Shaping the Future of Digital Advertising
On November 7, the IAB Tech Lab’s International Summit took place in London, gathering global digital advertising leaders from 13 different countries to explore the most pressing issues shaping the industry’s future. From AI-driven contextual targeting and the challenges of regulatory compliance, to discussions on CTV, Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs), and the evolving role of identifiers, the summit was packed with valuable insights and thought-provoking debates.
In his opening keynote, IAB Tech Lab CEO Anthony Katsur described the current state of the ad tech industry as “frothy,” reflecting the rapid changes and heightened activity shaping its trajectory. With innovations in AI, evolving privacy frameworks, and a renewed focus on sustainable practices, the digital advertising ecosystem is at the cusp of significant transformation—what Katsur aptly termed “The End of the Beginning.”
The Summit served as a timely reminder that while the industry has made substantial strides, the road ahead is not only paved with significant challenges, but also significant opportunities. As the landscape continues to evolve, embracing innovation, prioritizing user privacy, and fostering sustainability will be key to growth and success in this next chapter.
1. Tackling Privacy and Consent in a Complex Ecosystem
Privacy and data protection were at the forefront of discussions, with multiple sessions highlighting the evolving regulatory landscape. One of the most anticipated conversations was between Katsur and Stephen Almond, Executive Director of Regulatory Risk at the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Opening with Katsur stating bluntly that “[the industry] only gets better when we hear from regulators” their conversation delved into the necessity of providing users with meaningful control over their online tracking, especially by intermediaries, reflecting a growing emphasis on user consent and transparency, and a need to design for privacy instead of being reactive when laws change. The recently released Global Privacy Platform (GPP) Implementation Guide seeks to help organizations become less reactive as regulation evolves.
The summit also featured a robust discussion on the “Consent or Pay” model, led by Shailley Singh, COO at Tech Lab, alongside Matthew Rance from Immediate Media, IAB Europe’s Ninon Vagner General Manager of Advertising, Robert Blanck from Axel Springer, and InMobi’s Sai Manoj Sistla. The panel examined the emerging trend of offering users choices between paying for an ad-free experience or consenting to data collection for personalized ads. This model, while complex, was presented as a potential path forward in balancing user preferences with monetization needs.
2. Overcoming Challenges with Extended Identifiers and Scaling ID Solutions
In an engaging session dubbed “OpenRTB’s hottest club: Extended Identifiers,” industry experts, including ID5.io’s Mathieu Roche, Index Exchange’s Cadi Jones, and GroupM’s Rory Latham, debated the pros and cons of ID bridging, and how OpenRTB’s ID provenance fields enable all parts of the supply chain to make the right decisions for their business around this practice and how to transparently signal what’s happening in the bidstream. Poor execution has multiple risks associated to them, whereas a well-designed implementation could foster trust and facilitate more meaningful relationships between parties sending and receiving these signals in addition to creating a framework to innovate in a post-cookie world .
The need for scalable ID solutions was further emphasized in a panel featuring Roche again, along with Eli Heath from Lotame, Audigent’s co-founder Matthew Griffiths, and Tech Lab lifetime achievement award winner for his work on Privacy solutions, Achim Schlosser from Bertelsmann. The discussion revolved around the critical role of device IDs in supporting the digital advertising ecosystem, noting that scaling these identifiers is essential for maintaining ad delivery accuracy as the industry adapts to increasing privacy constraints. It was noted that the best way to help consumers engage with data is to build trustworthy pipelines industry-wide, further demonstrating that “trust” was one of the key words of the day.
3. Navigating the AI Landscape in Advertising and Ad Tech
In 2024, is it even an ad tech or advertising event if there is not some discussion of AI? Our International Summit was no different. (Tech is in our name after all). Mats Melén from Neuwo presented how AI-driven contextual targeting can accurately map demographic characteristics, showcasing a live demonstration of predicting the IAB Tech Lab’s audience taxonomy with high precision. The session underscored the potential of AI to reshape targeting strategies, emphasizing accuracy and relevance in audience identification.
In a fascinating session that was a reprise of a popular session from June’s New York Summit, Phil Brown from Meta explored the infrastructural demands of AI workloads, stressing the need for scalable, and above all sustainable, solutions. He noted that as AI capabilities expand, the industry must address unique challenges related to most efficiently using processing power, heralding a transformative period for ad tech infrastructure.
The surge in consumer adoption of conversational AI was a key talking point at the summit. Rishan Chopra from Adgent and Andrea Filip Tortella, an AdTech founder and UCL scholar, discussed the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs), revealing that over 50% of consumers now interact with chatbots. As traditional search gives way to conversational interfaces, the implications for ad tech are profound. This shift presents new opportunities for enhanced personalization, creating more engaging and tailored user experiences. They may even have had an AI powered robot dog at the event to demonstrate their message!
4. Creating efficient ad operations with a CTV creative UPC
Emma Horton from XR Extreme Reach shifted the attention to CTV operations and how Tech Lab’s recently finalized Ad Creative ID Framework (ACIF) Standard will create huge time and savings to operational costs on both the buy and sell side for Advanced TV Advertising, as well as a contribution to sustainability. She noted the environmental impact of the internet, highlighting that digital emissions account for 3% of global CO2 output—surpassing the airline industry, which shocked the room. By registering creatives that will be displayed in campaigns, the industry improves the consumer experience with frequency caps that work, along with higher quality ads delivery, and the life of operations teams everywhere, but creating significant cuts in reconciliation time, and a reduction in inefficient workflow steps. A win-win all around.
5. Preparing for a Privacy-First Future with PETs
As online privacy becomes ever more important, the adoption of, or at least experimentation with Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) was a recurring theme throughout the day, overlapping with the ID and Privacy conversations. James Chandler from IAB UK, moderated a panel gesture Privacy Sandbox’s Alex Cone, Matthew McIntyre from choreograph, InfoSum’s CTO Alistair Bastian, and Sylwia Iwanejko-Sajewska from Decentriq Germany. This group explored how PETs can help protect user data while allowing brands and publishers to maintain addressable and performant audiences. The discussions highlighted PETs’ role in enabling secure data processing, fostering a privacy-first approach that aligns with evolving regulatory requirements. This is expected to be a heavy focus for IAB Tech Lab in 2025 and the Addressability and Privacy Enhancing Technologies working group.
As the team reflected on the insights shared at the summit, it’s clear that the digital advertising industry is in a pivotal moment of transformation. We look forward to continuing the conversation and driving innovation forward as we navigate the new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Stay tuned for updates from the IAB Tech Lab as we work together to build a more sustainable, privacy-conscious, and effective digital advertising ecosystem.
Thank you as always to our sponsors – TikTok, Google InMobi,. Onetrust, ID5, and numbereight. Without you we could not do this!
Barnaby Edwards
Sr Director, Product Marketing
IAB Tech Lab