The Refresh: Can cookies move the market? WTF happened to user experience and more.

Welcome to The Refresh, a weekly newsletter from AdTechGod and Marketecture. Every Thursday we’ll bring you the latest advertising news, commentary, and memes.

• The Trade Desk didn’t just predict Google’s reversal on third-party cookies — they engineered it…spicy (Linkedin-Time Vanderhook)

• AdTech CEO compensation (Adweek)

• The search wars begin (Techcrunch)

• Mike Shehan (formerly CEO, SpotX) joins Telly as CRO (AdExchanger)

• Viant seeing CTV growth (AdExchanger)

• DoubleVerify breaks The Moat and storms the social castle (AdExchanger)

Our dear leader gives his hot takes on the news of the week

Can Cookies move the market? (Moe Chughtai)

The AdTech industry experienced a significant market shift following Google's announcement that it will not be scrapping third-party cookies. This decision sent ripples through the stock market, particularly impacting publicly traded AdTech companies. Many investors and analysts had been bracing for a dramatic change in the industry, anticipating the challenges and uncertainties that the removal of third-party cookies would bring. Instead, the market responded with a surge in confidence, as shares of leading AdTech firms saw notable gains. This highlights the profound influence that Google's strategic decisions wield over the industry and underscores the critical role of third-party cookies in the financial performance of AdTech companies.

Ari’s view: The stock market puts all these companies into a single bucket called “AdTech” but verification vendors have zero exposure to cookies while identity companies are deeply impacted. Ultimately the stocks will perform relative to their earnings and the rest is fluff.

Read the post here

WTF happened to user friendliness?

User frustration is coming! Switching programs between networks often requires multiple clicks between apps. Traditionally, TV sports have been curated and refined to provide a relatively friendly experience for viewers. However, the fragmented nature of sports rights across streaming services will put fans in a tizzy.

AdTechGod’s view: Fragmentation, fragmentation, fragmentation. And now this? It's incredibly frustrating. The existing user experience for streamers was already challenging, but now I need three subscriptions just to watch a sport I love. Any cable companies want my business? (Just kidding, that's blasphemy!)

Read the post

M&A all day every day.

MiQ Acquires Pathlabs (Link)

MiQ has acquired Pathlabs, a firm offering programmatic capabilities and digital media execution, to extend its services to midsize agencies managing $25B in annual digital ad spend. Pathlabs, will continue operating independently under the MiQ brand.

Connatix and JW Player Merger Talks (link)

Connatix and JW Player are in merger talks, aiming to combine their content-powering and ad monetization technologies. JW Player, a SaaS-based video player and ad sales company, serves broadcasters and media owners, while Connatix has a supply-side platform (SSP) with direct buy-side integrations.

Publicis Groupe Acquires Influential (Link)

Publicis Groupe acquired Influential, the world's largest influencer marketing company and platform, for a reported $500M. Influential’s network includes 3.5M creators and 90% of global influencers with over 1M followers.

Ascential Considers $1.5B Bid from Informa (link)

Ascential, operator of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, is considering a $1.5B bid from Informa. Informa owns the Money20/20 fintech events. Ascential has recently sold agency tech startup Hudson MX and digital commerce shop Flywheel Digital to focus on its core events.

Hyve Group Buys Possible Conference (Link)

Hyve Group acquired the Possible conference, a three-day event focused on tech, marketing, media, and culture, reportedly for $40M.

The industry has no clue what will happen…

Ari’s view: After an M&A drought of two years post interest rates climbing, we're now seeing capitulation where pre-IPO companies need to team up to get the bulk necessary for economies of scale and appeal to the public markets. Expect to see more of this moving forward.

AdTechGod: Has your data strategy changed? (LinkedIn)

AdTechGod asked the industry if their data plans had changed after the cookie "de-deprecation" announcement. The responses were insightful: 55% are continuing with their current strategy, 9% need to reassess and adjust, and 16% are unsure and reviewing the potential impact on their businesses.

Surprisingly, only 21% of the industry feels ready. I expected a higher number of respondents to be prepared, leaving me wondering what we're waiting for.

Ari’s view: As I wrote in last week’s email, cookies are still going away it's just the consumers, rather than the Chrome team, that will take the blame. There's very little difference between no cookies and cookies but only for a very small minority of the overall audience.

See the poll

After Party: Return to the Golden Era of Madison Ave.

MadTech, Marketecture, and Aperiam are hosting an event in New York City, aptly named "Return to the Golden Era of Madison Ave."

The announcement has been a total success, with over 500 people expressing interest in attending. Stay tuned for sponsor announcements and follow-up invites coming soon.

👉 Save your spot: https://www.adtechgodevents.com/ 👈

When bid duplication is in the news..

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