Agenda

Analysts predict that by 2024, 70% of ad opportunities will be non-addressable. Publishers, looking to succeed in this new era need to adopt and test innovative solutions to monetize their audiences and future-proof their business. Identity solutions are emerging as a leading alternative to the third-party tracking cookie, but with over 80 solutions available on the market how will a publisher know if any of them deliver on their promise? Shiv Gupta, Founder, U Of Digital, will walk attendees through current identity solutions and how they work, as well as how the industry is evolving. Plus, he’ll provide a guide for calling BS on any ID graph.

In today's fast-paced business world, leaders must be willing to think outside the box and adapt to industry changes quickly. This keynote fireside will provide insights into effective leadership practices that can help organizations stay ahead of the curve. We will explore the importance of hiring employees based on their skills and potential rather than just education or credentials. Organizations prioritizing skills over a four-year degree can tap into a wider talent pool and foster a more diverse and inclusive work culture. Additionally, we will discuss the role of innovation in driving success and how leaders can encourage teams to think creatively and embrace change.

As consumers, we try our best to reduce our environmental impact to use more sustainable energy. It’s time to apply this to the digital ad industry. Through initiatives such as Ad Net Zero, the industry is pledging to reduce carbon emissions produced from advertising operations, meaning more advertisers and publishers will be looking for sustainable options in their media buying and measurement. Join Onetag in this fireside chat to hear what ultimately drives buyer decisions, how publishers should be looking at their choices going forward and how the industry can drive the right outcomes for everyone.

Responsible media has become a buzzword in the industry, presenting new opportunities for curating inventory packages and creating a more efficient supply chain. It can often mean different things to different parts of the industry and the publishers’ perspective has not always been front and center. In this session, Sam Marc, Senior Director of Addressable Solutions at PubMatic will lead a discussion on the importance of responsible media on the sell-side. She will expand on the core components of responsible media, publishers’ roles in it, and how publishers and buyers can better partner to shape a responsible supply chain.

As privacy-first becomes the guiding rule of the advertising ecosystem, buyers, sellers, and everyone in between is turning to data clean rooms as a means of sharing, activating, and protecting their first-party data. In data clean rooms, two or more parties bring their data together for joint analysis with privacy, security, and governance rules in place. But if DCRs are so great, why aren’t more publishers and marketers hopping on board? For one, walled gardens are leading the tech’s adoption making interoperability hard. As well, the huge investment required presents a barrier to entry and there is also a lack of standardization and scaling changes. Yet, DCRs are the future of data collaboration and will provide publishers with more opportunities for control and activating campaigns to make them work in a cookieless environment.

If anything is constant in our industry, that is change. Whether taking on more responsibilities, doing more with less, or launching new technologies, finding the right approach is key. As a former VP at NBC, Comcast, and AMC Networks, Susie Meehan McGinty along with Laura Boodram, Chief Revenue Officer at FatTail have managed change in publishing, retail media and ad tech. Learn how to navigate transitions as an effective leader, as they share experiences and best practice tips for leading through change.

Managing and leading generations other than your own can be challenging. Priorities, expectations, and even communication styles are different. This session will explore the challenges and opportunities of generational diversity in the workplace and provide insights into how leaders can adapt their leadership styles to meet the needs of employees across the generations. You will leave this session understanding how to identify and leverage each generation's unique strengths and perspectives. 

Data privacy laws are multiplying across the US — and across the globe — and while a federal regulation remains merely a dream, five states have comprehensive legislation on par with the EU’s GDPR. Lest we forget, GDPR fines are ratcheting up. As consumer data privacy continues to reshape the advertising ecosystem, there’s no time like the present for advertisers, publishers, ad tech companies, and consumers to work together for the common good of finding solutions that protect consumer privacy while monetizing the free flow of news and information across the open web. Hear everything you need to know about data privacy in 2023 and how you can stay ahead of the curve.

In the professional world, the concept of community is vital. It offers networking and mentorship opportunities that can’t be overstated, especially for women in tech fields. Join the founders of TechBae, a community for women in media and ad tech, as they discuss the value of community and how we can help, lean on, and leverage relationships to improve our day-to-day and our careers. From this session, you will gain a deeper understanding of the importance of community and how to leverage strong professional networks for greater personal and professional success. Also, learn about the importance of supporting and empowering your peers and the benefits of collaborative, community-driven approaches to achieving gender equity in ad tech.

The results are in! Google’s Privacy Sandbox shows promising results for both advertisers and publishers alike (with caveats). Yet, with cookie deprecation pushed back to Q3 2024, many buyers and sellers are still taking a wait-and-see approach. Raptive is not. They have been testing the Privacy Sandbox for months. In this session, Raptive’s Chief Strategy Officer Paul Bannister and Google’s Privacy Sandbox Director, Joey Trotz will dig into the Protected Audiences API (formerly known as FLEDGE and fully available any day now) as well the Topics API, measurement and approaches to first party data. The clock is ticking on how the industry best prepares for life post-cookie, and those who adopt early will have the edge.

While many publishers are still waiting for the cookie to crumble before they invest in future-proofing strategies, there are others like Penske Media Corporation, AccuWeather, TelevisaUnivision, and more, who are already about the work of leveraging their first-party data to grow their revenue by leaps and bounds. Hear case studies from such publishers that highlight how they’re building, authenticating, and activating valuable first-party data sets to capture advertisers’ attention, win more RFPs and garner repeat business.

When it comes to managing your team, thinking of them as people first before employees empowers them to bring their whole selves to work. When people bring their whole selves to work, they are more comfortable speaking up and sharing their expertise and unique viewpoints, which brings the power of diversity of thought to the team, benefitting the team and the overall business. This panel will explore how leaders create people-first environments for their teams, in everything from hiring practices to dealing with microaggressions to creating an authentic culture of inclusion. 

Join an exclusive conversation between Andrew Q Kraft, COO at The Arena Group along with the EX.CO CEO, Tom Pachys and CMO, Shachar Orren. They will take a deep dive into The Arena Group’s unique video strategy and learn how specific changes the publisher made around monetization, content, and contextual recommendations made a big impact – and fast. They will also discuss the ins and outs of the value chain and look under the hood to see how the technology works to fuel 2-3x revenue growth. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear directly from the industry leaders as they share insights, strategies, and best practices for driving success in the rapidly evolving world of online video.

Misalignment of key departments within companies is the #2 reason for the demise of products, second only to the lack of product market fit. Think of everything your company could achieve if your sales, product and engineering teams were all aligned. Attend this session to review a framework to align your teams and learn from several successful case studies. Bring your questions and challenges as there will be time to analyze your situation and define steps to position your teams for success.

In 2022, PGA Tour massively overhauled its website and app. Since all ad formats needed to be retested and recertified for the new designs, VP, Advertising Strategy & Operations, Raef Godwin, and his ad operations team took this as an opportunity to review and streamline their ad product offerings. By focusing on standardizing and templatizing fewer ad container sizes and relying on widgetized features inside the containers, PGA Tour was able to reduce the number of ad formats it needed to technically implement while preserving its ability to offer advertisers many eye-catching, high-impact feature combinations. They also reduced the number of ads per page and focused on fewer rich impressions instead of standard ads. Learn how PGA Tour has thrived with fewer, higher-quality ads after the redesign.  

In 2022, a massive 92% of US households were reachable by CTV programmatic advertising. Clearly, programmatic advertising is revolutionizing how advertisers reach audiences on CTV. In this session, we will explore the trends, challenges, and opportunities of programmatic advertising for CTV. Why is programmatic advertising for CTV becoming increasingly popular? What value does it drive for both advertisers and publishers? What does the future of programmatic CTV look like? How is addressable advertising reshaping the programmatic advertising landscape? We will explore all of these questions and more in this session.

This session will focus on optimization tactics; enhancing holistic yield strategy; header maintenance and demand partner evaluation; and so much more.

Many a publisher has walked the tightrope between optimizing revenue and maintaining a positive user experience, but can anyone say they have ever solved this challenge? In this session, a crew of product pros explore how to creatively approach product innovation and evolution, with a focus on publisher monetization products. They will cover topics like workflows, ad quality and creative, site speed, creative services, working with Ops and dev, plus a whole lot more.

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With the rise of streaming services and advanced targeting capabilities, ad tech has the potential to transform the way advertisers reach and engage with their audiences. However, with these opportunities come challenges, including ad fraud, data privacy, and audience fragmentation. This session will provide a comprehensive overview of the pros and cons of ad tech in Live TV and VOD, along with practical tips for how publishers can navigate the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities.

Building successful ad products relies on the cooperation of cross-functional teams. How can ops, data, and revenue come together to streamline workflows and processes to build more successful products? This session brings together The Arena Group’s Head of Ad Tech & Monetization, VP of Data Strategy & Operations, and VP of Ad Ops to discuss hurdles, working with other departments, and they’ll also highlight their most exciting projects with brands like Sports Illustrated, TheStreet, Parade, and more.

It is estimated that by the end of this year, ad fraud is expected to cost the industry $100 billion globally. Have the bots and cloaking finally taken over? Enter AI, machine learning, and other upgraded tools that advertisers are now employing — moving from legacy fraud verification to analytics — giving them far more details and insights to make better business decisions about their digital ad spending. Fighting fraud requires long-term persistent strategies from across the industry. It's time to move forward into the next chapter of fighting digital ad fraud and stop worrying about whose responsibility it is, and instead collaborate to find the best solutions. Dr. Augustine Fou will present case studies from his research that will teach us all how we move ahead.

Have you heard of one of ad tech's most inclusive and expansive new marketplaces? A marketplace aimed at engaging audiences based upon what motivates them as people and not targets? Reset Digital's Neuro-Programmatic technology is a first-of-its-kind programmatic platform that allows brands to connect with audiences, including the largest marketplace of diverse-owned and operated publishers. Learn how this marketplace helps publishers connect with audiences more authentically through Reset Digital's client Verizon. 

Shoppable TV  is an emerging technology combining ecommerce with video content, allowing viewers to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and interact with ads while watching streaming content across devices. For publishers, shoppable video offers a new revenue stream while enhancing viewers’ experiences. With features like QR codes and clickable overlays, shoppable formats,  increase ad engagement and campaign effectiveness. Hear case studies detailing the benefits of shoppable video, including improved conversion rates and vital real-time performance data. 

Sounds Profitable conducted a comparative study of the effects of advertising across three platforms: two broadcast channels (AM/FM Radio, Network/Cable TV) and one on-demand platform, podcasting. Come to learn about the results of their study.

More revenue doesn't exactly mean quality revenue. If you're a publisher looking to maximize revenue from your online content, then this talk on best practices for driving publisher CPM quality is for you. Explore strategies to minimize wasted ad calls, eliminate bidders, and optimize and improve your ad placements, formats, and content. We'll also delve into ways to increase viewability and engagement, and by the end of this talk, you'll have actionable insights to improve your CPM quality and drive better results for your inventory. Better ad quality leads to better revenue quality.

The gaming industry is booming and esports is greatly contributing to its exponential growth. It would be a mistake for publishers and advertisers to ignore the opportunities. Advertising in the esports and gaming space covers everything from virtual billboards, signage, and sponsored characters in games to sponsored experiences through Platforms like Twitch and Mixer to influencer marketing of products from content creators and streamers. The future of advertising holds more virtual landscapes than we think. 

With half of the adult population now cordless, CTV presents an incremental reach opportunity. Streamers of all ages now prefer watching FAST channels, rather than paying for a subscription. Marketers are focusing on campaign metrics that really matter to drive business growth like unique reach, frequency, ROI, and outcomes attribution. With a complex landscape, increased fragmentation, and inconsistent measurement, the challenges of CTV are endless. At the same time, data and measurement are key to CTV becoming a significant driver of reach. Learn strategies for CTV measurement success and developing standards. 

Commerce media is blowing up and transforming advertising by closing the loop on data and attribution. At its heart, is commerce content which results from a partnership between brands and publishers to drive product sales for the brand and provide an alternative revenue stream for the publishers. In this session, learn how commerce media brands work with publishers on exclusive deals, to drive curated experiences for their audiences. Together, brand and media partners can scale addressable inventory, enable measurement, and provide media planning tools to manage audience overlap and contextual affinities. Together, let’s learn about the opportunities that commerce media bring to the entire ad ecosystem.

As the cookie crumbles and customizations increasingly become integral to securing guaranteed ad spend, we're seeing a second coming of publisher in-house creative shops. Learn how iOne Digital and their OneX Studio merge product and data to cut through with custom creative for brands like Toyota, AT&T, Chevy, and more.

Automation is not new in ad tech, but generative AI is making heads turn, from industry experts and government officials alike. As the word suggests, generative AI generates content such as text, images, videos, audio, and more. Many are wondering if this new tech will steal their jobs, while global governments are assembling to regulate this emerging tech. Yet, the advertising industry is implementing generative AI into business plans, including strategy consults, creative research creative and new product development, and managing a brand’s reputation. Learn the ways that generative AI is being leveraged across the advertising ecosystem and whether it can revolutionize digital media and advertising.