IAB ALM 2026

Data clean rooms were never meant to be a silver bullet. But, as AI agents begin reaching across organizational boundaries to hoover up everything they can find, the humble clean room is getting a second look – this time, as a critical guardrail. That tension, between AI’s appetite for data and the enterprise’s need to […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. – Jeremi Gorman, CRO of Fanatics Advertising, would like to clear something up before anyone files Fanatics under “people who sell hats.” “It’s actually much bigger than a lot of people think,” she said in this interview at the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting, describing a portfolio that stretches from officially licensed merchandise across […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. – The advertising industry’s rush to embrace AI-generated creative may be outpacing its understanding of how audiences actually receive it. New research suggests ad executives are misreading their own consumers – and the misalignment is getting worse, not better. A study conducted by Sonata Insights in partnership with the IAB found that […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. – Sean Crawford, managing director of SMG North America, has a simple message for brands chasing the next shiny thing: most shoppers are still, very literally, shopping. “I think in store for retail media is a hugely untapped opportunity here,” Crawford said in this interview with Beet.TV at the IAB Annual Leadership […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. — Perhaps it’s because the creator economy is so unlike traditional forms of media that it’s still not quite seen as “essential” by advertisers as much as consumers do. But that appears to be changing, as brands shift from tacking creators onto campaigns to building storytelling with influencers at the center. “About […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. – The modern CMO is no longer satisfied with charts about impressions and reach, according to Jeremy Flynn, head of product at Horizon Media. He said the job now extends well beyond buying ads and into proving that marketing actually grows the business. “The demand from the CMO is changing beyond just […]

Search may be stubborn. Despite the breathless hype surrounding “zero-click” AI search, the predicted exodus of consumers from traditional search bars to chatbots has yet to materialize. New data suggests that standalone AI tools still command a negligible fraction of the time users spend hunting for information online. “AI is revolutionizing search, but maybe not […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. — Excessive artificial intelligence disclosure labeling could be too much of a well-intentioned thing. Aside from stoking  consumer burnout on one hand, the impact could potentially harm advertisers by highlighting AI usage that splits audience perceptions between creativity and inauthenticity. “The risk of transparency is if you over label everything, consumers will […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. — Marketers and agencies are still just scratching the surface when it comes to understanding how generative artificial intelligence tools like large language models are changing the way brands develop their content strategies. For example, brands are now rethinking the role their own websites play in informing AI programs that consumers increasingly […]

Artificial intelligence is often hailed as the solution to advertising’s most persistent measurement headaches, but could itn be doing more to illuminate the problem than to solve it? After all, AI is only as good as the data it is fed. That means the perennial challenges of fragmented platforms, data silos, and inconsistent taxonomies risk […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. — Ad success in using artificial intelligence depends on strong first-party data signals combined with consumer permission to operate reputably as the world shifts from recognition-based to permission-based systems. “How do you feel about a nameless, faceless algorithm making decisions about what offer you get, what credit score you have, even what […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. — Buy-side decisions are moving closer to publishers. The shift, enabled by the IAB’s artificial intelligence maintenance “containerization project,” brings greater focus to where ad impressions actually originate rather than sending requests to distant infrastructure and waiting for responses. “Historically, the sell side operated at great lengths to the buy side. We […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. – Nielsen is pushing to broaden how the industry views the company, positioning itself not just as a ratings provider but as a full marketing intelligence partner, according to Peter Naylor, chief client officer at Nielsen. Speaking in an interview with Beet.TV at the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting, Naylor said his mandate […]

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. – Nissan Motor Corp.’s chief marketing officer and global brand advisor Allyson Witherspoon says artificial intelligence has moved from a side experiment to the backbone of the automaker’s marketing organization. AI as the foundation of planning, measurement and creative Speaking with Beet.TV at the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting, Witherspoon said AI now […]

The advertising industry has spent decades perfecting how to reach consumers. Now it faces a new challenge: marketing to machines. As artificial intelligence reshapes how people discover and purchase products, marketers are starting to grapple with ensuring AI agents recommend your brand when consumers ask for help. “I’m calling it B2A marketing,” said Sheryl Goldstein, […]