programmatic

VIOOH & Intersection Partner on Digital Out-of-Home Programmatic Sales Across the US

VIOOH, the leading premium global digital out-of-home (DOOH) supply-side platform, announced a new nationwide programmatic media owner partnership in the US, collaborating with Intersection, the leading experience-driven out-of-home media and technology company with audiences across top US cities.

Operating in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other major US cities, Intersection supplies coverage across thousands of digital screens strategically placed in high density areas, adjacent to some of the largest retail brands, shopping districts, Fortune 500 companies, and key transit hubs – highly visible to pedestrians and traffic alike.

Through this partnership with VIOOH, US and International buyers will be able to programmatically access Intersection’s over 6,500 street and transit screens in 13 designated market areas (DMAs) and 90 airports through VIOOH’s real-time Trading Manager platform.

Jean-Christophe Conti, chief executive officer at VIOOH said,

“This partnership is a great addition to our existing programmatic DOOH offering across the US. We’re always looking for new ways to unlock commercial opportunities for advertisers. Intersection has a wide range of digital screens across major US cities and we’re incredibly pleased to partner with this industry leader. We hope advertisers, both those within the US as well as new overseas buyers looking to better target American audiences, will maximise this new partnership and the opportunities it brings.”

Chris Grosso, chief executive officer at Intersection said,

“We’re pleased to partner with VIOOH to bring prDOOH to more buyers across the US and globally. Our media is located in well-travelled locations and can connect brands with the right audience. The integration with VIOOH will bring even more opportunities for brands to engage with diverse audiences, and buy and measure out-of-home media in the same way as online, mobile, and other digital media.”

Read more: VIOOH Launches Programmatic Sales for Digital Out-of-Home with Beijing Metro

The Yahoo DSP and LiveRamp Announce Full Integration of Yahoo ConnectID Across Major Publishers

 The Yahoo DSP in partnership with LiveRamp (NYSE: RAMP), the leading data collaboration platform, today announced their integration of LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution (ATS) and Yahoo ConnectID, its cookieless identity solution, is now fully available for publishers. With the announcement, Yahoo has added dozens of new publisher domains to its already robust partner ecosystem.

Following the initial announcement of their partnership, Yahoo DSP and LiveRamp publishers are now able to leverage Yahoo ConnectID and Authenticated Traffic Solution to unlock additional addressable demand. Allen Media Group, CarGurus, DISH Media, FloSports, and Philo are already adopting Yahoo ConnectID, continuing progress towards improved addressability and audience engagement within the advertising sector. All 21,000 publisher domains that have adopted LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution can also seamlessly integrate with Yahoo ConnectID with minimal effort and benefit from additional flexibility to meet marketer demand.

Adam Roodman, SVP Product Strategy & Management, Yahoo said,

“With the official integration of Yahoo ConnectID now complete and available to all LiveRamp and Yahoo customers, we are taking a significant step forward in authenticated addressability,”
“Building on our strong foundation, this milestone enhances our ability to provide publishers with the tools they need for more precise targeting and engagement, ultimately driving superior outcomes. This partnership not only extends our reach but ensures resilience against the challenges posed by the loss of third-party cookies.”

This rollout showcases the ongoing momentum of Yahoo Identity Solutions, which continues advancing with new partner and platform integrations. Yahoo Identity Solutions take an integrated, omnichannel approach to the identity-constrained world and consists of two components: Yahoo ConnectID for addressable environments and Next-Gen Solutions for non-addressable. Yahoo ConnectID is a first-party data-powered identity solution, fueled by direct consumer relationships with more than 205 million authenticated users¹ in the U.S. It stands as one of the world’s most adopted cookieless identifiers, currently implemented across nearly 50,000 publisher domains and interoperable with more than 30 top data platforms.

Read more: Yahoo Launches AI-Powered Full-Stack Creative Solution in Partnership with Innervate

Travis Clinger, Chief Connectivity & Ecosystem Officer, LiveRamp said,

“We’re committed not just to enabling LiveRamp’s authenticated ecosystem, but also every high-quality identifier the industry needs, to scale and grow,”
“Marketers and publishers need solutions that allow for full identity interoperability inside and outside their walls, and our partnership with Yahoo provides critical flexibility here, enabling deeper consumer relationships, value throughout the customer journey, and better control of data.”

Josh Sharma, Vice President of Advertising Partnerships for Allen Media Group said,

“As we transition toward a cookieless future, it is crucial for us to adopt solutions that not only maximize our use of first-party data but also uphold the value and trust our consumers expect in our apps Local Now and The Weather Channel,”
“Our integration with Yahoo ConnectID, powered by LiveRamp, provides a cutting-edge platform that empowers our advertisers to connect with audiences at scale effectively.”

Reed Barker, Philo Head of Advertising said,

“Philo’s programmatic-first approach to advertising requires unique identity solutions in order to drive success,”
“We are thrilled to support Yahoo ConnectID which allows advertisers to accurately target their audiences and measure results at scale, all while respecting consumer privacy.”

Yahoo and LiveRamp are dedicated to leading innovation in advertising technology, prioritizing user privacy, and delivering effective outcomes for publishers and advertisers. This partnership aims to redefine industry standards in digital advertising, enhancing client capabilities and improving user experiences across the digital domain.

Read more: LiveRamp and Magnite Power Omnichannel Addressability on RampID

WPP Appoints Brian Lesser as Global CEO of GroupM

WPP and GroupM announce the appointment of Brian Lesser as the new Global CEO of GroupM, the world’s leading media investment company.

He succeeds Christian Juhl, who is stepping down after five years in the role. Christian will take up a new position with WPP as President, Corporate Development.

Brian spent 10 years with WPP including as CEO of GroupM in North America from 2015 to 2017. He will rejoin WPP and begin his new role with GroupM in September 2024. Christian will continue in his existing role until then and support the transition as he moves to his new position.

Brian first joined WPP with the acquisition of 24/7 Real Media in 2007. He went on to create the Media Innovation Group, building addressable advertising products and technology for GroupM, including one of the industry’s first data management platforms. In 2011 he founded Xaxis, the programmatic media buying platform which now forms part of GroupM’s media performance organization, GroupM Nexus.

After leading GroupM in North America he joined AT&T as CEO of AT&T Advertising & Analytics, a $3 billion business today known as Xandr. He took on his current role as CEO and Chairman of data company InfoSum in 2020.

Throughout his career, Brian has been at the forefront of technological advancements in the media industry, from the advent of programmatic advertising to the rise of connected TV. He is known for challenging the status quo to deliver better consumer experiences and more effective solutions for businesses.

Read more: WPP Partners with Google Cloud to Revolutionize Marketing with Generative AI

Christian became CEO of GroupM in November 2019, having previously held the same position at Essence, the digital media agency acquired by WPP in 2015. As President, Corporate Development for WPP he will work on various aspects of the company’s strategic development.

Under Christian’s leadership GroupM has grown significantly, winning notable assignments and playing a critical role in WPP wins such as the partnership with The Coca-Cola Company.

GroupM has also changed and evolved to reflect the new world. It has simplified its structure, today serving its roster of world-leading clients primarily through three media agency brands (EssenceMediacom, Mindshare and Wavemaker); media performance organization GroupM Nexus; and data product, service and technology company Choreograph. GroupM is the world’s leading media investment company, managing more than $60 billion in annual media spend on behalf of its clients.

Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: 

“I would like to thank Christian for his contribution to the success of Essence, GroupM, WPP and our clients over the last nine years. He has built a strong foundation for the ongoing transformation of GroupM, the integration of its offer, and accelerated future growth. I look forward to working with him in his new WPP role.”

“Brian is one of the industry’s most highly regarded executives with a track record of success in data- and technology-driven marketing. GroupM, its agencies and its brilliant people are in many respects the engine of WPP. Brian not only knows GroupM inside-out, but also has a strong vision for the future of the business. We are delighted to welcome him back to WPP.”

Brian Lesser said: 

“WPP and GroupM are special organizations to me. I have experienced first-hand the culture of innovation and collaboration that leads to exceptional work for advertisers. I am thrilled to be rejoining GroupM as Chief Executive Officer. I look forward to building with my talented colleagues, collaborating with our industry partners, and investing with our fantastic roster of global clients.”

Christian Juhl said: 

“It has been a privilege to lead this amazing business, to work alongside its incredibly talented people, and to partner with our wonderful clients around the world. We’ve achieved a huge amount together and I’m really proud of the progress GroupM has made towards its mission of making advertising work better for people. After five years the time is right for a fresh challenge, and I’m excited to get started in my new role with WPP. Brian is an exceptional leader and I’m happy he is rejoining the GroupM family.”

Read more: GroupM Consolidates its Content, Entertainment, and Sports Verticals

Adtech startup Cake.Shop launches in Australia, promising transparent programmatic ad services

Cake.Shop, an adtech startup, has officially launched in Australia, offering brands and agencies innovative programmatic ad buying services that emphasise transparency and rich media creative ad targeting.

Founded by former AdLudio and Mindshare Australia programmatic executive Luke Hills and former Azerion JAPAC managing director Georgia Woodburne, Cake.Shop draws its name from the proverb “to have your cake and eat it,” reflecting the company’s commitment to delivering the best of both worlds in media buying.

Hills is the former VP of growth at AdLudio in London and was previously head of programmatic at Mindshare Australia. Woodburne was responsible for driving Azerion’s expansion in the JAPAC region and played a key role in rich media creative company Inskin’s expansion in the Asia Pacific region, where she held the role of GM, APAC.

Cake.Shop aims to provide agencies and brands with a trusted solution to address the industry’s biggest challenges: easy access to programmatic advertising, creative excellence, and precise measurement. By offering a unique experience, Cake.Shop helps brands and agencies achieve strong performance from their programmatic ad spend.

The company stated that it aims to disrupt the media buying process through a four-pronged approach: creative-led, with attention-grabbing ads designed to engage rather than annoy; sustainable marketing, by measuring, reducing, and optimising to meet sustainable goals; technology ownership, by eliminating intermediaries for greater control and transparency over marketing technology; and commercial flexibility, which allows businesses to grow sustainably.

Read more: Chase and JCDecaux Generate Excitement for the Euros with Programmatic Campaign

For Hills, traditional managed service options are not working, and agencies and brands need control over their technology choices and must work transparently with their partners. 

Meanwhile, Woodburne believes that transparency is at the core of Cake.Shop’s ethos. 

Woodburne said,

“We believe this should be reflected in fee structures and solutions,” 

Speaking more about the launch, Hills shared,

“We’re thrilled to introduce Cake Shop to the world. Our mission is to support agencies and brands in achieving sustainable growth both commercially and environmentally. We aim to make effective advertising more accessible for brands of all sizes. Cake.Shop is designed to lower the barrier to entry, providing market-leading solutions that enable agencies to deliver world-class services to their clients. By stepping into the gap left by larger technology companies, Cake.Shop offers a local and global, client-focused alternative for businesses.”

Hills added.

“Our flexible approach means clients can reduce spending without the pressure of restrictive contracts. We’re possibly the only business in the market advocating for clients to spend less, focusing instead on quality, ownership, and transparency for long-term brand growth. With significant headwinds in marketing through privacy, compliance, and sustainability, we believe legacy solutions in the market will struggle to meet the demands of local businesses. We’re here to help companies navigate these pressures with solutions that complement our sustainable vision.” 

Read more: GroupM Minimised Programmatic Video Campaign Carbon Emissions with PubMatic & SeenThis

Chase and JCDecaux Generate Excitement for the Euros with Programmatic Campaign

As the Euros 2024 final closed in, Chase ran a brilliant OOH programmatic campaign that used the power of the public screen to capture the nation’s spirit.

The creative featured Chase’s iconic branding, as well as three famous faces – Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, and Declan Rice – and simultaneously drove awareness of the brand while generating excitement for the tournament’s conclusion, which took place Sunday 14th July at 8pm.

Image credit- JCDecaux

Previously, the brand ran a different creative ahead of England’s semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday, before adopting the new creative via programmatic booking following the result.

Image credit- JCDecaux

DangleAds Technologies Expands to Dubai, Strengthening Global Presence

DangleAds Technologies, a global leader in driving 360°digital excellence, has opened a new office in Dubai, marking a significant step forward in its expansion and commitment to serving the UAE markets (Gulf Cooperation Council). Dubai’s vibrant business environment is ideal for DangleAds’ growth, development of international clientele, and penetration of various markets. The team can now directly provide Dubai’s booming market with a full range of services and industry knowledge thanks to the new location.

DangleAds Technologies expands its global presence

Dubai is the perfect place for DangleAds to strategically grow its clientele abroad, investigate new and varied markets, and establish a presence thanks to its dynamic and thriving business environment. The team can now directly provide a range of services and industry knowledge to Dubai’s booming market thanks to the new location.

Currently, DangleAds is focused on growing AudienceConnect.AI, its proprietary programmatic platform, internally. In order to provide creative templates in one go that are tailored to audiences worldwide, the AI platform is actively developing media buying procedures and AI-based creative production technology. It is also integrating with a variety of partners and integrating with automated technology.

Read More: Magnite Chosen as the Preferred Technology Partner to Enhance TELUS’ Connected TV Offering

New opportunities to reach global clients

As part of the new launch, DangleAds’ operations will be centralized in the Dubai office, opening up new service opportunities and enabling the company to reach a global clientele. Additionally, clients will be able to effectively engage audiences, drive performance, and develop strong brand equity thanks to the company’s three-pronged approach of programmatic, technology, and performance. Moving forward, the strategic hires put the team in a position to seamlessly offer digital advertising solutions globally, even though the company’s global expansion strategy has already established roots in the Netherlands, Germany, UK, UAE, Singapore, and India.

They are also connected by the DangleAds Data Management Platform (DMP) and Consumer Data Platform (CDP), which provide ideal transactional data to fulfill the advertiser’s bottom-funnel.

DangleAds’ domination in India market

In the realm of digital marketing, DangleAds Technologies has dominated the Indian market time and time again. The company is known for providing innovative solutions and a robust demand side platform to meet the varied needs of its clientele. The company is now one step closer to duplicating this success on a global scale with the opening of its office in Dubai. DangleAds will be able to broaden its service offering to a global clientele by utilizing its new Dubai office as the hub for all of its global operations.

Thus, DangleAds is prepared to propel its presence to new heights of successful innovation and make a major contribution to the digital industry with the opening of a new office in the United Arab Emirates and the addition of a new team.

Read More: Amazon Ads SMB Research | 72% of India SMBs currently invest in advertising

VIOOH Announces New Board Chair Nick Parker, a Highly Regarded Figure of the OOH Industry

 VIOOH, the leading premium global digital out-of-home (DOOH) supply-side platform, announced that after five years of service as non-executive chair of VIOOH, Spencer Berwin – a former co-CEO of JCDecaux UK – will be stepping down from his position as non-executive chair and member of the board of VIOOH.

As a succession to Spencer Berwin leaving the board, Nick Parker has been appointed as board member and non-executive chair of VIOOH, effective from 2nd September 2024.

Nick is a global leader of the OOH media industry, and a highly regarded and praised veteran of WPP – one of the leading media agency groups – who has been at the centre of the growth and evolution of the OOH media over the last 25 years. In his global role at WPP, Nick grew Kinetic’s influence, making OOH more accessible to advertisers, and pioneered Kinetic in its transition into programmatic trading, enabling multiple brands to benefit from programmatic DOOH’s unique capabilities.

Nick brings a wealth of experience which will undoubtedly help accelerate VIOOH’s growth in two of its most strategic initiatives: growing partnerships with media owners in the 22 markets where VIOOH already operates and through partnerships with +40 DSPs globally, and strengthening relations with digital media agencies globally to grow global DOOH programmatic ad spend.

Read more: Adform and VIOOH Grow Partnership to Power DOOH Performance and Measurement Globally

Outgoing chair Spencer Berwin said,

“It has been my greatest pleasure to support VIOOH as its non-executive chair since its creation. VIOOH has gone from strength to strength since it launched in June 2018, growing at an exponential pace and expanding its geographic footprint. Along the way, VIOOH has gathered a unique set of talents and been able to fulfill its role of accelerating the digital and programmatic transformation of the OOH media channel. I wish Nick every success in his new role.”  

Incoming chair Nick Parker said,

“I could not think of a better position to leverage my passion for this media, with my global experience of the OOH ecosystem and relations with major stakeholders of the OOH industry. VIOOH has grown significantly over the past six years, expanding its footprint over four continents and positioning itself as a premium tech powerhouse, which made the opportunity to join its board as non-executive chair and to continue the next phase of growth a no-brainer. I look forward to working with the VIOOH leadership team and the wider VIOOH board.”

VIOOH chief executive officer, Jean-Christophe Conti said,

“This is a truly exciting time for VIOOH, to have the privilege of working with a leader in the OOH media industry such as Nick. I am looking forward to working with him to support VIOOH in its overall mission to build the leading global programmatic DOOH ecosystem. Helping to guide VIOOH to accelerate its strategic agenda, unlock further opportunities and keep building a platform with innovative features will enable new digital buyers to embrace the benefits, values, and growth potential of programmatic DOOH.”

Read more: VIOOH Launches Programmatic Sales for Digital Out-of-Home with Beijing Metro

Hoppr, A Unique CTV Platform, Establishes Partnership With MiQ In Singapore

Key points of note:

• Hoppr’s CTV platform delivers ultra-premium inventory with a ‘first in market’ guaranteed view of a TV ad.
• MiQ is Hoppr’s preferred managed service activation partner in Singapore.
• MiQ is on a mission to develop the most comprehensive Advanced TV (ATV) solution in the market. This mission has progressed in APAC with this new partnership.
• Together, Hoppr and MiQ will deliver solutions that are designed to solve one of the TV industry’s biggest challenges to date: fragmentation leading to a reduction in advertising reach across audience viewing.
• Both parties are assessing opportunities to expand their partnership to include the future launch of enhanced Advanced TV capabilities for Singapore across linear, streaming and YouTube.
• While Singapore is the first market, we expect Hoppr’s CTV platform to appear across households in Europe and US in the next 12-24 months.
• Announcement follows Hoppr’s partnerships with Magnite and Yahoo Advertising in 2024.

SINGAPORE – June 26, 2024 – MiQ, a programmatic media partner to brands and agencies, today announced a partnership agreement in Singapore with Hoppr, a connected TV (CTV) platform delivering ultra-premium inventory with a first-in-market guaranteed view. MiQ is Hoppr’s preferred managed service activation partner in Singapore.

Global programmatic media partner MiQ is on a mission to develop the most comprehensive Advanced TV (ATV) solution in the market. As part of its efforts, the company now has the world’s largest and most diverse TV data footprint, fuelling the industry’s most powerful TV intelligence. MiQ’s mission has further progressed in APAC with this new partnership.  Hoppr’s patented platform uses audience behaviour and insights to deliver a guaranteed view of an advert on the largest screen in the home.

Together, Hoppr and MiQ will deliver solutions that are designed to solve one of the TV industry’s biggest challenges to date: fragmentation leading to a reduction in advertising reach across audience viewing. To enable brands to target the audience they want to reach, MiQ and Hoppr will allow advertisers to plan the audience and buy inventory that will deliver a guaranteed watch of their ad. The level of precision achieved ensures that advertising messages are delivered to the most relevant household audiences, maximising the impact and effectiveness of each campaign. Both parties are assessing opportunities to expand their partnership to include the future launch of enhanced Advanced TV capabilities for Singapore across linear, streaming and YouTube.

Read more: Hoppr, a unique CTV platform, selects Yahoo as preferred DSP partner in Singapore

James Parker, SEA Managing Director at MiQ, said,

“This partnership is an exciting step forward in bringing powerful Advanced TV advertising solutions to the APAC market. MiQ and Hoppr have a shared vision of Advanced TV – one of data driven video convergence across linear and streaming, that brings together the reach of TV with the targeting and performance of programmatic.”

Joe Prusz, CEO of Hoppr commented,

“The combination of MiQ’s managed service CTV and programmatic trading expertise and Hoppr’s unique platform will bring Advanced TV to life. We can deliver a guaranteed view of an advert that will be consumed by an audience in its entirety”, 
“We help advertisers access the hard-to-reach audience who aren’t watching linear TV. We share MiQ’s view of the future of Advanced TV advertising and know that advertisers need a new way for their message to cut through to the consumer. This is only possible with Hoppr’s guaranteed view.”

Both MiQ and Hoppr have a shared vision in this age of Advanced TV, where data-driven video converges across linear and digital. This partnership follows MiQ’s recent global expansion of TV Intelligence to the UK and Australia, reiterating MiQ’s commitment to better the future of TV consumption and audience engagement.

Read more: Magnite Partners with Hoppr for Ultra Premium TV Inventory in Singapore

Viamedia Expands Into Streaming With Innovative Programmatic Ad Sales for Willow by Cricbuzz

Viamedia, the largest independent advertising rep firm in the U.S., announced a groundbreaking partnership with Willow by Cricbuzz, offering more live, streaming and on-demand cricket than any other sports service. As part of this partnership, Viamedia will provide programmatic ad sales representation for Willow by Cricbuzz. This marks a significant expansion for the company into the programmatic streaming space, promising a new era of growth and innovation for both Viamedia and Willow by Cricbuzz.

Viamedia will completely transform the ad inventory management for Willow by Cricbuzz, leveraging its advanced suite of programmatic technologies. This strategic move allows the company to offer its advertising spaces through modern, automated channels, surpassing traditional direct ad sales. Implementing these sophisticated programmatic strategies is poised to significantly enhance the accuracy, efficiency and revenue potential of each streaming service’s programmatic ad sales, setting a new standard for the industry. Advertisers can expect improved targeting, increased reach, and higher ROI from their ad campaigns.

David Solomon, CEO of Viamedia said,

“Viamedia’s strategic partnership with Willow by Cricbuzz signifies a major advancement into the streaming media landscape,”
“Our profound expertise in ad sales places us at the cutting edge of digital advertising evolution and positions our partners for unprecedented success. By integrating programmatic technology, we are redefining the reach and precision of advertising and enhancing revenue streams, setting a new pace for innovation in the advertising industry and expanding our footprint in the programmatic streaming sector.”

Todd Myers, COO of Willow by Cricbuzz said,

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Viamedia and leverage their expertise to enhance our ad sales strategy,”
“Viamedia’s advanced programmatic capabilities will streamline our ad sales process and provide our advertisers with more precise targeting options. This partnership will drive substantial growth for our platform and ensure our audiences receive the most pertinent content.”

Read more: Burson Announces New APAC Leadership Appointments

CTV Exploration: Chandrahas Shetty, Demand Facilitation Lead, India, On Growth And Privacy

Chandrahas Shetty, Demand Facilitation Lead, India at Magnite, has 14 years of diverse experience in digital advertising. His keen insights into the evolving landscape of digital advertising in India, coupled with his strategic approach to addressing challenges, make him a valuable asset in navigating the complexities of the industry. 

In this interview, Chandrahas discusses changes in digital advertising, challenges in adapting strategies across devices, navigating privacy regulations, delivering seamless ad campaigns to Indian audiences, and emerging trends in the industry. 

As someone with 14 years of experience in digital advertising, and experience across different media houses, including newspaper publishing, OTT services, and ad tech, would you mind sharing what changes you’ve seen in digital advertising? 

The digital advertising industry has evolved immensely over the past 14 years, but the most notable change has come as a result of the explosion of video content. Video now dominates the market, which is a stark contrast from when I first started out in the industry. In the past several years, the continued expansion of the streaming landscape combined

with the shift to digital means that content is more accessible than ever, and consumers are more connected than ever. And while previously it was more challenging to reach consumers, we’ve also seen an improvement as it relates to targeting these audiences effectively, particularly with the introduction of programmatic. It’s now easier to scale campaigns, and advertisers can enjoy greater ROI from programmatic campaigns. 

CTV and OTT are becoming increasingly popular with consumers, yet advertisers cannot discredit strategizing for traditional TV advertising. What challenges do advertisers face when adapting strategies across different devices and how can advertisers tailor these strategies for seamless integration across all devices? 

While linear television still maintains a large share of media spending in India, consumers are choosing CTV for its flexible nature as they appreciate the ability to watch high-quality content on their own terms, at their preferred time. CTV’s data-driven capabilities empower advertisers to tailor their message to the consumer while providing them with the flexibility to alter ad creative to maximize impact. 

Despite this, fragmentation across devices, channels, and walled gardens, continues to pose a challenge, but there are solutions to take advantage of the explosive growth across the ecosystem, which presents a can’t-miss opportunity for brands looking to reach new and existing audiences. 

To keep pace with these changes, buyers can embrace the flexibility and efficiency of programmatic, forge more direct relationships with sell-side partners, and maximize audience data to future-proof their media-buying strategies.  Programmatic pipes provide brands with a more streamlined ad-buying process that, when coupled with a centralized access point for inventory across channels, allows marketers to drive efficient and effective campaign performance. In an omnichannel landscape, Supply Path Optimization (SPO) can also be used to streamline sell-side partners to focus solely on those that deliver access to premium inventory across channels at scale, and who can provide the tools to better plan, buy, measure, and optimize in an omnichannel media ecosystem. 

The Indian advertising industry is fragmented. With stringent privacy regulations and the deprecation of third-party cookies, how will media buyers navigate the evolving digital media landscape in 2024? 

Although the timeline for cookie deprecation has been pushed back once more, buyers still need to be mindful of the evolving privacy landscape and continue to prepare. Navigating these changes successfully means they will need to adopt a portfolio-based approach that encompasses the main ID solutions most relevant to them and explore data collaboration. Owned first-party data will continue to be valuable to activate against directly. 

Data collaboration through data matching can help to ensure accuracy and scalability of audiences. Data matching allows buyers and sellers to build out a scaled, secure method of matching data for insights and activation. While data clean rooms are a starting place, the future of data sharing will be encrypting data where it sits, but activating it where it’s required, allowing publishers to attach matched data to an ad opportunity. 

Finally, buyers should look to work more strategically with the publisher supply paths that provide better data enablement, – including actionable insights for more informed planning and campaign optimisation – as well as better audience curation, and improved contextual Intelligence. 

With the rapid penetration of mobile devices and the advent of CTV, how can publishers and advertisers make sure that their ad campaigns are seamlessly delivered to Indian audiences when it comes to Live Sports? 

CTV growth in India is continuing to accelerate and the latest research from GroupM’s “The Changing Landscape of Indian Television report” estimates CTVs are expected to reach more than 45 million households by the end of 2024. While India remains a mobile-first market, live sports streaming is omnichannel, with viewers often opting for the CTV large screen environment when streaming live sports.  Bringing the uninterrupted, big-screen viewing experience to digital means leveraging technology like server-side ad insertion (SSAI), which can assist with seamless ad delivery by prefetching advertisements, enhancing ads’ quality to match the stream’s quality, and stitching the ads into the content as one piece of the video stream. Ad serving tools are also key here to help ensure frequency capping and avoid repeat ads in live streams. 

In addition, buyers can leverage the benefits of programmatic to target sports inventory across a wider range of broadcasters, making it easier to apply and distribute budgets as well as activate audience targeting to achieve the best outcomes (rather than buying in siloed fashion from individual broadcasters). Programmatic’s data-driven targeting capabilities empower advertisers of all sizes to tap into premium inventory, irrespective of their budgets.  Programmatic demand should ideally be leveraged in concert with direct demand in business-compliant ways to ensure they are maximising ad breaks with large, diverse pools of advertisers. 

Could you tell us about one prediction you made for 2024 in the past four months that has come true? And what are some other trends you see in digital advertising coming true as well? 

The rising popularity of streaming services over the past several years, along with increased availability of smart TVs and more affordable data plans, continue to push CTV to new heights in India. As a result, streaming media companies have embraced advertising even more. It’s evident that an ad tier is crucial to attract viewers and achieve scale in the market. This shift has introduced numerous streaming apps, offering consumers a variety of choices when evaluating their current streaming subscriptions. In response to this, I expected we’d see increased consolidation as the market reached saturation, the number of streaming apps would be whittled down and bundles re-introduced. This is a trend we are witnessing play out among major players in the market as well as other key global markets. 

We expect the adoption of programmatic buying in streaming to continue to accelerate as buyers see the value in being afforded greater control over how they structure deals and more insight into how their ad dollars get spent. In addition, I think we’ll continue to see more inventory available via FAST channels in India. As streaming becomes a permanent fixture in India’s video landscape, fueled by ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) adoption, Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) is set to grow, mirroring the rise of TV manufacturer FAST offerings globally and regionally.