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Marketing Brew

Ryan Barwick

marketingbrew.com

A gif showing a computer with "news" on it

Audiences say advertisers shouldn’t avoid hard news, like war or Covid

46% said “all high-quality journalism should be appropriate for ads,” according to a recent survey.

Why some in the ad-tech industry are turning to this web crawler to help untangle digital advertising

“So much of ad tech is not written, not defined,” Mike O’Sullivan, Sincera’s co-founder, told us.

a computer featuring two hands touching, each with wires behind them

How Google is trying to help advertisers and publishers link data

PAIR is just one way it’s working to replace the third-party cookie.

How Google is trying to help advertisers and publishers link their data

Your ad here signs next to pipes shaped like a dollar bill sign with programmatic, publishers, and fees text written on them

Ad Tech

Jasmine Sheena

At one point during day three of the remedy phase of 

, US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema said that her favorite words are “we settled.”

The DOJ’s and Google spent the day discussing the technical aspects of potential remedies. Marketing Brew has compiled key moments from Wednesday’s proceedings below.

 its ad exchange AdX or DFP, the DOJ sought to drive home why it might be needed. It called Harvard economics professor Robin S. Lee to the stand and probed him on 

Lee seemed to have proposed that those remedies might not resolve the persistent competitive harms that the company poses.

However, during Google’s cross-examination of Lee, he appeared to suggest that a divestiture of AdX or DFP might not prevent market monopolization on its own.

 If the court does order Google to divest some of its ad products, the level of ease with which such a transaction could be executed was disputed. Both sides questioned Paul Crisci, a former UBS banker and an M&A advisor, about how that might work.

Crisci appeared to suggest that both AdX and DFP would be attractive M&A targets.

Stay tuned for Marketing Brew’s coverage of Thursday’s proceedings.

Day 3 of the Google ad-tech antitrust trial remedy phase

A Harvard professor and a former banker were called to the stand on Wednesday to discuss the feasibility of proposed remedies.

Day 3 of the Google ad-tech antitrust trial remedy phase: Technical experts weigh in

Lawyers for Google and the US Department of Justice were once again in a federal courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia, to present their cases during day two of the remedy phase of 

While some of yesterday’s proceedings were spent on both sides’ 

, today they were all in on questioning witnesses, notably about the effects of a potential divestiture of Google’s ad offerings and the impact of generative AI on Google’s ad-tech dominance.

Marketing Brew broke down some key points made by those who took the stand, below.

James Avery, founder and CEO of retail media firm Kevel: 

While being questioned by the DOJ, Avery was walked through proposed solutions to ease Google’s ad-tech monopoly, including a divestiture of Google’s ad exchange, AdX. Such a divesture could benefit Kevel, he said, which currently can’t access the demand that AdX sees.

However, when being questioned by Google’s team, Avery said that a connection into AdX could benefit competitors like Kevel too, with the caveat that they would need to be able to access demand the way DFP does. (Google has proposed that, as a remedy, it could increase AdX’s interpretability.)

Luke Lambert, partner and head of reputation marketing and insights at Omnicom Media Group: 

When questioned by the DOJ, Lambert discussed the nature of Google’s ad tech. Transparency is a major concern for him, which he said he feels Google has failed to deliver on.

“I don’t know why my bid wins,” he said.

Access to Google’s final-auction logic through open-sourcing would provide greater insight, Lambert said. A divestiture of AdX could be beneficial for Omnicom in certain circumstances, he said, but in the short-term could have a negative effect on its business given the disruption it could pose. In the long run, however, he said that a divestiture could drive innovation. Google lawyers pursued that point in their questioning, during which Lambert said that even one day of an AdX outage caused by a divestiture would cause major harm to clients.

Jay Friedman, Goodway Group strategic advisor and former CEO:

 Friedman took the stand virtually to discuss an AdX divestiture. While that would be a good start, he said while being questioned by the DOJ’s team, divestiture alone wouldn’t be enough. AdX’s being tied to DFP is what made it so powerful in the first place.

A divestiture would be like “taking that first double dose of antibiotics,” Friedman said.

While being questioned by Google’s team, Friedman said AI could help advertisers make more accurate channel selections for their ads.

Another factor to consider: While generative AI hasn’t had a major impact on the evolution of open web display ads so far, the development of generative AI could have consequences for the market down the road, Dedrick said during examination by the DOJ’s team.

Day 2 of Google’s ad-tech antitrust trial remedy phase

Execs from The Trade Desk and Omnicom Media Group were among witnesses who testified.

Divestiture and AI take center stage at day 2 of Google’s ad-tech antitrust trial remedy phase

Morning Brew Creative Studio

Life presents millions of little choices each day: what to grab at the grocery store, how to tackle that growing to-do list, which movie to unwind with after work. But when life's big moments arrive—like graduating college, buying that first home, or welcoming a tiny new family member—these everyday decisions suddenly carry new weight.

These milestone moments completely transform the way people shop. Instead of reaching for that familiar laundry detergent, new parents find themselves diving deep into research about baby-safe options. Rather than grabbing the usual cleaning supplies, first-time homeowners seek out products worthy of their dream space. It's more than just daily routines getting a makeover—it's an entire shift in how people connect with and choose their brands.

The numbers back this up: Amazon Ads partnered with market research firm Alter Agents on 

 research, which reports that 68% of consumers say life events directly influence their spending habits, and 6 in 10 people saying they dedicate more time to product research during these transitions. These aren't just temporary changes either. The brand relationships formed during these pivotal moments often last long after the initial milestone, creating unique opportunities for brands to build lasting loyalty by meeting consumers' evolving needs.

From the minute a family knows a baby is on the way, it's go time. There are cribs to buy, diapers to stock up on, baby care products to research, and so much more. Amazon Ads 

 research also reports that nearly half of consumers say they're more likely to compare brands during big life events, and expectant parents are no exception.

Why? Their priorities shift dramatically. Compared to other life events, expectant families are 53% more likely to prioritize physical health, 48% more likely to prioritize family time, and 23% more likely to take on more responsibility. This mindset shift, combined with being 28% more likely to increase their spending, leaves consumers reevaluating their brand choices.

Amazon Ads can help brands reach more than 80% of baby product shoppers in the U.S. during this crucial consideration phase.

 But connecting with expectant parents isn’t just about being there during shopping moments — it’s also about reaching this audience as their media consumption increases and their patterns evolve:

This shift in media habits creates opportunities throughout the consumer journey—from building awareness during evening TV streaming to driving conversion when parents-to-be are actively researching products. While expectant parents show these distinct patterns in media consumption and purchasing behavior, changes in habits are common across many major life milestones.

Life milestones often overlap and intersect. Many consumers navigate multiple transitions simultaneously—welcoming a new baby while moving into a larger home, for instance. For brands, these moments of change represent prime opportunities to reach new customers who are actively reevaluating their product choices.

Homebuyers show a clear desire for expert guidance, being 20% more likely to seek professional opinions during their purchase journey. They’re also more engaged with media, showing a 21% increase in streaming TV consumption and a 17% increase in both music and livestreaming.

This is a great opportunity for brands to drive awareness during these transitions. Success means partnering with industry experts while leveraging expert reviews, Q&A forums, and professional endorsements. To effectively connect with these consumers, brands need to deliver the right message at the right time across today’s diverse media channels. Amazon Ads connects with 86% of household shoppers,

 enabling brands to orchestrate tailored campaigns that resonate at specific moving milestones—precisely when consumers are establishing the product preferences that will define their household for years to come.

To help brands better serve consumers during these milestones, Amazon Ads can help brands reach specific audiences through its demand-side platform (DSP) for consumers experiencing major life events—whether they're expecting a child, buying a first home, or starting a new job. These audience segments are powered by Amazon's trillions of unique shopping, browsing, and streaming signals, enabling advertisers to create meaningful connections with consumers at the right moments.

Brands can reach these audiences across Amazon's extensive media network—from Amazon.com to IMDb, Prime Video, and Twitch, plus devices like Alexa—and beyond thanks to Amazon's third-party supply.

In today's dynamic environment, success means reaching consumers 

at the right moment with the right message

. Through Amazon Ads, brands can build relationships that drive long-term value by being there when it matters most.


1. Amazon Ads with Alter Agents. Life Events: reaching consumers during moments that matter. Fielded March 2024-June 2024. U.S. data. Among A18-74 who experienced/plan to experience a life event in the last/next 12 months. N=10,015.

Amazon Ads Branded Article 2 Q3 2025

How life-changing events affect consumer shopping habits

As shoppers navigate life’s biggest moments, CPG brands can engage with them in new ways.

How life events change the way we shop: What CPG brands need to know 

Brands talk a lot about evolving marketing to keep up with the speed of culture, but how are they updating their measurement capabilities?

For Lindsay Vogelman, NBCUniversal’s SVP of strategic partnerships and partner marketing, platform distribution and partnerships, measuring impact and navigating growth is central to her work helping to boost streamer Peacock along with partner brands. Ahead of Vogelman’s participation in a panel at the 

 on September 10, she shared more about her approach and how there’s still room for improvement in the measurement world.

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

What trends have you noticed in recent years in regards to the fragmentation of content, especially in the streaming landscape, or changing consumer behavior that may be affecting measurement?

Viewers are no longer just watching—they’re engaging, dual-screening, shopping, and sharing in real time. The act of viewing has become layered, with audiences moving between screens, platforms, and conversations. The value of content is no longer only measured by who tunes in, but also by the actions their tune-in sparks. The real challenge is capturing this broader definition of engagement across an increasingly fragmented landscape.

How is NBCUniversal leaning into these trends?

 We’re evolving our approach to meet audiences where they are. 

 on Peacock is a great example of a cultural moment that drives appointment viewing and invites fans to actively participate. Our Megan Thee Stallion partnership was seamlessly integrated with a viral in-show appearance that sparked online conversation, making the show shoppable and drastically extending the life of the episode.

Our success metrics have also shifted accordingly. We’re focused on both qualitative and quantitative measurements, including daily usage, share of time on platform, and community and fan engagement.

For us, it’s about building daily habits, giving fans more of what they’re already doing, and finding ways to participate in those activities on our platform.

What core KPIs are you using to measure impact? Any new KPIs you’ve focused more on in recent years?

 We’ve expanded our KPI framework to reflect both business outcomes and audience behavior. Some of our key focus areas include incremental acquisition, churn reduction, daily active users, and time spent, as well as community impact by building fandoms around our IP through a qualitative lens. Revenue performance remains at the core of how we evaluate success.

What further evolution would you like to see in the measurement landscape?

 We’re seeing major strides in measuring paid media, especially when it comes to incrementality, but we still see room for improvement around how all our marketing works together to drive performance and are increasingly focused on the relationship between paid and earned media across our partner ecosystems.

How NBCU’s Lindsay Vogelman focuses on marketing metrics that matter

“The real challenge is capturing this broader definition of engagement across an increasingly fragmented landscape,” Vogelman, who will be speaking at the Marketing Brew Summit, told us.

A cartoon image of Kristina Monllos created by Morning Brew

Kristina Monllos

, this time with a new ad for Netflix’s 

Users of the audio app who encounter the ad can play rounds of golf to reveal Easter eggs from the Happy Gilmore universe, hear clips from the film, and access a personalized “happy” playlist.

The ad is the first time it has created a custom audio gaming experience for an advertiser. That said, it’s not a new ad unit or offering—Spotify has been creating custom experiences for advertisers since 2021. Spotify has previously created experiences for a collaboration between Coca-Cola and Oreo as well as for Amex.

The ad unit is dubbed “the stage,” Kay Hsu, global head of the creative lab at Spotify, said. “It’s an in-app branded experience. It’s usually really interactive. It’s custom-made for each brand, so each experience is very different.”

To create the game, Spotify worked with Netflix on a brief inspired by the character of Happy, and “leaned on a lot of nostalgia, obviously, to develop the design treatment,” Hsu said.

While there has been more interest in gamified ads from marketers like Disney, Amazon, and Discord, as Marketing Brew previously reported, that trend wasn’t the starting point for Spotify. That 

 is about a game made it a natural fit to gamify the ad, Hsu said. The experience was created by Spotify’s in-house team and produced by MiK Studio.

Should advertisers want their own game, that’s something Spotify is game for—Hsu said the platform is up for still more when it comes to immersive ads. “People think of Spotify as just an audio platform, but it isn’t,” she said. “It’s really immersive.”

A mock up of the game Spotify created for Netflix.

Spotify created its first audio gaming ad for Netflix’s ‘Happy Gilmore 2’

It’s the latest edition to the ad gamification trend.

If you’re on the internet these days, you’d be hard-pressed to 

The term, which refers to low-quality AI-generated content that is beginning to 

 on social media platforms like Instagram and video platforms like YouTube, are often bizarre and are sometimes even funny. But for some brands concerned about brand safety and suitability, having ads run against such content might be no laughing matter.

On YouTube though, ads for brands are sometimes appearing next to such AI-slop content. A look at several YouTube pages that post AI slop revealed some major brands’ advertisements showing up against those pages’ content, which ranges from simply strange to AI-generated misinformation.

One channel, called Pan-African Dreams, has shared misinformation and recently 

 for posting a lengthy deepfake video that falsely depicts Pope Leo XIV delivering a speech praising Ibrahim Traoré, the military leader of Burkina Faso, prompting a 

 from the Vatican. In mid-May, the video had 

Marketing Brew observed brands including HBO Max, Amazon Hub Delivery, theater ticket seller TodayTix, and the tourism site Visit Florida appearing against content on the channel.

Another AI slop channel, Banana Adventure, posts bizarre videos mostly centered on Minions, the characters from the Despicable Me

franchise, as well as other characters like the Joker. Marketing Brew observed ads for Amazon Hub Delivery, Android, and Tia Health next to that channel’s content.

And on a third AI slop channel with the name Mikey, which seems to post mostly what appear to be AI-generated cartoon stills with AI-generated voice-overs, including images of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Marketing Brew saw ads for Adobe and Samsung Home Appliances.

In an email, Google spokesperson Nate Funkhouser told Marketing Brew that YouTube does not currently offer advertisers the ability to opt out of appearing next to AI-generated content. “We offer controls for advertisers to decide where their ads run based on the content of a video, not how it was produced,” Funkhouser said in the statement.

Emails requesting comment sent to Android, HBO Max, Samsung, TodayTix, and Visit Florida went unreturned. Representatives for Adobe, Amazon Hub Delivery, and Tia Health did not provide comment.

After viewing the ads on Banana Adventure and Pan-African Dreams and requesting comment from YouTube, both channels were removed from the platform. The Mikey channel, meanwhile, was not found to violate YouTube’s policies, according to Google.

For some brands, monitoring exactly where their ads are showing up on YouTube has already seemed like a game of Whac-A-Mole. In recent years, major brands’ advertisements have been spotted running against 

, even, at times, those that were using brand-safety tools.

In the case of AI slop on YouTube, though, some of those existing challenges for brand safety and suitability stand to be multiplied. Brands should be mindful about appearing next to AI-generated content, said Anirudh Dhebar, a marketing professor at Babson College, as advertising next to AI slop could contain reputational risk for brands. 

And while a brand may not necessarily take issue with being associated with AI-generated content in itself, issues could arise if that AI-generated slop overlaps with other potentially damaging content. Both Disney and Universal are 

 the generative AI company Midjourney, alleging that users can easily create images based on protected intellectual property, representing a “bottomless pit of plagiarism.”

Tyler Folkman, GM at TubeBuddy, which offers a suite of tools for YouTubers, said that he doesn’t expect many AI slop channels to flourish for too long on YouTube due to likely low levels of engagement on their videos, but he acknowledged that it can be difficult to get problematic AI slop videos taken down from YouTube due to the platform’s vast size.

As of March 2024, YouTube has put in place some restrictions on uploading AI-generated content that requires creators to disclose if AI tools were used to create a video. More broadly, YouTube has policies 

, and other types of content on the platform.

Dhebar told Marketing Brew that the proliferation of AI slop in its various forms can present additional challenges for advertisers.

“If I'm an advertiser, I need to be very mindful, and I’m in a precarious point,” he explained. “On one hand, I want the biggest bang for my dollar, that's in the short term; [in] the longer term, there might be significant reputational risk. How do I balance those two?”

AI slop is proliferating on YouTube—and major brands are advertising against it 

Brands like HBO Max, Amazon Hub Delivery, and Samsung Home Appliances had their ads appear next to low-quality AI-generated videos.

Netflix is once again beefing up its ad-tech partnerships.

At Cannes Lions, the streamer announced an integration with Yahoo DSP. Through the partnership, advertisers will be able to buy Netflix inventory through Yahoo DSP in the 12 countries where Netflix operates an ad-supported tier.

It’s the latest integration in a long line of programmatic partnerships that Netflix has struck for its ad-supported tier, which it said last month had 94 million monthly active users. The streamer has preexisting programmatic partnerships with The Trade Desk, Google’s DV360, and Microsoft.

Since Netflix first rolled out its ads tier in 2022, the platform has been steadily building out its capabilities to make the platform more attractive to advertisers. Last year, the platform rolled out an in-house ad-tech stack in Canada, and the tech became available in the US in April; as of this month, it’s rolled out wherever Netflix operates an ads tier.

 in May, Netflix touted enhanced ad-targeting capabilities, including the ability to target over 100 different interests across nearly 20 categories, and a way for advertisers to match first-party data against Netflix’s ads audience to help target viewers.

“I know you all heard us use the ‘crawl, walk, run’ analogy a million times,” Netflix’s president of advertising, Amy Reinhard, said onstage at the presentation. “So instead, I’ll borrow a page from 

 and say that we’re pulling out a pit lane lane and we’re getting up to speed.”

 Streamers across the board have been increasingly focused on 

. This week, Amazon Ads and Roku debuted a partnership that allows advertisers to buy Roku inventory through Amazon DSP. (Amazon announced a 

Old TV set with red screen and buffering circle