TTD buying Roku? Instream or out of line?

Welcome to The Refresh, a weekly newsletter from AdTechGod and Marketecture. Every Thursday we’ll bring you the latest advertising news, commentary, and memes.

  • X announces a partnership with Visa to power X Money’s wallet (Techcrunch)

  • Media agency giant Horizon is on the hunt for acquisitions as advertising M&A heats up (Business Insider)

  • AdTech has evolved—what’s the ONE topic that will always spark discussion? (ATG Linkedin)

  • Nielsen is phasing out its legacy panel-only TV ratings system (WSJ)

  • Publicis Media shakes things up, acquires Dysrupt (Mediapost)

  • CTV, Retail And Measurement Will Spur Ad Tech M&A This Year (AdExchanger)

Podcasts, Videos and more

Mark McEachran from Yieldmo

Mark McEachran of Yieldmo discusses building ad tech, product challenges, privacy regulations, and cross-media advertising. He reflects on his time at Rubicon Project and the legacy of cookies.

Privacy Series

Robin Shore from TikTok explores first-party data, innovative measurement, and privacy tech, highlighting TikTok’s investments in conversion lift studies. He discusses marketers’ challenges with privacy-preserving solutions and future improvements.

Hot takes on the news of the week

Instream or out of line?

The IAB Tech Lab’s video.plcmt spec, introduced in 2023, was meant to bring clarity to instream video ad placements. Its purpose was to ensure buyers only target inventory that meets strict criteria like sound-on and user-initiated viewing. However, based on this AdExchanger article adoption has been sluggish. While most SSPs have implemented the standard, many DSPs, including some major players, still rely on the outdated video.placement spec.

One thing I love about this industry is it loves talking about transparency, yet here we are facing another case of standards being implemented unevenly, creating ambiguity instead of clarity. If the video.plcmt spec is meant to solve a problem, it only works if everyone actually adopts it. The fact that even Google, with all its influence, is still hedging its bets by supporting both specs speaks volumes. Until the industry fully embraces a single standard, buyers will be left navigating a murky ecosystem where "instream" doesn’t always mean what it should.

Ari’s View: Everything gets gradually better, it is easy to miss the progress.

Controlling the screens = controlling the money

CTV is no longer just about content! It’s about who owns the platform shaping what you watch and how you see ads. As OS providers tighten their grip, they’ve turning CTV into another walled garden, controlling data, ad inventory, and audience access. Advertisers face the same challenges seen in search and social: limited transparency and dependence on gatekeepers. Those who master OS-driven targeting and secure the right partnerships will win, while others risk being locked out of CTV advertising. The OS wars are heating up and its never been about what you watch but rather the data behind it all.

Ari’s View: Gotta control the glass.

Is the Trade Desk buying Roku?

I ran a poll on LinkedIn asking which hypothetical deal would have the biggest impact on AdTech, and the conversation got pretty interesting. While people had different takes, one deal stood out as a potential industry-shaker (for me at least): The Trade Desk acquiring Roku.

The idea of The Trade Desk buying Roku has been tossed around for a while now, but with everything happening in the space, it actually feels like it could be the real game-changer. The Trade Desk just launched Ventura, their new OS designed to give advertisers more control, and Roku still dominates CTV distribution and garners a huge cut of CTV spend also. SPO is hot! Data is hot! Transparency is hot! If TTD and Roku came together, it would address all of those hot topics. Hotness everywhere!

Ari’s View: There are big benefits to running the Walled Garden play, but alienating all the other distribution channels would be very risky.

Updates on the community and events

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We are bringing advertising experts and AI innovators to help us get prepared.

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