From Open Internet To Open Agent: The Architecture Buyers Were Promised Is Finally Here
The article unveils the Agentic Advertising and Management Protocol (AAMP), an AI‑driven open stack that relocates the intelligence layer of programmatic advertising from proprietary platforms to a transparent protocol. By decoupling DSP algorithms, data, and inventory from platform‑owned seats, AAMP enables real‑time deal negotiation, auditable brand‑safety checks, and clear price discovery. Roughly $400 billion in programmatic spend that bypasses Google, Amazon and The Trade Desk could be redirected into this open, agent‑native market. Adoption hinges on buyers taking the lead, as the dominant walled‑garden players are expected to stay out.
Baby Monitor Brand Owlet Cut Back On Search – And Sales Didn’t Drop
Owlet, the maker of a smart infant sock and Wi‑Fi baby monitor, halted most of its paid‑search spend after the FDA required medical‑device clearance, even turning off Google search for generic terms. The cut removed a large amount of unqualified...
Pirated Sports Streams Are Warping TV’s Most Important Ratings
Adalytics uncovered massive illegal livestreaming of premium sports events, including a single Super Bowl feed on Peacock that reached over 100,000 devices and more than 100 pirate sites redistributing the game. The piracy likely skews ratings, with the Super Bowl...
AI Needs Humans In The Lead, Not Just In The Loop, Says JPMorgan Chase Programmatic Lead
JPMorgan Chase’s programmatic lead Melissa Bonnick argues that AI in financial‑services marketing must operate under explicit human leadership, not merely a human‑in‑the‑loop model. Strict industry regulations provide clear guardrails that tell the machine where it can and cannot operate. While...
Prog AI Live: AI’s Slippery Slop
The Big Story episode "AI’s Slippery Slop" examined how AI‑generated content is reshaping what advertisers consider “premium.” Panelists argued that audience attention now fragments across meme‑style videos, AI‑narrated clips, and other low‑cost formats, making legacy notions of prestige unreliable. They...
AI Is Finally Doing Real Work In Ad Ops (But Only When It Works With Your Existing Tech)
Jordan Cauley, a former Mediavine product lead, demonstrated that large language models only deliver real value in publisher ad operations when they are directly integrated with existing tools like Google Ad Manager, GitHub, and revenue feeds. By wiring Claude and...
Meeting Audiences in Motion: On-the-Go Video’s Role in a Fragmented Media Landscape
As streaming fragments audience attention, entertainment marketers are shifting to on‑the‑go video to capture consumers in real‑world moments before decisions are made. GSTV reports that 95% of its impressions achieve eyes‑to‑screen and outperform CTV and linear TV in attention metrics....
Influencer Marketing Grows Up
Influencer marketing has shifted from a gut‑based tactic to a measurable performance channel, treating creators as standalone media assets with CPMs and attribution. Publicis Groupe cemented this trend by acquiring AI‑powered platform Influential for roughly $500 million, plugging it into its...
These AI Agents Want To Handle All The Annoying Parts Of Media Buying
Kovva, an AI‑focused ad‑tech startup founded by former PubMatic executives, launched its platform to automate the tedious, manual tasks that still dominate programmatic media buying. The service deploys AI agents that can perform quality‑assurance checks, reconcile cross‑platform reporting discrepancies, and...
Claire’s Shifts Target Market to Tweens With ‘On-Trend, On-Time’ Products
Claire’s, acquired for $140 million after its second bankruptcy, is overhauling its brand under CBO Michelle Goad. The retailer is swapping its signature purple for a soft lavender, reorganizing its 900 stores around trending items and a dedicated tween‑girl section, and...
10 Minutes With… Gaby Ferreres, Head of Industry Marketing at AWS
Amazon Web Services used the NAB Show 2026 to showcase a suite of experiential activations, including an AI‑driven Cloud Court basketball challenge and a hackathon‑style AI lab. The booth featured over 60 demos, hands‑on workshops, and a live podcast studio,...
Zoom’s Next Act
Zoom chief marketing officer Kim Storin says the company is shedding its one‑trick‑pony image as merely a video‑call platform. The "Zoom Ahead" campaign, launched with a TV spot starring Bowen Yang, seeks to showcase Zoom's webinars, customer‑support tools, and AI...
Viant Sees A Growth Wave Coming, But First Marketers Must Really Ditch Walled Garden Ad Tech
Viant reported Q1 2026 DSP revenue up 18% to $50.3 million and narrowed its net loss to $2.2 million, while claiming an adjusted profit of $5.5 million. Executives argued that advertisers are increasingly rejecting the opaque, self‑attributing tactics of walled‑garden platforms like Google...
Duluth Trading Launches Cheeky Underwear Marketing Campaign
Duluth Trading Company unveiled a cheeky underwear campaign featuring its new mascot, Max Gluteus, timed with March Madness. The initiative leveraged humor to position low‑priced underwear as a gateway product, driving first‑time purchases and long‑term loyalty. On Meta the campaign...
The Trade Desk Has A Grand Vision, But Needs A New Breed Of CMO To Make It A Reality
The Trade Desk posted Q1 2026 revenue of $689 million, up 12% YoY, while net income fell to $40 million, delivering a 6% profit margin. CEO Jeff Green cited macro headwinds but unveiled a bold forecast that the open internet will become...