What changes (and accelerates) in ad tech during a recession

What changes (and accelerates) in ad tech during a recession

There is a new urgency to lower costs and increase transparency in ad tech, and what might have happened in three years, may happen instead in three to six months. The recession has accelerated a lot of what was already bound to happen and The Trade Desk restricting publishers from selling the same impression via the same ad tech vendor was the tipping point.

Publishers turning to their own first-party data (again)

It sounds counterintuitive that premium publishers could profit at a time when advertisers want to spend less, not more, but that hasn’t stopped some trying by selling lucrative data. As much as advertisers are focused on value for money, it’s with a greater eye for quality than in previous recessions. That’s an easier pivot to make now when the cost of buying ads from the likes of The New York Times and Conde Nast is cheaper now.

Christian Polman, group chief strategy officer at Ebiquity:

This could work well for premium publishers if they get their story right, especially in explaining the value part of the equation. They have the further advantage that ‘premium’ is now more affordable as a result of lower CPMs.”

 

To read the full article in Digiday, click here.

First featured 28/05/2020.

Ebiquity Insights

Equip yourself with the data, benchmarks, and strategic insights needed to navigate the evolving advertising landscape.

guides
Search in 2026: What the predictions agree on and where you need to act 
Search in 2026 is being defined by AI, automation and zero-click behaviour. This guide helps senior teams safeguard governance, strengthen m...
LHF advertising after the watershed: Early winners, exits and ROI implications for UK TV
February 12, 2026
Ebiquity Appoints David Muldoon as Global Managing Director of Marketing Transformation
February 6, 2026
research
Beyond ROI: What Really Drives Effectiveness on TikTok 
New research from TikTok, powered by independent econometric analysis from Ebiquity
Why Streaming TV’s ROI challenge is an opportunity (if you get governance right) 
January 27, 2026
Four ways to make Marketing Mix Modelling work for your business 
January 15, 2026
Evolving the media operating model: Insights from Mars’ Transformation
January 13, 2026
guides
Scaling with Safeguards: How to grow your Streaming TV investment effectively