May 6, 2026 | SIGN UP
PRESENTED BY
Ronan Shields
SENIOR REPORTER, AD TECH
Holding companies are accelerating efforts to collapse the programmatic supply chain, with implications for the role — and revenue — of ad tech intermediaries.
At Omnicom, AI-driven agent-to-agent buying frameworks are enabling direct transactions with publishers, reducing reliance on demand- and supply-side platforms while reinforcing its control over data and margins via Acxiom.
Meanwhile, WPP has publicly downplayed the importance of The Trade Desk, framing the open internet as a shrinking segment and shifting spend toward closed ecosystems such as Amazon, Meta, and YouTube.
Together, these moves reflect a broader strategic pivot as holdcos prioritize direct, controlled buying paths to capture more value. This places structural pressure on traditional ad tech platforms whose intermediary role — and pricing power — is increasingly under threat.
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THE PROGRAMMATIC MARKETER
Moment-based targeting is advertisers’ path to impact and attention in CTV
In streaming TV, context changes from scene to scene — a single show can shift from lighthearted to emotional in seconds. Scene-level targeting places ads alongside the moments that match, capturing attention when it matters most. In fact, research shows that when the context of ads aligns with the scene, they drive 2x greater attention. It’s a smarter way to reach audiences, and a new standard for CTV advertising.
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