Chairman and CEO, InfoSum

Brian Lesser

Super fans shape much of their identity around their favorite movies, music and more. Advertisers could benefit from getting to know their fandoms.

Understanding fandoms could be key for streaming and advertising strategies

Streaming services can build audience engagement through content, leveraging machine learning and data, and by improving the advertising experience on their platforms.

Streaming platforms have attracted vast audiences. Now we need data to keep them engaged.

NBCUniversal and the Olympics are evolving with viewers. Advertisers are responding with $1.2 billion in ad commitments and counting.

The Olympics’ role in culture is evolving, and advertisers are moving with it

During the Green Media Summit in New York last week, ad industry professionals expressed that a more sustainable future may require regulation and peer pressure.

The ad industry grapples with going green

Advertisers felt ‘March Madness’ after the intense demand for women’s basketball. We're breaking down why the game is breaking through.

Advertisers are taking notice of the power and scale of women’s sports after March Madness

Advertisers take notice of the power and scale of women’s sports after March Madness

The distance between marketing to a consumer and their ultimate purchase is getting shorter thanks to retail media.

Delivering on customer experience demands deep data insights

Record March Madness ratings is putting women’s basketball in the spotlight, and advertisers are taking notice by increasing their media spend.

March Madness just proved the power and scale of women’s sports. Advertisers are watching.

Creative ad technology can help marketers both optimize campaigns and inform high-level brand strategy.

Amid cookie deprecation, we need creative signals more than ever

Ad tech innovation is fundamental to the way the open internet works, with the power to level the playing field for consumers, advertisers and publishers.

Ad tech has the power to democratize the open internet

As cookies go away, it’s not one ad tech vendor’s job to find a new solution; it must be a joint effort from the buy side to the sell side.

5 Minutes with Intent IQ’s Fabrice Beer-Gabel

The traditional marketing funnel is a relic of the past, ill-suited for today’s omnichannel world. It’s time to retire it.

It’s time to retire the marketing funnel

As Google Chrome deprecates third-party cookies, publishers that are exploring different identity strategies are seeing positive results.

As cookies wane, those who’ve done their homework will be in good shape

Ad supported viewers are proving to be critical to the future success of streaming services.

CTV is at a tipping point — and leading the way for publishers everywhere

DRAX Direct streamlines access to Disney’s streaming advertising business with The Trade Desk, as advertisers increasingly lean into connected TV (CTV).

Disney streamlines access for advertisers, aiming to automate 75% of ad revenue

NBCUniversal is opening up Peacock ads to be purchased programmatically for all streamed 329 Olympic events this year.

The ‘crème de la crème’: 2024 Paris Olympics goes programmatic on Peacock

A recent survey suggests many sports fans in the U.S. care more about their favorite sport than anything else on TV, even in the offseason.

How streamers are keeping sports fans satisfied even in the offseason

Even in a year when Barbie dominated the box office, new data shows how women are still underrepresented in Hollywood, both in front of and behind the camera.

Hollywood is leaving money on the table by not marketing more movies to women

During this year’s Forward ’24 event, advertisers shared how they are leveraging live sports as it moves into streaming.

How streaming is changing the game for live sports and advertisers

Some media companies are no longer keeping their content close to the vest and are sharing programming across platforms. It could create a vast opportunity for advertisers.

Why streaming platforms are loosening up on exclusive content

Connected TV (CTV) is picking up steam as a way to get more small, local and regional businesses to advertise, especially programmatically.

Why streamers like Disney, NBCUniversal and Paramount are courting small businesses

As retail media evolves beyond retail networks, many in the audio industry see an opportunity to strike a harmonious relationship that could benefit both parties.

Audio and retail are getting in tune with one another

Measurement is becoming a bigger factor in the upfronts as networks’ authenticated ad space matches up with retailers’ verified buyers.

Retail data is entering the upfronts as measurement gets more important

A wave of retail data is sweeping Europe, with advertisers increasingly relying on it amid cookie deprecation and an evolving regulatory landscape.

Retail data has taken over Europe. Now what?

More and more people are engaging with sports around the world, and brands can capitalize on these fans’ newfound interest.

It’s not just Swifties: There are more sports fans, and brands see a way to score

Advertisers lean on first-party data, retail data, shoppable ads and more to earn a spot on Christmas wish lists.

First-party and retail data will be tested this holiday season as cookie sunsetting approaches

From connected TV to digital out-of-home to audio, DTC brands are finding new ways to reach their customers.

DTC brands increasingly see the advertising opportunity on the open internet

Marketers are zeroing in on Gen Z this holiday shopping season, as Adobe estimates record discounts and spending on smartphones.

2023’s top holiday shopping trends: Record discounts, mobile spending, and the Gen Z effect

B2B brands are becoming more consumer-like and leaning on live sports to reach their audiences.

Why are so many B2B firms sponsoring the Olympics?

More than 14,000 people attended the inaugural Web Summit Qatar in February 2024 to hear about the Middle East’s digital transformation.

The AI revolution is coming for advertising: Top takeaways from Web Summit Qatar 

In today’s marketplace, women are still very much underrepresented in ads, despite holding the majority of spending power.

What brands can learn from Stanley and the buying power of women

To engage with fans during the 2024 Super Bowl, brands innovate across channels as viewers turn to new ways to watch the game.

For the 2024 Big Game, brands go omnichannel and fans stream

A slate of augmented and mixed-reality devices could bring disruptive innovation to the smartphone and the advertising ecosystem it supports.

Mixed reality is the next shiny thing for marketers, but some remain cautious

Disney will roll out its audience graph in all international markets where Disney+ with ads exists, the company announced at the CES.

The ‘unrivaled’ move you might have missed from Disney’s early upfront at CES

AI, streaming, identity, the smart home, spatial computing, and health tech dominates panels and the showroom floor at the 57th annual Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES).

Simplifying the streaming experience and AI fatigue: 5 major insights from CES 2024

On this edition of The Current Report, we're joined by Brian Mandelbaum, CEO of Attain, to discuss how Attain is harnessing commerce data.

How quality commerce data is changing the landscape for advertisers

As 2023 marked a year of brands hitting the big screen, brands are seeing the value in streaming partnerships that subvert traditional advertising

Why brand-funded shows are getting bigger on streaming

In this edition of The Current Report, we dive into another way AI is changing our world.

How AI can help combat streaming indecision

Goodway Group's Mike Wolk, VP of growth and partnerships, breaks down how the media agency is building its strategy around the biggest screen in the house - the TV.

Advertisers build their strategy around the TV screen

Major League Soccer’s VP of Brand Marketing, Jesse Perl, joins The Current Podcast to discuss how young people are growing more interested in soccer.

How MLS plans to capitalize on 2026 World Cup fever

Jennifer Lewis, chief client officer at Carat Canada, joins The Current Report to explore how changing demographics in Canada influence advertisers' strategies.

Carat Canada's Jennifer Lewis on Canada's changing TV market

Now firmly entrenched in Americans’ shopping habits, Instacart is eyeing the growing retail media space.

CMO Laura Jones on the final frontier of Instacart’s retail media ambitions

Instacart CMO Laura Jones on the final frontier of the delivery service's retail media ambitions

VP of strategy and partnerships, Intent IQ

Fabrice Beer-Gabel

How marketers are adapting their strategies to societal shifts and industry trends.

Culture

Learn about the latest trends in digital advertising, and the brands and agencies that are pioneering them.

Marketing Strategy

Exploring the latest in consumer data, including innovations in first-party data and Unified ID 2.0.

Data Privacy

How streaming is transforming how we watch television.

Streaming

The most critical innovations in advertising are happening on the open internet — identity, the future of TV, retail media, and beyond. Born inside The Trade Desk, The Current is a news platform dedicated to covering the latest in modern marketing — all from the front lines. Speaking to the marketing world’s most influential players, we explain what these seismic shifts mean, how they are happening, and why they are taking place.

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You’ve reached the end of the open internet! <br/> (Or at least the end of our search results.)

As Generative AI rises and Google deprecates third-party cookies, digital news outlets have an opportunity to create more direct relationships with readers.

With AI looming as a threat to news sites, publishers push back

The electronics giant saw a major improvement in online to offline sales attribution after implementing a custom solution leveraging Unified ID 2.0 (UID2).

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