DoorDash Eyes Instacart, Stagwell Buys Freestar, and Skydance Weighs Google

I think Stagwell's acquisition of Freestar is a really smart move, and I expect we'll see a lot more deals like this in 2027.

The acquisition gives Stagwell access to monetization technology and relationships with more than 1,000 publishers, bringing the buying and selling sides closer together.

We've spent years talking about supply-path optimization, transparency, and reducing unnecessary fees. Yet we still have far too many intermediaries providing overlapping services. Deals like this could help simplify that process while improving access to inventory, audience data, and ultimately better economics.

I genuinely believe 2027 will be a big year for consolidation and eliminating unnecessary intermediaries across ad tech. Not every middleman is unnecessary, but companies will increasingly need to justify the value they're adding.

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DoorDash buying Instacart might have a much bigger impact on advertising than it does on food delivery.

The two are reportedly in advanced talks, and if this happens, it could create a serious retail media competitor to Amazon, Walmart, and Uber.

Think about the amount of shopper data, purchase behavior, and transaction data these two companies would have as a combined entity. That's incredibly valuable to advertisers looking to reach consumers and actually measure sales.

I've been bullish on retail media for a while, and this is another reason why. But as more of these platforms consolidate, I do wonder how much control we're giving a handful of companies over advertising budgets.

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Per Mike Shields, Skydance is reportedly considering dropping FreeWheel for Google as it consolidates its streaming platforms.

Here's the irony. Skydance may not want its advertising data sitting with FreeWheel, owned by rival NBCUniversal. But moving to Google means handing that same data to YouTube's parent company, another major competitor for TV advertising dollars.

For FreeWheel, losing Paramount and Warner Bros. would be a significant blow.

For Google, this could be much bigger. It already has enormous influence over digital advertising, and gaining a larger role in premium CTV ad serving could strengthen its position across inventory access, data, and potentially programmatic transactions.

The bigger question is whether this creates more competition in CTV or simply gives Google even more control over how streaming advertising is bought and sold.

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Prebid’s proposal to flip the auction, allowing the ad server to bid into Prebid Server instead of the other way around, could fundamentally change how programmatic advertising operates.

Sam Khoury, Co-Founder and CSO of Marketecture, recently ran a LinkedIn poll on the proposal that generated some interesting industry feedback. Given the significance of the potential changes, he asked hosts Scott Messer and Jana Meron to dedicate an episode of AdTech Therapy to the topic. And they delivered.

In “Behead the Beast: Taking AdX Out of the Ad Server,” Scott and Jana break down the technical challenges, Google's role, and what this means for publishers.

Personally, I think this is a conversation the industry needs to have. We've spent years discussing transparency, competition, and reducing dependence on Google. Now there's an actual proposal worth debating. Whether it's technically feasible is another question, but I'm glad we're finally having the discussion.

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The room every marketer wants to be in is returning to New York City.

On March 9-10, 2027, Marketecture Live will be back at The Glasshouse NYC for a two-day event that will convene leading executives across brands, agencies, publishers, and adtech.

Wondering what the hype is all about? Marketecture Live takes a different approach: expertise first, no panels, no filler, no fluff. Across more than 40 sessions and breakouts, every conversation is designed to be sharp, relevant, and worth your time.

The event has consistently sold out, so don’t wait to lock in your ticket at the best price you’ll find.

We're hiring for two (2) full-time roles to help us make an even bigger impact across the advertising ecosystem.

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