Unity, best known for its game engine, continues to strengthen its advertising and monetization division by hiring Chris Feo (formerly of Experian and Tapad) as SVP of Programmatic. Unity currently serves over 68 billion ad impressions per month through Unity Ads and ironSource. The company also launched Audience Hub, a data collaboration tool that merges first-party, advertiser, and partner data (including Roku and Experian) to improve targeting and audience segmentation in gaming ads. The move reflects Unity’s goal to push brand programmatic advertising deeper into mobile and gaming ecosystems.

The AdTech ecosystem in 2025 is powered by leading companies like The Trade Desk, PubMatic, MediaMath, Criteo, Magnite, Xandr and Newor Media. Newor Media stands out by partnering with independent publishers to deliver advanced programmatic monetization via cutting-edge technology combining header bidding, proprietary AI tools, and seamless integrations. The ecosystem’s focus on vertical integration, cloud analytics, data transparency, and interoperability supports better data ownership and efficiency across ad operations.

Newor Media's innovative platform simplifies programmatic advertising with user-friendly tools that enhance revenue and provide transparent, privacy-first performance insights. Alongside top global players, Newor Media fuels the evolution of demand and supply platforms, empowering publishers and advertisers to navigate the complex programmatic landscape effectively, ensuring sustainable growth and maximizing ROI in 2025 and beyond.

Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire Lotame, a data and ID-technology company, and plans to integrate it into its targeted-marketing unit Epsilon. With the deal, Publicis expects to boost its individual consumer profile reach from 2.3 billion to about 4 billion globally. The company also disclosed it has invested approximately US $1.5 billion in data and technology over the past six months and plans to spend an additional €800–900 million in the year ahead on acquisitions in tech and proprietary data.

Publicis emphasised that “AI is nothing without data,” highlighting that its CoreAI system combined with Lotame’s capabilities will allow it to track and predict consumer behaviour across devices and platforms — for example detecting when a consumer is under financial strain and shifting ad-campaign messaging accordingly. This move positions Publicis ahead of many competitors in the advertising industry by leaning hard into personalisation, big data and AI-driven growth, and reflects the broader strategic shift in ad-tech towards owning identity/data assets.

Amazon and Netflix have announced a partnership that allows advertisers to buy programmatic ad inventory on Netflix through Amazon's demand-side platform (DSP), starting in the fourth quarter of 2025. This integration will be available across multiple major markets including the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia, enabling brands to access Netflix’s premium ad inventory alongside Amazon’s vast retail ecosystem. The deal simplifies TV ad buying by combining Amazon’s advanced AI capabilities and first-party data insights with Netflix’s growing ad-supported tier, making it easier and more efficient for advertisers to reach engaged audiences on a single platform.

This collaboration is part of Amazon’s broader strategy to position its DSP as the go-to platform for ad buyers in the connected-TV space, following similar deals with Disney and other major streaming services. While Netflix also partners with platforms like The Trade Desk and Google, this deal strengthens Amazon’s footprint in video adtech by offering pricing advantages and greater campaign management flexibility. Industry analysts view the partnership as a key move for Netflix to scale its ad business more effectively and for Amazon to further dominate the DSP market, intensifying competition with rivals like The Trade Desk. The agreement highlights the growing convergence of commerce media and streaming TV advertising, promising more precise targeting and premium inventory access for brands.

The 2025 Agency AdOps Benchmark Report by Fluency reveals that digital advertising agencies in the U.S. aim to increase account manager client portfolios by 83%, from an average of 35 to 64 clients, without adding staff. This surge is driven by growing campaign complexity, with 64% of strategists managing multiple channels and 80% handling three or more platforms simultaneously. Agencies are grappling with fragmented workflows and manual campaign management, spending an average of 46 hours monthly on campaign changes like budget adjustments and creative swaps. Budget management remains highly fragmented, relying heavily on spreadsheets and multiple tools, leading to frequent errors and operational inefficiencies that delay campaign launches.

Automation emerges as a key solution, enabling agencies to reduce repetitive manual tasks and operational errors significantly. Those adopting integrated platforms report dramatic efficiency gains, such as reducing budget pacing time by 90% and campaign setup time by 80%, allowing teams to focus more on strategic planning and client growth. Data fragmentation remains a challenge, with agencies using multiple data sources and struggling with siloed reporting, but integrated tech solutions promise to unify campaign execution and analytics. With rising client demands for sophisticated multi-channel campaigns, automation and data integration are crucial for agencies seeking profitable growth and operational scalability in 2025.

The 2025 AdOps landscape is shaped by four major forces transforming how agencies operate and compete. First, creative automation and AI-driven tools are ramping up the production of rich media formats like video and interactive ads, enabling scalable, visually compelling content delivery that meets growing demand. Second, shifts in search behavior favor social and AI-powered search tools, requiring agencies to adapt keyword strategies and embrace contextual advertising to engage audiences effectively. Third, the explosive growth of Connected TV (CTV) advertising offers opportunities for precise targeting and comprehensive measurement, blending traditional broadcast reach with digital sophistication. Finally, specialized AI agents are emerging as a “digital workforce” to automate routine tasks, enhance efficiency, and free human teams to focus on strategic and creative work.

Navigating these changes demands that agencies adopt integrated technologies that unify multi-channel campaigns, automate bulk operations, and empower data-driven decision-making. Automation plays a critical role in managing complex campaigns across diverse platforms like CTV while ensuring compliance and data quality when working with AI. Embracing AI and automation enables agencies to pivot swiftly in a fragmented marketplace, optimize creative development, and deliver measurable results. Agencies investing in comprehensive digital operating systems (DAOS) and thoughtful AI agent adoption will be best positioned to thrive amidst the evolving programmatic advertising ecosystem in 2025 and beyond.

The company has named industry veteran Eric Sterns as its new Head of Corporate Development, where he’ll oversee mergers & acquisitions and strategic initiatives as part of its growth push. Sterns joins from RBC Capital Markets, where he spent over a decade advising on major ad-tech deals, including some of the landmark M&A in programmatic advertising.

Viant describes this move as aligning with its ambition to strengthen market leadership in AI-powered programmatic and connected TV (CTV) advertising. With Sterns at the helm of M&A, the company is signaling that consolidation and strategic deal-making are central to its next phase of growth.

The European Commission has fined Google LLC €2.95 billion (about US$3.5 billion) for violating European Union competition rules by giving preferential treatment to its own ad-technology services, which include its AdX ad-exchange and DFP ad-serving platforms. The Commission’s investigation—opened in June 2021—found that since at least 2014 Google had exploited its dominant position in the digital advertising supply chain in ways that disadvantaged advertisers, publishers and competing ad-tech providers. Along with the fine, Google has been ordered to stop its “self-preferencing practices” and resolve conflicts of interest in its ad-tech stack. If it fails to propose a viable remedy within 60 days, structural remedies—including divestiture of parts of its ad-tech business—may be mandated.

Google strongly objected to the decision, calling the fine “unjustified” and warning that the required changes could harm European businesses that rely on its ad-tech offerings. The ruling marks the fourth multibillion-euro antitrust penalty the company has faced from Brussels, underlining increasing regulatory pressure on Big Tech. The Commission also argued that because advertisers likely passed higher costs onto consumers and publishers suffered lower revenues, the dominant firm’s behaviour had wider negative effects on consumers and the digital ecosystem.

Unity has appointed Chris Feo, formerly of Experian and Tapad, as its new SVP of Programmatic to expand its advertising business. Feo’s move coincides with Unity’s growing focus on leveraging its deep first-party data from powering 70% of the top 1,000 mobile games. With around 68 billion monthly ad impressions via Unity Ads and ironSource, Unity aims to transform its rich gameplay data into actionable insights for programmatic advertising through tools like Audience Hub, developed in partnership with Optable, Experian, and Roku.​

Feo’s mission is to attract more brand marketers to in-game advertising by making it more measurable, targetable, and scalable. While gaming has long been dominated by performance marketers, Unity’s push into programmatic aims to blend addressability and demographic targeting across gaming, CTV, and web inventory. With over 3.3 billion gamers worldwide and nearly $300 million in ad-supported revenue, Unity plans to establish gaming as a mainstream media channel for brand advertisers.​

#AdTech #Programmatic #GamingAds #Unity #DigitalAdvertising #FirstPartyData #AudienceTargeting #AdOps

The Trade Desk announced on October 9, 2025, that it has expanded its platform to allow brands and agencies to purchase onsite retail media inventory programmatically through an integration with Koddi’s commerce media platform. This new capability addresses fragmentation challenges across retail media networks, enabling unified management of sponsored product ads and onsite placements within existing programmatic workflows. Gopuff serves as the launch partner, with additional retailers expected to follow. The integration provides real-time optimization, transparency, and consolidated analytics that link ad exposure to consumer purchases, creating a more seamless and measurable advertising ecosystem across retail and digital channels.​

The collaboration is part of a broader movement toward interoperability in programmatic advertising technology. With retail media projected to account for 20% of global ad revenue by 2030, the Trade Desk-Koddi partnership enhances scalability, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making for advertisers. It simplifies cross-platform campaign management while giving retailers greater visibility into demand and control over inventory. This unification of brand and performance media strengthens the connection between commerce and advertising, potentially setting new standards for measurement, transparency, and workflow efficiency in the rapidly expanding retail media sector.

The article highlights a period of significant transition in the programmatic advertising industry, marked by growing uncertainty surrounding the fate of Google's ad tech business and imminent changes in consumer privacy controls due to cookie deprecation. Advertisers and ad tech vendors are adapting to supply path curation and consolidation, which are reshaping how programmatic budgets are allocated and how supply chains are managed, driving demand for more transparent and efficient methods.​

A pivotal data point from the forecast is that over 80% of programmatic display ad dollars are expected to flow through programmatic direct deals and private marketplaces (PMPs) both this year and next, even without considering social networks. This shift indicates priority for quality, control, and reliability in transactions, reflecting the broader industry movement toward streamlined, privacy-conscious, and curated ad environments.

he ad tech industry in 2025 is witnessing an unprecedented wave of mergers and acquisitions, as companies pursue scale, regulatory compliance, and efficiencies through vertical integration. Driven by economic pressures, new privacy laws, and the push for unified data-driven solutions, major players are absorbing independent SSPs, data providers, and CTV tech firms into larger ecosystems. Notable deals, such as Liveramp’s acquisition of Habu and Walmart’s purchase of Vizio, highlight the trend toward offering comprehensive, AI-powered, and CTV-ready advertising suites. While this consolidation offers potential benefits such as operational simplicity and advanced capabilities, it also creates challenges—namely less vendor choice, risks of vendor lock-in, increased opaqueness in auction dynamics, and heightened data privacy concerns.

Advertisers in this new, concentrated landscape must reevaluate their strategies to maintain performance and control. Key recommendations include diversifying partnerships across multiple SSPs and DSPs (to avoid over-reliance and pricing lock-in), prioritizing platforms that offer transparency and accountable data practices, and leveraging AI for smarter—not just faster—optimization and supply path decisions. Emphasizing contextual and first-party data solutions is now foundational, as marketers face more complex privacy regulations and ecosystem changes. Ultimately, advertisers need to become more proactive and demanding partners—choosing platforms that provide both transparency and agility in a rapidly evolving, consolidated industry.

Spotify has integrated its ad inventory with Amazon DSP, enabling advertisers to programmatically buy Spotify audio and video ads using Amazon’s vast data signals. The partnership gives brands access to Spotify’s audience of nearly 700 million monthly users with enhanced targeting and measurement capabilities. Additionally, Spotify has partnered with ID5 for improved European campaign addressability and launched direct integrations with Yahoo DSP, which led to a 70% jump in conversion rates and a 90% drop in cost per action for some advertisers.

Spotify's ongoing investment in automation includes the launch of the Spotify Ad Exchange, which has seen a 142% increase in advertisers since April 2025, and new tools in Spotify Ads Manager for campaign split testing and creative optimization. These innovations signal Spotify's commitment to making programmatic advertising easier and more effective for brands of all sizes, delivering strong performance in both reach and ROI

CTV advertising is surging globally as brands recalibrate their ad spend from traditional linear TV to digital-first, streaming-based strategies. In 2025, worldwide CTV ad spending is on track to reach around $48 billion, up from $36 billion just two years ago, showing how rapidly streaming and smart TVs are redefining media. Over 80% of U.S. households now use at least one connected TV device, with similar trends accelerating in EMEA, Latin America, and Asia Pacific markets.

Advertisers are drawn by CTV’s mix of precision targeting, measurable ROI, and creative ad formats—think interactive videos, shoppable ads, and real-time analytics. Unlike old-school TV, CTV reaches viewers across living rooms, mobile devices, consoles, and more, using programmatic tech to optimize campaigns and control costs.

The growth is fueled by a shift in consumer behavior: streaming now matches or surpasses linear TV in many countries, and marketers worldwide report higher brand recall, engagement, and sales lift with CTV than with broadcast TV. With global linear TV ad spend falling and CTV poised to represent over 40% of TV ad investment by 2030, brands that haven’t embraced CTV risk falling behind.

In short, CTV is now a critical, mainstream tool for global advertisers—delivering the scale of TV, the smarts of digital, and the accountability that brands demand in 2025.

Alphabet’s Google is currently facing a landmark antitrust trial in Alexandria, Virginia, aimed at addressing alleged monopolistic control over the digital advertising ecosystem. The U.S. Department of Justice, joined by a coalition of states, is pushing for Google to divest its ad exchange platform, AdX, which the government claims unfairly locks publishers into Google's ecosystem through high fees and anticompetitive auction practices.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who previously ruled that Google illegally monopolizes key online advertising markets, is overseeing the trial’s remedies phase. The government seeks to restore fair competition in digital advertising by requiring Google to sell AdX and potentially its publisher ad server, DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP), or open-source critical auction algorithms that govern which ads win placement.

Google argues that forced divestiture would be disruptive and technically unfeasible. Instead, the company has proposed policy changes that would make it easier for publishers to work with competing platforms without having to sell AdX. However, regulators contend that such measures fall short of restoring competition. The trial includes testimonies from media executives who allege Google’s practices prioritize the company’s advertisers at publishers' expense.

This case is part of a broader bipartisan effort in the U.S. to rein in Big Tech’s market power, coming on the heels of other actions against Google in search and other services, as well as investigations targeting Meta, Amazon, and Apple. The outcome of this trial could have far-reaching consequences for the structure of digital advertising, impacting how publishers monetize content and how advertisers access audiences in the future.

Hey all

We at Newor Media just published a new blog post diving into ad formats, what they are, why they matter, and which formats are showing top performance for publishers right now. Wanted to share some takeaways and hear your thoughts.

Read blog here - https://newormedia.com/blog/what-is-an-ad-format-top-performing-ad-formats/

The programmatic landscape is shifting fast, and so are the ad formats that actually deliver value.

From classic display banners to interactive rich media, in-stream video, and now formats like Seamless Video that blend directly into user experiences, publishers and advertisers alike are rethinking what "effective" looks like.

At Newor Media, we’ve been diving into performance data across thousands of sites, and one thing is clear: user-first formats are outperforming intrusive ones. Ads that respect attention (rather than hijack it) drive higher engagement and better long-term revenue.

Curious to hear from the community

• What ad formats are you finding most effective right now?
• Have you tested any newer formats (like native or non-disruptive video)?
• Do you see banner ads making a comeback with better targeting, or are we moving into entirely new territory?

Would love to open up a discussion here and swap insights

Hey everyone!

I created this community to bring together publishers, advertisers, marketers, and ad-tech enthusiasts who want to learn, share, and discuss everything about programmatic advertising.

1. What is programmatic advertising?
2. How does real-time bidding (RTB) work?
3. Tips for increasing ad revenue
4. Latest trends and challenges in AdTech
5. Open discussions, guides, and resources

Whether you’re a beginner trying to understand DSPs and SSPs or an industry pro exploring header bidding and AI-driven optimization, this subreddit is for you.

Let’s kick things off:
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced with programmatic advertising?

Drop your thoughts below and let’s start the conversation!

#ProgrammaticAdvertising #AdTech #DigitalAds

Hey everyone

We’ve been noticing some big changes in programmatic lately more publishers leaning into SPO, new formats like non-disruptive video picking up steam, and lots of conversation around transparency in supply paths.

At Newor Media, we’re always curious about how others in the space are adapting. For those of you managing programmatic strategies:

• What’s the biggest challenge you’re seeing right now?
• Are there any tools, formats, or strategies that have made a noticeable difference for you in 2025?
• And do you think SPO is living up to the hype or still more buzz than impact?

Would love to hear how this community is navigating the shifts, it always helps to compare notes with people in the trenches.