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.
The ‘Hands-Off’ FTC That Can’t Help Getting Involved (Adexchanger)
Ad Tech Briefing: Start-ups are now table stakes for the future of ad tech (Digiday)
All of the latest AI-powered martech news and releases (martech.org)
Google will show you more news from your favorite sources - here's how to set it up (ZDNET)
Introducing The Wedding Tech Stack (Adexchanger)
Amazon launches a new AI foundation model to power its robotic fleet and deploys its 1 millionth robot (aboutamazon)
AI Chatbots Can Now Write Community Notes on X (adweek)
TikTok pushes deeper into AI-powered ads amid uncertainty over U.S. ban (Digiday)
Alliant Acquires AnalyticsIQ To Scale Up Its Audience Graph (adexchanger)
Climbing the ranks with Fariba Zamaniyan from TIVO
Fariba Zamaniyan, Global VP of Data Monetization at TiVo, joins the AdTech God pod to share her journey from immigrant roots to AdTech leadership. She discusses her time at Nielsen, TiVo’s transformation into a data-driven company, and why metadata is key to the future of advertising.
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.
Marketecture hosted its first-ever Cannes Dinner, sponsored by Acxiom and Snowflake
The evening brought together leaders from across the advertising industry for an intimate gathering at Zuma Cannes. With stunning views and thoughtful conversation, guests discussed the current state of the industry and what’s ahead for advertising and technology.
Location: Zuma Restaurant, Cannes
MCP Could Be the Real AI Breakthrough Marketing Needs
While AI hype dominated Cannes Lions, marketers still struggle with fragmented tools and clunky integrations. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) offers a practical solution: it acts as a translator between AI agents and APIs, enabling automated cross-platform workflows without rebuilding existing systems.
Adopted by major AI players like OpenAI and Gemini, MCP allows agents to execute tasks like audience targeting and reporting across platforms, while preserving guardrails and human oversight. Instead of replacing APIs, it makes them usable by AI at scale.
Marketers are urged to start small, focus on real use cases, and build governance early. MCP isn’t flashy but it could finally make AI in marketing truly functional.
Marriott Media Debuts to Target Travelers Across Their Journey
Marriott International has launched Marriott Media, a new media network that helps brands reach travelers through personalized, data-driven campaigns. Using insights from its 237 million Bonvoy members and 9,500 properties, the platform delivers targeted messaging across digital platforms, in-room content, and post-stay engagement.
The network prioritizes consent-based data use and collaborated with brands like Visa, PepsiCo, Uber, and Starbucks during its pilot. Marriott Media aims to offer measurable, relevant brand experiences at every travel stage, with plans to expand globally while maintaining localization and brand safety.
IAB Unveils Gaming Ad Measurement Standards
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has launched a Gaming Measurement Framework to standardize ad metrics across display, video, and audio formats in gaming. The initiative aims to help advertisers make informed decisions by offering clear, consistent measurement tools and language across agencies, publishers, and platforms.
With over 80% of U.S. internet users identifying as gamers, IAB sees gaming as a major digital ad channel. The framework is designed to build trust, improve campaign comparisons, and guide budget decisions by highlighting which gaming experiences deliver better outcomes.
The Real Housewives of Madison Ave
Connect with Us
Thanks for reading this weeks The Refresh by Marketecture. Marketecture Media wants to help bring you the latest news, opinions and community updates. If you are interested in advertising on this newsletter, our podcasts, The Advertising Forum or our slack community you can by contacting us here.