Bots And Games Are Back (For Ad Tech)

Google’s SSP and ad server businesses have been ruled monopolies. Plus, Google Chrome isn’t going to change its third-party cookie opt-ins, preserving their utility for marketers. Go inside this momentous news.

Temu pulled back on its US ad spend this week, as tariffs loom. Plus, in France, the ATT prompt was deemed anticompetitive and, as a result, will likely need to be changed.

The Trump tariff situation is in constant flux, creating uncertainty that spells doom for any potential growth in US ad spending this year. Plus, how retail media and other emerging channels could be threatened by tariff turmoil.

What’s old is new. Time is a flat circle. Trends are cyclical. Choose your idiom, because this week’s episode grapples with two topics that are back in style (so to speak): bot traffic and the tantalizing dream of scaling programmatic in-game advertising.

After the IAB Tech Lab proposed to move ad auctions from the browser to the server with its Trusted Server prototype, controversy ensued. Plus: Should data privacy be viewed as a badge of honor or a baseline?

Alphonso shareholders won their lawsuit against LG Ads, clearing the way for an IPO. Then, as TikTok counts down the days until its stay of execution expires, Oracle might buy a minority stake.

Tariffs are taking effect in the US, and advertisers are shook. Our special guest, Madison and Wall’s Brian Wieser, weighs in on the “blindingly obvious” consequences of implementing tariffs, including supply-chain disruptions that lead to a pullback in ad spend. You can’t promote what you can’t produce. Plus: the rationale behind Publicis’ acquisition of Lotame.

Programmatic algorithms optimize for performance, which can leave digital media companies floundering. Inside programmatic’s pursuit of “premium.” Plus: an ad tech acquisition forged on matchmaking buy-side and sell-side IDs.

In her last week at AdExchanger, Senior Editor Alyssa Boyle reflects on three years of change, and stasis, in the CTV space. Then, how Ozempic is changing the marketing world.

When the ad tech darling of Wall Street, The Trade Desk, misses earnings, the industry pays attention. Plus: Reddit, fueled by Google search, sputters after an algorithmic adjustment.