CPM

What’s behind the drop in CTV CPMS; the UK CMA sets its antitrust sights on Google Search; and gen AI job cuts decimate another marketing department.

We’re seeing the worst possible outcomes with the CPM-based buying approach. And Google’s recent decision to hang on to cookies indefinitely risks perpetuating the worst parts of the digital ad business.

Brands’ relentless drive for efficiency in media spending has far-reaching consequences that have significantly reshaped the industry and perpetuated longstanding issues with media quality.

Advertisers’ obsession with “following the audience” allowed low-quality sites and vanity metrics to thrive while brand integrity suffers. But a cultural shift back toward focusing on quality is underway.

Advertisers new to CTV tend to misunderstand performance metrics and overemphasize cost per thousand impressions (CPM) as a measure of success.

Publishers and SSPs aren’t incentivized to accurately label their video inventory. But increased pressure from the buy side could correct the skewed pricing dynamics that result from outstream being sold as instream.

Pivoting to a “premium internet” is like avoiding the parts of town that have been blighted by illicit activity. The only real solution to MFA is for the dollars to dry up.

Advertisers worried about MFA could take a cue from the mobile app ecosystem and focus on performance instead of viewability. 

The third-party cookie actually stymied the development of digital advertising. Here’s what the cookie got wrong and what its inheritors need to get right.

Buyers will soon have far more transparency into video ad inventory sold through Google’s platform. But some publishers and video platforms have concerns.