The MadTech Podcast

MadTech Daily: UK Digital Adspend in H1 Tops Entire 2020; Shein Profit Plunges 67% as Costs Rise

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss UK digital ad spend in H1 surpassing the whole of 2020, Shein’s profit plunging 67% as costs rise, and ChatGPT ads expanding into new Asian markets.

MadTech Daily: 58% of Ad Execs See Agentic Buying Scaling; Apple & Amazon Face Renewed UK Consumer Case

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss 58% of ad executives expecting agentic buying to scale within a year, Apple and Amazon facing a renewed UK consumer case, and A24, Sony and The New York Times circling Letterboxd.

MadTech Daily: McDonald’s Bets on $1bn Ad Business; Temu Cuts $1bn Fake Influencer Network on Meta 

In today’s Digest, we discuss McDonald’s betting on a USD$1bn (£750m) ad business as it joins the commerce-media gold rush, Temu cutting a USD$1bn (£750m) fake influencer network on Meta, and TikTok settling with Alabama for USD$100m (£75m) over teen use.

ExchangeWire on Google's Ad Tech Rules, OOH Advertising, and John Lewis' YouTube Chatshow

In this episode of The MadTech Podcast, ExchangeWire's head of marketing, Grainne Reid, is joined by COO Lindsay Rowntree and John Still, head of content. They discuss Google's ad tech rules, OOH advertising growth, and John Lewis launching a YouTube chatshow. The first story covers Judge Leonie Brinkema's assessment on the DOJ's proposal to break up Google's ad tech business, and what the ruling means for advertisers. The second is out of home advertising in Q2 showing +12.7% revenue growth from the same period last year. The conversation explores drivers of OOH growth, and whether it will continue on the same trajectory without World Cup activations. Finally, John Lewis is launching an online chatshow with the aim of improving its visibility in AI search. How should retailers be adapting their marketing strategies in the age of chatbots and social media? ••• 0:00 Introduction 1:23 US judge says Google should relax ad tech rules 11:57 Out of Home advertising reports +12.7% revenue growth in Q2 22:16 John Lewis to launch YouTube chatshow to improve AI search results

MadTech Daily: Citi Enters Advertising With New Ad Business; IAB Europe Finds Growing Momentum for Agentic Ad Buying

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss Citi entering advertising with a new ad business, IAB Europe finding growing momentum for agentic ad buying, and Alibaba unveiling an AI roadmap to drive monetisation.

MadTech Daily: Shopify Taps Meta’s Muse for Agentic Checkout; Brian O’Kelley’s Startup Makes AI Agent Pivot

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss Shopify tapping Meta’s Muse for agentic checkout, Brian O’Kelley’s startup pivoting to AI agents, and a Microsoft patent revealing plans to pause games for ads.

MadTech Daily: Paramount Clears Legal Hurdle Ahead of Warner Merger; Amazon Bars Meta’s Muse From Agentic Shopping

In today’s MadTech Daily, we look at Paramount clearing a legal hurdle ahead of its Warner merger, Amazon blocking Meta’s AI assistant in an agentic shopping standoff, and Ant Group reshaping Alipay for agentic commerce.

MadTech Daily: Infillion Acquires Foursquare; McCann Merges FP7 & MullenLowe in MENA Infillion Acquires Foursquare; McCann Merges FP7 & MullenLowe in MENA

In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover Infillion acquiring Foursquare in a location data deal, McCann merging FP7 and MullenLowe in MENA, and OpenAI rolling out a youth safety plan for Australia.

MadTech Daily: Court Unseals Google Ad Tech Remedies Decision; Taboola Acquires Rival

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss the global programmatic DOOH market reaching $1.34bn, Shein shares sinking to a post-IPO low after an underperform rating, and Ozone launching Arc to enter performance marketing.

The Future of the Open Web With Aly Nurmohamed and Christer Ljones

Aly Nurmohamed, founder and CEO of Nodals AI, and Christer Ljones, director of advertising data capabilities at Schibsted, joined ExchangeWire COO Lindsay Rowntree before ATS London to discuss the future of the open web and which parts of it are worth fighting for. The open web was never one thing. It was premium publishers and everyone else, served by the same ad tech, with the good publishers effectively subsidising the rest. AI changes the terms of that arrangement because the models are becoming open and commoditised while the data is not. If the moat is the data rather than the model, the publishers with the closest relationships to consumers are suddenly the ones best placed to build advertising products, provided they own the system rather than rent it. Schibsted made that bet early, in 2019, before AI made it obvious. Nodals exists because of what that bet revealed. That’s the story of this episode. ••• 0:00 Introduction 3:17 GDPR and Criteo: Nodals AI's origin story 9:45 Premium publishers and first party data 12:35 AI, ad tech, and the open web 16:06 Building data and consumer relationships 21:07 Publishers vs. Meta advertising 27:41 Where do publishers sit within the open web? 35:21 The next few years for publishing

MadTech Daily: Programmatic DOOH Reaches $1.34bn Globally; Shein Stock Hits New Low Since IPO

In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover the global programmatic DOOH market reaching USD$1.34bn (£1bn), Shein shares sinking to a post-IPO low after an underperform rating, and Ozone launching Arc to enter performance marketing.

MadTech Daily: AI Strengthens Big Tech’s Hold on Ad Growth; China Pulls Ahead of US in Consumer AI Adoption

In today’s Digest, we discuss AI strengthening Big Tech’s hold on ad growth, China pulling ahead of the US in consumer AI adoption, and Amazon hitting the USD$1bn (£750m) sales milestone in India.

MadTech Daily: Omnicom Eyes New Pricing Model; Anthropic Forecasts Second Straight Quarter of Profit

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss Omnicom turning to outcome-based pricing amid workforce cuts, Anthropic forecasting its second straight quarter of profit, and Alipay unveiling a wallet agent for AI payments.

MadTech Daily: Amazon Ads Expands Into ChatGPT; Sony Proactively Shared WPP Rebate Probe

In today’s MadTech Daily, we look at Amazon Ads bringing advertisers to ChatGPT, new filings revealing Sony’s early sharing of the WPP rebate probe, and Omnicom planning 15,000 job cuts as ad integration stumbles.

The UK's Youth Social Media Ban With Lisa Morgan and Maxine Fox

In this special episode of The MadTech Podcast, Lisa Morgan, managing director at Generation Media, and Maxine Fox, managing director at Giraffe Insights, join ExchangeWire's head of content, John Still, to discuss the UK's upcoming youth social media ban. The UK plans to block under-16s from social platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram from 2027. Messaging apps such as WhatsApp will be exempt from the ban. Lisa and Maxine outline the differences in parental support for the ban by platform and age of child, and how much rework this creates for youth media plans. Should agencies now be marketing to parents rather than to kids directly? The government has framed the move as putting power "back in parents' hands." This prompts the question of where responsibility for children's online safety lies – with parents, the children themselves, or the tech platforms. The conversation also explores the link between content and commerce in the youth sector, with a growing trend of brands moving into YouTube and publishing. Finally, given the circumvention issues seen with Australia's ban, will the UK's age checks actually work? And can youth media ever be truly brand safe? ••• 0:00 Get your tickets to ATS London! 0:14 Introduction 1:43 Differences in parental support across platforms 7:04 Impact of social media ban on youth media plans 10:58 Where might attention and ad spend shift to? 13:53 Legislation, age verification, and brand safety 18:08 Content and commerce in the youth sector

MadTech Daily: DOJ Scrutinises Fox’s USD$22bn Roku Deal; US Warns UK Over Plan to Boost Public Service News on Social Media

MadTech Daily: UK Safety Body Denied Access to Anthropic’s Mythos 5.1; M+C Saatchi MBO Falls Apart

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss the UK safety body being denied access to Anthropic’s Mythos 5.1, the M+C Saatchi management buyout falling through, and Alibaba sending AI agents into rival apps.

MadTech Daily: Digest: Brits Turn to Commercial Media Alone; ISBA Study Examines UK Retail Media Networks

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss IPA data showing Brits increasingly consuming commercial media alone, particularly among younger audiences, a new ISBA study putting UK retail media networks under the microscope, and Australia proposing a law that would let users switch off social media algorithms.

MadTech Daily: John Lewis Creates YouTube Chatshow; Trade Desk Hit by S&P 500 Exit

In today’s MadTech Daily, we look at John Lewis betting on a YouTube chat show to get noticed by AI, The Trade Desk exiting the S&P 500 on the same day mass layoffs take effect, and Chinese AI developers turning to Tmall to sell subscriptions alongside smartphones and skincare.

MadTech Daily: Trade Desk Cuts Jobs in Major Strategic Reset; VodafoneThree Unveils TV Service in UK Market Push 

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss The Trade Desk laying off 15% of its workforce as its CEO frames the cuts as a strategic reset, VodafoneThree launching a TV service and premium mobile tier in a UK market push, and DAZN Media+ unveiling an AI-powered Sales Agent to streamline video ad buying.