Ad Tech
Target's retail media division Roundel partners with DirecTV to close the attribution loop for premium video ad sales
Target's retail media division Roundel has announced a partnership with DirecTV Advertising to pilot the use of Target's first-party shopper data for targeting premium video ads on the DirecTV platform, covering scenarios such as household TV, live sports, and out-of-home screens, and to track the correlation between ad exposure and sales conversion through a unified measurement framework. Danone has become one of the first test clients, and Roundel is actively expanding participation from more brands.
Warner Bros. Discovery Rebuilds Ad Tech Stack with Agentic AI and AWS
Warner Bros. Discovery announced a deepened collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to rebuild its advertising technology stack around agentic AI. The initiative aims to integrate linear TV and digital ad buying processes into a unified AI platform, automating media planning, dynamic forecasting, real-time optimization, and closed-loop measurement. The company plans to launch a unified media planning tool in Q3 2025, with AI-driven order management and pricing features rolling out gradually.
Agentic AI Reshapes the Value Logic and Monetization Rules of Business Media
A survey covering 750 consumers and 150 business media leaders shows that agentic AI has already entered the business media sector in practice, but consumer acceptance is high for AI-assisted research (75% in the US) and low for fully autonomous transactions (only 20%). Industry leaders generally favor an "AI-assisted plus human approval" model, with only 3% supporting high automation. The competitive advantage of business media is shifting from visible ad space to "selectability" within AI systems, with 84% of leaders planning to invest in visibility within AI-generated content, and measurement and attribution becoming investment bottlenecks.
Fox acquires Roku for $22 billion, accelerating streaming advertising business layout
Fox Corporation announced today the acquisition of Roku for approximately $22 billion, in a cash-and-stock deal. The combined company will integrate Fox's content assets with Roku's CTV platform, reaching over 100 million global households, with combined annual advertising revenue of approximately $9 billion, becoming the third-largest participant in U.S. television viewership share.
GSTV Upgrades Audience Targeting Capabilities with Stagwell's Agentic System
GSTV has partnered with Stagwell's The Marketing Cloud to integrate the Stagwell Agentic Targeting System (SATS), becoming the first media network outside of the agency holding company to use SATS. Conagra Brands is the first advertiser to adopt SATS.
LiveRamp Partnership Enhances ChatGPT Ad Measurement Capabilities
OpenAI announced a partnership with data collaboration platform LiveRamp to provide ChatGPT advertisers with a conversion API (CAPI Hub) based on server-to-server connections, responding to lost browser tracking signals and enhancing ad measurement capabilities. This move marks OpenAI's latest development in advertising infrastructure, following previous partners such as Criteo.
DoorDash Partners with LiveRamp and Launches Advanced Ad Formats to Upgrade Its Commerce Media Platform
DoorDash is expanding its commerce media business by partnering with LiveRamp to enhance data collaboration and launching advanced ad formats such as Spotlight to improve ad targeting and effectiveness. Tests showed that Spotlight ads had a click-through rate twice that of banner ads and helped advertisers reach a large number of new customers.
Walmart's Walmart Connect Partners with Yahoo and Magnite to Deepen Off-Site Advertising Strategy
Walmart Connect announced the expansion of its off-site retail media strategy, partnering with Yahoo DSP and Magnite to allow advertisers to activate their first-party data outside of Walmart DSP for the first time, with an initial focus on CTV inventory. This move marks another significant development following the end of its four-year exclusive partnership with The Trade Desk.
Trust: The New Currency in Commercial Media
Digital advertising once championed the idea that 'exposure equals growth,' but today's consumers are more wary, privacy-conscious, and increasingly resistant to interruptive ads. Amid signal loss, rising customer acquisition costs, and an overflow of AI-generated content, attention is no longer commercial media's most valuable asset—trust has taken its place. This article analyzes the strategic value of the Transaction Moment, pointing out that in trust-based industries such as payments, fintech, and e-commerce, brands must leverage AI for real-time contextual recommendations to strike a balance between monetization and experience. The Afterpay-Rokt partnership demonstrates that relevant, timely post-purchase recommendations can drive incremental revenue while reinforcing customer trust. The future winners in commercial media will be those who integrate trust into their growth strategies rather than treating it as a separate concern.
Google Upgrades AI Search Ads: Key Changes Marketers Need to Know
At the Marketing Live summit, Google unveiled a series of AI advertising and commerce products, including Ask Advisor, conversational discovery, highlighted answers, AI shopping ads, and commerce agents, designed to adapt to shifts in search behavior caused by generative AI and to strengthen the link between AI agents and transactions. These tools, built on the Gemini model, help advertisers create, manage, and optimize campaigns more efficiently while responding to competitive pressure from OpenAI, Anthropic, and others.