Quo Vadis: AdTech Economic Forum Podcast Episode #15 with Alysa Hutnik

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 Legal Landscape ⚖️: Ad tech is seeing a shift from best practices to strict regulations, especially concerning data privacy. Companies must adapt to these evolving laws to avoid investigations and penalties.  
• Privacy as a Key M&A Consideration 💰: Investors are increasingly scrutinizing the privacy practices of ad tech companies during mergers and acquisitions to accurately assess the value of data assets.  
• The Peril of "Vintage" Ad Tech ⏳: Companies relying on outdated ad tech are at risk of declining valuations as the industry evolves, emphasizing the need to reinvest or exit strategically.  
• Consent Misconceptions ⚠️: Many companies overestimate their compliance with data consent requirements, highlighting the importance of truly understanding and adhering to privacy laws.  
• Importance of Privacy-Focused Identity Matching 🔐: Companies need to match marketing IDs with privacy IDs to effectively manage and respect user privacy, which is becoming a critical legal obligation.  
• Walled Gardens and Privacy 🏢: Walled gardens offer some privacy advantages by protecting deterministic identifiers, but they still face challenges in ensuring consistent privacy experiences across different devices.  
• Balancing Business and Consumer Interests ⚖️🤝: Companies, especially large ones, struggle to balance their business needs with consumer privacy expectations, requiring them to clearly articulate the value exchange with consumers.  
• The Shift from Privacy Washing to Real Compliance 🧼➡️✅: The trend is moving away from superficial privacy measures towards genuine compliance, driven by increased regulatory scrutiny and the growing financial risks of non-compliance.