Last Thursday PubMatic convened 300 agency, media, technology and publishing executives for our third annual Ad Revenue Europe event in London. Over the past few years publishers and buyers have grown to accept advertising technology and programmatic workflows as an integral part of their strategies. Now, as consumers increasingly jump between devices, the industry is figuring out ways to remain a relevant and a valuable part of the consumer experience by getting back to the core of advertising – good storytelling.
Ad blocking was top of mind for speakers and panellists throughout the conference. Guy Phillipson, CEO of IAB UK, declared an “Adpocalypse” state where consumers are responding to the cluttered web pages that are getting in the way of the content. The need for publishers and buyers to leverage data to enhance messaging and segmentation and demand higher quality creative has never been greater. Publishers agree that to fight the ad blocking trend it is incumbent upon their teams to enhance the quality of content created and dynamically deliver that content to consumers. Brands also understand that they need to get back to basics and produce engaging, superior creative that tells a good story.
Although technology has transformed the way we buy, sell and engage with media, it will always be the consumer that evolves our world and the industry needs to keep pace. As publishers and advertisers navigate challenges such as viewability, fraud and discrepancies in metrics, they need to deepen their understanding of consumer behavior and constantly innovate to create impactful connections.
Thank you to all speakers and attendees for making last week’s event an incredible success. We are excited to be able to bring together key stakeholders in the industry to confront the challenges and opportunities offered by today’s digital media and look forward to ongoing discussions on how we can continue to help the publishing industry thrive.
