Welcome to The Refresh, your weekly download of what actually matters in advertising. Brought to you by Marketecture Media and written by AdTechGod. Every Thursday, we bring you the latest news, commentary, and memes that speak the truth about this industry. If it's happening in AdTech, media or marketing and its interesting it’ll be here.
MadTech Rebrands as MadConnect and Defines a New Category: The Intelligent Connectivity Layer (ICL) (Businesswire)
Agentic Adtech Firm Clinch Scraps CPMs for Monthly Subscription Pricing (Adweek)
Pedestrian cofounder Chris Wirasinha nails $23 million Series B for adtech startup Linkby (StartupDaily)
LG Ad Solutions and Viant Integration Looks to Sharpen CTV Ad Targeting, Accelerate Addressable (Adweek)
TelevisaUnivision Expects Lower Quarterly Revenue Amid Advertising Pinch (Hollywood Reporter)
The Record CCPA Fine Against Healthline Should Be A Wake-Up Call For Publishers (Adexchanger)
Q2: Omnicom Says Its Merger With IPG Will Happen Any Day Now, Promise (AdExchanger)
PepsiCo's Zach Lain on Clean Signals and Creative Sparks
Zach Lain, Director of Global Data Partnerships at PepsiCo, joins the AdTech God Pod to talk about the future of data-driven marketing. He shares his journey from studying Chinese and law to leading global data strategy, and breaks down why clean signal infrastructure is critical to driving real outcomes.
HOT YACHTS!
The Hot Yachts video series on YouTube by The Advertising Forum is filmed in France during Cannes Lions, where we sit down with leaders from PubMatic, Kerv, Viant, MiQ, InMobi, Nexxen, and Philo to talk about the festival and what’s coming next for their companies.
DOOH Set to Hit $3B & New IAB Guide Aims to Standardize Measurement
Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising is expected to hit $3 billion in U.S. revenue by 2025, with programmatic DOOH on track for $1.25 billion by 2026. To support that growth, the IAB just released a new measurement guide that sets standards for impressions, attribution, and cross-channel planning. It’s meant to bring more consistency and trust to a fast-growing space. I personally love DOOH’s potential, but I’d love to see the growth actually match the hype.
Spotify is making a big push into automated podcast advertising by opening up its premium podcast inventory to both self-serve and programmatic buyers. Starting today, advertisers in key markets like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia can access Spotify Originals and top licensed shows through Spotify Ads Manager. At the same time, programmatic access expands via the Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX), now available in 12 countries, including India, Brazil, and Sweden.
Major DSPs like The Trade Desk and Google DV360 are already integrated, with more on the way. Spotify also launched a new partnership with Magnite to further expand access. Have I told you about my podcast? Listen here
NBCU Locks In $7B+ in Upfront Ad Deals, Driven by Sports and Streaming
NBCUniversal just wrapped up a strong upfront season, locking in more than $7 billion in ad commitments across its TV and streaming platforms. The big boost came from its new NBA rights deal and a packed sports calendar that includes the 2026 Olympics, Super Bowl, and FIFA World Cup. Sports ad sales were up 45%, and a quarter of NBA advertisers are new to traditional TV.
Peacock had its biggest upfront yet, with ad volume up 20%, and now makes up nearly a third of NBCU’s total upfront haul. The company also saw strong demand across its cable channels like MSNBC and USA, with more advertisers spending on those networks despite the continued shift toward streaming.
NBCU’s programmatic ad business crossed the $1 billion mark, and more brands, especially small and mid-sized ones, are leaning into digital buys targeting specific audiences. Top ad categories included retail, auto, travel, and financial services, all increasing their spend by around 12%. While CPMs for sports are still climbing, traditional TV pricing is up only slightly, and digital ad rates may face some pressure as streamers like Netflix and Amazon flood the market with more inventory.
JIC Audit Confirms Comscore, iSpot, and VideoAmp Are TV Currency-Ready
Three companies: Comscore, iSpot, and VideoAmp got a thumbs-up to be used as official tools to measure who’s watching TV ads. This matters because advertisers need reliable data to know who they’re reaching and to justify ad spending. These tools were reviewed and approved by an industry group (the JIC), which checks if the data is good enough to actually base business deals on. The approval doesn’t mean they’re perfect, but it means buyers can trust them to a certain degree.
This process is faster and more flexible than older systems like the one run by the MRC. But even with these new certified options, most of the industry still sticks with Nielsen mostly because switching is complicated and not everyone is willing to do the extra work.
Madison Ave Returns
Last year’s Return of the Golden Era of Madison Ave party was a blast with a packed house, great energy, and a night people still talk about.
We’ll be back at the Virgin Hotel for Madison Ave Returns. Live band, live singers, and yes MICK is headlining.
As always, we’re looking for a few great sponsors to help bring the night to life. If you're interested, hit the form on the site.
Register ASAP to be placed on the waitlist.
Hosted by AdTechGod and MadConnect
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