The Refresh: Netflix's Big Win, Lowe's Rebrand and Criteo M&A

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

• Netflix sees 150% jump in upfront sales this year (AdExchanger)

• Lowes rebrands media offering (RetailDive)

• Criteo is holding M&A discussions with SKAI (Digiday)

• For news media, consumer privacy shouldn’t be a bad thing (AdExchanger)

• Netflix looking to scale ad tier (AdWeek) and integrates with clean rooms (MarketingBrew)

• Apple vs Google: How Safari is bashing Chrome in privacy (AdAge)

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

Netflix expands ad business with clean room partnerships

Netflix is partnering with Snowflake, LiveRamp, and InfoSum to provide advertisers with access to clean rooms—a privacy technology enabling secure data sharing. These clean rooms will help advertisers analyze audience overlap, campaign reach, frequency, and attribution. While Snowflake’s clean room is available now, InfoSum and LiveRamp will launch in the coming months. Netflix has been steadily building out its ad business, expanding its team and capabilities to offer advertisers more effective ways to buy ads on the platform. The streaming giant reported 278 million member households and $9.6 billion in revenue for Q2 2024. Netflix initially partnered with Microsoft to manage ad tech but has since signed deals with major adtech companies like Google and The Trade Desk. However, some ad buyers have voiced concerns about the slow growth of Netflix’s ad-supported tier.

Ari’s view: Netflix has an amazing data trove and they sure as heck aren’t going to blast that across the RTB channels into every data brokers’ waiting arms. So clean rooms make sense.

Read Marketing Brew

Harris to spend 370 Million

The Harris-Walz campaign has set a massive $370 million benchmark in political spending on both digital and TV ads leading up to the November elections. From Labor Day to November 5, the campaign is allocating $170 million for TV ad reservations and $200 million for digital ad placements. This substantial investment underscores the campaign's focus on critical battleground states, aiming to maximize voter outreach and influence. The strategic blend of traditional TV advertising with a strong digital presence reflects the modern campaign's reliance on both mediums to reach diverse voter demographics, from cable news viewers to social media users.

Ari’s View: I hate to be that guy, but does “digital” includes streaming CTV ads or is that part of the “TV” budget? Time to put all the budget into podcasts.

Read Bloomberg

Walmart Connect has everyday growth

Walmart's U.S. advertising unit, Walmart Connect, saw a 30% revenue growth year-over-year in Q2 of fiscal 2025, while its global advertising business, which includes Flipkart in India, grew by 26%. Although Walmart doesn't disclose specific ad revenue figures, the business generates billions annually. A significant driver of growth was marketplace sellers, with ad sales from smaller and emerging brands increasing nearly 50%. Walmart Connect has expanded advertising opportunities across in-store and offsite channels, including self-checkout screens, TV aisles, and partnerships with publishers like Disney for targeted ads. Walmart's e-commerce business also experienced strong growth, contributing to increased onsite advertising. Overall, Walmart's strong earnings beat expectations, with U.S. comparable sales up 4.2% and consolidated revenue rising 4.8% to $169.3 billion. Advertising and membership growth accounted for over 50% of the quarter's operating income growth.

Ari’s View: There’s a power law in commerce media with the #1 player (Amazon) achieving a multiple larger share than the #2 player (Walmart). This is good news for Walmart, but maybe not so good news for WaWa.

Read Marketing Drive

Big Tech's AI mentions spike: Is AI the 2024 buzzword?

The Big Five in tech—Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple—have significantly increased their mentions of AI during 2024 earnings calls. Whether discussing innovations, product enhancements, or future growth, AI seems to be at the core of every conversation. From generative AI and machine learning to AI-powered tools driving user engagement and efficiency, these tech giants are betting heavily on artificial intelligence as a key driver of their future strategies.

But is AI becoming more than just a technology—has it become the ultimate buzzword of the year? With every major company touting their AI capabilities, the hype is undeniable. Yet, behind the buzz lies real potential, as AI continues to shape industries from advertising and e-commerce to healthcare and beyond. How much of this AI focus is substance, and how much is just noise? Only time will tell if AI lives up to its monumental expectations.

Ari’s View: You can’t spell Ari without AI.

Linkedin Post

Guest Post: Why is ad ops still like Cinderella in the basement?

By “Mark Impressions”

Not a day goes by without me or other leaders within the "Ad Ops" organization receiving a phone call from every department in the company. They either ask a question about something they should already know or expect us to fix something because no one else knows what's going on. This has been the case throughout my long career in Ad Ops.

However, when push comes to shove, decisions are typically made without consulting Ad Ops, and we are left to clean up the mess. Given that everything we do in digital is executed via software, it still amazes me that leadership (regardless of the company) rarely views these organizations as a resource to help shape strategy and clarify the art of the possible. The experts on the software live in Ad Ops, as we use it day in and day out.

Perhaps it's time for us to rebrand from "Ad Ops" to something else. People often think we're just executing orders when, in reality, we do so much more. On top of that, we have to figure out how to make everything work and likely invent new ways to do it. The script for this doesn't exist in digital like it might in other legacy media operational groups. We handle ad integrations, help with contracts, provide support for all other teams when it comes to ads or running live events, work with inventory and forecasting teams (again, all tied back to software), and the list goes on and on.

AdTechGod Event

We're thrilled to announce that LiveIntent, Inc. will be the official band sponsor for our "Return to the Golden Era of Madison Ave" event on October 7th at the Virgin Hotel NYC. The MadPack will bring electric energy and vibrant sound, making this event unforgettable. Special thanks to LiveIntent, Inc., and the efforts of Marketecture Media, MadTech, and Aperiam for making this musical experience possible. Brands and agencies interested in attending can register via the link, with invitations to follow soon.

Digichad is by far one of my favorite accounts to follow.

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