Value Over Volume, With NYT’s Courtney Glaze
The New York Times explains its strategy of limiting SSP partners to prioritize premium inventory, arguing that more demand partners can dilute CPM and overall yield. The piece warns that over‑partnering erodes revenue.
The New York Times' strategy of prioritizing premium ad inventory value by narrowing SSP partnerships highlights the importance of quality media partners and could inform our approach to securing high-value external placements for RPP-EXP and TDA-EXP.
→ Read on AdExchanger
Ad Tech Briefing: AppLovin and Unity’s dual explained
The article breaks down the partnership between AppLovin and Unity in mobile ad auctions and raises concerns about who ultimately owns the auction‑generated data. Advertisers need clear visibility into data usage rights.
The complexities of data ownership in mobile ad tech, as seen with AppLovin and Unity, emphasize the critical need for us to clearly define and understand data usage and ownership with our external media partners for TDA-EXP.
→ Read on Digiday
Stagwell Sunsets Assembly, Relaunches as Stagwell Media
Stagwell has shut down its Assembly unit and launched a new agency brand called Stagwell Media. The new organization centers on the “Stagwell Machine” operating system, which integrates DSP/SSP capabilities and data services to offer clients a unified media‑planning and automation platform. This reflects a broader trend of agencies building proprietary ad‑tech stacks.
Stagwell's move to launch its own integrated media platform, "Stagwell Machine," incorporating DSP/SSP functions, signals a competitive trend of agencies owning their tech stack, which means we should continue to evolve our consolidated offerings and data leverage to remain competitive.
→ Read on Adweek
Locala Launches CTV Planner to Adapt CTV Investment to the Realities of Every Market
Locala unveiled a CTV Planner tool that uses local inventory and audience data to recommend optimal budget allocation across markets, enabling advertisers to plan with greater precision and improve ROI. The solution offers API access for integration with other ad‑tech platforms.
Locala's CTV planner, which offers market-specific CTV budget allocation, highlights the growing need for localized media planning capabilities that we should consider as we scale our "Influencer × Video" initiatives and external ad placements.
→ Read on ExchangeWire
“Education is still the biggest gap.”: Kevin Smyth, Vistar Media on Programmatic DOOH
Kevin Smyth, Commercial Director for Southeast Asia at Vistar Media, discusses the current state of programmatic DOOH in APAC, highlighting rapid inventory growth but also a severe skills gap among advertisers. Platform maturity and operator education are identified as the key success factors.
The emphasis on "education as the biggest challenge" for programmatic DOOH in APAC serves as a crucial reminder for us to invest in robust merchant education and support for new or complex ad products like RPP-EXP and TDA-EXP to drive adoption.
→ Read on ExchangeWire
Trade Desk Tests iOS 27.2 Beta While Safari Ad‑Domain Ticket Remains Open
Trade Desk is running tests on the iOS 27.2 beta to see how Safari’s ad‑domain blocking behaves. Bug ticket 324771 is still unresolved, and nine domains are being monitored for continued blockage of iPhone Safari ads.
The ongoing issues with Safari's ad domain blocking, as tested by The Trade Desk, underscore the persistent challenges in cross-site tracking that we must navigate to ensure accurate targeting and measurement for our external ad products, RPP-EXP and TDA-EXP.
→ Read on PPC Land
Pinterest beauty report: 23 of 120 searches gain 500% or more
Pinterest released a report showing that certain beauty‑related search queries have exploded, e.g., the top nail query rose 1,585% while many others have modest growth. Advertisers can immediately target these high‑growth queries to boost reach and efficiency.
Pinterest's report on rapidly growing beauty search keywords highlights a direct opportunity for us to advise Ichiba merchants using RPP and RPP-EXP to capitalize on emerging trends and maximize reach.
→ Read on PPC Land
Emmys exit ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC for Prime Video in six‑year deal
The Emmys will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video from 2027 under a six‑year contract, but Amazon has not disclosed any ad fee or inventory terms, leaving uncertainty over who sells the ad slots and at what price.
The migration of premium events like the Emmy Awards to Amazon Prime Video with undisclosed ad inventory terms signals a shift in where brand budgets will follow, requiring us to be agile in understanding new video ad opportunities for our "Influencer × Video" strategy.
→ Read on PPC Land
Microsoft Advertising gains LinkedIn company lists of up to 10,000 firms
Microsoft Advertising now offers advertisers up to 10,000 LinkedIn company lists, enabling B2B campaigns to target firms based on lifecycle signals such as MQL and SQL. This can improve lead quality ahead of the holiday peak.
Microsoft Advertising's offering of LinkedIn company lists for B2B targeting, leveraging MQL/SQL lifecycle data, showcases advanced targeting capabilities that we can observe for potential future applications, even as our primary focus remains B2C merchant ads.
→ Read on PPC Land
DeepIntent gains survey‑based healthcare audiences from Tunnl
DeepIntent has acquired new audience segments built on survey data about healthcare hesitancy and risk attitudes, aimed at pharma media buyers. Pricing and lift data were not disclosed.
DeepIntent's acquisition of survey-based healthcare audience segments demonstrates the increasing sophistication of niche audience targeting, suggesting an opportunity for us to explore even finer-grained segmentation options for specific merchant categories on Ichiba.
→ Read on PPC Land
Education brands bidding on rival names face 9.3% invalid clicks, Lunio finds
Lunio’s study shows that when education brands bid on competitor brand names, invalid click rates climb to 9.3% across Google, Meta and native platforms, up from 4.08% in Q4 2025 to 5.42% in Q2 2026. For a $5 million media budget, this translates into a substantial cost leak.
Lunio's finding that bidding on competitor brand names leads to a significant 9.3% invalid click rate highlights a critical cost leakage issue, which means we must educate our RPP merchants on optimal bidding strategies to protect their ad budgets and improve ROAS.
→ Read on PPC Land
Amazon Ads gains access to Sky streaming inventory in UK and Ireland
Amazon Ads has secured inventory from Sky’s streaming services in the UK and Ireland, launching private‑marketplace deals that add premium video placements. Fees, pricing and measurement terms remain undisclosed.
Amazon Ads securing premium video inventory from Sky's streaming services demonstrates a competitor's aggressive expansion into high-value video, urging us to accelerate our own "Influencer × Video" strategy and brand budget acquisition efforts to capture similar market share.
→ Read on PPC Land
Walmart DSP gains Spotify ads with outcome tracking across 4,600+ stores
Walmart’s DSP now integrates Spotify audio ads with outcome tracking across more than 4,600 retail locations, promising a 22% reach lift beyond digital channels using shopper‑segment targeting. Auditing mechanisms are not yet clear.
Walmart's integration of Spotify audio ads with in-store performance tracking and shopper segmentation highlights a comprehensive approach to off-platform retail media that we should evaluate for our own Ichiba merchants and external ad products.
→ Read on PPC Land
San Diego County sues AppLovin over adult ads shown to children
San Diego County filed a lawsuit alleging that AppLovin’s SDK delivered adult‑focused ads to children in 73% of top ad‑supported mobile games, seeking penalties up to $2,500 per violation. The legal risk is now explicit.
San Diego County's lawsuit against AppLovin for serving adult ads to children underscores the severe legal and reputational risks associated with inadequate brand safety, compelling us to enforce stringent content guidelines for our external ad products like RPP-EXP and TDA-EXP.
→ Read on PPC Land
First look
First look is a programmatic arrangement that lets a publisher allow a specific buyer or exchange to bid on an ad impression before other demand participants can compete. The early‑bid advantage can help capture premium inventory and boost revenue, but it may also reduce competition and pressure prices downward. Industry debates focus on fairness and transparency.
The "first-look" programmatic arrangement highlights how early bidding can secure premium ad inventory, which we should consider in our strategy for acquiring high-value external placements for RPP-EXP and TDA-EXP, while also being mindful of fairness and transparency debates.
→ Read on PPC Land
Last look
Last look was an auction advantage that let Google’s ad exchange see the highest rival bid before placing its own, a practice now barred by a U.S. court order. Its removal restores a level playing field and pushes price discovery toward market‑based levels.
The prohibition of Google's "last-look" advantage, restoring fair competitive conditions in ad exchanges, benefits us by ensuring a more level playing field when acquiring external ad inventory for products like RPP-EXP and TDA-EXP.
→ Read on PPC Land
Unified pricing rules
Unified pricing rules were Google Ad Manager’s single floor‑price system for non‑guaranteed demand, launched in 2019 and retired in December 2025. The retirement gives publishers the ability to set floor prices per impression, enabling finer‑grained yield optimisation.
The deprecation of Google Ad Manager's unified pricing rules, allowing publishers more granular minimum price control per impression, suggests a shift towards more sophisticated yield optimization that we should consider for our own in-site inventory management.
→ Read on PPC Land
DOJ seeks 6 months, Google 12, to open its ad exchange to rivals
The U.S. Department of Justice is asking Google to open its ad exchange to competitors within six months, while Google proposes a twelve‑month timeline. Delayed access could limit advertisers’ reach to Google inventory and dampen market competition.
The US Department of Justice's push to open Google's ad exchange to competitors within six months, faster than Google's proposal, indicates a future landscape with potentially greater inventory access and fairer competition, which could benefit our external ad buying for RPP-EXP and TDA-EXP.
→ Read on PPC Land
Brand safety
Brand safety comprises mechanisms—floor settings, classifiers, bid‑time filters—to keep ads away from unsuitable content. Failures can damage brand reputation, while robust safeguards increase advertiser confidence and budget willingness.
Robust brand safety mechanisms, which protect advertisers from inappropriate content, are paramount for us to build merchant trust and attract brand budgets for products like RPP-EXP, TDA-EXP, and RDA.
→ Read on PPC Land
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta face 10 proposed NYC AI bills
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta are targeted by ten draft New York City AI bills that impose safety‑related requirements such as a human‑shut‑down switch; non‑compliance could incur $25,000 penalties per instance.
The array of AI bills facing major tech companies in New York City signals increasing regulatory scrutiny that we must carefully monitor for our AI-driven products like TDA and for partnerships with AI providers.
→ Read on PPC Land
Explaining aggregated audience scores
Aggregated audience scores rate each digital screen by the concentration of a chosen audience nearby, allowing out‑of‑home buyers to bid on locations rather than individual people. This metric enables advertisers to build OOH campaigns based on foot‑traffic density.
The concept of aggregated audience scores, allowing OOH buyers to target based on pedestrian density, presents an interesting model for location-based targeting that we could explore for future external display initiatives beyond traditional digital channels.
→ Read on PPC Land
T‑Mobile audience segments for DOOH available only through Vistar's DSP
T‑Mobile has built thousands of cohorts using consented app‑ownership and location signals and is now offering them exclusively through Vistar’s DSP to screen advertisers. Pricing, market coverage and measurement outcomes are not disclosed, but the move provides highly granular audiences limited to a single platform.
T-Mobile's provision of highly segmented DOOH audience data via Vistar's DSP suggests an opportunity for us to investigate sophisticated, platform-specific targeting options to enhance the reach and effectiveness of our external display products if DOOH becomes a relevant channel.
→ Read on PPC Land
DOJ wants AdX open to Prebid in six months, Google asks for twelve
The U.S. Department of Justice is demanding that Google open its AdX to Prebid within six months, whereas Google proposes a twelve‑month timeline and seeks monitoring authority. The dispute directly affects programmatic transparency and the expansion of third‑party access to Google’s inventory.
The US Department of Justice's demand for Google to integrate Prebid with AdX within six months, enhancing programmatic transparency and third-party access, represents a positive shift towards a more open and competitive ad exchange environment for our external media buying.
→ Read on PPC Land
Dentsu Digital Launches “Threads Account Management Service” to Maximize Corporate Use of Threads
Dentsu Digital, in partnership with Meta’s Facebook Japan, has introduced a service that handles everything from strategy planning to operational improvement for businesses using Threads. Advertisers can now expand brand exposure on the emerging text‑and‑image‑focused social platform, but success hinges on effective creative and community management.
Dentsu Digital's launch of a Threads account management service, in collaboration with Meta, highlights the growing opportunity for brand exposure on emerging social platforms, suggesting we could explore Threads as an expansion channel for our "Influencer × Video" strategy and external ad products like TDA-EXP.
→ Read on Web担当者Forum
The internet is having a field day with Amazon's 'About You' customer dossiers. Here's how to see yours
Amazon has introduced an “About You” page that lets consumers view the personal data Amazon stores about them, including purchase history and browsing behavior. The article walks through how users can access this information and highlights the increasing transparency of Amazon’s first‑party data.
Amazon's "About You" feature, providing users with transparency into their purchase and browsing data, demonstrates a trend in platform data transparency that we should observe, potentially informing how we communicate our own first-party data usage for merchant targeting.
→ Read on Business Insider