Inside this year’s MAD//Fest

At MAD//Fest, British marketers hammer out the industry’s future

?By Zac Wang

• Identity, connected TV (CTV) and retail media sessions at the MAD//Fest?conference attracted packed audiences.
• Marketers and media professionals debated the merits of Privacy Sandbox, CTV’s lower-funnel capabilities and retail media’s future.

?? Lightbulb moment

“Our view is that in the very near future, retail media will just be media, just like how marketers allocate budget across TV and social — treated with the same level of consideration.”

—?Lee LeFeuvre, chief communications officer, SMG

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FAST platforms are on the rise. How can they keep up the momentum?

By Travis Clark

• Some free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms have seen “significant year-over-year growth” in popularity in the U.S., according to a recent Nielsen report.
• Experts say that for the FAST space to continue the momentum, it should capitalize on short-form formats, niche communities and, of course, sports.

?? Lightbulb moment

“The future of FAST isn’t about competing with premium content. It’s about becoming the go-to destination for passionate niche audiences and having the proper channels for each viewer.”

— Lance Wolder, head of client strategy and marketing, PadSquad

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For Context: From cookies to consent: Identity and authenticated data

• On the latest episode of our video series?For Context, we trace how the cookie evolved and consider where the digital advertising industry might go next, with data privacy now at the top of many marketers’ minds.
• In a cookieless future, alternative identifiers are being heralded by some as an upgrade to cookies, not just a replacement.

?? Lightbulb moment

A post-cookie world could ultimately be better all around — for readers, advertisers and publishers — both from a privacy and user perspective.

Watch now

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Why the balance of power will shift from walled gardens to the open internet

By Rajeev Goel, co-founder and CEO, PubMatic

• The changing dynamics of the industry and the evolving digital advertising supply chain are ushering in a new era for the open internet.
• Driven by the increase in first-party and identity data, further fueled by the rise of CTV and commerce media, as well as buyers’ ongoing focus on efficiency, there is a tremendous long-term opportunity to drive ROI and outcomes-based advertising on the open internet.

?? Lightbulb moment

“[The open internet] will offer performance-advertising opportunities on par with those of the walled gardens—and it will do so around professionally created, brand-safe content. That’s something the walled gardens, built on user-generated content, simply don’t and can’t provide.”

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