Physical Address

304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124

AdExchanger’s Top 10 (Or 16) Most Popular Opinion Columns Of 2024


As we turn the calendar to 2025, let’s reflect on the themes that resonated with advertising industry thought leaders this year.

The columns below were the most popular pieces written by AdExchanger’s guest contributors in 2024. They offer a snapshot of an industry that is constantly changing—and one that has become cynical due to repeated promises of unrealized change.

All the main storylines are here: from analyzing the industry’s leading players to trying to tackle the most complex technical challenges of digital advertising and the most vexing ethical conundrums.

Much has been made of the headwinds that publishers face. And more than a few impassioned pleas for advertisers to abandon outdated and outdated practices.

Chrome’s end of third-party cookie support has generated a lot of interest, as has Google’s cookie alternative, Privacy Sandbox. And the frustration with all things Google was evident even before that revised its cookie plans againpulls the rug out from under the industry for the third time in five years.Comic: Roadworthy?

Similarly, Google’s search priorities are changing – which has been officially designated as a monopoly by the US government this year — also drew attention to the tech giant’s influence on the online ecosystem.

Here’s a look back at the year in ad tech. Let’s see which of these topics we will be talking about this time next year.

1. Why Publicis is winning
By Terence Kawaja, LUMA Partners

Kawaja’s study on stock market valuations of top agency holding companies hit just before Omnicom announced the acquisition of IPG in December — and quickly surpassed every other entry on this list. His past predictions of agency M&A priorities have proven prescient. But whether his endorsement of Publicis as top dog pays off in reviving agency consolidation remains to be seen.

2. CAPI is not a patch to end cookie support. It’s a basic solution
By Eb Adeyeri, Medusa

Conversion APIs are often overlooked in any discussion of third-party cookie alternatives. But as social media expert Jellyfish points out, they’re necessary to connect with the walled gardens where users spend time online.

Subscribe

AdExchanger daily

Get our editors’ roundup delivered to your inbox every weekday.

3. What do we say Emily? The human cost of ad data misuse
Posted by Arielle Garcia, Check my classifieds

Publicis’ $350 million settlement for marketing opioids to doctors on behalf of Purdue Pharma underscores the immorality of modern digital advertising. Afterward, Publicis employee Emily Deschamps shared the ethical dilemmas she faced as someone who lost loved ones to opioid addiction. That prompted Garcia, UM Worldwide’s former head of privacy and accountability, to urge the industry to rediscover its sense of shame.

4. Don’t get distracted by Cookie Drama. Changes to Google search are a real existential threat
By Eric Hochberger, Mediavine

In a year marked by Google Chrome’s will-they-won’t-they relationship with third-party cookies, Mediavine’s top executive pointed to bigger threats: constant changes to Google’s algorithms, the dawn of generative AI search platforms, and the potential for publishers to lose even more traffic to the walled gardens of Big Tech .Comic: The Missing Link (search and social traffic, ad revenue down)

5. A chasm of peril: Publishers and ad tech face a rough 2024
By Scott Messer, Messer Media

Speaking of headwinds facing publishers, monetization consultant Scott Messer kicked off the year with a list of looming threats and trends that media owners should watch out for. And man, was he spot on: From the rise of store curation and attention-based targeting on ID bridging panicMesser was ahead.

6. Privacy sandbox latency issues will cost publishers
By Amanda Martin, Mediavine

Six critical business challenges to address in the privacy sandbox
By Shailley Singh, IAB Tech Lab

Google’s privacy sandbox isn’t as bad as critics make it out to be
By Bosko Milekic, Optable

The first two of these three columns took Google to task for addressing Privacy Sandbox’s shortcomings. They were part of a steady stream of Sandbox complaints from regulators and industry experts that likely helped derail Google’s cookie-killing plans. Meanwhile, counterpoint Bosko Milekic gave props to Google for at least trying to create an alternative before turning off a valuable audience signal — something that can’t be said for other platforms.

7. CPMs are the wrong metrics to prioritize in CTV advertising
By Dan Larkman, Digital Keynes

You knew there had to be at least one column about CTV. This theme brought up another recurring theme this year: The need for marketers to abandon old strategies as they face new challenges in new media channels.

8. Publishers can increase their value on an open exchange – without cookies
By Emry DowningHall, Unwind Media

Unwind’s programmatic revenue expert outlined a plan for post-cookie monetization. This primer has tons of tips for integrating alternate IDs, cutting down on unnecessary SSPs, sending smarter RFQs, and making money from managing your deals. Share this with your most pessimistic publisher friend.Comic: Fear of Disclosure

9. Prepare for the worst, but don’t expect stale cookies to persist
By Jason Bier, Adstra

Here’s an observation that has aged like fine wine: Adstra’s privacy chief read the tea leaves in February and predicted that Google wouldn’t actually ditch cookies as planned — months before Google announced it was reversing course again. But he advised the industry not to follow Google’s example and continue with post-cookie planning anyway. After all, omnichannel targeting is only good for business.

10. CMO: It’s time to end the age of BS
By Chris Gadek, AdQuick

Digital advertising is full of waste, but the CMO hasn’t sounded off yet. In this fiery call to action, Gadek calls out BS on a number of marketing missteps. And he’s urging the industry to take advantage of the fresh start offered by signal loss and the global pressure to protect data.

Honorable Mentions

These columns fell just short of the top spots, but are still worth highlighting.

The Magic Cookie, a longtime ad tech enabler, has died at age 30
By Martin Kihn, Salesforce Marketing Cloud

In retrospect, Kihn’s tongue-in-cheek eulogies may have been a little premature. But it’s still a great history lesson about the much-maligned cookie.

The end of GARM is a reset, not a setback
Posted by Arielle Garcia, Check my classifieds

Garcia made her second appearance on the list with Elon Musk suing the Global Alliance for Responsible Media. He says the end of GARM is a chance to rewrite misguided brand safety standards — if advertisers can get up to the task.

Shopping has been transformed. It’s time for the marketing funnel to catch up
By Nancy Hall, Mindshare

No best of 2024 list would be complete without a mention of retail media. Hall explains how a narrow focus on the bottom of the funnel and an overly cautious data strategy can limit the potential of retail media.

9 measurement questions every marketer should ask retail media partners
By Keshav Parthasarathy, Retail Media Insights

And just in case that last column made you rethink your approach, here are some tips for choosing the right partners among the explosion of retail media networks.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *