Robert Andrews

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. – Could the narrative around connected TV be shifting? Once seen as a pure-play brand-building medium, a growing chorus of vendors and agencies now pitches CTV as a bottom-funnel conversion driver. But for some, this view represents a fundamental misreading of both the medium and marketing itself. Benoit Vatere, Chief Media […]

LONDON – The exploding retail media advertising sector may have hit a roadblock on its path to maturity, with a persistent lack of common measurement rules hindering its potential for scaled investment. To overcome this, the industry must move toward a future where standardized measurement is the default setting, not the exception. This is the […]

LONDON – The programmatic supply chain has become a tangled web, and holding companies are demanding help to cut through it. That’s why Google Ad Manager is doubling down on its agency-facing partnerships, responding to growing pressure from major buyers who want closer relationships with premium publishers and clearer paths through an increasingly complex ecosystem. […]

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. – Not long ago, the promise of streaming was an escape from the old world of television ads. But in a landscape now crowded with services and battling for subscribers, a new bargain has been struck. The ad-supported tier has become the undisputed growth engine of the streaming universe. “I think […]

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. – When it comes to advertising alongside video content, context has always mattered. But artificial intelligence is taking that context to a granular new level, potentially transforming how brands engage with viewers. The technology is enabling a shift from broad-brush categorization to pinpoint, scene-by-scene understanding of content – meaning ads can […]

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. – Is the potential for machine learning and artificial intelligence to revolutionize premium video advertising is being held back by an unglamorous problem? Some in the industry think of a common identity framework is needed to prevent inconsistent reach and skewed measurement. David Levy, CEO of OpenAP, agrees. In this video […]

The booming retail media sector’s greatest strength lies not just in its expanding footprint but in its foundation of actual sales data. Unlike traditional programmatic channels where marketers append third-party data and push it downstream, in retail media networks, purchase insights flow upward through the system, enabling genuinely informed targeting decisions. “It is not guessed, […]

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. — In the television industry’s move toward new measurement standards, much of the focus has been on the proliferation of new currencies. But what if simply swapping out one ratings provider for several alternatives doesn’t address the foundational challenges? With viewers scattered across countless linear and streaming services, the accuracy of […]

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. — The advertising industry is rushing to embrace artificial intelligence. For Gillian MacPherson, VP, product and consumer insights at Epsilon, the key to unlocking AI’s potential is a robust data foundation built on a solid identity layer that can unify disparate information sources. “If you’re able to have a sound identity […]

The long-held ambition for connected television advertising is finally coming into focus: recreating the immense, immediate reach of traditional linear TV, but with a new layer of intelligence that its predecessor could never offer. As viewers increasingly self-select their content, ad spending is following them into the streaming world, with US CTV ad investment projected […]

The promise of retail data has long been to connect an advertising dollar to a customer’s purchase. But what happens when sales drop unexpectedly? The data can often show what happened and who was involved, but the crucial context of why it happened frequently remains a mystery. A richer understanding is emerging from the practice […]

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. – Purchase data is the ultimate in outcome, so Comcast Advertising this year partnered with Mastercard to combine viewer data with transaction records to analyze campaign effectiveness. For decades, television advertising has been understood as the quintessential top-of-funnel tool, a powerful engine for building brand awareness and broad-based reach. Now advertisers […]

How does one of the world’s largest brand groups approach marketing opportunities when all around is changing? Unilever finds itself at the apex of a changing media environment, a commerce media explosion and a fundamental shift in the shape of television as a medium – oh, and the world’s biggest sporting event. Aaron Sobol, head […]

The shift to programmatic buying in connected TV advertising is happening faster than many industry forecasts predicted. With programmatic transactions now dominating the CTV landscape, media owners are being advised to develop sophisticated yield strategies that unify their approach across screens while leveraging artificial intelligence to maximize revenue from every impression. “Publishers really need to […]

For retail media networks born out of large-scale commerce operations, the next phase of growth depends on looking beyond their own backyards. As the sector matures, the imperative is shifting from servicing endemic brand partners to winning over the wider agency marketplace with scalable, easy-to-use advertising tools. With US retail media ad spending projected to […]

The retail media sector continues its rapid expansion, with global spending projected to grow from $184 billion in 2025 to over $300 billion by 2030, according to a forecast from Forrester “My plan for the future is to really revolutionize retail media into retail services,” Evan Hovorka, VP, product and innovation, Albertsons Media Collective, said […]

Talk of a “search apocalypse” has dominated industry conversations since the emergence of generative AI, with many predicting the demise of the traditional search engine. Some forecasts add fuel to the fire, with Gartner, for example, projecting that traditional search engine volume will decline by 25% by 2026 as users turn to AI chatbots. Looked […]

Fears over an AI-driven “search apocalypse” may be overblown, but brands must nevertheless look beyond a simple query-and-response box to the broader digital ecosystem where consumers are increasingly living. With some LLMs now launching their own browsers, the focus may shift to how search, research, and purchasing all take place inside a single, continuous experience. […]

It may look like the future of television, but its appeal is rooted firmly in the past. To the viewer on the couch, the distinction between broadcast, cable, and streaming is increasingly irrelevant; it is all simply television. For the millions of viewers flocking to free ad-supported streaming television, or FAST, the experience is familiar. […]

In an advertising ecosystem fixated on digital channels, it can be surprising to learn that a major retailer’s media strategy is overwhelmingly centered on its physical footprint. For UK grocery chain Co-op, about 80% of its retail media business is rooted in its brick-and-mortar stores, making them the undisputed core of its commercial engine. This […]