At the Scope3 event, Brian O’Kelly said that April 1, 2025, will mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of the first exchange and the beginning of programmatic advertising.
Twenty years ago. April Fools’ Day. Sounds about right
No, I’m not going all-in on being negative about programmatic advertising. It’s just a funny coincidence that twenty years in, we are still talking about how brands don’t know what they are buying and publishers feel like they’ve been pranked. Maybe funny isn’t the right word; how about appropriate?
Twenty-year reunions are typically when you get a feel for who was truly successful after high school. I posted a question on LinkedIn this morning: What does the class of 2005 look like today?
Let’s give that a few days, then answer the question: Who will be around for the 25th anniversary of programmatic advertising?
Think long and hard about that question and why you do what you do. It should be clear from the topics we discuss at our events and in our community that we want premium publishers to show up strong and proud in five years. Are you in to help make that happen?
Check out the latest content published on Beeler.Tech:
Efficiency Unleashed: Optimizing Your Order Management System
Digital Day Camp Is Back April 9 (and It Will Sell Out)
Digital Day Camp is where senior leaders in Canadian digital media come together to talk openly about what’s broken, what’s shifting, and what needs to change. But you already knew that. So let’s talk about what’s new.
This year’s agenda is stacked. Here are just a few of the sessions I’m excited about:
Keynote: The Essential De-Commodification of Digital Advertising
Andrew Casale (Index Exchange) and yours truly
For years, the sell side has been stuck in a passive role, with innovation and value creation driven almost entirely by the buy side. If we want a sustainable, ad-supported internet, that has to change. This conversation between Andrew and myself will explore what it’ll take to rebalance the programmatic supply chain and bring true efficiency back to digital advertising.
#EmpowerHer: Elevating Women in LeadershipShannon Lewis (CMDC), Susan Irving (Kruger Products Inc)
A fireside conversation on leadership, resilience, and the power of women lifting each other up in the media industry. Part of CMDC’s #EmpowerHer series, this session is more than a discussion. It’s a call to action.
Data Collaboration Driving Results
Vlad Stesin (Optable), Christy Macleod (Kinesso Canada), Lee Beech (Nestlé)
We’re all sitting on mountains of first-party data. But are we actually collaborating to make it work? This session dives into trust, machine learning, and what it takes to get results.
I Can’t Hear You: The Lack of Signal in the Supply Chain
Michael Jones (Bloomberg Media), Jeremy Simpson (Omnicom Media Group), Sonia Carreno (IAB Canada)
We’ve built an industry on data, but when it’s time to make a decision, the signal often disappears. Let’s talk about how we fix that.
Evolving the Buyer-Seller Relationship in the Age of AI
Laura Boodram (FatTail), Jodi Peacock (EssenceMediacom), Alan Dark (Rogers Sports & Media)
AI is changing everything, from how media is sold to how creative gets made. This session is about keeping relationships strong even as automation scales.
We expect to sell out, so don’t wait.
Navigator NYC is almost here. Let’s talk about what’s new.
We’ve added new sessions to our growing agenda (with more to come). We’ve added structure. And we’ve confirmed two keynote speakers we’re genuinely excited to welcome to the room:
- Sheena Iyengar, author of Think Bigger: How to Innovate
- Sharon Mussalli, CEO of NowThis
We’re not rehashing headlines. We’re digging into the decisions that teams are stuck making—what to adopt, what to push back on, and how to stay valuable in a market that keeps shifting.
Here’s just some of what we’re digging into on May 6:
- Why compliance strategy is about more than checking boxes
- How sales and ops friction is still breaking deals (and how to fix it)
- Where publishers still hold leverage in a buy-side world
- What attention metrics actually mean now
- What to adopt, what to skip, and when to walk away
Plus: CTV growing pains, the revenue case for diverse teams, a little game theory (because of course), and much more.
Navigator is built for the people (our people) … the ad ops leaders, product owners, strategists, and the rising talent learning how to lead. If you’re the one building the data strategy, solving for privacy, untangling cross-functional messes, or making sure nothing breaks before the next big launch, this is your room.
It’s one day. Built for momentum. Bring your people. It’s time to get to work.
Don’t have an invite? Request one.
Then Navigator comes to London on June 10.
Same mission. Different POV.
We’re building Navigator London with the same goal: Get the right people in the room. Talk about what’s hard. Figure out what’s next.
But the reality is, what’s “next” looks different depending on where you’re sitting. The European market brings a different mix of pressures, priorities, and players, and that demands a different conversation. Whether it’s adapting to evolving platform dynamics or operating in a more tightly regulated environment, the path forward looks different in Europe, and it deserves its own stage.
We’re cooking up an incredible agenda (with much to announce soon), but here’s a preview of a few of the topics that will drive our conversations:
- How teams are navigating new performance expectations and shifting partner dynamics
- What accountability looks like in a fragmented vendor landscape
- The strategies helping teams do more with fewer resources
- How emerging tech (yes, including AI) is impacting real workflows
- What needs to change and where we’re already seeing progress
And we’re doing it at Glaziers Hall, a historic venue on London’s South Bank with vaulted ceilings, river views, and actual breathing room to have real conversations. We’ll be announcing more soon.
Until then: If this sounds like where you should beyou’re in the UK or EU and this sounds like your kind of room, we want to hear from you.
A full list of our 2025 events all in one nice little package:
- Digital Day Camp Toronto - April 9 - happening soon, don’t wait
- Navigator NYC - May 6
- Beeler•BASH! - June 4
- Navigator London - June 10
- Base•Camp: Savannah, GA - October 5-8
- Base•Camp: Lisbon, Portugal - November 2-5
More things to keep your eyes out for:
- Read our take on the top updates/news items from around the industry.
- Beeler.Tech’s Take on Industry Events: March & April
- Look for your next job on our job board. Also - sign up for our Jobs Newsletter (delivered every Thursday). Subscribe here.
- Fill your open positions by helping us help you: Submit a job and check out a job seeker like Job Seeker 16, just search “Job Seeker 16” to be taken directly to their description.
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