The trend: Marketers are calling for simpler, more intuitive advertising systems after years of fragmentation. Leaders across channels say clients want tools that reduce effort, unify workflows, and provide clearer feedback loops—a push that extends far beyond performance or retail media.

• Criteo’s platform strategy VP Michael Greene told EMARKETER that retailers increasingly ask for AI that minimizes “hoops” and makes activation far easier across touchpoints.
• LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe described customers as “confused” by the flood of new tech, even as they recognize substantial opportunity ahead.
• Reddit COO Jen Wong told us advertisers still need help understanding how to use the platform, noting that large audiences in parenting, sports, and other categories remain under-tapped simply because potential buyers “don’t quite understand it” yet—and require clearer entry points into the ecosystem.
• Vistar Media’s Lucy Markowitz said her team spends significant time educating buyers, explaining that too many still lack the context to make confident, data-driven decisions in out-of-home advertising. She emphasized reducing excuses to say no by making activation, creative, and measurement feel “consistent with the rest of the media plan.”

Why it matters: Rising pressure on performance and efficiency makes operational clarity more valuable than new features. The shared themes across interviews highlight key industry tensions:

• Education gaps slow adoption. Wong underscored that Reddit’s growth depends on helping advertisers understand where to start. Lack of familiarity—not lack of opportunity—is the barrier.
• Buyers want fewer steps. Markowitz explained that programmatic out-of-home only scales when it feels as straightforward as digital; complexity turns interest into hesitation.
• Standardization is overdue. Greene said KPIs must align across channels, while Howe pointed to a market drowning in AI pitches without a translation layer.
• Unified flows across channels. DoorDash’s ads VP Toby Espinosa described advertisers wanting one path through which they can activate commerce, upper-funnel media, and measurement without toggling through multiple interfaces or partners .
• Cleaner decision making. Marketers want clarity on what they’re buying. StackAdapt inventory VP Greg Joseph explained that buyers need “concrete information” and fewer planning blind spots—another call for simplification across workflows .
• Simpler paths to scale. Platforms that reduce friction—creative setup, audience discovery, or understanding where ads run—gain favor with resource-constrained marketers.

Key takeaway for marketers: The industry’s shift toward simplicity is a chance to reassess which partners actually lighten your workload. Favor the platforms that reduce toggling, shorten onboarding, clarify measurement, and help your teams move faster. As Wong and Markowitz made clear, simplicity fuels adoption; as Greene and Howe stressed, it drives outcomes. The advantage in 2026 will belong to the marketers who choose systems that make complexity someone else’s problem.