The Open Web Hits a Breaking Point: SSP Transparency Battles, Google’s Data API, and Omnicom’s Cost Cuts

An agentic OS for Publisher monetization. Our mission: win back lost traffic & revenue for Publishers by leveraging LLMs the same way the social media walled gardens & AI search LLMs do today; recommending relevant content based on who they are & what content they’re consuming: eCommerce, next article, polls, vertical video — your content optimized in our feed. Fight AI with AI & reclaim your lost traffic & revenue. Meet: Mula.

Programmatic complexity and hidden fees are pushing agencies to demand stronger transparency from SSPs. At Digiday’s Programmatic Marketing Summit, buyers cited large gaps between bid prices and publisher payouts, often without clear explanations.

This has led agencies like Mindgruve to cut SSP partners, require log-level data, and enforce more structured contracts to regain visibility into fees and supply paths. Marketers are reaching similar conclusions as opacity intensifies across CTV, retail media, and AI-driven systems, where delivery data and pricing signals remain limited. With publishers strained by declining referral traffic and budgets moving into walled gardens, agencies argue that the open web must fix transparency now or risk further loss of trust and relevance.

Read Digiday

Google introduced the Data Manager API to help marketers create stronger links between their first-party data and Google’s ad platforms. The company reports that marketers who have fully integrated AI tools are seeing 60% higher revenue growth, and the new API is designed to make those integrations easier to operationalize. Instead of working across separate APIs, advertisers can use a single, secure connection to upload audience lists and send offline conversion data to improve measurement and bidding.

The release expands on Google’s existing codeless Data Manager tool, which is already used by tens of thousands of advertisers. Google also announced partnerships with Adswerve, CustomerLabs, Datahash, Hightouch, Tealium, Zapier, and others to support adoption. The API is available now for Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Display & Video 360.

Read Google Blog

An agentic OS for Publisher monetization. Our mission: win back lost traffic & revenue for Publishers by leveraging LLMs the same way the social media walled gardens & AI search LLMs do today; recommending relevant content based on who they are & what content they’re consuming: eCommerce, next article, polls, vertical video — your content optimized in our feed. Fight AI with AI & reclaim your lost traffic & revenue. Meet: Mula.

Days after Omnicom finalized its $13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group, U.S. employees returned from the holiday break to sweeping cuts: thousands of layoffs, dissolved agencies, and a sharply reduced benefits package. Former IPG staffers say the new structure eliminates predictable 401(k) matching, slashes PTO, removes wellness and holiday closures, and cuts parental leave from six months to 10 weeks. Healthcare costs rise under a narrower Aetna lineup, and a strict return-to-office mandate ties compliance to raises and severance eligibility. Severance itself is significantly reduced, which many employees interpret as pressure to leave voluntarily.

Younger talent, already worn down by constant industry layoffs, is especially discouraged, and conversations about organizing are resurfacing. Many expect further cuts as Omnicom reshapes the combined company.

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Between 2015 and 2018, telcos poured billions into ad tech, hoping their subscriber data could fuel an alternative to the walled gardens. Verizon built Oath, AT&T launched Xandr, and carriers from Singtel to Telenor assembled sprawling stacks. Most efforts collapsed under weak synergies, privacy concerns, and poor performance, leading to years of divestments.

Now a quieter reboot is emerging. Platforms like UK-based Novatiq generate privacy-safe IDs inside carrier firewalls, producing strong early results in Middle Eastern markets where operators are more open to data monetization. Campaigns have shown major lifts in performance and efficiency, pushing some carriers to revisit the opportunity. But I personally think all telcos end the same way when it comes to ad tech, and I’ll just leave it at that.

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