As AI chatbots and services continue to roil the digital advertising market, the IAB Tech Lab has announced a significant new effort to create a clearer commercial framework around how AIs use content.

It has released a CoMP (Content Monetization Protocol), a proposed industry standard that is designed to ensure AI systems have commercial agreements with publishers before crawling or using their content.

The launch comes at a time when publishers face steep referral traffic declines and the industry looks for clearer monetization and licensing frameworks around the content powering LLMs.

The CoMP (Content Monetization Protocol) Specification v1.0 is available for Public Comment until April 9, 2026, to gather industry feedback and support broad adoption.

“AI systems require chips, power, and information. Information is the only input in that equation that does not yet have a consistent commercial infrastructure around it,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab. “If we expect high-quality content to continue fueling AI-driven products, we need clear terms of engagement and a mechanism that supports compensation, accountability, and long-term sustainability. CoMP is designed to help the industry move in that direction.”

Publishers have experienced significant traffic declines in recent years, including reductions in search referral traffic exceeding 50 percent in some cases. The CoMP framework is intended to provide a foundation for a global information market that enables new revenue opportunities tied to AI usage, while supporting fair compensation for quality, timely content. At the same time, the framework is designed to mitigate risk for AI systems that depend on ongoing access to reliable, well-structured information.

The CoMP framework is designed to work across direct licensing arrangements and third-party marketplaces, allowing Content Owners and AI systems to implement a single standardized protocol rather than building proprietary integrations for each platform. By establishing a consistent method for signaling permissions and commercial terms before content is accessed, CoMP reduces bespoke technical work, lowers operational overhead, and supports scalable adoption across the ecosystem.

The IAB Tech Lab stressed that the CoMP is not a replacement for strong access controls. The framework assumes that content owners have established robust blocking strategies at the delivery point, such as their Edge Compute or Content Delivery Network (CDN). With that foundation in place, the protocol creates a standardized path from restrictions to a structured and mutually beneficial commercial market.

As part of the launch, several industry participants expressed support for a standardized approach to content monetization in AI environments.

“At The Weather Company, we believe the future of the industry depends on human-centric, AI-driven innovation that prioritizes the end user,” said Julianne Jennings, senior director of content and product, The Weather Company. “Our collaboration with the IAB Tech Lab on the CoMP framework is a critical step in establishing a foundation for secured data collaboration that benefits the entire ecosystem. By creating a standardized path for commercial agreements, we ensure our high-fidelity weather data remains effortlessly accessible across activation channels—empowering buyers and driving performance outcomes while maintaining the trust and accuracy our users rely on every day."

“We know the best AI products require the best inputs and the AI economy will need more quality content in the future, not less,” said Jon Roberts, Chief Innovation Officer, People Inc. “A global information economy needs global standards and we have been a supporter of the IAB CoMP initiative from the beginning. We support global standards that help all creators get paid fairly.”

“The first release of the CoMP API marks an important step toward establishing interoperable, transparent standards for fair value exchange in the AI ecosystem, recognizing that AI systems depend on high-quality, trusted content. As an early contributor, we believe scalable, robust compensation frameworks — alongside visibility and attribution for content usage — are essential to sustaining high-quality journalism and premium content in the AI era,” said Achim Schlosser, VP Global Data Standards, Bertelsmann.

"Publishers should be compensated for the use of their intellectual property – and for the real investment required to produce quality content,” said Rob Beeler, of Beeler.Tech, a Publisher-focused Ad Ops community. “While much remains to be figured out about how LLMs will work with publishers, CoMP provides a necessary framework for those discussions, helping us move faster from theory to practice and better protect the future of publishing.“

To learn more or to participate in the public comment process, which will remain open until April 9, 2026, please visit https://iabtechlab.com/comp/.

NEW YORK—-IAB Tech Lab, the global digital advertising technical standards-setting body, has announced two major developments in a work on privacy-focused standards by unveiling updates to the Global Privacy Protocol (GPP) and releasing Version 2 of the Data Deletion Request Framework (DDRF).

Both initiatives, developed with leadership from the Global Privacy Working Group, are now open for public comment through December 1, 2025.

Global Privacy Protocol (GPP) H2 2025 Update

The latest GPP updates introduce four new U.S. state sections — Maryland (effective October 1, 2025), Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island (all effective January 1, 2026) — to reflect recently enacted consumer privacy laws.

Updates also include a rearchitecture initiative designed to future-proof U.S. sections and increase signal transparency in the core GPP specifications, the IAB Tech Lab explained.

"By expanding the Global Privacy Protocol to cover additional states and enhancing the core framework, we're helping the industry plan with confidence," said Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab. "The bi-annual release cycle gives companies predictability while keeping transparency and user choice at the core."

Starting in 2026, regular bi-annual updates will give companies the predictability they need to align product roadmaps with shifting regulatory timelines.

"The bi-annual release cycle is especially valuable for companies like ours," said Andrea Wheeler, senior privacy manager, Quantcast. "It gives us the predictability to align development roadmaps with regulatory timelines, while the added transparency ensures we can continue to uphold user trust as privacy requirements evolve."

The update also introduces improved clarity around how supported and applicable sections are communicated within the GPP framework. In the CMP API, the PingReturn.supportedAPIs field provides information about which sections the CMP supports, as directed by the first party.

The IAB Tech Lab noted that until now, there has been no equivalent mechanism that downstream vendors could rely on server-side. Two implementation options have been proposed, and IAB Tech Lab is inviting industry feedback to identify the most effective path forward.

Data Deletion Request Framework (DDRF) Version 2

Building on broad industry adoption, DDRF V2 strengthens interoperability, consistency, and security for processing consumer deletion requests. The update introduces clearer object formats, standardized encoding methods, and enhanced safeguards to secure sensitive consumer data as it flows across the digital advertising supply chain, the Lab reported.

"We designed DDRF V2 to help reduce complexity and risk for the industry," said Rowena Lam, senior director, product, IAB Tech Lab. "By standardizing formats and processes, organizations can easily comply with regulatory requirements while protecting consumer data rights."

"With this release, we are not only improving interoperability and transparency but also strengthening the security of the framework," added Katsur. "These enhancements will help foster trust with consumers while reducing compliance risks across the ecosystem."

Recognized by regulators globally, such as the Information Commissioner's Office, and already a cornerstone for deletion request processing, DDRF V2 reduces complexity while providing organizations with more robust compliance mechanisms, the IAB Tech Lab reported.

Both the GPP and DDRF initiatives are part of IAB Tech Lab's ongoing global effort to develop privacy-centric, interoperable solutions that sustain trust in digital advertising. By introducing predictable release cycles, clearer frameworks, and stronger safeguards, IAB Tech Lab continues to help companies navigate evolving regulations with confidence.

To learn more about the Global Privacy Protocol 2nd Half 2025 updates, click here: https://iabtechlab.com/2h-2025-gpp-and-ddrf-updates/

To review the Data Deletion Request Framework Version 2 standards, click here: https://github.com/InteractiveAdvertisingBureau/Data-Subject-Rights/pull/9

Both are now open for public comment through December 1, 2025.

NEW YORK—In an important development that could streamline and improve the way digital ads are invoiced, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released its Digital Advertising Invoice API Specifications and is asking for public comment between now and August 11, 2025.

This initiative introduces a unified, system-agnostic set of API specifications designed to streamline the exchange of invoice data and documentation between buyers and sellers in the digital advertising supply chain, the digital ad industry trade association explained.

“Despite the digital nature of our industry, the way we handle invoices is still largely manual and outdated,” said Angelina Eng, vice president , measurement, attribution and data center, IAB. “This effort reflects our commitment to modernizing digital advertising infrastructure, which will enable scalable, tech-forward solutions that work across platforms and stakeholders.”

Developed in close collaboration with Mediaocean and adapted from the Prisma platform’s proven API architecture, the specifications are designed to solve what the IAB calls “a persistent operational pain-point in digital advertising - the lack of standardization in invoicing processes.”

These new specifications provide a consistent, machine-readable format for transmitting invoice data, reducing the need for manual processing, accelerating payment cycles, and improving overall accuracy, the IAB said.

“This initiative reflects the kind of partnership IAB fosters - bringing stakeholders together to solve practical, systemic issues,” said Alexander Tsai, senior vice president of Prisma Product Management, at Mediaocean. “By aligning around a standardized API framework for invoice automation, we’re helping ensure that digital advertising keeps pace with the broader media landscape.”

The IAB also noted that invoicing in digital advertising has many inefficiencies, ranging from inconsistent formats and missing documentation to delayed payments and invoice rejections. The new API specifications aim to address these challenges by offering:

• A flexible, interoperable solution built for easy integration into existing seller-side finance systems;
• A common language and structure to improve invoice processing and data reconciliation;
• A foundation for faster, more accurate, and transparent payments.

Finalized specifications are expected to follow later this year.

To review the proposed digital advertising invoice API specifications and provide feedback, click here. The comment period is open through August 11, 2025.

In a ruling that could have a major impact on the digital advertising market, a federal judge has ruled that Google has monopolized some types of advertising technologies in violation of U.S. antitrust laws and used that market power to illegally dominate the online ad market.

The U.S. Department of Justice and eight states filed the case against Google in January 2023. Eventually, nine more states, for a total of 17, joined the Justice Department in filing an amended complaint. They accused Google of illegally leveraging its control over various ad tech tools to unfairly favor its own products and harm competition. The ruling was made after a three-week bench trial.

“Plaintiffs have proven that Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising,” Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in an April 17 opinion. “For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets. Google further entrenched its monopoly power by imposing anticompetitive policies on its customers and eliminating desirable product features. In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web. Accordingly, Google is liable under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.”

After the three-week bench trial and extensive post-trial filings, the Court did, however, reject one of the claims in the case, ruling that “Plaintiffs have failed to prove that there is a relevant market for open-web display advertiser ad networks.”

The ruling adds to the legal woes facing Google, which has dominated digital advertising in recent decades. Last August, Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Google had abused a monopoly over the search business.

The rulings in those cases could lead to a breakup of Google, which is worth more than $1.8 trillion, and could lead to major changes in the online and digital advertising markets, which continue to grow at the expense of traditional media.

It is also part of increased regulatory pressure on “big tech” companies that includes a separate case against Facebook brought by the Federal Trade Commission that alleges Facebook operates an illegal monopoly. That antitrust case is currently being tried.

National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt applauded the ruling and expressed the organization’s hope that it might prompt action by the Federal Communications Commission to reduce regulations faced by broadcasters and create a more level playing field.

“Today’s decision affirms what local broadcasters and other publishers have long known: Google has used its dominance in the online advertising marketplace to disadvantage content creators and tilt the playing field,” LeGeyt said.

“We commend the Department of Justice for taking on this critical case," he continued. "As policymakers and regulators consider the implications of this ruling, we urge them to recognize that the same Big Tech dominance harming digital publishers is also undermining the advertising revenue local broadcasters rely on to serve their communities. We are encouraged that the FCC, under Chairman [Brendan] Carr’s leadership, is taking steps to modernize its rules and look forward to swift action that begins to level the competitive playing field.”

NEW YORK—Internet advertising revenues demonstrated strong growth in 2024, increasing 14.9% year-over-year to $258.6 billion, according to the “IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2024.”

The study, which showed the strongest gains since 2021, was conducted by PwC.

Digital video advertising was particularly strong, growing 19.2% to $62.1 billion, accounting for 24% of the digital ad market.

Search grew by 15.9% YoY to $102.9 billion giving it 39.8% of the total digital ad market.

Display was up 12.4% YoY to $74.3 billion (28.7% of the total) while social increased 36.7% to $88.7 billion (34.3% of total), podcast revenue was up 26.4% to $2.4 billion (0.9% of the market) and retail media grew by 23% YoY to $53.7 billion (20.8% of the total.)

“The U.S. digital ad industry showed remarkable strength in 2024. Despite the volatility from geopolitical shifts, interest rate changes, and economic uncertainty, major events like the Presidential Election and Olympics provided meaningful tailwinds,” said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. “As we look ahead to this year, there is no doubt that we will see an even more dynamic market driven by geopolitical and economic factors. There is absolutely growth to be had for those that embrace the volatility and innovate. Now is the time to future-proof your business by exploring new solutions that leverage the latest advancements in technology while ensuring that consumer privacy stays at the forefront.”

The study noted that digital video continued to be the fastest-growing format, now accounting for nearly a quarter of total ad revenue, reflecting consumer engagement with video content. Podcast advertising came back to strong growth, with a significant increase compared to 2023, over 26% vs. 5%, respectively. Social media saw renewed confidence amongst advertisers due to increased investment in user-generated content, creator-driven partnerships, and community-led spaces.

Commerce media, including retail media networks, continued its strong growth in 2024, with revenues rising 23% to $53.7 billion, as the critical importance of first-party data ecosystems positions it as a key pillar in media budgets as brands shift towards privacy-compliant audience targeting, the researchers said.

While the entire digital ecosystem grew, mid-tier media companies experienced the largest share growth, the study found. Market share among the top 11-25 media companies reached 11% in 2024, an increase of 3.1% since 2023. This growth highlights the rising influence of emerging digital platforms, democratizing the ad ecosystem where brands are allocating budgets beyond the largest platforms.

“The biggest shift in market share came from the mid-tier companies, growing at a greater rate than both the largest and the smallest players,” said Cohen. “These midsized companies are adopting new business models, encouraging creator engagement, and leveraging AI and data-driven insights to offer more personalized, cost-effective advertising solutions. As a result, we’re seeing renewed growth and a next generation market taking shape.”

“While digital advertising reached new heights in 2024, there are many forces that are quite literally transforming our industry in real time,” added Jack Koch, senior vice president, research & insights, iAB. “Next year we expect the industry to look quite different as media companies adopt new business models and lean heavily on AI, not only survive but thrive.”

Looking forward, the study made these predictions for 2024:

• AI-Driven Advertising: From Automation to Transformation: AI has evolved from a tool for automation to a transformative force in digital advertising, driven by generative and agentic models that can create content, make autonomous decisions, and manage campaigns end-to-end. These advancements are disrupting traditional ad channels like search, shifting from keyword bidding to native, conversational ad experiences embedded in AI-generated results. However, widespread adoption remains limited due to challenges with data readiness, tool fragmentation, and compliance. As AI takes over operational tasks, human creativity remains vital—pushing companies to redefine how technology and talent work together in the new media model.
• Creator Economy: Shifting to Long-Term Partnerships and Multi-Platform Expansion: The creator economy is thriving as brands shift from one-off influencer deals to long-term partnerships, aiming for more authentic, sustained engagement. Creators are expanding beyond social media into podcasts, newsletters, and retail partnerships, unlocking new monetization avenues. Short-form video dominates, but emerging platforms are reshaping consumer behavior and pushing brands to adapt. While platforms offer better revenue-sharing models, many creators still face challenges in a crowded space. Success hinges on authenticity, audience trust, and long-term strategy.
• Privacy & Regulation: The Rise of First-Party Data Strategies: The digital ad industry is shifting toward privacy-first strategies as signal loss and new state privacy laws limit user-level tracking. Brands are adopting first-party data, contextual targeting, and consent-based tools to stay compliant and effective. As consumers demand both protection and personalization, trust and transparency have become key competitive advantages.
• Streaming CTV, and Skinny Bundles: Monetizing in a Fragmented Landscape: As advertisers shift budgets from linear TV to streaming, ad-supported tiers from Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime are expanding inventory while driving down CPMs. Live sports streaming on platforms like YouTube TV and Amazon is attracting ad dollars, while skinny bundles help reduce churn and boost ad-supported revenue. With increasing fragmentation, programmatic CTV and self-serve ad platforms are giving brands more control and efficiency in reaching engaged audiences.
• Business Model Reinvention: AI, commerce, and media are reshaping advertising, with brands adopting multi-platform strategies and AI-driven automation to stay competitive. Retail media networks offer high-intent audiences and closed-loop measurement, while new monetization models like subscription-based content and shoppable media are on the rise. As consumer habits evolve, many advertisers are expanding their presence across emerging networks to hedge against platform risk and maximize flexibility, giving brands a competitive edge in a fragmented market.

Click here to access the “IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2024.” Experts from IAB, PwC, and MAGNA will discuss key findings and trends from the report during a webinar on April 24^th, at 2pm ET. Register here.

NEW YORK—IAB Tech Lab, which sets global digital advertising technical standards, has announced the launch of ADMaP (Attribution Data Matching Protocol) for public comment.

ADMaP, built by privacy, measurement and data clean-room experts, allows advertisers and publishers to securely share and measure conversion data without revealing user-specific details.

The protocol leverages Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), such as Private Set Intersection (PSI) and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), to ensure privacy and data security, IAB Tech Lab said.

“The shift away from traditional identifiers and associated techniques used for attribution has created an urgent need for new, privacy-forward solutions. Signal loss limits advertisers’ ability to measure campaigns accurately and ultimately impacts publishers revenues,” IAB Tech Lab CEO Anthony Katsur said. “ADMaP is a game-changer, enabling advertisers and publishers to collaborate safely and accurately determine measurement and attribution while fully protecting their audience’s privacy. This isn’t just about compliance—it’s about building trust and setting a new standard for how data can be shared responsibly in our industry for specific purposes.”

The ADMaP protocol employs several privacy-centric steps: identity mapping, attribution computation and report generation. These steps use privacy-enhancing technologies such as secure multiparty computation cryptography and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to ensure secure, encrypted, private data handling, enabling publishers to share exposure data and advertisers to share conversion data without the risk of revealing user-specific information. The protocol also enables data clean rooms to provide cryptographically guaranteed features that maintain the integrity and privacy of client data, IAB Lab said.

“To exact change and to solve for measurement and attribution, the industry needs to take bold actions,” said Edik Mitelman, general manager of marketing analytics and attribution platform AppsFlyer. “By bringing together advertisers, publishers and data clean rooms, we’ve collaboratively developed a solution that not only addresses the privacy challenges we face today, but also paves the way for a more secure, transparent and importantly measurable future for digital advertising. This is a critical step, and not a final solution, in aligning privacy-first innovation with the needs of the entire ecosystem.”

IAB Tech Lab is inviting industry stakeholders to review the protocol and submit feedback during a public comment period open through Nov. 14. For more information and to participate, click here.

NEW YORK—Yahoo Advertising has announced that the Yahoo DSP has become the first platform to integrate measurement and audience data from TV data and technology provider  VideoAmp. 

As part of the agreement, Yahoo ConnectID, the Yahoo DSP cookieless identifier is being integrated with VideoAmp’s big data and tech engine VALID (VideoAmp Linked Identity & Data). That integration will allow advertisers to leverage high-quality viewership data and an industry-leading identity graph.

VideoAmp recently received certification from the U.S. Joint Industry Committee for advanced audiences and household measurement. 

“For advertisers, the CTV landscape is increasingly complicated but great data can ensure optimized planning, targeting, and measurement,” said Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, chief revenue officer, Yahoo. “The recent JIC certification granted to VideoAmp is an important milestone for the industry and recognition of the importance of having accurate data measuring and informing media for today’s marketers. As the first DSP to work with VideoAmp in this way, we’re helping advertisers navigate this new normal by building on our industry-leading tools and ensuring campaigns are independently validated by a trusted, currency-grade measurement leader.”

VALID’s TV dataset is one of the largest commingled, deduplicated and enriched Set-Top Box (STB) and Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) television exposure datasets in the industry, comprised of viewership data from across nearly 40M households and 63M devices. 98% of the TV publisher ecosystem, 11 agency groups and more than 1,000 brands alike have adopted VideoAmp for advanced currency and measurement, the company said. 

With the integration, Yahoo DSP advertisers can more effectively reach their audiences with robust segments and real-time optimizations based on audience exposures and frequency, even when 3P cookies are not available, the companies said. 

Advertisers can then validate campaign performance with reach and frequency measurement across both linear TV and CTV platforms, gaining insights into the incremental reach of CTV audiences not exposed on linear TV.  

The companies also said that the combination of VideoAmp's expertise in cross-platform measurement and Yahoo's first-party data will provide advertisers with more efficient media spend and consumers with more relevant advertising. 

Yahoo ConnectID is already one of the world's most popular cookieless identifiers. Currently implemented across nearly 50,000 publisher domains, Yahoo ConnectID offers interoperability with more than 30 top data platforms, including LiveRamp, Epsilon, Adobe, Acxiom, and Twilio Segment. With VideoAmp’s VALID Commingled ID Graph serving as the identity bridge, Yahoo ConnectID can effectively facilitate targeting and measurement capabilities powered by a first-party data network of over 205 million authenticated US users, the companies reported. 

“To connect disparate datasets, you also need the privacy-forward, first-party data-based identity layer,” added Herbst-Brady. “Yahoo ConnectID has seen incredible momentum, and we are thrilled to continue its expansion through our relationship with VideoAmp.”

“Identity is at the core of what we provide to the industry,” remarked VideoAmp’s Chief Commercial and Growth Officer, Pete Bradbury. “As we come together in partnership with Yahoo, the intersection of ConnectID and VALID data and technology is a milestone of interoperability and one we are extremely excited about at VideoAmp.”

More information about the partnership is available at www.advertising.yahooinc.com.

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar Media Group has appointed Lisa Taylor as senior vice president of digital advertising sales, where she will be responsible for accelerating  digital revenue growth across the company’s broadcast group. 

An experienced sales leader with an extensive background in local broadcasting, digital sales, data-mining, strategic planning, and new  business development, Taylor will report to Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting  division, and begin her new duties on June 17. 

Across a 20+ year career in advertising sales and marketing with a particular focus on digital products,  data, and insights, Taylor has established a long track record of success, Nexstar said. 

Taylor joins Nexstar from  Amazon, where she has served as senior business development manager for the company’s worldwide  emerging business, Amazon Ads. At Amazon, Taylor built features and benefits that helped drive  revenue growth and value for both business-to-consumer and business-to-business segments, leveraging technology and tools across a variety of advertising products and solutions to drive a 300% increase in  new business revenue. She was responsible for designing and developing a strategic plan for digital  growth, deepening internal and external partnerships with stakeholders such as ad tech and supply, and  establishing measurement metrics to provide addressable advertising solutions for customers across the  Amazon ad portfolio. 

At Nexstar, Taylor will oversee digital advertising sales for the company’s broadcast group, including  its owned and partner television stations and their respective websites in 117 local markets across the  country. She will be responsible for leading the group’s local digital sales strategy, sales enablement,  expansion of local sales products, as well as training and talent development and driving station-level and  groupwide revenue growth. 

“Lisa has established herself as a deeply experienced leader in digital sales and she understands keenly  the nature of the rapidly evolving digital landscape,” said Alford. “She has been successful everywhere  at growing ad revenue and profit, and knows how to build highly effective, collaborative sales teams. Her  time at Amazon gave her a window into the digital space that will prove to be invaluable, and she will be  a great asset to Nexstar.” 

Prior to her work with Amazon, Taylor held sales and marketing leadership positions of increasing  responsibility with Meredith Corporation, where she served as vice president of digital revenue from  2018 to 2022, overseeing sales for the company’s $1.8 billion Local Media Group. From 2016 to 2018, Taylor was director, digital Sales for Meredith.

Commenting on her appointment, Taylor said, “I’m grateful to Nexstar for giving me this opportunity  and I’m looking forward to working with the digital teams across the company’s television stations.  Nexstar’s scale and its unique portfolio of assets positions the company to offer a variety of digital and  cross-platform advertising solutions which can be customized to suit the needs of any client—that gives  Nexstar a distinct advantage over its competitors.” 

Taylor has been deeply involved in media industry and community organizations throughout her  career. She currently serves as a mentor for Veterati, which supports and guides veterans and military  spouses to rewarding careers. While at Amazon, she was a member of Amazon Warriors, working with  veterans and their spouses, and Amazon Women, promoting programs related to recruitment, inclusion,  and diversity. She is a past member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. 

Taylor earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from DePauw University and her MBA from  the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. 

In a notable development in the industry-wide effort to address privacy concerns while improving efficacy of marketing efforts in a cookieless ad landscape, IAB Tech Lab has launched IAB Tech Lab PAIR.

The solution is based on Google's PAIR protocol and the IAB Tech Lab Privacy Enhancing Technology Working Group initiatives.

This protocol leverages first-party audience data, allowing advertisers and publishers to maintain full control of their data while achieving personalized and accurate targeting. By using data clean rooms and encryption, PAIR enables privacy-safe data matching, supporting secure programmatic transactions.

For the new solution Google contributed its PAIR protocol to IAB Tech Lab for further development as part of an effort to promote a unified standard for the industry and to enhance the confidence of advertisers and publishers in utilizing their first-party data. 

The PAIR protocol will be overseen by the Privacy and Addressability working group, aligning with OPJA to create a standardized and scalable approach for the industry.

More information on the launch and IAB Tech Lab PAIR is available here.

NEW YORK—In the runup to the 2024 IAB NewFronts, the IAB has announced three key appointments to its leadership team.

The appointments to the digital advertising trade group include Cintia Gabilan, a seasoned professional who’s held senior roles at Amazon, Meta, and Unilever, who is stepping into the position of vice president at the IAB Media Center. Joining her is Arlene Mu, former chief privacy officer and assistant general counsel at Lowe’s, who will assume the position of assistant general counsel at IAB. 

In addition, industry veteran Nadine Karp McHugh has been appointed as the new IAB executive in residence. Karp McHugh’s illustrious career, including stints at Goldman Sachs, SeeHer, Colgate, Ogilvy, Mindshare, and L’Oréal, brings invaluable brand marketing and agency insights to IAB.

Gabilan will lead one of IAB’s most critical areas of focus as vice president of its Media Center, right in time for the 2024 IAB NewFronts (April 29 – May 2) and the 2024 IAB Podcast Upfront (May 9), the group said. She will report to Pam Zucker, senior vice president, chief strategy officer.

“The Media Center is part of the heart and soul of IAB, working with hundreds of publishers and marketplace participants to ensure a bright and vibrant future for the streaming video and audio ecosystem” said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. “Some of the most meaningful IAB marketplaces, like the IAB NewFronts and IAB Podcast Upfront, are led by the IAB Media Center, and Cintia will undoubtedly bring a fresh perspective to the market. With experience working on the brand, agency, and media sides of our ecosystem, Cintia will quickly become an important fixture in the IAB community.”

Most recently, Gabilan spearheaded major initiatives as global head of executive, analyst, and trade relations marketing at Amazon Ads. There, she led transformative strategies, including Customer Advisory Boards and Competitive Intelligence programs. Before this, Gabilan honed her expertise during her tenure at Meta (Facebook), spanning nearly a decade.

Gabilan also held leadership roles within renowned global ad agencies such as Wunderman Thompson and dentsu, as well as at CPG giant Unilever.

Arlene Mu joins IAB as assistant general counsel. Mu's arrival coincides with a critical moment for the industry, as data privacy legislation continues to sweep the nation and shape digital advertising.

“Amidst escalating data privacy obligations and the need for collaboration in the industry to better protect consumers, Arlene's addition to IAB couldn't be more timely,” said Michael Hahn, executive vice president and general counsel, IAB. "With her extensive experience in retail and the growth of retail media networks, Arlene brings a unique perspective. As we navigate the complexities of promoting responsible data practices in digital advertising, her legal counsel and understanding of privacy will be invaluable. Arlene’s insights will play a crucial role in our efforts toward creating a safer and compliant digital environment for consumers and IAB members."

Mu comes to IAB from Lowe's Companies Inc., where she held the position of assistant general counsel and chief privacy officer. Her responsibilities included guiding the company through the complexities of privacy regulations, particularly in the context of marketing and the burgeoning field of retail media. During her tenure, she played a critical role in driving Lowe’s key digital marketing initiatives and retail media network establishment, contributing to the company's growth and compliance strategies amidst the notable 16.3% year-over-year increase in advertising revenues in the retail media sector, which reached $43.7 billion in 2023.

Now, at IAB, Mu will collaborate closely with Michael Hahn on crucial industry legal projects, including the IAB Multi-State Privacy Agreement (MSPA), the Privacy Implementation and Accountability Task Force (PIAT), and the Clean Rooms Privacy Working Group. Her in-depth understanding of privacy regulations and hands-on experience in retail media will be invaluable as she continues to drive legal initiatives that shape the future of digital advertising, leading up to IAB’s Connected Commerce Summit on September 17-18, 2024.

Additionally, IAB welcomes Nadine Karp McHugh – a renowned leader boasting extensive experience in both brand marketing and agency leadership – as its executive in residence.

Throughout her career, Karp McHugh has occupied prominent positions in marketing and media across various sectors. Notably, she recently served as managing director, global media at Goldman Sachs. Before this, she held key positions at industry-leading brands such as L'Oréal and Colgate-Palmolive. Her journey has included significant contributions across WPP agencies, including leading Unilever's U.S. business and serving as Chief Client Officer at MindShare New York. Karp McHugh's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion led her to the role of President of SeeHer, a nonprofit designed to drive accurate portrayals of all women and girls within marketing and media. A distinguished TedX speaker known for her impactful presence in marketing and media, Karp McHugh has received numerous accolades, such as Ad Age’s Women to Watch and Media Maven awards.

"Nadine is an incredible addition to our team, bringing years of brand experience and a unique perspective,” said Sheryl Goldstein, executive vice president, chief industry growth officer, IAB. “With a focus on DEI, leadership, and creativity, Nadine will undoubtedly serve as a valuable resource for our members providing strategic direction for brand engagement.”

“In welcoming Cintia Gabilan and Arlene Mu to its executive ranks, alongside Nadine Karp McHugh, IAB solidifies its commitment to driving innovation, diversity, and responsible practices across the digital industry,” says Cohen. “With their combined leadership, IAB stands poised to meet the challenges and opportunities shaping the digital advertising ecosystem head-on, ensuring collaboration, progress and collective growth.”

$225 billion: That’s how high U.S. digital advertising revenues were in 2023, according to the newly released “IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2023,” compiled by PwC. According to the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) report, these revenues increased by 7.3% year-over-year overall (YoY) between 2022 and 2023. The IAB report also found that Q4 2023 saw the highest growth rate of 12.3% from the year prior (4.4%), with revenues rising to $64.5 billion.

“Despite inflation fears, interest rates at record highs, and continuing global unrest, the U.S. digital advertising industry continued its growth trajectory in 2023,” said IAB CEO David Cohen. “With significant industry transformation unfolding right before our eyes, we believe that those channels with a portfolio of privacy-by-design solutions will continue to outpace the market.”

The biggest channel for growth during 2023 was audio digital advertising, which grew 18.9% to reach $7 billion. According to IAB, audio is still the fastest growing channel, although at a slower pace than last year.

Retail Media digital advertising revenues were another growth area. This channel experienced 16.3% YoY growth in advertising revenues in 2023, reaching $43.7 billion. According to IAB, major e-commerce players are all expanding their retail media platforms to enable future growth.

Video advertising revenue saw double digit (10.6%) YoY growth as well, rising to $52.1 billion in 2023. 42% of this revenue was generated by CTV and OTT (over the top/streaming). While this increase was less than in 2022, IAB expects the combination of CTV/OTT to be the fastest growing media channel in 2024, especially as ad-supported streaming services are capturing a larger share of consumer attention. 

After slowing in 2022, social media advertising revenues regained strength with 8.7% YoY growth, increasing to $64.9 billion in 2023. Revenues in the second half of 2023 accounted for $4.1 of the total $5.1 billion increase over the previous year.

Meanwhile, although digital advertising revenues for search ($88.8 billion) and display ($66.1 billion) remain high, both showed relatively modest annual growth rates during 2023. Search was at 5.2% and display at 4% YoY growth respectively.

IAB expects the trends that drove the digital advertising market last year to continue to affect it in 2024. As well, IAB points to privacy-preserving advertising practices; social media combinations of social commerce, reality technology, and influencer marketing; and generative AI as factors shaping the U.S. digital advertising environment.

“Looking ahead, while there are no shortage of challenges, there are also strong opportunities in sports streaming, creator-based marketing, retail media networks, and beyond,” said Jack Koch, IAB’s senior vice president of research and insights. “2023 is proof that the industry can stay resilient in the face of change.”

As networks work to finish their upfront deals, new data highlights the ongoing importance of online video for advertisers, with MediaRadar reporting that the category grew by 86% in 2022 to $28.2 billion and that digital advertising easily surpassed spending on TV. 

To understand the state of TV and video advertising entering the Upfront and NewFront season, MediaRadar analyzed a data sample of the ad spend from national broadcasts and cable TV ads in 2022 and found that digital advertising accounted for $68 billion or 47% of the total $144 billion ad spend on digital, print and TV. That easily outpaced TV, which comprised 41% the total spending in 2022.

Top categories investing in TV ads mirrored those in digital, with the top-5 largely consisting of finance, media & entertainment, retail, and tech sectors. However, except for media and entertainment, TV investment in these sectors witnessed a YoY decrease.

The study also found:  

• Online video advertising is up and increasingly more important to advertisers as it rose 86% YoY. MediaRadar observed 31.1k advertisers spend an estimated $28.2 billion in video advertising during 2022.  Top three categories advertised via online video during 2022: software ($1.9 billion), pharma ($1.4 billion), and film promotion ($1.4 billion). Combined spend nearly reached $4.8 billion, this is only 17% of total online video spend.
• OTT investments increased despite the challenges of matching 2021 growth. Around 5.7k brands increased their investment in streaming platforms YoY during 2022. Together their buys were nearly $1.3 billion. Most notably LinkedIn, eHarmony, Kohl’s, and Febreeze contributed to this YoY increase. 
• Short spots increase market share. TV ads 15 seconds or less accounted for $5.2 billion (35% of $14.8 billion) in Q1 2023. That’s a 6% YoY increase from Q1 2022. Ads 16 to 30 seconds decreased 10% YoY to $7b. In Q1 2023, 17% of TV ad spend was dedicated to ads longer than 46 seconds.
• Q1 2023 ad investment dedicated to TV ads less than 15-seconds up 6% while traditional 30-second ads are down YoY.
• Only 1% of advertisers entering the market bought national TV spots. Despite looming recession concerns, MediaRadar observed 52k new advertisers (nearly 80k brands) entered the market in the second half of 2022. Not all of these advertisers purchased TV spots (530), but over 36k invested in digital display, video advertising and other digital formats. 

NEW YORK—After record-breaking growth in 2021, internet advertising revenue has slowed but still delivered double-digit growth in 2022 according to the newly released “IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2022,” conducted by PwC.

Between 2021 and 2022, internet advertising revenues grew 10.8% year-over-year (YoY) totaling $209.7 billion, and overall revenues increased $20.4 billion YoY. Q1 saw the highest growth of 21.1%, followed by Q2 at 11.8%, resulting in ad revenues for the first half of the year surpassing $100 billion for the first time. Revenues, however, slowed in Q3 (8.4%) and Q4 (4.4%) as the economy began to cool.  

Digital video advertising continued to see impressive growth. In 2022, digital video revenues totaled $47.1 billion, up 22.5% from $29.5 billion in 2021 and $26.2 billion in 2020. 

"After unprecedented growth in 2021, we expected more moderation in 2022. Economic uncertainty, geo-political unrest, a shifting regulatory environment, and addressability changes have all contributed to  revenue growing at a slower pace," said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. "Looking ahead, there is definitely still growth to be had, but it will be harder to achieve and likely less than we have become accustomed to."

Other key highlights include: 

• In 2022 digital audio revenues hit $5.9 billion. 
• Programmatic advertising revenues grew by $10.4 billion, bringing the total number to $109.4 billion, an increase of 10.5% YoY.
• Market share of the top 10 companies has declined, but they still accounted for $76.8% of the market.  The 2022 decrease in the share of ad revenue among the top 10 companies was the first time that has occurred since 2016.
• Social media revenue growth has slowed. While first half revenues of 2022 grew (+$1.8 billion YoY); second half revenues plateaued at $31.4 billion (+$0.3 billion YoY).The implementation of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) has impacted total revenue.
• Mobile advertising revenues grew 14.1% YoY. Revenues hit a record high of $154.1 billion: the continued increase in consumption of digital audio formats such as podcasts, plus the rollout of 5G and its beneficial impact on VR and AR advertising capabilities, are likely to continue to drive mobile ad revenues in 2023.
• Search revenue grew 7.8%, but overall market share continues to decrease. While search revenue grew 7.8% YoY, its overall market share continues to decrease as buying shifts to digital video and display.

“Advertisers are diversifying their spending to target audiences using fewer identifiable data points,” said Jack Koch, senior vice president of research and insights, IAB. “Digital video, digital audio, and the long-tail of publishers are benefiting.”

Looking forward, the group noted that 2023 promises to be a challenging year. 

One area highlighted by the report was how privacy and regulation are changing advertising. Companies need to adapt to state-level privacy regulations enforced this year in California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah (and, effective January 1, 2025, Iowa), along with consumers’ worries about their data that resulted in privacy legislation and signal loss. 

The researchers also noted that the advertising industry is witnessing a shift towards solutions that can leverage their first-party data. This has resulted in the continued growth in connected TV (CTV) and retail media networks (RMNs), as these channels provide advertisers with a way to reach specific audiences with relevant ads at scale.

In addition, E-commerce and media companies are also working hand-in-hand to develop new ways to target and measure the effectiveness of advertising, including shoppable ads, affiliate marketing, and direct-to-consumer advertising, the IAB said. 

The status of premium content is also in flux, the group noted. While "premium" content once meant "Hollywood production" value, it's now more than ever in the eyes of the beholder. Viewer attention is shifting to content that can match specific interests - regardless of the production value, format, or screen - and creator content is now viewed as premium by many, the report noted. 

“2023 promises to be a challenging year. But this industry, more than most, is galvanized by change,” added Cohen. “The job now is identifying where the areas of growth are going to be, follow the consumer and develop solutions that meet and exceed their needs.”

IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2022 can be downloaded here. 

NEW YORK—Despite recent turmoil in the banking sector that has roiled the financial markets, S&P Global Ratings have revised upwards their economic growth and ad forecasts based on a prediction that the expected economic recession in Q2 2023 and Q3 will be shallower than expected.   

The new ad forecasts also include the prediction that digital advertising could pass a significant milestone in 2025 by accounting for three quarters of all U.S. advertising. 

“We believe visibility into current advertising trends is limited as advertisers remain cautious on the outlook for consumer spending and continue to make spending decisions closer to airtime,” said Naveen Sarma, senior director, U.S. Media & Telecom, S&P Global Ratings. “In our opinion, the U.S. advertising ecosystem is behaving exactly as one would expect it would act if it believed that we were heading into a macroeconomic recession.”

S&P Global Ratings is reporting that its economists updated their expectations for U.S. GDP growth to 0.7% in 2023 and 1.2% in 2024, expecting a very shallow recession during 23Q2 and 23Q3.  As a result, S&P raised its 2023 U.S. ad forecast by 20 basis points to 2.8% reflecting that any recession in 2023 will be shallower than previously expected. 

It also raised its estimates for radio and local TV to a decline of 10% for radio and a decline of 17.1% for local TV in 2023. 

The new ad forecasts are: 

• “2023 National TV Advertising Forecasts: expects a decline of 4.4%; cable network to decline 4% due to rapidly declining audience ratings putting downward pressure on inventory prices; broadcast TV to decline 5.2% due to the lack of Olympics in 2023" S&P reported.
• "2024 National TV Advertising Expectations: modest rebound by 1.7% as broadcast TV will grow 7.7%, benefitting from the 2024 Summer Olympics; cable networks will see a 1% decline in advertising due to continued weakening audience ratings; National TV will increasingly become a tale of have's and have-not's, specifically those broadcast and cable networks that have a strong stable of sports, particularly the NFL, and news, especially in a Presidential election year;"
• "2023 Local TV Advertising Forecasts: will continue to perform better than national advertising given its focus on the bottom of the funnel campaigns;"
• "2023 Radio Advertising Forecasts: we raised our forecast by 500 bp to a 10% decline given our expectations for a shallower recession;"
• "Outdoor Advertising: we raised our 2023 forecast by 200 bp to 5%. Over the long term, we believe outdoor advertising remains an attractive way to reach consumers given its captive audience of drivers, commuters, and pedestrians - especially, with digital billboards allowing companies to quickly book business;" 
• "Digital Ad Growth Expectations are unchanged for 2023 at 9.0%; we expect 2024 growth to be slightly higher at 10.5%. We believe that digital advertising is a leading indicator of economic activity therefore, we expect improvement ahead of other forms of advertising;"
• "2023 advertising should benefit from the return of auto advertising, as inventories return to normal, manufacturers launch new EV models, and from consumer travel advertising,” S&P reported. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As political parties and media buyers gear up for the 2024 presidential race, a new study from Basis Technologies provides some insights from the 2022 Midterms that indicate more political spending is likely to shift to connected TVs (CTV) advertising in 2024. 

Basis Technologies, leading provider of cloud-based workflow automation and business intelligence software for marketing and advertising, found that programmatic ad impressions and spend on CTV devices increased by more than 60% in 2022. 

“Digital advertising is a tried-and-true core element for successful political campaigns, as illustrated by the rapid adoption of newer digital channels like CTV we’ve seen over recent election cycles,” said Grace Briscoe, senior vice president of candidates and causes, Basis Technologies. “Winning political playbooks need a combination of speed, scale, precision, engagement and measurability. Programmatic advertising and digital video combine important elements needed for both persuasion and turning out the vote.”

The new data was compiled from more than 1000 advertisers for state, local and national races managing digital ad buying via Basis Technologies’ software platform. These political and advocacy advertisers encompassed more than $130 million spent across display, video, native, search and social media.

Key findings from the report include: 

• The overwhelming favorite format for digital advertising was video (68%) based on spending share and CTV ads were a key reason why.  
• Automated buying through demand-side platforms (DSPs), though very popular in 2020 campaigns with 63% share of budgets, dipped to 52% in 2022. Direct buying surged to 35% share.
• For programmatic media, there was a 40% rise in average CPMs between January and November 2022; video ad CPMs were more steady throughout the year, only deviating 5-10% from the average in any given month.
• As in 2018 and 2020, the top three direct sellers were YouTube, Facebook, and Hulu (with some change in rank between the three every election cycle). New to the top 15 (that weren’t on the list in 2020) were VideoAmp, Katz Media Group, LG Ads, Nexstar Media Group and NBC Universal.
• Campaigns spent 50% of digital ad budgets in the last 30 days before Election Day, and 25% in the last 10 days. This is a consistent pattern for every election cycle.
• Michigan garnered the most programmatic ad impressions served through Basis, followed by Wisconsin and California.

 The complete report is available here.  

NEW YORK—Three major trade associations in the advertising industry are launching a joint effort to update and overhaul the Standard Terms & Conditions for internet advertising, which were first developed in May 2001 and updated in 2010 and 2018. 

The leading industry trade bodies 4A's, IAB, and ANA said they will create a joint Task Force in April 2023 that will include all stakeholders including advertising agencies, marketers, publishers, and ad tech companies. 

"The industry has a legacy of collaboration to ensure that the buy side and sell side align on best practices and standards for an effective digital advertising ecosystem. While there have been updates, it's time to revisit the approach and ensure we collectively address evolving needs in the marketplace," said Marla Kaplowitz, president and CEO, 4A’s.

“While the previous work in this area remains the industry standard over a decade later, simply too much has changed for us to not revisit,” said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. “Having worked on previous iterations, I know the road ahead will not be easy, but it is important work that has to be done. We look forward to collaborating across the ecosystem and developing a contractual framework that ensures the vital infrastructure we need to streamline the digital advertising buying process.”

“The scale and complexity of today’s digital media transactions requires an updated foundation of contractual terms and conditions that underpin this large marketplace. We are very supportive of collaboratively revisiting digital terms and conditions to address the needs of today and tomorrow and look forward to participating in the endeavor,” added Bob Liodice, CEO of ANA.

NEW YORK—IAB Tech Lab has announced the launch of its Data Clean Room (DCR) Standards portfolio with the release of DCR Guidance & Recommended Practices, as well as the Open Private Join & Activation (OPJA) specification to support and define interoperable clean room interactions for digital advertising. 

Both standards—announced during IAB Tech Lab’s Building For Privacy Series along with a primer for clean rooms containing definitions, concepts, and a roadmap of future clean room proposals and initiatives—will be open for a 60-day public comment period until Monday, April 17, 2023. 

The new standards are an important step forward by the digital media industry to protect privacy while providing companies with the data they need for effective marketing. 

The growing interest and use of clean rooms has occurred in a digital media landscape where there are growing concerns about privacy and advertisers are losing the ability to track consumers via cookies. Clean rooms link anonymized marketing and advertising data from multiple parties in ways that don’t allow data points to be tied to specific users. That provides marketers access to large data sets while preserving privacy. 

“With the loss of traditional identifiers, data clean rooms have emerged as a promising option for companies in search of alternate ways to enable advertising use cases for planning, audience activation and measurement,” said Shailley Singh, executive vice president, product & chief operating officer, IAB Tech Lab. "There is already a multitude of clean room vendors available, each with their own unique data-sharing mechanisms that their clients must work with. IAB Tech Lab is collaborating with the industry to create technical standards guidance and more efficient interoperability, which will make it easier for advertisers to leverage emerging and exciting DCR technology.”

Without standards, the organizations using DCRs must adapt to each technology they engage with. The OPJA specification was developed within IAB Tech Lab’s Rearc Addressability Working Group and is the first of a library of purpose-built, DCR specifications to streamline audience activation by enabling interoperability between vendors. The DCR Guidance & Recommended Practices document describes baseline expectations from a DCR for ensuring the privacy and security of data for data owners using a DCR for different purposes, the IAB said. 

“As this segment of the ecosystem matures, vendors can adopt IAB Tech Lab’s growing library of clean room standards to enable interoperable data collaboration use cases,” said Bosko Milekic chief product officer and co-founder, Optable. “The goal is to enable secure, purpose-limited and privacy-protected data collaboration no matter who uses which technology provider and to do so while minimizing data movement.”

The new specifications provide guidance on DCR applications to advertising use cases, recommended technology, and operational best practices for the privacy and security of data shared in a DCR. OPJA enables enhanced audience activation while eliminating the need to transfer Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Additionally, the specifications allow multiple technology vendors to jointly execute standardized data collaboration operations for their clients by providing clean room operators with a scalable and consistent way to enable and activate their customers.

“As data clean rooms become more widely adopted for privacy-safe collaboration between organizations, there’s been a call from the industry to develop standards to maximize ease of use, speed of activation, and support of more complex applications,” said Devon DeBlasio, global vice president, product marketing, InfoSum. “These standards will provide organizations currently using DCRs and those looking to invest with a clear understanding of how they work and what they provide, including common use cases, applied privacy technology, expected security and permissions controls, how data is prepared for ingestion, and the available outputs.”

To review Data Clean Room Guidance & Recommended Practices and the Open Private Join & Activation (OPJA) Specification and provide feedback, visit https://iabtechlab.com/datacleanrooms.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorneys Generals of California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia, have filed a civil antitrust suit against Google accusing the tech giant of monopolizing multiple digital advertising technology products in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the complaint alleges that Google monopolizes key digital advertising technologies that website publishers depend on to sell ads and that advertisers rely on to buy ads and reach potential customers. 

If successful, the complaint could have an important impact on the rapidly growing digital advertising business local broadcasters and media companies are trying to build. 

“For years, broadcasters have been sounding the alarm over the anti-competitive practices of the Big Tech platforms, including Google," an NAB spokesperson said in response to the suit. "Their dominant role in the marketplace has come at a steep price for local news broadcasters, who lose an estimated $2 billion annually by providing their content to these platforms under ‘take it or leave it’ terms. We continue to work with our congressional allies to address these inequities and urge Congress to move swiftly to level the playing field.”

As a result of its illegal monopoly, the Department of Justice (DoJ) claims that Google pockets on average more than 30% of the advertising dollars that flow through its digital advertising technology products; for some transactions and for certain publishers and advertisers, it takes far more.

The complaint alleges that over the past 15 years, Google has engaged in a course of anticompetitive and exclusionary conduct that consisted of neutralizing or eliminating ad tech competitors through acquisitions; wielding its dominance across digital advertising markets to force more publishers and advertisers to use its products; and thwarting the ability to use competing products. In doing so, Google cemented its dominance in tools relied on by website publishers and online advertisers, as well as the digital advertising exchange that runs ad auctions, the DoJ said. 

“Today’s complaint alleges that Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful conduct to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “No matter the industry and no matter the company, the Justice Department will vigorously enforce our antitrust laws to protect consumers, safeguard competition, and ensure economic fairness and opportunity for all.”

As a result of the alleged anti-trust violations, the DoJ noted that Google now controls the digital tool that nearly every major website publisher uses to sell ads on their websites (publisher ad server); it controls the dominant advertiser tool that helps millions of large and small advertisers buy ad inventory (advertiser ad network); and it controls the largest advertising exchange (ad exchange), a technology that runs real-time auctions to match buyers and sellers of online advertising.

In response to the lawsuit, Google told CNN said the DOJ suit “attempts to pick winners and losers in the highly competitive advertising technology sector.”

“DOJ is doubling down on a flawed argument that would slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow,” a Google spokesperson told CNN. 

CNN also reported that a federal judge last year knocked down a claim that Google colluded with Facebook in a separate antitrust suit led by the state of Texas. That judge also ruled, however, that a number of monopolization claims in the Texas case could move forward.

More specifically the new anti-trust lawsuit accused Google of these anticompetitive activities: 

• Acquiring Competitors: Engaging in a pattern of acquisitions to obtain control over key digital advertising tools used by website publishers to sell advertising space;
• Forcing Adoption of Google’s Tools: Locking in website publishers to its newly-acquired tools by restricting its unique, must-have advertiser demand to its ad exchange, and in turn, conditioning effective real-time access to its ad exchange on the use of its publisher ad server;
• Distorting Auction Competition: Limiting real-time bidding on publisher inventory to its ad exchange, and impeding rival ad exchanges’ ability to compete on the same terms as Google’s ad exchange; and
• Auction Manipulation: Manipulating auction mechanics across several of its products to insulate Google from competition, deprive rivals of scale, and halt the rise of rival technologies.
• As a result of its illegal monopoly, and by its own estimates, Google pockets on average more than 30% of the advertising dollars that flow through its digital advertising technology products; for some transactions and for certain publishers and advertisers, it takes far more. Google’s anticompetitive conduct has suppressed alternative technologies, hindering their adoption by publishers, advertisers, and rivals, the DoJ said. 

To redress Google’s anticompetitive conduct, the Department seeks both equitable relief on behalf of the American public as well as treble damages for losses sustained by federal government agencies that overpaid for web display advertising. This enforcement action marks the first monopolization case in approximately half a century in which the Department has sought damages for a civil antitrust violation, the DoJ said. 

In 2020, the Justice Department filed a civil antitrust suit against Google for monopolizing search and search advertising, which are different markets from the digital advertising technology markets at issue in the lawsuit filed today. The Google search litigation is scheduled for trial in September 2023.

SAN FRANCISCO—The data validation-as-a-service offering Truthset has announced that its Truthset Data Collective is emerging from private beta with 20 founding members and a suite of products aimed to improving the quality of digital marketing data.

The Truthset Data Collective initially formed in response to number of alarming industry reports showing how deeply flawed and unreliable digital marketing data can be, the company said. Forrester reports show 37% of marketers waste spend as a result of poor data quality, 35% suffer from inaccurate targeting, and 30% have lost customers due to this problem. 

Initially created as an exchange for a group of technologists led by former Nielsen executive Scott McKinley, Truthset Data Collective enables data providers to anonymously compare and benchmark all their data segments algorithmically against a comprehensive data pool. It is designed to capitalize on the growing demand by brands for a multi sourced and objectively accurate service to standardize demographic accuracy for audience targeting and media measurement, the company said. 

“The current data ecosystem is built for scale, not accuracy,” said Scott McKinley, founder & CEO at Truthset and former executive vice president at Nielsen. “In partnership with the Data Collective, we’re proactively addressing up to $10 billion in waste due to data quality, by providing validation of privacy compliant identity and demographics that make for optimized ad decision-making across all audience sizes.”

The Truthset Data Collective can be accessed in four tiers of membership starting at free accuracy scoring and badging and working up to enterprise-level membership that enables advanced audience segmentation, modeling and more, Truthset reported. 

”This group of Founding Data providers have showcased meaningful vision and leadership with their commitment to ongoing data governance practices. Their commitment has shown once again that as an industry, there is enormous value when we work together,” said Chip Russo, president & CRO at Truthset.

Truthset has validated more than 4.3 billion consumer IDs and 25+ attributes from the Data Collective, matching hashed email addresses against independent research panels and U.S. census databases. This generated more than 960 million unique email addresses, with probabilistic Truthscores across 25+ demographic attributes. These IDs and their associated Truthscores are available to match and score the accuracy of any first or third party consumer data set. 

In addition to the Data Collective, Truthset is working with a variety of stakeholders across the supply chain including networks, brands and platforms, on such issues as data validation, audience building and measurement. 

Truthset is also involved in data accuracy efforts by such trade organizations as Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), Association of National Advertisers’ Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) and the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Interactive Advertising Bureau has hit back strongly against the Federal Trade Commission’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) relating to `commercial surveillance’ by arguing that the move would reduce digital advertising by billions of dollars and that the agency is greatly exceeding its authority. 

In a filing with the FTC, IAB’s executive vice president for public policy Lartease Tiffith complained that the FTC is redefining the ordinary collection, aggregation, and analysis of consumer data as “commercial surveillance”, a move that an IAB press release described as “a definition so broad potential FTC rules could criminalize the internet itself.”

In August, the FTC  said it was exploring rules to crack down on harmful commercial surveillance and lax data security relating to targeted advertising and the handling of consumer data. 

“Firms now collect personal data on individuals at a massive scale and in a stunning array of contexts,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in a statement. “The growing digitization of our economy—coupled with business models that can incentivize endless hoovering up of sensitive user data and a vast expansion of how this data is used—means that potentially unlawful practices may be prevalent. Our goal today is to begin building a robust public record to inform whether the FTC should issue rules to address commercial surveillance and data security practices and what those rules should potentially look like.”

The move could have an important impact on targeted and digital advertising, which would seem to fit into the agency’s definition of “commercial surveillance” as the business of collecting, analyzing, and profiting from information about people.

In response, the IAB filing noted that the "Internet is built on the continuous exchange of data between devices and servers – without these data exchanges, the Internet and its social, cultural, economic, and personal benefits would not exist." 

The filing also highlighted the impact of digital advertising has on supporting free and low-cost online content and services.

“Data-driven advertising greatly benefits consumers by supporting the U.S. economy and creating and maintaining American jobs,” the IAB filing said. “Data-driven advertising, and the Internet economy it supports and drives, contributed $2.45 trillion to the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, accounting for 12 percent of GDP….Additionally, 2.1 million e-commerce companies were operating in the United States in 2020, generating $715 billion in revenue.  Many of those millions of companies are small businesses and sole-proprietorships that are able to achieve success and grow their customer base thanks to data-driven advertising technologies that lower barriers to entry and broaden geographic reach.”

If the FTC restrictions were put in place, the IAB said “Regulations restricting data-driven advertising could likewise have devastating consequences on the over 17 million American jobs that are supported by data-driven advertising.  Most of those jobs were created by small firms and self-employed individuals in all 50 states and across many sectors. In fact, self-employed individuals and people working in small teams of five or fewer people made up 19% of the Internet job total.”

“Further, if the Commission’s regulations resulted in a ban of personalized or targeted advertising, it is likely that between `$32 billion and $39 billion of advertising and ecosystem revenue would move away from the open web by 2025,’” the IAB said.

In the filing the IAB also argued that the FTC has no authority to label “essentially all practices involving the use of ‘consumer data’ to be unfair or deceptive,” a question of “vast economic and political significance” reserved for Congress, according to laws governing the FTC and Supreme Court doctrine. 

In fact, Congress is currently debating a nationwide federal privacy law addressing many of the same issues, and states are deciding their own rules, or declining to, underscoring the FTC’s lack of authority, the IAB argued. 

“IAB represents over 700 leading companies across the digital advertising industry, from brands and publishers to advertising agencies and technology firms. We’re ready to offer our collective expertise and perspective to improve the FTC’s understanding of digital advertising in the modern economy, including small businesses and every American relying on the ad-supported internet for news, information, entertainment, commerce, and community,” said David Cohen, CEO, IAB.

The group also stressed that it was a founding member of Privacy for America, an industry initiative to protect online privacy, jobs and economic growth and IAB supports FTC rulemaking in key areas and stronger enforcement. 

The framework would establish clear rules of the road for individuals, businesses, and law enforcement, and stop harmful and unexpected data practices, while continuing the benefits of digital advertising, the group said. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Amid longstanding worries that the elimination of third-party cookies could have a major impact on the digital ad industry, the NAB and Borrell Associates have released a new study that estimates the broadcast television and radio industry would lose $2.1 billion in digital advertising revenue annually, representing 6.3% of the industry’s total advertising revenue, if third-party cookies were eliminated today with no privacy-preserving alternatives. 

Google has said that it will begin phasing out third-party cookies that have traditionally been used to track online behavior in its web browser Chrome in the second half of 2024. 

Borrell Associates president Jim Brown presented the study, commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters' (NAB) innovation wing PILOT, at NAB Show New York.

The study, "State of the Industry Report: What The Loss Of Third-Party Cookies Means For Broadcasters," examined the phase-out of third-party tracking cookies used in digital advertising to estimate the financial impact on broadcasting. 

The research used interviews with broadcast executives and an online survey of 54 broadcasters to gauge the industry's level of preparedness and identify best practices among those most prepared for the phase-out, which will be completed by the end of 2024.

In its research, Borrell Associates estimated the immediate elimination of third-party data would result in an annual loss of $1.1 million for the average TV station and over $730,000 for the average multi-station radio market cluster, with these losses possibly 40% larger by the end of 2024. The study found programmatic display and audience extension ads, which are the largest single sources of digital revenue for many broadcasters, would be negatively impacted by the phase-out of cookies, though previous research has found publishers are overestimating their value and profitability, the NAB said. 

Yet, the study stressed that the phase-out of third-party cookies offers an opportunity for broadcasters to increase their digital advertising revenue by spurring the development of initiatives focused on first-party data, or data that is set and accessible only by a website owner.

"When it occurs, the phase-out of 3rd-party cookies is likely to deliver more benefit than loss to broadcasters," said the study. "The main benefit may be that it motivates broadcasters to take control of their own audiences by establishing a 1st party relationship with viewers and listeners who've remained anonymous for decades. A secondary benefit could be that broadcasters begin reaching beyond their traditional audiences, developing relationships with new audiences altogether — some of whom may reside outside their traditional broadcast geographies. And that could have broad, positive effects that extend well beyond any revenue generated by digital ad sales."

The study also highlights a number of proactive measures that broadcasters can take to mitigate the impact of the third-party cookie phase-out and opportunities for more direct-to-consumer audience engagement. 

These measures include educating internal stakeholders and securing team buy-in, accurately gauging the urgency and setting a timeline for response, beginning work on a comprehensive plan, starting to prep site visitors and app users, and focusing on the needs of ad buyers, the researchers said. 

"The findings should prompt broadcasters to audit and overhaul their revenue strategies,” said Gordon Borrell, founder and CEO of Borrell Associates. “There is an opportunity to get way ahead of the curve to begin direct relationships with listeners and viewers, which in turn will unlock new, stronger revenue streams," 

In addition to this study by Borrell Associates, PILOT commissioned Omdia to document the impact of GDPR on European Broadcasters. That report, also released today, includes case studies about various strategies which will assist the industry in navigating changes in the digital ecosystem.

"This study provides valuable insight into opportunities for broadcasters to capitalize on first-party data to better engage with local audiences and generate significant revenue," said John Clark, NAB senior vice president of Emerging Technology and executive director of PILOT. "PILOT looks forward to continuing the work with our partners to ensure that the broadcast industry ready to excel in the next generation of digital advertising."

This research is part of a six-month program conducted by PILOT, with the support of the Google News Initiative, to help broadcasters with the phase-out of third-party cookies through the implementation of first-party data and direct-to-consumer business models. The initiative, which kicked off in July with 10 NAB member companies, featured a mid-program check-in meeting at Google's New York offices earlier this week for participating broadcasters to hear from industry experts, share their own experiences and continue working to develop strategies that improve audience engagement, the NAB said. 

The full study is available here. 

NEW YORK—A major new study from DoubleVerify (DV) reports both progress and ongoing problems in digital advertising, with viewability rates improving while the number of ad fraud schemes uncovered by DV spiked by 70% in 2021. 

DV’s “2022 Global Insights Report” analyzed media quality and performance trends from more than one trillion impressions delivered across over 2,100 brands in 80 markets. This fifth year anniversary report explores how far the industry has come since 2017.

“The good news is that verification is working,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO, DoubleVerify. “DV’s first-ever Global Insights Report, published in 2017, reported display viewable rates at 52% and video viewable rates at 59%. Now, they are near or above 70%. Additionally we saw brand safety violations decrease for the second year in a row, while the number of fraud schemes we were able to protect our clients from increased. Based on our stats, it is clear that verification technology is making the internet stronger, safer and more secure.”

The report provides a market-by-market analysis for North America, LATAM, EMEA and APAC across video and display impressions measured year-over-year (YoY) from January-December 2021, including desktop and mobile web, mobile app, and connected TV (CTV). 

The report found a record spike in fraud schemes, driven by CTV and video. The number of fraud schemes uncovered by DV spiked by over 70% year-over-year from 2020 to 2021. This year, an unprecedented number of schemes targeted CTV and video – the most complex and sophisticated of which included OctoBot, SneakyTerra, ViperBot and SmokeScreen. 

DV estimates that these schemes alone attempted to steal more than $6 million to 8 million each month from advertisers - and are costing publishers, too. DV estimates show that these CTV schemes alone may have siphoned $140 million from publishers in 2021.

On a more positive note the report found that brand safety violations decreased for the second year in a row. 

The post-bid brand suitability violation rate continues to fall, and is now 9% lower than last year for an overall rate of 7.1% - meaning advertisers see brand suitability violation rates decrease as their verification strategy matures.

DV also reported that there is momentum for a brand safety and suitability floor. In 2019, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and the 4A’s released the brand safety floor and suitability framework. The brand safety floor identifies topics and content that are considered unsafe and never appropriate for monetization. Ninety-three percent of the advertisers DV analyzed leverage at least one brand safety floor category for avoidance, blocking and or monitoring, and 61% use all floor categories.

Another key takeaway is that video ads saw impressive growth in attention and completion rates, driven by CTV. 

Completion typically refers to the number of times a video plays to the end, often broken up into quartile metrics to indicate levels of video performance and attention (e.g. 25% Complete, 50% Complete, 75% Complete, 100% Complete). DV has seen moderate, steady improvement in quartile-level completion rates for quartiles 1, 2, and 3 over the last three years. However, Video Completion Rate (VCR) has drastically improved from 62% in 2019, to 67% in 2020, to 71% in 2021. This increase is likely due to increased measurement on CTV, where VCR climbed 3% year-over-year and is now at 95.6%.

Another positive trend is that pre-bid verification is boosting media quality and performance. DV found that Increased adoption of pre-bid verification is driving declines in post-bid violations (brand safety/suitability, fraud and geo infractions). 

Pre-bid activation of verification solutions allows advertisers to reduce blocks by evaluating whether a programmatic impression will be brand-suitable, fraud-free, and in geo before the bid takes place. Advertisers deploying pre-bid verification through the media transaction are seeing marked improvement in the quality of their buys, with post-bid violation rates falling 6% year-over-year. Overall, DV advertisers now experience an average of just 10% post-bid violations across all quality measurement criteria.

In addition, experience is driving more sophisticated verification strategies. DV found that the number of years a brand has worked with a verification provider typically equates to greater sophistication and understanding of the value of such verification tools, ultimately resulting in lower violation rates, greater campaign quality, and efficiency. 

DV found that long-standing verification users are most likely to adopt a wider set of verification tools, preventing fraud and brand suitability infractions before an ad is served. These advanced advertisers saw a 9.4% post-bid violation rate in 2021. That is 6% below the global average and 28% below more recent adopters.

In North America, DV is reporting that fraud/SIVT (sophisticated invalid traffic) decreased year-over-year, but North America still has the highest fraud rate (1.5%) and is responsible for driving up the global average (5.2%).

North America continues to lead the way on brand suitability as violations dropped another 10% year-over-year, capturing how sophisticated brands have become with their policies to balance protection with the ability to scale.

Like EMEA, viewable rates in North America seem to be leveling off. Although this indicates that advertisers are transitioning to consider KPIs beyond viewability, the display viewable rate in North America is still just below the 70% threshold recommended by the IAB.

“This year’s report finds that media quality is table stakes,” added Zagorski. “No longer is it acceptable to assume that a portion of media dollars will be wasted on fraud, or potentially exposed to brand suitability concerns. Advertisers have demanded quality, understanding that it is a prerequisite to achieving performance.”

The full 2022 Global Insights Report is available here.  

NEW YORK—Integral Ad Science’s newly released 16th Edition of its Media Quality Report (MQR) has found that digital ad fraud rates rose around the world in the second half of 2021.

Based on the analysis of billions of global data events between July 1 and December 31, 2021, the report found that ad fraud levels rose most across desktop, pushing ad fraud up to 1.4% for display and 1.3% for video. Desktop display ad fraud rates were lowest in Poland at 0.4%, while the rates reached the highest level worldwide in Singapore with 4.1%.

In the U.S. ad fraud for desktop display rose from 1.5% in the second half of 2020 to 2.1% in the second half of 2021. For desktop video ad fraud rates in the U.S. increased to 1.6% in the U.S., up from 0.8% a year earlier.

Smaller increases were found for mobile web display in the U.S., where they grew from 0.7% in H2, 2020 to 0.8% in H2 2021. Mobile web video ad fraud in the U.S. grew from 0.5% to 0.7% in the same period.

Other metrics, however, showed improvement. 

Brand risk rates dipped to historically low levels in H2 2021, IAS reported, powered by the growing adoption of sophisticated contextual solutions, increasing privacy regulations, and the positive impact contextual alignment brings to the consumer advertising experience. Worldwide brand risk averaged less than 3% across all environments and formats, with mobile web video remaining the most at-risk despite improving the most (-5.9pp) year-over-year, the IAS study found. 

Other noteworthy trends included: 

• New metrics provided better insights. The introduction of media quality metrics to six new verticals — Auto, CPG, Finance, Retail, Tech & Telco, and Travel & Entertainment — allowed ad buyers to gauge media quality over-or-underperformance more effectively within specific industries compared to their regional average for ad fraud, brand risk, and viewability.
• Underperformance was most common in the brand risk benchmark, with all U.S. verticals falling below the average for this metric. In terms of ad fraud performance, rates in Travel & Entertainment in the U.S. were 17% higher than average, following closely behind Auto at 18% higher ad fraud rates. 
• Viewability performance was robust, with some regional baselines only seeing a marginal dip in levels. In the U.S., a majority of verticals overperformed including Auto, Retail, and Tech & Telco. CPG, in particular, was one of the best performing verticals worldwide with viewability levels standing 9% higher than the respective regional average.
• Context-based strategies helped reduce risk. Tightened privacy rules worldwide continued to lessen behavioral targeting abilities for media experts. Yet, ad buyers who adopted sophisticated contextual strategy methods and transitioned away from traditional media quality assurance practices gained an advantage in their bids for ad impressions that appeared next to suitable content to drive stronger favorability and create a better user experience, the IAS reported. 
• Powered by the growing adoption of sophisticated contextual solutions, worldwide brand risk averaged less than 3% across all environments and formats, with mobile web video remaining the most at-risk despite a 5.9 percentage point (percentage points) year-over-year improvement. Notably, Canada experienced historic brand risk lows in April and July of 2021, just as contextual tracking volume ramped in the country. The U.S. showed double-digit annual drops in video brand risk levels across all environments in H2 2021. 
• Video viewability levels were the highest of any format worldwide, indicating that video will continue to drive digital media consumption, especially across mobile as consumers increase their digital media consumption into 2022.  
• However, connected TV (CTV) viewability rates receded slightly in H2 2021 to reach 93.1% and mobile app video viewability dropped from 92.6% to 85.8% year-over-year. The U.S., however, topped the mobile app display ranking with a viewability rate of 89.3%.
• In the U.S., desktop display brand risk appeared highest in the category of violence (42.4%), followed by adult content (20.3%), hate speech (10.6%), alcohol (8.7%), offensive language/controversial content (8.6%), illegal drugs (5.3%), and illegal downloads (4.0%). 
• Brand risk in desktop video in the U.S. appeared in the categories of violence (36.7%), adult content (19.0%), illegal downloads (11.9%), hate speech (10.5%), alcohol (8.4%), illegal drugs (7.5%), and offensive language/controversial content (5.9%).
• Mobile remains safer than desktop, with optimized-against-ad-fraud rates hovering steadily at 0.5% or below for both display and video ads worldwide. Mobile web video remained the most protected from ad fraud across all formats, averaging 0.4% worldwide. 

The full report can be found here. 

BALTIMORE—Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced the launch of its new business development unit, Free State Strategic Services. 

The new unit will work to provide the federal government, along with state and local agencies, a full suite of targeted digital marketing and advertising solutions to help government agencies communicate with the American public effectively and efficiently, primarily through more cost- effective and streamlined digital advertising.

“The creation of Free State Strategic Services spearheads our efforts to expand Sinclair’s digital marketing and advertising offerings at the state and local level, and develop Free State as a leader in the federal marketplace,” explained Antonia DeFeo, corporate vice president, agency solutions. 

Sinclair announced that Free State will operate across a variety of industries, with a particular focus on opportunities within the defense, healthcare, and education sectors.

The new unit will be led by Brandon Nickerson, director for federal business development.  Nickerson has over a decade of experience in Washington, DC, and has served in a variety of business development, and government affairs roles, including on Capitol Hill, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and as a consultant within the national security space.

NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES—Fox Corporation has unveiled Atlas, a new proprietary technology solution that uses artificial intelligence to identify contextual ad opportunities for digital marketers. 

Developed by the Fox Ad Technology unit, the video intelligence platform enables enhanced contextual targeting and provides advertisers the ability to connect with the most relevant content in the right environment in real-time, achieving greater transparency and brand suitability in video advertising, the company said. 

The Atlas platform consists of technologies that leverage AI, and on-screen visual detection to extract data that can be used to build advanced contextual segments that target specific concepts and entities at any point in time during a piece of video content. By using this advanced level data to determine a video’s relevance, Atlas provides Fox with the ability to deliver an advertiser’s message adjacent to contextually relevant content.

“We built Atlas for the modern era,” said John Fiedler, executive vice president and head of ad technology at Fox. “As the media landscape continues to evolve, traditional solutions have not served the buy-side or the sell-side well. In a world where context now matters more than ever, Atlas provides a new and precise level of insight and segmentation that will give buyers confidence when transacting with Fox.”

Atlas will initially launch across Fox News Media under two distinct products: Fox Navigator, which is focused on contextual alignment, and Fox Shield which is focused on brand suitability.

As part of the 2022-23 upfront, the Fox News Media Ad Sales team will offer Fox Shield to clients who commit to invest in FNM digital video.

“Atlas is another illustration of Fox’s commitment to providing solutions that deliver the necessary impact and outcomes for our ad partners,” said Jeff Collins, Executive Vice President of Ad Sales Fox News Media. “Contextual targeting will continue to grow in importance as 3rd party data targeting options continue to decline.  We are excited to offer advertisers greater precision when placing their ads across the FNM portfolio.”

The product was announced at the company’s Content Drives Commerce Brand Partnership Summit on the Fox lot in Los Angeles. 

NEW YORK—As the digital ad industry grapple with growing concerns about privacy and the transition to a landscape where publishers are no longer able to track consumer behavior with cookies, a new survey from DoubleVerify suggests that most publishers are generally optimistic about the long term impact of those trends on their digital businesses.

Its survey of  600 senior decision-makers in publishing and advertising across the U.S., APAC, EMEA and LATAM regions in Q3 of 2021 found that more than 60% of publishers expected digital revenue growth in a post-third party cookie era and  that 88% of publishers believe selling direct will become more important as cookies decline in effectiveness. Nearly all of them, about 95% of advertisers, anticipate relying on contextual targeting for their media buys next year.

“The ad tech landscape will undoubtedly change in the coming years as a result of how publishers and advertisers will be allowed to collect data, and it seems that both sides are fairly confident in the solutions put forward,” said Mimi Wotring, SVP of Publisher Sales & Client Services at DoubleVerify. “The advertiser demand and publisher capabilities around contextual targeting for instance, leave publishers with a strong path forward to achieve revenue goals in 2022.”

Other key findings of the “Post-cookie Questions: What Publishers and Advertisers Are Thinking About the New Digital Advertising Era,” report include: 

• Advertisers Want Contextual and First-Party Data. While 83% of advertisers believe that their own first-party data is important going forward, 95% are planning on relying on contextual targeting for at least some of their media buys next year. In fact, almost half (48%) anticipate relying on contextual targeting for all media buys.
• Advertisers Will Prioritize Publishers With First-Party Data. 76% of advertisers said that they will only directly partner with publishers who have robust first-party data to leverage in support of a campaign. To collect this first-party data asset, 82% of publishers are investing in subscription models.
• Publishers are Expecting a Revenue Boost. A majority of publishers (64%) believe that cookie depreciation and other privacy-related changes will actually increase revenue. In part, this could be attributed to the fact that it will likely promote more direct relationships with advertisers.
• Publishers Want Options. Publishers expressed interest in a number of solutions to the loss of cookies. 45% are turning to private marketplaces, 40% of publishers believe first-party data to be the best solution, and 34% are leaning into contextual targeting, with 60% believing this strategy will be very important for the business next year.

NEW YORK—After being ravaged in the early part of 2020 due to the pandemic, the U.S. ad market saw a rise in the fourth quarter, which indicates things may be turning the corner in terms of market recovery. However, it is digital, not TV, that is the primary driving force.

The end-of-year and Q4 report form Standard Media Index shows that the last three months of 2020 saw the first growth in U.S. ad revenue for the year, a 6% increase. Because of the hits in Q2 (-30%) and Q3 (-3%), the overall market decline was at 7%, but SMI appears encouraged by the trend that the U.S. is on.

The U.S. has had five consecutive months of growth, thanks in large part to the growth of digital advertising. Looking at the full year, the U.S. saw a six point increase from digital allocation in 2019 (42%) to 202 (48%). In Q4 specifically, 53% of ad spending was digital, surpassing all other forms of media for the first time.

As a result of this, TV ad spending has been on the decline. Per SMI, since starting 2020 making up about 50% of the ad spending, TV ad spending has steadily declined, finishing at 42% in Q4. However, it fared better than other forms of media (radio, newspapers, outdoor). Overall, TV ad spend dropped 3% for the entirety of 2020.

SMI also found that demand for video advertising is also shifting, at least in part, from broadcast TV to OTT/streaming.

Compared to other Anglo markets (Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand), the U.S. was the only one to see a decline of less than 10%.

For more information, visit Standard Media Index’s website. 

WASHINGTON—Following a meeting between the Department of Justice and a coalition of state attorney generals on June 26, reports have emerged that Google is expected to have an antitrust lawsuit filed against it in the coming months.

The focus is on Google’s dominance of the digital advertising and search markets, Politico reported.

Among the specific allegations expected to be covered in the suit is that Google has monopolized the advertising technology market, also that the company has taken steps to extend its monopoly over search through contracts with Apple and cellphone makers using the Android operating system that require Google to be the default search engine. Prosecutors are reportedly still discussing if other aspects of Google’s contracts related to search are to be included in the lawsuit.

The Politico report does note that Attorney General William Barr, who did not attend the meeting, has not made a final decision on whether to sue. Nor has the DOJ decided what kind of punishment it would seek.

“While we continue to engage with ongoing investigations, our focus is on creating free products that lower costs for small businesses and help Americans every day,” Google spokesperson Julie Tarallo McAlister said in response to the news.

“There is an obvious antitrust case to be made against Google and we have the receipts,” said Laura Bassett, former senior politics reporter at HuffPost and co-founder of Save Journalism Project in a separate press release. “While the tech behemoth makes obscene profits, news publishers and smaller competitors are faltering. With its anti competitive actions, Google is a parasite sucking life out of news outlets. It’s unilateral actions on AMP, 3PC phase out and Incognito Mode actively harm publishers. If the DOJ can’t bring Google to heel, there won’t be anybody left to write the story.”

WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice is scheduled to host the Competition in Television and Digital Advertising Workshop, a two-day public workshop starting Thursday, May 2, that will examine industry dynamics in media advertising and the implications for antitrust enforcement and policy, specifically related to online and television advertising.

The main crux of the agenda looks to explore the practical considerations that industry participants face and the competitive impact of technological developments such as digital and targeted advertising in media markets. Four panels will examine topics that include television advertising; internet and mobile advertising; the competitive dynamics in media advertising; and trends and predictions for advertising generally.

Featured speakers will include opening remarks from Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim and panelists that include Pat LaPlatney, president and co-CEO of Gray Television; Mark Lieberman, president and CEO of Viamedia; Greg Stuart, CEO of Mobile Marketing Association; Rick Kaplan, general counsel for NAB; and Chris Ripley, CEO Sinclair Broadcast Group.

The workshop, which runs May 2, 1:30-5:30 p.m., to May 3, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m., is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Anne K. Bingaman Auditorium and Lecture Hall in the Liberty Square Building in D.C.

Though free, attendees are encouraged to register for each day by emailing ATR.AdvRegInfo@USDOJ.GOV.

Extreme Reach’s 3Q Video Advertising Benchmarks Report said that impressions delivered in digital videos over connected TV rose 170 percent year over year. Connected TV (CTV) share of the ads served rose 38 percent, compared to 31 percent for mobile and 21 percent for desktop. Tablets, once popular, accounted for just 9 percent of impressions.

Extreme Reach found that completion rates for commercials on connected TVs rose slightly to 95 percent from a year ago.

The completion rate for connected TV ad is 27 percent higher than for desktops and 32 percent higher than with mobile.

Ads in premium content exceeded ads running with media aggregators by 32 percent. The rate in premium content was 90 percent, up 29 percent from a year ago, In aggregators, the rate was 68 percent, up 8 percent.

The report found that 30-second spots grew in popularity, with their share rising 102 percent from a year, while the prevalence of 15 percent spots was down 38 percent.

“The CTV opportunity is one that advertisers are increasingly leveraging, and the impact that’s having on ad length, while unexpected, makes complete sense,” said Mary Vestewig, senior director, video account management at Extreme Reach. “I expect we’ll see even more exciting changes driven by CTV as consumer adoption grows and technology for targeting and measurement evolve.”Based on these findings, Extreme Reach projects:

• CTV will take an increasingly large share of advertising budgets as adoption increases and targeting capabilities improve

• Brands will continue to opt to pay higher rates for the viewability and brand safety assurances that come with premium inventory.

• The number of 30-second ads will increase at a pace similar to the increase in CTV impressions

• The availability of more large-screen mobile devices will render tablets insignificant to advertisers in the near future

The report is based on metrics from Extreme Reach’s third-party video ad server.

CHANTILLY, VA.—There’s a common notion that media consumption is fragmenting as the public reaches for smart phones and tablets, tunes into TVs and accesses programming from such diverse sources as over the top, MVPDs, social media and over-the-air TV.

A new report from BIA Advisory Services throws that notion into question. What if consumers can actually access content seamlessly—regardless of the platform—therefore providing a more unified media consumption experience?

What if it is actually the marketers who experience the fragmentation, not the public? That’s one of the key assertions of the new BIA report “Local TV and Location: How Targeted Mobile Intelligence Creates High Impact Campaigns.”

“While consumers have found it relatively easy to find and view their preferred content across platforms, it has been harder for marketers to develop integrated campaigns to reach consumers,” the report says. “The reason is that marketers typically plan and activate their media channels in separate silos.”

As media consumption patterns evolve, TV and mobile have proven to be twin “pillars of consumer media engagement and marketer reach,” the report says.

[Read: BIA: 2018 TV Station Revenue To Reach $27.68B]

Spending on advertising bears that out. According to the report, advertisers this year will shell out $20.8 billion on local television, which makes it “the largest segment of video advertising by far.” The BIA report attributes the popularity of local television advertising to it being “viewed as the primary reach and frequency medium.”

Spending on location-targeted mobile to targeted audiences in 2018 is expected to reach $22.1 billion, the report says.

“For marketers using both platforms, local television and location-targeted mobile advertising, there is great power in unifying these platforms to reach, target, and engage consumers,” the report says.

BIA Managing Director Rick Ducey says a powerful synergy is available to marketers who know how to leverage both. “TV and mobile are two of the most powerful platforms that audiences are using daily in a unified, not fragmented, experience,” he says. “Advertisers who integrate audience targeting on TV with location targeting on mobile can achieve an incredibly powerful one-two marketing punch.”

NEW YORK--Two months before the crucial upfront market, NBCUniversal has created a new metric that unifies linear and digital viewing of an advertising campaign.

NBCU calls its new metric CFlight and says it is comprised of Nielsen measurement of linear viewing and digital measurement combining data from comScore, Moat and other research companies that counts co-viewing but holds digital impressions to tougher, TV-type standards at a time when the measurement and effectiveness of Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Google are being questioned on Madison Avenue.

“Consumer behavior has changed the way our content is consumed, and it’s time for metrics to catch up and show the true power of premium video,” said Linda Yaccarino, Chairman, Advertising and Client Partnerships. ”As our industry questions the strength of digital-first advertising, we are guaranteeing that campaigns running around NBCUniversal content, regardless of platform, are reaching true, valuable audiences at scale.”

The move comes at a time when TV ad revenues are flat to falling and programmers complain that declining traditional ratings don’t fully measure audiences as more viewing takes place on digital and over-the-top platforms. Having one metric makes it easier for networks to sell their digital video inventory, and gives them the flexibility to meet advertiser guarantees by using digital impressions when linear impressions fall short.

[Read: The Future Of TV Metrics]

NBCU, with ad sales topping $10 billion annualy, has been discussing the new metric with large media agencies for months and several endorsed NBCU’s approach, which allows them to buy ads on premium video based on a single metric with a single guarantee at a time when the media environment is becoming more complex.

“Since the start of time-shifted and TV anywhere viewing, GroupM has championed expanded audience measurement, first C3 and then C7, to capture the total audiences of our partners’ programs and our clients’ advertising,” said Lyle Schwartz, Chief Investment Officer, GroupM. “NBCU’s move is a step in the right direction, consistent with work we’ve being doing market-wide to get to measurement of commercial viewing, in addition to more complete program ratings. Measurement must keep up with the fluidity of consumption to justify our clients’ investments.”

NBCU and GroupM got together a decade ago to do the first upfront ad deal based on C3 ratings, which measure the average commercial viewership within a program including the growing amount of delayed viewing on DVRs and on demand.

NBCU gave its new metric a test run earlier this year during the Winter Olympics when it sold ads based on what it called Total Audience Delivery, a number that combined linear and digital ad viewing.

NBCU executive VP for sports ad sales Dan Lovinger said the vast majority of its $920 million in advertising sale during the Olympics were made using a metric similar to CFlight. While traditional TV ratings for the Olympics were down, NBCU was able to deliver impressions to advertisers using viewing on digital platforms including Roku and Apple TV.

Lovinger said NBCU expected to use CFlight during the upfront.

NBCU has also been among the programmers pushing advertisers to use data to buy more highly targeted audiences, such as people intending to buy a pickup truck. But Lovinger said that age and sex demographics were likely to be the predominant way the network will be transacting business during the upfront.

Lovinger said it was unclear whether using CFlight would give NBCU more ratings points to sell and wouldn’t discuss how ad prices based on CFlight might compare to prices based on C3 or C7.

“We’re not necessarily creating new supply,” he said. “We’ve been selling a lot of almost all of our video inventory. We’re just not able to sell it in conjunction with linear and importantly, we’ve never been abal to manage a holistics planning process with our advertisers and agencies between linear and digital.”

In addition to GroupM, big media buying agencies Magna and Omnicom endorsed NBCUs approach.

“As consumers continue to shift their viewing seamlessly across platforms, it is essential for us to develop measurement and currency that counts and values those audiences in a similar manner,” said David Cohen, President, North America, Magna. “NBCU has taken a significant step forward in developing a methodology that capitalizes on linear television currency, and enhances it with industry-leading digital measurement to arrive at a universal view. We are eager to continue to pioneer this space with NBCU as we push the pace of innovation in the cross-screen measurement arena.”

“Consumers engage with the premium content they love – and the brands that sponsor that content – across a complex web of screens, applications and platforms,” said John Swift, CEO, Investment & Integrated Services North America, Omnicom Media Group. “CFlight is an important step towards better measurement in a cross-platform video environment. We believe measurement which reflects the nuances inherent with each of these very different consumer viewing environments is a crucial prerequisite to optimizing cross-platform advertising efficiency.”

Nielsen and comScore have been working on cross-platform metrics, but those efforts have been moving slowly.

“The industry just couldn’t wait any more for this in our opinion,” Lovinger said.

”We’re announcing now s because nobody else is going to move this forward on their own like we can and we will.” He said. “It’s going to allow us to address the needs of clients. We’re offering one unified measurement, which is something that I think they’ve asked for. We’re delivering one post, one deal and we’re able to tap into the digital landscape in a way that we think is a more responsible way to look at digital measurement. And hopefully that results in more demand for digital product at ultimately higher pricing.”

Like C3 when it was first adopted NBCU’s CFlight is not yet accredited by the Media Rating Council, which oversees media measurement.

In a statement, Nielsen said it supported NBCU activity, and said it would continue to work with the programmer and the rest of the industry.

“Nielsen’s commitment to evolving measurement of the media landscape has been unwavering over the past 68 years, and is even more resolute in the face of rapid fragmentation that we see today," the measurement company said in a statement. "

"We support NBCU’s efforts to evolve measurement, and Nielsen’s TV and digital ad currency play a critical role. We’ve been working closely with NBCU and other key industry leaders on solutions to expand the currency definition so that it takes into account cross-device consumer viewing behavior as well as media owners’ desire for more flexibility in receiving currency credit for audiences to ads. NBCU’s announcement today is a reflection of this work, and we look forward to our continued partnership as we collectively develop and implement new innovations in measurement,” Nielsen said.

NBCU's CFlight’s digital measurement creates a duration based metric that is similar to TV.snd requires a 100% ad completion rate to be counted. “We think that it is a necessity for digital platform to deliver that same level of transparency and be held to the same standards as linear and we think it’s a differentiator for our clients,” Lovinger said.

NBCU will be doing to CFlight calculations based on third-party numbers available to media buyers and clients. It intends to work closely with the agencies to fine-tune the metric to account for de-duplication of viewers using multiple screens and other details. 

The article originally appeared in TV Technology sister publication, Broadcasting & Cable.