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Welcome to the jungle, ad world style! In this digital dystopia, akin to the eerie terrain of "The Last of Us," advertisers are the new-age survivalists, dodging the infected - here, symbolizing the swarm of low-quality ads. It's like playing a never-ending game of digital dodgeball, where the balls are ads, and they're all gunning for your wallet. According to a report by Ad Lightning, a whopping 28% of all online ads are considered 'non-compliant' with industry standards, making the game even more perilous.

But wait, it gets juicier. This isn't just a fight against poor-quality ads; it's a battle against the unseen – invisible ad placements and made-for-advertising sites. These digital zombies lurk in the shadows of the internet, ready to pounce on unsuspecting budgets. In this world, visibility is a luxury, with over 15% of ads never even gracing the human eye, as per the Association of National Advertisers. It's a world where you need to be as vigilant as a soldier in a zombie apocalypse.

And the twist? There's no clear path to safety. This labyrinth of low-quality ads is like a maze designed by a maniac. You think you're taking a shortcut to premium inventory, but BAM – you're knee-deep in another pile of ad junk. It's an adrenaline-pumping, hair-raising journey where one wrong click could lead to digital doom.

ONE: Resource Scarcity and Precious Commodity
Oh, the elusive high-quality ad space – as rare as a calm day on Twitter. In the programmatic wilderness, this is the holy grail, as scarce as a sober thought at Mardi Gras. Here's a fun fact to chew on: a study by eMarketer suggests that only a slim 20% of the digital space is considered premium. That means 80% is... well, not. It's like finding a pristine oasis in a desert of mediocrity.

But the hunt is half the fun, right? Advertisers, much like scavengers in "The Last of Us," are on a perpetual quest for these rare, high-value spaces. It's a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, with marketers as the cats (obviously) and quality ad inventory as the oh-so-elusive mouse. They're combing through a digital forest, where every step could lead to either a treasure trove or a trap.

And here's the kicker: when you do find that premium spot, it's like striking oil. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) reports that ads placed in high-quality environments are more likely to drive engagement, with a 60% higher recall rate than their lower-quality counterparts. It's not just about placing an ad; it's about striking gold in the ad wilderness.

TWO:  Trust No One: The Allies and Enemies Dilemma
In the world of programmatic buying, trust is as rare as an honest politician. One minute you're working with what you think is a reputable SSP, and the next, you're knee-deep in the murky waters of digital deceit. It's like navigating a social event full of frenemies – smile in your face, stab in the back. For instance, did you know that a report from The Guardian revealed that up to 70% of advertisers' budgets could be skimmed off by middlemen before reaching the publisher? Yikes!

But wait, it's not just the SSPs playing this game of thrones. The entire ecosystem is a hotbed of intrigue, where allies can become enemies faster than you can say "click fraud." Advertisers have to play detective, constantly sniffing out the good, the bad, and the ugly in a landscape where appearances can be deceiving. It's a world where your best friend today could be selling you snake oil tomorrow.

And in this high-stakes game of digital chess, every move counts. With millions of dollars on the line – Juniper Research estimates that ad fraud will cost advertisers $100 billion annually by 2023 – the stakes are sky-high. It's not just about surviving; it's about outsmarting the other players in a game where the rules are constantly changing.

THREE: The Constant Fight for Survival
Welcome to the daily grind of the digital ad world, where survival isn't guaranteed, it's earned. It's a relentless battle against the dark arts of ad fraud, non-viewable impressions, and the scourge of the digital landscape – made-for-advertising (MFA) sites. It's like a never-ending episode of Survivor, only with more ad blockers and less tropical beaches.

This isn't just a skirmish; it's a full-blown war. A report by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) predicts that by 2025, ad fraud

will be one of the biggest markets for organized crime. Yes, you heard that right – organized crime. We're talking about a digital underworld where clicks are the currency, and bots are the foot soldiers. In this world, every click counts, and every impression is a battleground.

But fear not, dear marketer, for this war is not unwinnable. Armed with the right tools and strategies, you can navigate this minefield with the precision of a Navy SEAL on a covert mission. With technologies like AI and machine learning, the fight against ad fraud is becoming more sophisticated. It's not just about avoiding the bad; it's about championing the good.

FOUR:  The Quest for a Cure
And now, the pièce de résistance – the search for the holy grail, the cure to all of the programmatic world's ailments. Much like the characters in "The Last of Us," advertisers are on a relentless quest for a solution to clean up the supply chain. It's a noble pursuit, like seeking a cure for the common cold, but in the digital realm.

But let's not kid ourselves; this isn't a fairy tale. There's no magical elixir or superhero coming to save the day. Instead, it's a gritty, grueling journey filled with trials and tribulations. According to the ANA, only about 40% of the digital ad spend reaches the intended target. That means 60% is lost in the digital ether – a sobering statistic that highlights the scale of the challenge.

However, hope springs eternal. With the rise of blockchain technology and increased transparency in the supply chain, the industry is making strides towards a brighter, less zombie-infested future. It's a future where quality trumps quantity, where transparency is king, and where advertisers can sleep a little easier at night, knowing their ad spend isn't fueling the digital apocalypse.

So there you have it – a wild, no-holds-barred journey through the programmatic supply chain, drawing parallels with the gritty world of "The Last of Us." It's a landscape filled with challenges and opportunities, where only the savvy, the brave, and the innovative survive. Strap in, stay sharp, and remember – in the world of programmatic advertising, every day is an adventure.

Pesach Lattin
Editor-in-Chief, ADOTAT

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🤖 CES 2023: AI takes center stage! 🌟 Mastercard unveils an AI tool aiding small businesses, from grants to marketing, developed with Create Labs and diverse content sources to counter AI bias. 🛠️ Raja Rajamannar of Mastercard describes it as an AI mentor for budding entrepreneurs. 🚀 Big names like L'Oreal, BMW, Amazon, and more showcase their AI innovations, marking a major shift from previous focuses like voice assistants. 🎤 Ben James from Gale Agency calls this the year of AI, a game-changer across industries and workflows. 🌍 While marketers' fascination with the latest tech (remember the metaverse?) can be fleeting, their bet on AI seems more promising and enduring. 💡📈 #CES2023 #AIMarketRevolution

🎬 Netflix's ad-supported plan is booming with 23 million MAUs, a big jump from 15 million! 📈 Amy Reinhard, the ad chief, shares that 85% of these users are actively streaming for over 2 hours monthly. 🕑 Launched at $6.99/month in November 2022, this plan is a key strategy after Netflix faced subscriber drops in early 2022. 📉 By Q3, it's already 30% of new sign-ups in 12 countries, marking a turnaround for the streaming giant. 🌍 Netflix is focused on growing this user base while keeping content and ads engaging. 🎥👀 #NetflixAdsOnTheRise #StreamingStrategySucces

📱 Gen Z and News: Digiday+ uncovers Gen Z's (born 1997-2012) preference for social media over traditional news sources. 🌍 51% of younger Gen Z get news from social feeds and messaging, with Instagram and similar platforms being key. 📲 A Reuters study shows 39% of 18-24-year-olds use social media as their main news source. News orgs are adapting with platform-specific content. 💬 Christina Capatides of CBS News emphasizes the need for brand content to mimic creator content. TikTok is a major news source for 32% of U.S. adults under 30, says Pew Research. 📊 Lulu Chiang of ABC News highlights the trust Gen Z places in social platforms for news. (SOURCE)

🚫📱👎 "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!" TikTok Ads, take note: Non-skippable ads might just be your downfall. Users crave control, with 73% more engaged when they can skip and 56% more likely to watch with that freedom. A MediaScience study reveals half the ad impact happens in the first 2 seconds. Forcing views? Not a click-winner. Test it, but listen to your data—it speaks volumes! 📊👥💡

🏈📈 The NFL's 2023 season scored big with a 7% hike in TV viewership and a slight uptick in stadium attendance, reaching 18.9 million. Every team was on fire, selling over 93% of tickets, a stark contrast to 2021's pandemic slump. Highlight teams: Detroit Lions, basking in their first division win in 30 years, and Washington Commanders, with a 10% jump in attendance under new leadership. Globally, the NFL's game plan includes Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers playing abroad in 2024. It's more than just touchdowns; it's a global sports blitz! 🌎🏟️🎟️

🌟 Joanna O’Connell joins Omnicom Media Group as the first Chief Intelligence Officer for North America! 📈 With a journey that began at Avenue A in 2000, she's now the brains behind navigating the media maze for clients. 🧠 After stints as MediaMath’s CMO, a top analyst at Forrester, and EVP of Innovation at R3, she's back in the agency game. 💼 Ralph Pardo of OMG praises her two-decade expertise in turning market trends into winning strategies. 🏆 Joanna's new mission? To boost OMG's intelligence initiatives and lead projects like the Future Signals series and CASA, shaping the future of advertising identity. 🚀🔮 #MediaMaven #StrategyGuru

🎉 Disney's self-service ad platform, Disney Campaign Manager, is making waves! 🌊 Launched in 2021, it's now supporting 4,200 brands and 1,000 agencies, with 85% being new to Disney Advertising. 🚀 Dentsu's Brad Stockton highlights the platform's appeal in data and tech advancements, offering advertisers more control and agility. 💻📊 With 16,000 campaigns launched, the platform caters to small budgets (starting at $500) and allows targeting by location, demographics, and more. 🎯 Coming up: Disney+ and ESPN+ ad spaces will join the platform, spreading its magic globally! ✨🌐 

🎭 Big news in the media world! Shane Ankeney, a bigwig at Havas Media since 2015, has called it quits, spilling the beans on LinkedIn. 📣 Meanwhile, Havas Media's doing some musical chairs, promoting Greg Walsh and Greg James, but mum's the word on Shane's exit. 🤫 A Havas insider hints at more shake-ups, but keeps it hush-hush. 🤐 Shane, a 2020 MediaPost All Star and veteran of the ad game since the '90s, is teasing a "next chapter" but keeping it mysterious. 📖 And here's a twist: Havas' website still shows Shane and some other long-gone execs as part of the gang. Seems like someone forgot to hit the update button! 🙈🖥️🤷‍♂️

🔍 Plot twist in the corporate saga! Carrie Stimmel, once crowned Head of Global Agencies by X's big boss Linda Yaccarino, seems to have left the building - or at least that's what her LinkedIn profile suggests. 🤔 Previously, Carrie had shared about her son's Jewish heritage on X, and her LinkedIn bio boasts a 'Strong commitment to DE&I' (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion). 🌍✨ Seems like there's more to this story than meets the eye! 🕵️‍♀️💼👀

🛒📣 Walmart+ is rolling out the red carpet for "National Quitter’s Day" with a savvy campaign starring TV celeb Andy Cohen, aptly titled “Save Your Resolutions.” 🌟📆 They're cashing in on the day when folks usually ditch their New Year's promises, showcasing how their membership can keep those resolutions alive! 🏋️‍♂️🎨 The campaign, with Cohen leading the charge, links Walmart+'s savings to fun activities like party hosting and road trips. 🎉🚗 It's a social media fiesta too, with TikTok and Meta influencers joining in. 📱💃

🤖🌟 At CES 2024, S4Capital's Media.Monks launches Monks.Flow, a super-smart AI service that's like a marketing wizard's dream! It's like having a digital Dumbledore by your side, weaving AI magic to streamline marketing workflows. 🪄💻 According to Forrester, everyone's ready to hop on the AI train, with execs and workers eager to team up with AI for their tasks. Monks.Flow is like the Swiss Army knife for marketers, slashing costs, breaking down silos, and cranking up business smarts. It's the future of marketing, served up with a side of AI brilliance! 🚀📈🎉

👩‍⚖️🔒 Supreme Court says "Nope!" to X Corp (aka Twitter) in their decade-old tiff with Uncle Sam over spilling the beans on user data requests. 🐦💻 It's been a saga since 2014, with Twitter wanting to dish out deets on National Security Letters and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act orders. The twist? Big tech giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook played ball with the feds, agreeing to vague reporting. But Twitter, flying solo, cried foul over free speech. Their argument? The First Amendment rights to tell users more about government surveillance. 🦅✊ Both a trial judge and the 9th Circuit said "nah" to Twitter, citing national security. And now, the Supreme Court's silent swipe left leaves Twitter's transparency dreams grounded. 🚫📄🕵️‍♂️

🎥📉 Josh Chasin, the Chief Measurability Officer of VideoAmp, has left the building, following the recent exit of founder and CEO Ross McCray. Chasin, the former Comscore bigwig, joined VideoAmp aiming to shake up the TV data game. His LinkedIn post today reminisces about his initial advice to McCray: 1️⃣ Dive into the less crowded, more lucrative currency ratings pond rather than jostling in the crowded TV data pool. 2️⃣ Focus on the sell-side (TV/streaming platforms), where the real money's at. Despite VideoAmp getting a thumbs-up as an ad currency by the U.S. JIC and gaining some sell-side traction, they're hitting turbulent times, axing 20% of their workforce amid all these leadership shake-ups. 🌪️📊💼

🌟🤝 At CES 2024, it's a wild west for ad market gurus! Publisher sales leads are zooming in on the event, hoping to get the 411 from marketers and agency execs on how to get them to loosen their purse strings. 🤑🎰 Some are opting for one-on-one chats, while others are going big with swanky dinners and floor tours for the C-suite crowd. Sebastian Tomich from The Athletic is all about "vibe checks" on the ad market's health, while Mike Wong of Bloomberg Media plays it cool with a 75% pre-booked schedule, leaving room for chance encounters. 📅💼 Geoff Schiller from Vox Media, not to be outdone, has packed his CES days with client meet-ups and even The Verge is hosting exclusive floor tours. Over at Axios, they're banking on their AI editorial products to charm clients, even in the fast-paced in-quarter sales cycles. 🤖📈 Amidst all this, Edgar Hernandez from My Code is aiming high, hoping to rub shoulders with 100+ new brand or agency execs. It's a full-on charm offensive out in Vegas, with everyone hoping to turn handshakes into hefty deals! 🎲📊💸 (Digiday)

🌐📊 Samba TV and HyphaMetrics are shaking hands in the ad world's latest blockbuster duo! 🤝📺 Their team-up promises a deep dive into TV and streaming habits, with Samba's big data and Hypha's detailed person-level data creating a superhero-like insight into viewers' likes and clicks. It's like having a crystal ball for advertisers, revealing everything from sitcom laughs to late-night binges! 📡🔮💻 #DataDynamics #AdTechAvengers 🌟

🌱💻 Multilocal debuts its eco-friendly ad whiz, CarbonSmart, teaming up with Cedara for a greener digital ad scene! 🌍🤝 They're turning the ad world green by slashing carbon emissions per campaign by 80%, all while boosting ad performance. Think of it as a digital gardener, trimming the excess bids and leaving only the greenest, most efficient ads. 📊🌿 It's like having a sustainability superhero in your programmatic ad campaigns, saving the planet one click at a time! 🦸‍♂️🌐 #EcoAds #GreenTechTrendsetter 🚀🍃

🌐🔒 Google's Privacy Sandbox is stirring the ad-tech sea, as IAB Tech Lab grapples with its cookie-less future in advertising. CEO Anthony Katsur views it as a monumental shift, with early tests showing snags like competing ads sharing screen space and concerns over brand safety. 📊🍪 Amidst this, Google begins its gradual farewell to third-party cookies, pushing the industry towards uncharted waters. To help, Index Exchange donates a demo tool for mastering these new tides, urging advertisers to team up with their agencies to navigate this transformative landscape. 🚢💡 #DigitalAdRevolution #CookielessChallenge 🚀👨‍💻

📈💼 LinkedIn ad prices are on the rise as advertisers abandon ship from platform X, creating what Outcast VP Leesha Anderson dubs "LinkedIn Season." 🚀🗓️ Amidst a backdrop of Elon Musk's controversial remarks and subsequent advertiser exodus, including big names like Disney and Coca-Cola, LinkedIn is emerging as the go-to spot for ad spend. 🌐🤑 Musk's fiery response to departing advertisers only fueled the shift, with even the UK government stepping back for 'commercial reasons.' 💥🏢 Meanwhile, IPG's Magna forecasts a sunny outlook for UK ad spend in non-traditional media, expecting a growth spurt in 2024. 📊🇬🇧 #LinkedInLeads #AdShift 🚀📉

🍪📊 Bye-bye browser cookies, hello futuristic metrics! Integral Ad Science (IAS) just dropped a game-changer: the "quality attention" metric, blending media quality, eye-tracking, AI, and ML for sharper ad insights. Early bird Omnicom's OMD is already raving, using this wizardry to compare attention across publishers and ad sources. The tool is a Sherlock Holmes for the digital age, deducing what catches users' eyes and linking it to tangible business outcomes. Advertisers, tired of playing hide-and-seek with results amidst a crowded web, now have a new ally. This IAS brainchild promises real-time, attention-based campaign tweaks and a roadmap to success. Expectations? Sky-high, as IAS teases up to 137% lift in conversion rates. The secret sauce? A trifecta of visibility, context, and interaction, all analyzed by AI to predict ad success. The future of ad metrics isn't just bright; it's laser-focused! 💡🔍🚀

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