I’m already going back on last week’s promise of no predictions, and to make it worse, I’m playing the “Year of X” card.
It’s just too hard to resist the temptation.
The fact is that much of December was spent making moves to ensure we’re ready for an uncertain year ahead. In July, as a team, we committed to achieving a better work/life balance. Just because I proved I can be everywhere doesn’t mean I have to continue doing it. So we’ve spent a lot of time working on our own processes, investing in our people and our partners, and making plans.
I’m excited to tell you more as things unfold.
But the balance I spoke of is actually hard to imagine.
Balance requires a sense of equilibrium, not from stopping things in motion, but learning to move with them. Publishing is changing. Advertising is changing. Ad Operations is changing. People are changing. Not only is there no hope to put a halt to things, but there’s just too much in motion to know how to make moves.
But move you will and move you must. It’s going to be a year of contradictory and uncomfortable truths. Figure that your failures will outnumber your successes in the short term. However, if you stick around, you’ll see that the equation will flip.
Said another way, most of my vibe-coding attempts have failed, and most of the time it’s because I think I know what I want but quickly realize I’m approaching the real problem the wrong way. But the solution isn’t to wait until I’ve figured out all my requirements before trying.
Nope. The only way forward is to pack plenty of Dramamine and keep looking for that elusive balance.
We’re back for a New Year. Before we start rolling new editorials and exclusive interviews off the presses, here’s what you may have missed:
- Reinventing the revenue river: a conversation with Ziv Mishan (Kueez)
As the open web realigns around new discovery behaviors, content formats, and monetization layers, publishers are under pressure to rebuild their foundation without losing the audience relationships that make them unique. In our latest Q&A, Rob joins with Ziv Mishan, VP Revenue at Kueez, to unpack that challenge.
- What will an ad ops department look like in the future?
In November at Beeler.Tech’s Base.Camp in Lisbon, I had the opportunity to lead a session titled “What Will an Ad Ops Department Look Like in the Future?”—a question that produced equal parts curiosity, nervous laughter, and “is this recorded because I want to hear what everyone else says?” energy. Because the truth is: nothing in our industry is evolving slowly, and Ad Ops is squarely in the center of that shift.
Exclusive editorial from Lauren Farber, Revenue Enablement Lead, Wall Street Journal.
- Flying blind no more: Playwire’s Jayson Dubin on providing real transparency for publishers
For years, publishers have been asked to show how they make money, while chunks of the buy side stay in the dark. Auction data, fee breakdowns, and quality checks are important for supply, yet many SSPs and DSPs still will not share basic purchase-price information. When publishers lack this data, they’re left optimizing on gut feel instead of real numbers.
Here’s the latest news, and yes, it’s all true:
- Camp.Fire (January 21): Prioritizing the right topics and voices in 2026 It’s a new year, time to start planning! This Camp.Fire lets you shape our focus, so we build the discussions you actually need with the right people. Two main topics: How much should we talk about the world as it exists today vs. planning for the future? (Put another way: How much time do we spend on AI and things coming vs. what is on our plate today? What helps you the most?) Who are the most important people for us to talk to? (Specifically for Base.Camp and Navigator. Are agencies really relevant? Brands? SSPs? DSPs?) This is a community exclusive. If you’re a publisher interested in attending, please consult the publishers-only Slack or newsletter for registration details. If you are a partner interested in attending, look for a calendar invite with registration information later this week.
- AI Publisher Response Live (January 23, 12:00 pm ET, Virtual)A standing podcast, call, meeting - whatever you want to call it. Bottom line, we need to talk as a community about the AI Publisher Response. Sometimes this will be a guest, sometimes a community member, sometimes just Rob. But this conversation needs to be a priority. Join us every other Friday to discuss the big and small topics, not commiseration, but real discussion about AI and how it impacts the Publisher landscape and what publishers are doing, and planning to do, about it. You can register here.
- Aubrey Bergauer to keynote at Base.Camp San Antonio Aubrey Bergauer is coming to Base.Camp San Antonio with a keynote built for this room: how to grow audience and revenue when the business model is shifting under your feet. She’ll cut through “we’ve always done it this way,” map the real constraints leaders are facing, and share data-backed moves that have worked in high-pressure, legacy industries. Expect a fast, practical talk anchored in recognizable case studies—and a clear set of decisions you can take back to your team.
- The day 2 agenda for the Advertising Economic Forum is now live Advertising Economic Forum returns to NYC, March 18 & 19, 2026, and the agenda for day 2 is now live. Day 2 is a full-stack look at adtech economics: where capital is flowing, how attention is priced, what public markets are rewarding, and how M&A decisions get made. Expect sharp perspective from Rishad Tobaccowala, a return from Joe Marchese, and a CEO playbook conversation with Criteo’s Michael Komasinski, plus money-flow and working-capital sessions that connect the dots. We’ll close with the Charging Bull Award and a cocktail mixer designed for real conversations.
- Early bird now open: Digital Day Camp is back for 2 days this April Digital Day Camp returns to Toronto Spring 2026 as two distinct one-day events, each built for two different audiences, with two different outcomes. Day 1 (Digital Day Camp Leadership) brings senior decision-makers together to align on what needs to change next in Canadian digital media; Day 2 (DDC Next) turns that direction into practical, in-the-weeds problem-solving for the next generation of leaders.
Let’s talk about 2026, folks, because we’ve got a lot planned:
- Base.Camp San Antonio: March 1-4, 2026
- Navigator NYC: May 5, 2026
- AI Publisher Response: May 6, 2026
- Navigator London: June 9, 2026
- Base.Camp La Jolla: October 4-7, 2026
- Base.Camp Madrid: November 8-11, 2026
Now is the time to raise your hand if you’re interested in attending any of these events. The earlier you raise your hand, the more we can work with you (and your budget) to help you be in the rooms you need to be in.
A full list of all 2026 events we’re involved in, all in one nice little package:
- Base.Camp San Antonio - March 1-4, 2026
- Advertising Economic Forum NYC - March 18-19, 2026
- Digital Day Camp: Spring - April 15 & 16, 2026
- Navigator NYC - May 5, 2026
- AI Publisher Response Event - May 6, 2026
- Navigator London - June 9, 2026
- Base.Camp La Jolla - October 4-7, 2026
- Digital Day Camp: Fall - October 21 & 22, 2026
- Base.Camp Madrid - November 8-11, 2026
TD Foundation 20th Annual Holiday Cocktails Gala
📅 January 22, 6:00 pm ET
📍 New York Athletic Club
Celebrate our 2025 successes and discuss how the TD Foundation has been helping the children and families of wounded warriors and fallen heroes at the 20th Annual TD Foundation Holiday Cocktail Event!
Hélène Parker’s Reach and Frequency
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We are working with NewtonX and Ipsos to collect the opinions of people who work in Ad Ops, Rev Management, Executive Leadership, Product/Tech at media organizations. If you qualify to take the survey, you can shape the future of monetization technology for publishers and monetize your own expertise with a little extra cash ($55 USD) for the holidays. So copy and paste the link in your browser, take the survey, get your $55 gift card.
https://surveys.newtonxcommunity.com/referrals/e/a3c53500-3f41-4d96-9cb7-4ef22287c86a
Join the Community!
Thousands of professionals, of all ages, worldwide turn to Beeler.Tech as their meeting place for all things publisher revenue operations. Join the Beeler.Tech Community here! Your teams and colleagues are welcome, too.
Join the Women’s Space
Our Women’s Space continues to grow, and we’re developing a Code of Conduct for all Beeler.Tech events: something every attendee will agree to, and something we hope the wider industry adopts. The goal is simple: raise the bar on respect and professionalism for everyone.
We have a Slack channel and a WhatsApp group. The WhatsApp chat is more active, but you’re welcome in either (or both) if you want to be part of the conversation. Please reach out to Melissa if you would like to join one or both.
Job Board
Look for your next job on our job board. Also - sign up for our Jobs Newsletter (delivered every Thursday). Subscribe here.
The Job Seekers program is retiring
We have had our Job Seekers program for years, but this last year, it just hasn’t had the traction it did before. We aren’t hearing from employers that are looking for people. My guess is that employers have enough incoming, they don’t need to do as much searching. We don’t want our job seeking friends to waste their time, so we feel that it is best to retire for now.
All that said, we are here for you. If we can do anything to help, let me know. And do let us know if you are looking (employed or not), folks approach us about roles/projects from time to time, so good for us to know your status.
Team.Beeler Out