Quo Vadis: AdTech Economic Forum Podcast Episode #16 with Marc Guldimann

Welcome to the Quo Vadis podcast series dedicated to one-to-one interviews with the speakers who took the stage at the AdTech Economic Forum.

In this pod series, we get to know what our esteemed speakers are up to touching on their career journeys and hearing their unique perspectives across the many facets shaping the AdTech scene.

Takeaways:

• Evolving Role of Ad Tech Companies 📈: Ad tech companies are expanding their services beyond just ad monetization to include traffic generation and helping publishers with strategies like email newsletters and partnerships (e.g., Pinterest).
• The Interplay of Traffic, CPM, and Revenue 💰: Traffic remains a vital factor in revenue generation for publishers, as revenue is directly linked to traffic and CPM.
• The Nuances of Ad Tech and Programmatic Advertising 🎯: The ad tech industry often equates to programmatic advertising, which in turn is closely tied to audience targeting, identity, and data. 
• Increased Scrutiny of Privacy in Ad Tech Investments 🔐: Investors are increasingly prioritizing a deeper understanding of privacy implications and their long-term impact on business models and valuations in ad tech.
• The Shelf Life of Data and Ad Tech Businesses ⏳: Data has a shelf life, and ad tech companies, especially those reliant on specific data flows, must adapt to changes in data availability and privacy regulations to maintain their value.
• The Challenge of Balancing Brand Safety and Cultural Relevance 🎭: Publishers are often incentivized to prioritize brand safety over creating content that resonates with culture. 
• The Impact of Metrics on Content Quality 📊: Current metrics often incentivize publishers to focus on factors like viewability and video completion rates, which can compromise user experience and the quality of content.