October 10, 2025  |  SIGN UP

Jim Cooper
DIGIDAY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Publishers, after a few quarters of feeling downtrodden in the face of the zero click future brought to you by AI, have, as we reported this week, a couple of things to feel good about.

First, it seems that news content is making a comeback as a destination for marketing spend. The era of avoiding controversy seems to have passed and brands are returning to political platforms and news content. They have improved tech, tighter budgets, and a new understanding of what brand safety really means. Secondly, Ozone, the audience-connection platform initially focused on U.K. publishers, is planning a British invasion of the U.S. market (it plans to expand its U.S. headcount from 10 to 50 next year) to pull investment into the publishing category. And at an Ozone confab last month, this off-the-record quote seems to sum up the new publisher swagger. “So, either you can, as an individual publisher, grow some teeth and decide to take on a fight, or get some friends right, and gang up on the predator.”

We also wrapped our team coverage of Advertising Week New York. Read all our coverage here ICYMI – Happy Friday!

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PUBLISHING IN THE PLATFORM ERA

Publisher alliance Ozone makes a larger play for U.S. advertisers

To match that ambition, Ozone is scaling up stateside — planning to expand its U.S. headcount from 10 to 50 next year, with new hires in Chicago to deepen relationships with agencies and brands, according to Ozone CEO Damon Reeve.

ADVERTISING AROUND POLITICS

Why advertisers are quietly returning to news-driven media channels 

Marketers have conceded that the news cycle is moving quickly, changing their standards for what makes an emotionally charged moment, and what could sway the suitability of an ad spend.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM TINUITI

Why marketers need to stop treating waste as taboo 

Too often, waste is treated like a bad word, rather than asking if it’s the cost of growth or a line item the team has learned to ignore. Every marketing budget should have waste in it; otherwise, the team isn’t creating the conditions where something new and valuable can emerge. 

MARKETING ON PLATFORMS

With Microsoft in tow, Amazon’s DSP tightens its grip on the open web

Another week, another reminder than Amazon isn’t just in the ad business — it’s becoming the ad business. After locking in deals with Netflix and Spotify, the commerce giant is now folding Microsoft into the mix.

A MESSAGE FROM WIDEORBIT

Live session: Publisher strategies for simplifying ad ops

Fragmented and outdated tech has made it difficult for publishers to meet advertisers’ demand for outcome-driven, cross-platform campaigns. Join this virtual session on Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. ET, or watch on demand, to learn how publishers are streamlining operations and simplifying ad tech to drive growth. 

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GENERATIVE AI

AI personas promise speed, but safeguards are needed to avoid leading marketers astray

For marketers, the tendency to read a generative AI output as more than the sum of its parts holds potential as well as risk. 

AI REVENUE GENERATION

From walls to frameworks: Publishers and tech giants push weekly talks on AI content use

Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google all had seats at the table alongside 35 publishers at the IAB Tech Lab’s LLM working group in NYC last Thursday. The clearest action point: the initiative has shifted to weekly meetings as it races to find standards on how AI uses and pays for content. 

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM URBAN SCIENCE

Why real-time insights are key to finding high-intent customers

Instead of targeting consumers who have already purchased, shifted segments or never had buying intent, some brands across sectors are leveraging real-time insights to adjust campaigns and reduce wasted impressions. In a resource-constrained environment, timely, targeted messaging is helping marketers deliver results.