From the tangled ad tech supply chain to Google’s dominance, publishers face mounting challenges in monetization, transparency, and control—can they sharpen their strategies to thrive in 2025?
Digital advertising is a highly competitive chessboard where publishers must strategize intricate moves to stay ahead. In a recent LinkedIn Live discussion, we spoke with Jounce Media’s Chris Kane, who explored the pivotal trends reshaping the industry in 2024 and how they will affect 2025.
The conversation unraveled the convoluted ad tech supply chain, a labyrinth proving incredibly daunting for smaller and mid-sized publishers.
Kane shed light on a growing reliance on third-party firms to manage programmatic monetization—a solution that eases operational burdens but raises pressing questions about transparency and control over inventory and data. The discussion also tackled the elephant in the room: Google’s stranglehold on the ad tech ecosystem. Kane offered a sobering perspective on proposed antitrust remedies, likening them to band-aids on a deeper wound of industry consolidation.
Rounding out the conversation was a call to action for publishers. Instead of overloading bid requests with data, the focus should shift to sharpening critical metrics that drive real value.
The Complexity of the Ad Tech Supply Chain and the Challenges for Publishers
The ad tech supply is complex and oversaturated, that is a secret to no one in the industry. There are a multitude of intermediaries and platforms vying for a share of publisher revenue.
As Kane pointed out, the ecosystem’s complexity makes it difficult for smaller and mid-sized publishers to get the best bang for their buck. From understanding the nuances of auction dynamics to securing favorable deals with DSPs, the operational overhead required to optimize programmatic monetization can be a significant burden for many publishers.
One key insight from the discussion was the growing trend of publishers outsourcing their monetization efforts to third-party sales houses and managed service providers. These specialized firms have the resources and expertise to keep up with industry dynamics, allowing publishers to focus on content creation and audience development.
However, this shift also raises concerns about publishers’ control and transparency over their own inventory and data.
The Ongoing Debate Around Google’s Dominance and Potential Antitrust Remedies
The Google-DOJ antitrust case has been a significant talking point in the ad tech industry, with many wondering whether regulators will force the tech giant to break up its ad tech business.
Kane expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of proposed solutions, noting, “There’s so much nuance to what a breakup would even mean that I’m not super confident it can get executed in a constructive way.”
He drew parallels to the search case, where the proposed remedy of Google spinning out Chrome seemed unlikely to meaningfully address the core issue of Google’s $20 billion annual payment to Apple for default search status on Safari. One of the key points raised was that while arguably abusive, Google’s practices are not unique in the industry.
Many ad tech companies employ similar strategies of leveraging their strength on one side of the market to gain an advantage on the other. This raises questions about a broader systemic issue within the industry and whether targeted actions against individual players will truly address the underlying problems.
As Kane noted, “We’re going to watch this movie over and over again” as the industry consolidates and dominant players emerge. Just think of the potential Ominicrom-IPG merger.
The Importance of Data Signals and Transparency in Programmatic Monetization
We also discussed the critical role of data signals in driving programmatic demand and the challenges publishers face in effectively communicating the value of their inventory. Kane highlighted the limited number of signals that truly move the needle in DSP bidding behavior, emphasizing the need for publishers to optimize those key data points rather than enrich their bid requests with additional information.
These data points include user IDs, floor prices, and video placement information. Rather than attempting to enrich bid requests with additional data, publishers should prioritize accurately populating these core signals, as they are the primary drivers of programmatic demand and yield optimization.
Additionally, Kane raised the issue of transparency around how publishers’ inventory is presented to buyers, noting that some SSPs and resellers may modify or misrepresent the signals in the bid request. This lack of visibility and control over the data shared with the demand side can significantly affect publishers’ programmatic yields. As the industry evolves, publishers must prioritize data governance and work to ensure they clearly understand how they transact their inventory.
As we look ahead to 2025, the challenge is clear: publishers must reclaim control, prioritize transparency, and double down on the data signals that genuinely drive value—because in this game of digital chess, only the sharpest strategies will win.