Is it time for publishers to reassess their adtech stack?

Digital advertising publishers face the dual challenge of meeting immediate quarterly revenue targets and making long-term technology investments, impacting their decision-making process in integrating multiple vendors.

In digital marketing terms, a publisher is an entity that creates, publishes, and disseminates content through digital channels like websites and applications. A primary source of income for these publishers is offering advertising spaces (known as inventory) to businesses aiming to

advertise their goods or services to the publisher's audience.

The balancing act of meeting targets and long-term investment can hinder the development of a solid foundation for privacy, consumer

safety, and sustainability. When evaluating their supply chain, publishers struggle to assess the value of multiple vendor relationships while

also maintaining high-value partnerships and streamlining their tech stack.

For example, in the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) study on the transparency of programmatic media supply chains, it was found

that the current average number of supply-side platforms publishers use is 19. The ANA recommends publishers to reduce the number of

SSPs used to a maximum of seven.

Developing a practical measurement metric for assessing the environmental impact of vendor choices, as pursued by organisations like

Scope3 and the IAB Tech Lab, is also critical. Such metrics are essential for effectively balancing sustainability with supply-path optimisation.

As privacy and sustainability become increasingly important, the industry needs a more collaborative approach, utilising shared utilities and

standards. The proliferation of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) plays a significant role in this collective effort.

Campaign speaks to industry experts to discover how publishers can refactor their approach to address the ecosystem's complexity and

inefficiency.

A balancing act

Balancing long-term strategic investments with short-term targets is a perennial problem for any business.

With the deprecation of cookies, more significant consolidation, and increased calls for transparency, the adtech industry is rapidly changing,

and publishers are struggling to keep up.

Sonal Patel, vice president for APAC, Quantcast, tells Campaign that publishers must proactively take strategic long-term investments in

people, processes, and technology to deliver superior user experience and build a robust revenue model.

She explains that technology is one piece of the puzzle, and publishers should work with innovative vendors who share their ethos towards

privacy, brand safety, and sustainability and can provide solutions tailored for publishers and content owners.

Understandably, publishers may shy away from simplifying their tech stack due to concerns around disruption, risks of vendor lock-in, and the effort of dismantling legacy systems.

However, Panel stresses a streamlined technology stack will ultimately help eliminate friction and allow publishers to focus on what they do

best—creating high-impact content for consumers.

"Publishers are the backbone of the Internet and should be celebrated by consumers. However, they may not feel validated by the advertising

ecosystem because of the constant tsunami of tech change encroaching on their legacy systems," explains Patel.

"At their core, publishers are websites that attract consumers to engage in their web real estate. Consumers will continue to change and

influence the laws that improve the future of web browsing and drive organisations to re-evaluate their partnerships."

Patel continues: "While it is best to have solid and trusted relationships with vendors, publishers must develop a plan on what tech decisions

must be made to meet business priorities."

Hannah Mirza, founder and chief executive at The Responsible Marketing Agency, adds that layered technology, by all means, presents a

sustainability issue, and publishers are under pressure to streamline.

Mirza warns publishers to be careful in the process, whether they are creating the next monopoly or oligopoly ecosystem of suppliers.

"As clients streamline, their SSP solutions and publishers strip back their supply to fewer touchpoints; it's a certainty," Mirza tells Campaign.

"As an industry, we need to project the three-year outcome of these consolidations and not just the short-termism of the challenge

presented."

Continue reading in: Campaign Asia