Inside the ‘grand bargain’ to reconcile ad tech’s warring middlemen

October 31, 2025 Presented by We have a lot of big news today: leading media buyers have tabled terms to establish “fair auctions” following the recent TID debacle, Reddit is testing an AI campaign tool and we have the latest pitch deck from Amazon. Advertisement TOP STORY The Programmatic Marketer Inside the 'grand bargain' to reconcile ad tech's warring middlemen Leading media buyers have tabled terms to establish 'fair auctions' following the recent TID row. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW In a live virtual event on Nov. 13, learn how CTV provides consistent, scalable audience reach for brands, especially as the zero-click future comes into focus. Partner insights from tvScientific. Only eleven spots remain to join us December 1-3 in New Orleans for the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit, where attendees will be able to lock in months' worth of meetings over the span of just three days. Secure your seat while passes remain. Measurement is more challenging than ever for modern marketers. Learn new measurement strategies to optimize ROI in this virtual session on Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. ET, or watch on demand. Partner insights from Epsilon. MARKETING Member exclusive Pitch Deck: How Amazon plans to turn Q3's $17 billion ad haul into Q4's next big DSP push It’s no secret the company wants advertisers to see its demand-side platform as the backbone for buying across the open web. A MESSAGE FROM MASTERCARD COMMERCE MEDIA Prove ROI with every ad Marketers face tighter budgets and rising expectations, but Mastercard Commerce Media is helping brands rise to the challenge. With rich data-driven insights and precise card-linked attribution, advertisers can confirm their budgets are being well spent. The result? Up to 22x return on ad spend across retail, dining, travel and more.   Built with privacy by design and fit for scale, Mastercard Commerce Media delivers personalized experiences, smarter placements and measurable results across the full funnel. Learn more Evolving Agencies WPP's 'unacceptable' results show scale of turnaround challenge facing new boss Cindy Rose The British holdco’s third quarter numbers show revenue declines across the board, including at ‘critical’ WPP Media. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CRITEO How incrementality reveals KPIs that A/B testing misses Marketers rely on A/B testing as the gold standard for proving retail media's impact, but it isn't the only way. Advertisement Marketing on Platforms Reddit is already in early testing with its own AI campaign tool It's been a long time coming. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM MARIGOLD How publishers turn data into sustainable revenue for long-term growth Eighty-seven percent of publishers said in a new survey that they’ve increased their subscriber engagement budgets over the past year, enabling more experimentation as teams rethink how they operate to turn data into sustainable revenue. MEDIA & PLATFORMS Generative AI WPP's Open Pro AI suite already faces competition from Google and Canva The holdco hopes its new product can open up SaaS revenue. But tech companies are on its tail. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CEROS Mood boards and coloring breaks: An inside look at a content strategy built on engagement B2B marketers can follow the lead of publishers like Her Campus and add micro-interactions like sliders or quizzes to case studies or solution pages to turn passive viewers into active participants. Retail Media Rewritten The Great Resignation is over — unless you're a retail CEO More than 1,500 chief executives have left their posts so far this year through August, up 4% from last year. DIGIDAY+ Member exclusive Future of Marketing Briefing: AI didn't break agencies – the talent drain did It's not about chasing AI breakthroughs or assembling yet another full-stack planning and buying setup. It’s something more fundamental – and harder to fix. Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Advertise | Digiday+ | Events | Awards Update your email | Unsubscribe | Privacy policy