The future of media monetisation does not lie in the present

What from now to 2023?

For media owners, staying still while speculating on what ad tech will propose to media and consumer brands as a solution for the post third-party cookie era would be damaging and dangerous: many of those solutions might first and foremost fulfil the agendas of those very ad tech companies, rather than fitting the needs of their clients and reinforcing their strategy and revenues. Without a break from the past and maintaining the same dynamics and balance of the advertising ecosystem of the pre-GDPR / pre-death of the third-party cookie era will bring to media owners just enough revenue to keep afloat.

One can challenge the approaches developed in the article below, which is exploring potential rather than expressing certainties, but we should all consider the fact that there is web innovation and progress outside ad tech and the usual, closed circles. Bottom line: technology and privacy are evolving beyond the mainstream industry’s idea of the future and getting stuck on the usual circles can be limiting.

Nevertheless, there are companies among us that are putting a lot of efforts in widening their approach and create a competitive advantage. Common to them is the building of an audience-centric foundation, a two-ways open channel with the user/customer as the backbone of any future direction in data, advertising, marketing, product.

That is the most future proof-strategy, the one which will never fail and that will allow any adaptation to future technology solutions and regulations to be faster and more effective.

I close on a polemic, yet very real and relevant note.

I have noticed how many of the “old way to do advertising”’s cheerleaders have today rediscovered the value of media and turned into “first-party web” and transparency advocates, preaching across webinars and content the opposite they have been saying for years. Times during which they used to sneer and give compassionate glances at the ones fighting, way before GDPR and technology changes, for the concepts they too are embracing today.

Media owners should reflect on what they are expecting from their partners and consultants: help in shaping the future or just parroting the present, just to find themselves always one step behind, in a never-ending catch-up?