up the backend infrastructure that supports this shift. Deal Desk positions the company to capture more high-value spend and offers a cleaner path to scale in a fragmented programmatic landscape.
The news: Newsweek is buying healthcare-focused ad platform Adprime to boost its offerings for pharma and healthcare marketers. Our take: Healthcare and pharma marketers looking for targeted, data-driven ad solutions could find valuable niche audiences tuning into Newsweek’s expanding content and events. We’re not convinced Newsweek’s adtech strategy is a slam dunk competing against much larger players, but we do think doubling down on the resilient healthcare and pharma digital ad industry makes sense.
FTC investigates ad groups, watchdogs over alleged boycott: Advertisers must navigate a landscape where protecting brand image could carry legal risks.
The news: The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) gave a glimpse of the TV (CTV) advertising’s future at its IAB Tech Lab event—and proved that pause ads are leading the way. Advertising leaders said they offer the best user experience, were most likely to scale with standardization, and provided the greatest increase in ad spend. Our take: The future of CTV advertising will rely on whether advertisers can implement non-intrusive formats that capture attention. Pause ads are positioned to drive action—but advertisers must reimagine their creative strategy to capitalize on this potential.
Tools like Smart+ and Content Suite help brands find trending creator content, predict ad success, and target more precisely.
Facetune, the photo editing app from Lightricks, has expanded from digital screens into the physical world with its first out-of-home (OOH) ad campaign in the US.
TikTok shifts away from free traffic for US merchants: The change will require businesses to pay for ads for visibility, but TikTok remains a critical touchpoint.
e at last: Microsoft’s update kills default Edge and Bing prompts, giving rivals room to breathe—and forcing marketers to rethink how they reach EU users.
WPP, Publicis, and others are buying data-rich firms to outmaneuver Google and Amazon but risk creating the same closed systems they’re rebelling against.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how Google embedding an AI chatbot into search changes things, why Anthropic’s Claude API could reshape search, and why tech companies might not be the winners of the AI search war. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, and Senior Analyst’s Gadjo Sevilla and Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Businesses could soon plug in budgets and products, and Meta will handle the rest—threatening the role of agencies in the digital ad pipeline.
Google’s AI Overviews lead to fewer clicks on healthcare search results: An industry that heavily relies on search must optimize for visibility in AI Overviews while closely monitoring how AI changes consumer search behaviors.
US total media ad spending could fall to $394 billion in 2025 under a heavy tariff scenario, wiping out projected gains for the year, per our April 2025 forecast.
Senate leader questions pharma advertising oversight amid growing calls for more regulation: The threats of new legislation and regulations indicate the seriousness of both the Trump administration and Congress to move against pharma ads.
Prime Video offers show-level ad reporting: The move positions it as a testing ground for streaming’s evolution, where transparency matters as much as viewer data.
Netflix and BBC team up for new podcast: While Netflix teases video podcasts on its own platform, work needs to be done to win over audiences.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how much the merger with xAI can move the needle for X, if the social platform can recoup the kinds of ad dollars it was making before Elon Musk bought them, and where X users have migrated to (if anywhere). Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, and Analysts Marisa Jones and Emmy Liederman. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Last week’s announcements by Google to expand its AI search experiences came with big changes for advertisers. Google will offer more ads in AI Overviews and is also testing ads in its fully chat-based AI Mode.
Google is monetizing AI search interfaces aggressively: But users, advertisers, and publishers remain skeptical of trust, data, and fairness.
Meta's antitrust trial over Instagram and WhatsApp deals winds down: But the trial’s outcome could reshape tech M&A for years to come.