Tech Stage

Brands don’t have to choose between innovation and privacy – AI is making both possible. Hear from The Trade Desk, Causal, and Comscore on what the future of privacy-first, high-impact adtech looks like.

In the age of AI, ad management platforms are evolving from simple execution tools into full-fledged growth engines. No longer limited to campaign setup and reporting, today’s platforms can recommend winning strategies, optimize performance in real time, generate creative assets, and automate day-to-day operations.

The old playbook is being rewritten with intent as the new currency. Commerce media and AI-driven platforms are leveraging real-time intent and first-party data to build smarter, more performant ecosystems. In this session, we’ll explore what this shift means for the broader industry – from buyers looking to tap into high-performance environments, to emerging platforms aiming to break into programmatic with purpose.

In an age of fragmented platforms and lack of unified transparency, marketers are facing a crisis of confidence. Join DV CMO Dan Slivjanovski and CRO Gian LaVecchia for a powerful session on how to reclaim control in today’s chaotic ad ecosystem. This session introduces DV MAP (Media AdVantage Platform)-a next-gen framework bringing DV’s trusted data, AI-powered optimization, and campaign outcome measurement under one platform.

CTV sits at the intersection of creative storytelling and data-driven precision-but striking the right balance between the two is where the real magic happens. In this panel, industry experts explore how brands and agencies are blending the emotional impact of sight, sound, and motion with the intelligence of audience targeting, automation, and measurement.

Advertising is leaking money, about $27 billion a year thanks to fraud, duplication, and a messy, fragmented digital ecosystem. That’s not just a media headache, that’s a C-suite problem.

In this conversation, Nada Bradbury, CEO of AD-ID, explains why the fix isn’t another shiny new tool, but something much simpler: a universal “barcode” for every ad. Just like products on a shelf, creative assets need IDs that follow them everywhere from TV, streaming, social, you name it.

We’ll talk about how universal tracking can help brands actually know where their money’s going, cut down on waste, and finally make digital as accountable as broadcast once was. If you care about transparency, ROI, and reaching the audiences you’re currently missing, this is a session you can’t afford to skip.

Full-funnel marketing has been a staple of advertising strategies for years, but industry trends are sparking a new way of thinking about the old model. Now brands prioritizing precision and attribution are driving tangible results at scale. In this session, Taboola’s team will explore how brands can transform their approach to performance advertising, moving from broad promises to focused, measurable impact

The question isn’t whether AI works – it’s how to make yours work harder. While most media companies focus on acquiring new capabilities, the fastest path to campaign acceleration and client growth is activating the data and expertise housed within your walls.

Join industry leaders to learn how leading media companies are achieving unmatched performance by maximizing existing team intelligence and scaling the data you already have, not multiplying their tech stack.

The future of advertising is being rewritten by technology. AI, advanced data signals, and privacy-safe innovations are giving marketers new ways to plan, personalize, and prove the impact of every campaign. In this session, brand leaders and innovators will explore how AI-powered tools and emerging tech are helping advertisers cut wasted spend, unlock audiences competitors can’t reach, and deliver more relevant experiences in a world where attention is fragmented and consumer expectations are higher than ever.

AI is changing the advertising industry. AI promises speed, scale, and personalization-but what happens when low-quality content floods the internet and misrepresents brand values or when content lands in unsuitable contexts? In this session, you’ll learn how leading brands and agencies are navigating the dynamic and evolving digital media landscape -using AI to enhance brand integrity, promote trust, and drive meaningful optimization and performance at scale.

The future of advertising is here: precision at scale, powered by next-gen AI-driven data intelligence. As audience data fragments and legacy tools lag, advertisers are moving beyond silos toward AdTech that delivers real-time insights and measurable outcomes. Innovations like the Locality Audience Engine lead the way by leveraging centralized data, AI and automation to transform disconnected workflows into actionable strategies-unlocking the full value of data and redefining local advertising benchmarks for the digital era.

Join Bayer, Spotify, and The Trade Desk as they explore how brands can integrate programmatic audio into the omnichannel mix -reaching new audiences, unifying messaging, and proving performance. Discover why audio deserves a permanent spot on your marketing playlist – and why this playbook is worth hitting repeat.

The era of marketing guesswork is over. Proxima’s Founder & CEO reveals how a new partnership with one of the world’s largest technology companies empowers brands to activate high-intent audiences rooted in $30B+ verified transactions-delivering performance, trust, and unparalleled precision.

AI is rapidly transforming how consumers discover, evaluate, and engage with brands. As more journeys begin and end within AI platforms, marketers must rethink how and where they connect with audiences. This panel brings together leaders building the future of AI and search to explore shifting consumer behaviors and where ad innovation is heading. Get insights into today’s cutting edge – and what’s coming next.

As media channels multiply and performance demands intensify, traditional advertising execution models are breaking under the weight of manual processes and disconnected tools. Successful ad operations increasingly require integrated AI and automation to unify media buying, data, execution and performance.

Stop marketing to outdated segments. It’s likely your audience is built on yesterday’s data. In this session, discover how PrimeAudience uses Generative AI to transform audience understanding, replacing static assumptions with precise insights drawn from real-time content engagement. Learn to build hyper-relevant campaigns that adapt, resonate, and drive real results.

Quality supply is the foundation that drives better outcomes for advertisers, but it’s getting harder to identify inventory that truly meets quality and performance standards. This session explores how buyers are leaning into approachable AI to navigate these challenges. With intelligence guiding every decision, marketers can drive better outcomes-with less effort, lower risk, and greater confidence.

As the industry shifts toward an AI-first reality, are traditional creative models still built to win? For General Motors, this pivotal moment required a fundamental re-engineering of its model. Join Molly Peck of General Motors and Deborah Heslip of Monks for a candid discussion on the new strategies and partnerships required to thrive in this new era. They will explore GM’s journey beyond a traditional content supply chain to a fluid, AI-powered ecosystem designed to act in real time. Discover how GM unified its agency roster with foundational partner Monks, creating a tech-enabled powerhouse that leverages AI to rapidly trans-create, personalize and scale content across the brand portfolio. This discussion will provide the blueprint for building an agile, AI-native brand that moves at the speed of the market.

A journalist, an AI lawyer, a PwC partner, and an AI startup founder walk into Advertising Week – and cut through the noise.

Everyone’s talking about AI, but most are saying the same things. So what’s being missed, what’s being ignored, and what’s actually worth your attention?

For this session, IV.AI used its own technology to analyze how more than 8,000 AI companies describe themselves online – uncovering which buzzwords dominate (like “agentic” and “autonomous”), what they claim to do, and how those narratives compare to what the technology truly delivers. The result is a revealing snapshot of an industry caught between promise and performance.

Join our panel of experts as they dissect the data, demystify the hype, and explore what it all means for brands, marketers, and creators navigating AI adoption, regulation, and IP protection.

The rise of AI is reshaping programmatic – but not all AI is created equal. Dstillery’s Chief Data Scientist, Melinda Han Williams, reveals how Multimodal AI powers next-gen targeting by learning from any data signal and activating across any tactic or channel. Learn how this breakthrough eliminates latency and fragmentation while laying the foundation for agentic AI: intelligent systems that plug into partner AI agents and power the future of automated advertising.

Twenty years inside Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Pinterest revealed a fundamental truth: performance marketing is broken for brands. With advantages flowing to walled gardens, advertisers are left with fragmented tools and limited control. Join Adora founder Marco Matos as he shares his insider perspective on how AI-native technology is reversing this dynamic, placing the walled gardens’ ability to create and optimize at scale directly into brands’ hands.

In a world of fragmented channels and‚ÄØthe pressure to‚ÄØprove marketing ROI, brands need to move beyond proxy metrics,‚ÄØsimple integrations, and periodic optimizations. This panel reveals how leading brands are unleashing a powerful new combination: next-gen TV measurement and AI.

The best advertising doesn’t interrupt-it connects. As the industry grapples with signal loss, we’re at a turning point: either lean on intrusive data or embrace a more human approach. This session explores neuro-contextual advertising, a new era where technology mirrors the sophistication of the human brain to truly understand what an audience cares about.

Hear from a panel of experts on how we’re moving from targeting to understanding by leveraging the core principles of neuroscience.

Marketing leaders face mounting pressure to deliver personalized experiences at scale while navigating an overwhelming landscape of AI-powered solutions. How do you cut through the hype to achieve real transformation? Join us for a conversation with Michael Shiwdin, Wyndham’s Group VP of Guest Engagement and Loyalty, as we explore practical frameworks for evaluating marketing technology, implementing data-driven strategies, and measuring what matters in the AI era.

Marketers aren’t asking for more AI hype. They’re asking for strategy that shows up in every media buy. Greg Johns of Canvas Worldwide and Stephanie Landrum of Dentsu share how their clients use custom AI to connect planning to real-time buying decisions – and the outcomes that followed.

AI is transforming how campaigns are built, but for creators and agencies, the challenge is balancing innovation with authenticity. In this fireside chat, hear from Liz Stone, founder of creative agency OKCOOL, and Liah Yoo, creator-turned-entrepreneur behind KraveBeauty, as they share how they’re weaving new tech like CapCut’s AI Design into their creative workflows. Learn how small businesses and agencies alike are using AI to scale content, extend campaigns, and stay ahead, without losing creative control.

Learn how Unified Marketing Measurement is transforming the future of retail growth in a privacy-first world. In this session, Tom will walk through the evolving buyer and media journeys, expose the inefficiencies of traditional attribution, and show how methods like Causal MMM, Incrementality Testing, and Causal Attribution can unlock real profitability. Through real-world examples and actionable insights, He will also share how brands can turn marketing into a predictable, measurable growth engine, proving ROI, optimising media spend, and aligning teams around sustainable success.

Paramount Pictures and QYOU Media have prioritized authentic community-first storytelling and creator collaborations to deliver campaigns for hits like A Quiet Place: Day One and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. This session examines how studios are blending the creator economy into film storytelling to fuel fandoms and drive results. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how traditional entertainment studios are utilizing creators as the future of entertainment marketing.

The landscape of major life decisions has shifted dramatically. Where once we sought counsel from trusted loved ones or professionals, social media now often serves as the first port of call, even for the most critical choices. If consumers are turning to Reddit before their doctor’s visit, how can brands, particularly those in high-stakes sectors like health and home buying, leverage this direct-to-social trend to cultivate brand power and influence?

Gaming isn’t the future, it’s the now. For Gen Alpha and Gen Z, gaming is overtaking streaming and social as the main arena for entertainment, connection, expression and influence. With 92% engaged in gaming, the message is clear: this is where next-gen consumers expect brands to show up bold, creative & authentic. As this once-in-a-decade marketing channel shift comes into play, learn from top innovators already breaking new ground leveraging media strategies across gaming platforms like Roblox and beyond.

As TV, digital, and mobile continue to converge, performance marketing is entering a new era – one powered by CTV, AI, and cross-screen connectivity. In this conversation, Jay Freedman, VP of Sales at Viant, explores how connected TV has evolved from a branding play to a measurable performance channel and what this shift means for marketers building strategies across every screen.

Jay will unpack how identity, context, and addressability are transforming modern media planning, how AI is moving from hype to practical impact, and what “performance” really means in 2025. Expect an inside look at how leading brands are adapting to the changing definition of success in a world where every screen is a TV screen.

For more than two decades, the internet followed a predictable logic. If you wanted to buy something, you typed into Google’s search box, or you browsed Amazon’s marketplace. Google captured intent and sold it to advertisers as clicks. Amazon captured interest and sold it back as digital shelf space. Between those two poles, the consumer journey unfolded: from search to click, from website to cart, from cart to checkout.

That system is now breaking apart with OpenAI, Google, Perplexity launching agentic protocols for shopping. Together, these moves point to a new architecture of the internet: from chat to checkout but the implications go far beyond shopping. They mark a structural shift in how value is created, captured, and distributed online and most importantly how brands are built.

From cult indies to bigger-budget titles, Horror flicks tout a ferociously engaged fandom – reliably making it out to the theaters to prove that being terrified is a dish best served as a community experience. But how do you market in ways that authentically resonate and break through the noise? And what can the big Hollywood studios learn from the strategies, playbook and risks that most likely lead to success not only at the box office but in every window from TVOD to streaming to physical (hello triumphant return of VHS)?

OOH is an unmissable, unblockable medium that connects with consumers where decisions happen, on the sidewalk, curb, and corner. No longer just an awareness tool, OOH drives visits, search, and purchases, making it a true growth channel. Join leaders from SOMO, Quan Media Group, Gemini, and Prizepicks as they unpack OOH’s pivotal role in the consumer journey: the last mile.

As AI transforms how media is created, distributed, and monetized, data has become the backbone of innovation. This session will explore how data and AI are reshaping the media landscape by enabling next-gen capabilities across audience targeting, content optimization, measurement, and automation.

Composability isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a huge shift that’s changing the game for advertising and media. Join our session to hear leaders at Snowflake, GrowthLoop, Dentsu, Newton Research, and Snap give us their unique perspective on composability. As marketers have moved their data infrastructure to the cloud for better privacy, security, control, and efficiency, tech providers have followed-building solutions right where that data lives.

Every customer journey creates a media moment. From booking a flight, to grabbing a snack, to shopping for the latest tech. Commerce media is transforming these moments into new ways to reach, engage, and grow. In this panel, leaders from retail, travel, convenience, and media share how data and identity fuel customer journeys, why privacy and transparency are essential to building trust, and what it takes to turn opportunity into measurable ROI.

In this session, two leaders at the cutting edge of AI and tech for marketing will cut through the hype of overinflated expectations to get to the core of what all marketers need to know.

AI has redefined how marketers collect and analyze data, yet many still struggle to turn it into action. What’s missing is the ability to cut through the noise and connect signals to strategy. In this session, Suzy’s Founder & CEO Matt Britton introduces the Human Intelligence platform – a new way to combine cultural trends, consumer voices, and real-time answers so brands can move faster from questions to decisions, unlocking the clarity, confidence, and impact needed to drive marketing effectiveness.

The CTV revolution isn’t just about where ads appear-it’s about how campaigns are built from the ground up. In this session, hear from agency leaders who’ve broken internal silos to create a new, more integrated planning process. From proprietary tools that leverage ACR data to planning platforms that prioritize reach and relevance before activation begins. Join us to discover how forward-thinking teams are reshaping the way CTV campaigns are designed.

With Adobe Real-Time CDP Collaboration, Further, PMG, and Alli Marketplace working together, customers can unlock their full data value, operationalize collaboration across their organizations, and activate campaigns that drive measurable business impact.

Join NCSolutions and Snapchat for an eye-opening conversation about the future of advertising measurement.

Discover how Snapchat is reshaping the way they evaluate ad effectiveness-and why sales lift studies are a powerful complement to marketing mix models (MMM).

Walk away with practical tips for weaving publisher-level insights into your own MMM strategy and learn how greater transparency in measurement can build stronger brand-publisher relationships that lead to real, quicker, measurable impact.

As viewers continue to engage with content through an ever-increasing array of platforms and technologies, effectively measuring and understanding where viewers are and how to reach them have never been more important. Learn how AMC Networks and VideoAmp are working together to leverage the power of a new age of measurement and currency to help brands reach engaged viewers with more relevance and impact than ever before.

Join industry experts from Esri, Quad, Ampersand, and Balcom Agency to discover how advertising and analytics teams are transforming campaign planning with geospatial technology. By layering demographic, consumer spending, traffic, and behavioral movement data, marketers can confidently pinpoint high-value audiences and optimize media buys. The session will provide actionable insights on leveraging location intelligence for hyperlocal targeting, smarter buys, measurable lift to reach key audiences.

AI has evolved from simple automation to the driving force behind programmatic advertising. What began as rules-based bidding is now predictive algorithms that optimize in real time, analyze massive datasets, and reveal deeper signals of consumer intent. Today, AI powers smarter audience segmentation, creative personalization, and cross-channel decisioning-reshaping how brands connect with consumers.