AdTech Collective by Seedtag
News, trends, and insights in Digital Advertising
Most brands still treat a cultural moment like a single event. A topic trends, a campaign gets built around the headline, and by the time it launches, the conversation has already moved on.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding is a perfect example, not because of the ceremony itself, but because of everything that happened around it. Long before any official details were confirmed, the internet had already transformed it into dozens of interconnected conversations spanning fashion, sports, celebrity media, luxury, and fandom.
That gap between how brands plan and how culture actually moves is one of the most overlooked trends in advertising today.
To better understand it, Seedtag’s LAB Insights team mapped the online conversation using Liz, our proprietary Neuro-Contextual AI. What emerged went far beyond one couple or one weekend. It revealed how cultural moments evolve across connected interests, emotions, and intent, and why real-time marketing built around a single keyword rarely captures the full opportunity.
The timing couldn't be more relevant. As brands continue to invest in video ads, generative AI, and short-form content, the race to respond to cultural moments is only accelerating. But speed alone doesn't solve the core challenge. Most campaigns built around viral moments still capture only a fraction of the conversation because they're not designed to follow where attention actually goes.
Key Takeaways
- Cultural moments rarely unfold as a single story. They spread across interconnected clusters of interest, emotion, and intent.
- Speculation often generates more sustained engagement than the confirmed event itself, making anticipation a marketing opportunity in its own right.
- Audiences move fluidly between fashion, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle, while many marketing strategies still treat these as separate categories.
- Brand mentions and fashion signals emerge early, creating valuable windows for brand recognition long before mainstream coverage catches up.
- Understanding conversations at the cluster level, rather than the headline level, turns viral moments into smarter, data-driven marketing strategies.
What Hidden Advertising Trends Do Brands Miss When a Cultural Moment Goes Viral?
Most marketing teams still approach cultural moments as a single spike in attention. A story breaks, interest rises, then fades, and campaigns are built to capture that one wave.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding shows why that model leaves value on the table.
Using Liz, we identified more than 2,160 topic nodes grouped into seven distinct contextual clusters. This wasn't one conversation. It was seven overlapping narratives, each with its own audience, emotional tone, and commercial relevance.
Two of those clusters, Swiftie Speculations and Entertainment Press, each represented roughly 30% of the entire graph. Long before the ceremony took place, conversations around celebrity NDAs, venue rumors, family connections, and media speculation were already driving enormous engagement.
The biggest marketing opportunity isn't the cultural moment itself. It's everything happening before, around, and beyond it.
The build-up consistently attracts more sustained attention than the event itself, and it expands across categories that have little to do with the obvious topic. A wedding quickly becomes a conversation about fashion, sports, music, luxury, celebrity media, and fandom, each creating its own emotional context and commercial opportunity.
Why Do Traditional Marketers Fail to Catch Emerging Advertising Trends Related to Internet Subcultures?
One of today's fastest-moving advertising trends is the growing influence of internet subcultures on mainstream conversations. Yet traditional marketing strategy still plans around categories like sports, entertainment, and fashion as if audiences move between them in predictable ways.
They don't. Internet communities connect topics organically, creating conversations that cross industries, audiences, and platforms.
Swifties are a perfect example.
Throughout the weeks leading up to the wedding, fans treated every rumor, clue, and unconfirmed detail as meaningful. Liz's contextual graph surfaced clusters filled with themes like superfans, theories, itineraries, and speculation, sitting alongside entertainment journalism and celebrity news coverage.
The conversation wasn't driven by confirmed information. It was driven by curiosity.
Brands focused exclusively on official news coverage would have missed where engagement was actually happening.
A second cluster told a parallel story.
Taylor Swift's music career and Travis Kelce's NFL season evolved side by side, connecting music, sports, celebrity culture, and personal relationships into a single narrative. Rather than one audience absorbing the other, two powerful communities expanded the conversation together.
For marketers, that's the real lesson. Consumer behavior doesn't follow category boundaries. It follows relevance.
Understanding those connections requires data-driven marketing strategies capable of following conversations as they evolve, rather than waiting for headlines to define them.
One Moment, Many Conversations
This is where many marketing strategies fall short.
Marketers often build campaigns around the trending keyword, assuming audiences experience culture through a single topic.
They don't.
People move naturally between interests, emotions, and intent, following whichever thread feels most relevant in the moment.
Fashion became one of the earliest signals in this example.
Before most official details emerged, guest photos, designer speculation, and luxury brand mentions had already formed one of the densest contextual clusters within Liz's graph.
Dior quickly became associated with the wedding dress, while Artifex attracted attention for the engagement ring. Rather than supporting the main story, these brands became part of it, generating their own conversations driven by admiration, aspiration, and curiosity.
This is real-time marketing at its best.
Fashion isn't simply an extension of a cultural moment. It's often one of the first places where brand recognition accelerates because audiences are already emotionally invested.
Secrecy became another conversation entirely.
Once speculation focused on Madison Square Garden, discussions around guest lists, venue security, the 34th Street shutdown, and celebrity NDAs exploded across media and social platforms.
Much of the engagement wasn't fueled by confirmed information. It was fueled by anticipation.
That anticipation spread especially well through short-form video, where audiences actively searched for updates, theories, and behind-the-scenes clues rather than polished explanations.
More importantly, it demonstrates a broader advertising trend.
People don't wait for the headline. They engage with everything leading up to it.
Why Marketers Miss These Connected Conversations
Traditional media planning still tends to organize campaigns by category. Sports content is bought as sports. Entertainment is bought as entertainment. Fashion is treated as its own world.
But audiences don't experience culture that way.
They move seamlessly between conversations, following the stories, emotions, and communities that matter most to them.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding showed exactly that.
Swifties didn't simply overlap with NFL fans. Together, they created an entirely new conversation that neither audience could have generated alone. Music, sports, celebrity culture, and lifestyle became part of the same cultural moment, creating fresh opportunities for brands that understood how those interests connected.
The emotional signals driving that conversation were equally revealing.
Admiration, anticipation, excitement, and joy weren't attached to one topic. They flowed naturally across multiple contextual clusters as audiences followed every new development.
That's why campaigns built around a single category often miss the moment when engagement is at its highest.
Audience intent doesn't follow media plans. It follows connected conversations.
And understanding those conversations is becoming one of the defining advertising trends shaping modern marketing strategy.
The Marketing Lesson: Understanding Before Reacting
Reacting quickly to a cultural moment is no longer enough.
The real advantage comes from understanding how that moment evolves before, during, and after it captures mainstream attention.
This is where Neuro-Contextual Intelligence changes the equation.
Rather than relying on personal data or assumptions about who audiences are, our Neuro-Contextual AI, Liz, interprets signals of interest, emotion, and intent directly from the content people are engaging with across the open web.
Applied to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding, Liz identified more than 2,160 topic nodes connected across seven contextual clusters, revealing not just where attention existed, but how it moved between fashion, sports, entertainment, luxury, fandom, and celebrity media.
Instead of reducing the event to a single headline or keyword, the graph exposed an ecosystem of interconnected conversations.
That's the principle behind Neuro-Contextual Advertising.
Rather than treating a cultural moment as a single media opportunity, it enables brands to understand the wider context surrounding it, helping them align with the emotions, interests, and intent driving engagement in real time.
Because understanding audiences means understanding how conversations evolve, not simply what they're talking about at any given moment.
What This Means for Marketing Strategy
The pace of digital culture continues to accelerate.
Marketers are investing more in generative AI, content creation, short-form video, and social media campaigns to respond faster to emerging trends. Those investments matter.
But speed alone isn't enough.
The brands that create meaningful connections won't necessarily be the ones publishing first.
They'll be the ones who understand where attention is moving before everyone else does.
That requires looking beyond headlines and trending keywords to see the broader patterns shaping consumer behavior.
Cultural moments don't belong to a single audience, a single platform, or a single category.
They're built from dozens of interconnected conversations unfolding simultaneously across the open web.
Understanding those connections is quickly becoming one of the most important competitive advantages in modern marketing.
The Advertising Trend That Actually Matters
The next defining cultural moment won't belong to the brands that react the fastest. It'll belong to the brands that understand how conversations spread.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding is simply one example.
Tomorrow's defining moment could be the Super Bowl, the Oscars, a World Cup final, or an unexpected viral trend. The event will change, but the pattern won't.
Cultural moments don't unfold through a single conversation. They spread across interconnected interests, emotions, and behaviors.
For marketers, that's the advertising trend that matters most. The brands that learn to understand those connections won't just keep up with culture. They'll be ready to move with it.
For years, the advertising industry has debated the merits of the open web vs. walled gardens.
The conversation usually centers on scale, targeting, reach, and performance. Which environment offers better audiences? Which delivers stronger results? Which deserves a greater share of media investment?
Those questions still matter. But they are no longer the only ones.
As signal loss and fragmentation continue to reshape advertising, and AI plays a larger role in planning and activation, a more important question is emerging:
Where can advertisers operate with genuine transparency?
The industry has spent years optimizing around demographics, identifiers, and behavioral signals. But those approaches were built for a different era. As privacy regulations reshape how user data can be collected and activated, many of the assumptions that defined digital advertising are being challenged.
More importantly, people have never been as simple as the systems built to reach them.
A 35-year-old woman, married, in a dual-income household with two children under ten, is not an audience. She might be researching sustainable travel after work. Comparing mortgage options. Reading about marathon training. Planning a family vacation.
The demographic label remains the same. The context, motivations, emotions, and intent behind each moment do not.
This is why the future of advertising is not simply about finding new ways to identify people. It is about developing a better understanding of the moments that shape attention and decision-making.
And it is why the conversation around open web vs walled gardens is evolving into something larger. Not a debate about channels. A conversation about transparency, understanding, and how advertising creates relevance in a privacy-first world.
Key Takeaways
- The debate around open web vs walled gardens is evolving from audience access to transparency and accountability.
- Traditional targeting methods built around demographics and identifiers are becoming less effective in a privacy-first advertising landscape.
- Advertisers need greater visibility into how campaigns are planned, activated, and measured across media environments.
- The open web provides transparency, independent measurement, and contextual intelligence that help brands understand audiences beyond demographic profiles.
- Unified Ad Platforms and End-to-End Platforms simplify activation but also raise important questions around visibility and verification.
- The future of advertising will depend on balancing scale, transparency, and a deeper understanding of human attention.
Open Web vs Walled Gardens: Why the Debate Still Matters
Both walled gardens and the open web play an important role in modern digital advertising.
Walled gardens, including platforms operated by major tech giants, provide access to large logged-in audiences, rich first-party user data, and highly integrated advertising products. Their scale and simplicity have made them a cornerstone of many media strategies.
The open web offers a different advantage.
It provides access to a diverse ecosystem of premium publishers, content environments, and independent technology partners. Rather than operating inside a single closed platform, advertisers can activate campaigns across a broad range of trusted environments where consumers actively engage with content.
This distinction matters because the way people consume media continues to evolve.
Consumers spend their time across multiple channels, devices, and content experiences. They move seamlessly between social platforms, streaming services, publisher websites, mobile apps, and connected TV.
The question is no longer whether advertisers should choose the open web or walled gardens. The real question is how each environment contributes to a broader media strategy.
Why Transparency Matters More Than Ever
As the industry evolves, transparency is emerging as one of the most important considerations for advertisers.
For years, digital advertising benefited from an abundance of user-level signals. Audience targeting became increasingly sophisticated, allowing brands to reach consumers based on demographics, interests, and online behaviors.
Today, that landscape is changing.
Privacy regulations continue to reshape data collection practices. Browser restrictions limit access to traditional identifiers. Consumers expect greater control over how their information is used.
At the same time, AI-powered systems are increasingly responsible for planning, activation, optimization, and measurement decisions.
This creates a new challenge.
There is still an enormous amount of data available. But there is often less visibility into how that data is interpreted and transformed into campaign decisions.
As automation increases, advertisers need confidence not only in outcomes but in the processes that generate those outcomes.
Transparency is no longer simply a reporting feature. It is becoming a strategic advantage.
Demographics Oversimplify People
The shift toward privacy-first advertising is also changing how marketers think about audiences.
For decades, advertising strategies have relied heavily on demographic segmentation:
- Age
- Gender
- Income
- Location
These signals can be useful, but they provide only a partial view of human behavior.
Two people with identical demographic profiles may have completely different motivations depending on the content they are consuming and the context surrounding that moment.
A parent reading about summer travel plans is in a different moment than that same person consuming breaking news. A sports fan researching match statistics has different intentions than when browsing home improvement content.
Demographics describe people. They do not explain moments. This is where Neuro-Contextual intelligence is becoming increasingly valuable.
Rather than focusing exclusively on who someone is, our Neuro-Contextual AI can help advertisers understand what matters to people in a specific moment by analyzing signals related to content, interest, emotion, and intent.
Because relevance is not only about identity. It is also about context.
Why Premium Advertisers Are Re-Evaluating Ad Spend
The shift in ad spend toward the open web is not driven by a single trend. It reflects a broader change in how brands evaluate media investments.
Advertisers increasingly want greater transparency into campaign performance, inventory quality, and measurement methodologies. They want to understand where ads appear, how decisions are made, and whether results can be independently validated.
The open web provides access to premium publisher environments where consumers actively engage with trusted content.
It also allows advertisers to work with a wider range of measurement and verification partners, creating additional visibility throughout the campaign lifecycle.
This does not mean brands are abandoning walled gardens. Far from it.
Many advertisers continue to rely on closed platforms for scale, activation, and performance marketing objectives.
However, they are increasingly seeking a balance between the efficiency of walled gardens and the transparency offered by the open web.
What Are Unified Ad Platforms and End-to-End Platforms?
Alongside traditional walled gardens, another trend is reshaping digital advertising: the rise of Unified Ad Platforms (UAPs) and End-to-End Platforms.
These solutions bring multiple functions, including planning, activation, data management, optimization, and measurement, into a single platform.
The appeal is clear. One workflow. One technology stack. One operational environment.
For many advertisers, these platforms simplify campaign execution and reduce complexity.
However, they also introduce an important consideration.
When planning, activation, optimization, and reporting all occur within the same ecosystem, advertisers may have fewer opportunities to independently verify how decisions are being made.
This does not make End-to-End Platforms inherently problematic. They solve real operational challenges.
But as automation and AI become more influential, advertisers must consider how much visibility they retain into the systems guiding campaign performance.
The question is not whether these platforms create value. The question is how transparency and accountability evolve within increasingly automated environments.
Understanding the Moment, Not Just the User
This is where the conversation ultimately moves beyond open web vs walled gardens.
The future of advertising is not simply about finding audiences. It is about understanding people. Not as demographic categories. Not as identifiers. Not as data points. But as individuals navigate thousands of moments throughout their day.
Modern contextual AI can help advertisers understand those moments by analyzing the content people engage with and identifying signals related to interest, emotion, and intent.
This creates a privacy-first approach to advertising that does not depend on personal identifiers to deliver relevance.
This philosophy powers our Neuro-Contextual intelligence.
Through Liz, our proprietary Neuro-contextual AI, we analyze content across premium publisher environments to understand the context surrounding every advertising opportunity.
Because meaningful advertising starts with understanding. Not just who people are. But what matters to them in the moment.
Looking Ahead
The future of advertising is unlikely to be defined by a single environment.
Walled gardens will continue to play an important role, particularly where first-party relationships and logged-in audiences create value. The open web will continue to provide transparency, flexibility, and access to premium content environments where attention naturally happens.
The more important question is not where advertisers spend every dollar.
It is whether they have enough visibility to understand why those investments work.
As media planning becomes increasingly influenced by AI, fragmented signals, and privacy-first frameworks, transparency is becoming more than a reporting feature.
It is becoming a competitive advantage.
The brands that succeed will not simply optimize for reach. They will optimize for understanding. Understanding the content. Understanding the context. And understanding the moments that shape how people think, feel, and act.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will generate an unprecedented volume of attention across digital media. For automotive brands, that scale creates enormous opportunity but also a significant challenge: standing out in an environment where every advertiser competes for the same audience.
The difference between visibility and impact comes down to understanding intent. Not every football fan is equally receptive to a brand message, and not every page view signals genuine engagement.
During major sporting events, audiences move between match coverage, transfer rumors, national team narratives, player stories, entertainment content, and countless adjacent interests. Within those moments lie valuable signals that can help brands identify when consumers are most open to engagement.
The question is no longer how to reach World Cup audiences. It is about identifying the moments when attention becomes meaningful engagement.
Below, we explore the audience insights shaping fan behavior during the tournament and how automotive brands can use Neuro-Contextual advertising to transform World Cup attention into meaningful consideration.
Key Takeaways
- The difference between a browser and an engaged consumer often lies in intent signals, not audience segments.
- World Cup audiences engage with far more than football, creating valuable opportunities across adjacent interests and passion points.
- Emotions such as excitement, curiosity, admiration, and optimism play a key role in how fans engage with content throughout the tournament.
- Neuro-Contextual advertising goes beyond keywords and categories to align messaging with interests, emotions, and intent.
- Dynamic creative optimization allows automotive campaigns to adapt in real time around tournament moments, audience context, and sentiment.
The Gap Between Looking and Engaging
Scale is not the challenge. During a World Cup, automotive brands can reach millions of consumers across the open web, connected TV, and streaming environments.
The challenge is identifying the difference between someone casually consuming content and someone demonstrating signals of genuine engagement.
Traditional targeting approaches often rely on keywords, categories, or broad audience segments. A page mentions "SUVs" or "electric vehicles," and an ad is served. While these signals can provide relevance, they do not always reveal what matters most: what the consumer is thinking, feeling, or looking for in that moment.
A reader exploring vehicle reviews out of curiosity may require a very different message from someone actively comparing models ahead of a purchase. Understanding that distinction helps brands move beyond simple reach and toward meaningful engagement.
Where Fan Attention Really Goes
One of the biggest misconceptions about the World Cup is that fans spend the tournament focused exclusively on football.
In reality, audience attention extends across a much broader ecosystem of content.
Audience interest also evolves throughout the tournament. Our insights show that engagement increases significantly during key moments such as the group stage, quarter-finals, and high-tension knockout rounds. Importantly, some of the largest spikes are driven not only by match results but also by player narratives, rivalries, and stories surrounding the competition.
Football-related interests such as domestic leagues, transfer rumors, national team stories, and club rivalries remain major drivers of engagement. But fans also spend time consuming content connected to celebrity culture, motorsports, entertainment, lifestyle topics, and national identity narratives.
These adjacent interests are not distractions from football fandom. They are part of how fans experience the tournament.
For automotive marketers, this creates additional opportunities to connect with audiences in contexts that may be less crowded than traditional sports environments while still maintaining strong relevance to fan interests.
Understanding these passion points allows brands to expand beyond match-day targeting and build a more comprehensive view of where their audiences spend time and attention.
The Emotional Signals Behind Engagement
The World Cup is not only a media event. It is an emotional one.
Across markets, football content generates a range of emotional responses, including excitement, curiosity, admiration, optimism, and even sadness. These emotions shift throughout the tournament as audiences react to victories, defeats, player performances, speculation, and national narratives.
While excitement consistently emerges as one of the strongest drivers of engagement, emotional responses vary across markets. Some audiences gravitate toward stories of national pride and sporting heroes, while others engage more deeply with tournament speculation, player narratives, or broader cultural conversations surrounding the event. Understanding these nuances can help brands deliver more relevant messaging throughout the competition.
For automotive brands, these signals offer valuable context. The emotions that shape engagement during the tournament can also influence how consumers respond to brand messaging, particularly in categories where consideration and aspiration play an important role.
Many vehicle purchase journeys are influenced by emotional factors alongside practical considerations. Curiosity about new technology, optimism about future ownership, excitement around a new model, and aspiration tied to lifestyle choices all play a role in consideration.
When brands understand the emotional context surrounding content consumption, they can align messaging more effectively with the consumer's interests, emotions, and intent in that moment.
How the Neuro-Contextual Approach Changes Automotive Marketing
Industry-standard targeting often relies on predefined content taxonomies and broad category classifications. Neuro-contextual approaches take a different path by analyzing content more deeply to understand interests, emotions, and intent signals in real time.
The difference between targeting a broad automotive category and identifying audiences such as Family Upgraders, First-Time Car Buyers, Urban Drivers, or Off-Road Adventure Enthusiasts is significant.
Rather than focusing solely on what content someone is consuming, Neuro-Contextual intelligence helps brands understand why that content matters to them.
For automotive marketers, this means identifying environments where signals of curiosity, optimism, excitement, and consideration are already present and aligning messaging accordingly.
The goal is not simply to be present. It is to be relevant.
Dynamic Creative That Moves With the Tournament
The World Cup unfolds in phases, and audience behavior evolves with it.
Interest levels rise during key matches, emotional intensity increases during knockout rounds, and fan conversations shift as new narratives emerge.
The content driving engagement during the group stage may be very different from the stories capturing attention during the quarter-finals or final, making flexibility a critical advantage for advertisers.
Creative should evolve alongside those changes.
Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) allows campaigns to adapt messaging based on factors such as tournament stage, location, time of day, weather conditions, and emotional sentiment.
A message delivered during a high-tension quarter-final may require a different creative approach than one served during the group stage. Likewise, audiences engaging with family-focused content may respond differently than audiences consuming performance or technology-related content.
By aligning creative with context, brands can create more relevant experiences throughout the tournament.
Measuring What Actually Matters
Clicks and viewability remain useful metrics, but they do not tell the full story.
For automotive brands operating within long and consideration-heavy purchase journeys, understanding campaign impact requires a broader measurement framework.
Attention metrics help reveal whether advertising was genuinely processed by consumers. Brand lift studies can demonstrate shifts in awareness, perception, and consideration. Incremental reach helps determine whether campaigns are connecting with new audiences rather than repeatedly reaching the same users.
Together, these measurements provide a clearer view of how campaigns influence consumer behavior throughout the World Cup journey.
From Research to the Road
The FIFA World Cup 2026 presents a unique convergence of attention, emotion, and engagement.
Success will not belong solely to the brands with the largest budgets or the widest reach. It will belong to those who understand where fan attention is going, what emotions are driving engagement, and how to identify moments of genuine intent.
Traditional research helps identify the audience. Neuro-contextual intelligence helps identify the moment.
And during the world's biggest sporting event, that difference can determine whether a campaign is simply seen or truly remembered.
To learn more about the audience insights, emotional signals, and activation opportunities shaping FIFA World Cup 2026 campaigns, download the full Automotive Insights report.
Every year, the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity offers a glimpse into where advertising is heading next. But in 2025, the conversations across the Croisette felt especially revealing.
At the heart of Cannes Lions 2025 was a growing realization that the future of advertising will depend less on identifying audiences and more on understanding people. Across beachfront stages, private dinners, podcast studios, and conversations inside the Palais des Festivals, the industry repeatedly returned to the same challenge: how can brands create more relevant experiences in an increasingly fragmented, AI-driven media landscape?
For Seedtag, Cannes 2025 became an important moment to help shape that conversation.
Throughout the week, Seedtag explored how Neuro-Contextual Advertising is redefining the relationship between media, creativity, and human understanding. From discussions around AI and emotional relevance to debates about journalism, contextual intelligence, and audience mindset, the company’s presence reflected a broader industry shift already reshaping modern advertising.
And now, as the industry prepares for another year in Cannes, France, those conversations are evolving even further.
Key Takeaways
- The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity highlighted the industry’s move from audience profiling toward deeper human understanding.
- Cannes Lions 2025 conversations focused heavily on AI, contextual relevance, emotional engagement, and privacy-first advertising.
- Seedtag’s Neuro-Contextual approach emerged as part of a broader industry shift toward understanding interest, emotion, and intent.
- Creativity, media, and data became increasingly interconnected across the Cannes Lions International Festival.
- New discussions heading into Cannes 2026 are expanding beyond targeting and toward adaptive, human-aware advertising experiences.
What Cannes Lions 2025 Revealed About Advertising
The International Festival of Creativity has always reflected the priorities of the advertising industry. In 2025, those priorities shifted noticeably.
Artificial intelligence dominated discussions across nearly every stage and meeting space. But while AI remained central, the industry conversation matured significantly compared to previous years. The focus was no longer simply on automation or content generation. Instead, marketers increasingly questioned how technology can help advertising become more meaningful, more adaptive, and more emotionally aligned with people.
That tension defined much of Cannes Lions 2025.
Consumers today move fluidly between streaming platforms, creator ecosystems, social content, sports, commerce, and live cultural moments. Attention is fragmented, audience behavior changes constantly, and traditional identity-based targeting models are becoming less effective in a privacy-first world.
As a result, the industry is beginning to rethink what relevance actually means.
For us at Seedtag, that conversation connected directly to Neuro-Contextual Advertising. Rather than relying on static audience profiles or demographic assumptions, our approach focuses on understanding real-time signals of interest, emotion, and intent across the open web and premium media environments.
The idea is simple: people are more than profiles.
And increasingly, the advertising industry is starting to agree.
From Profiles to Passions
One of the defining conversations during Cannes 2025 centered on the limitations of traditional targeting.
For years, digital advertising has relied heavily on demographic segmentation and behavioral assumptions. But across the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, industry leaders repeatedly discussed the need to move beyond identity alone and focus more deeply on audience mindset, context, and motivation.
We explored this shift directly during the live crossover episode of AdTech Heroes x The Pub Way, hosted at The Drum’s podcast studio.
The conversation brought together leaders from across media, creative, and advertising to discuss how brands can better engage audiences through real-time understanding rather than static assumptions.
A recurring theme emerged quickly: marketers have spent years trying to understand who consumers are, while paying far less attention to why they engage in the first place.
That distinction matters.
People are shaped by passions, interests, emotions, and cultural moments that evolve continuously. Someone watching sports content during a major tournament may not respond to messaging the same way they would while reading financial news or consuming entertainment content later in the day.
Context changes mindset.
This idea became central to many discussions throughout the Cannes Lions International Festival. Relevance is no longer about reaching the right demographic. It is about understanding the emotional and cognitive environment surrounding attention itself.
AI Became About Understanding, Not Just Automation
AI remained one of the dominant themes across Cannes, France, but the industry conversation evolved significantly compared to previous years.
Earlier conversations around AI often focused on speed, scale, and automation. At Cannes Lions 2025, the emphasis shifted toward intelligence, adaptability, and human understanding.
Marketers are now asking more complex questions. How can AI help interpret the audience mindset? How can it improve contextual relevance? How can it support creativity without reducing advertising to generic automation?
These discussions appeared repeatedly across panels, roundtables, and private conversations.
Our perspective centered on the idea that AI should not simply optimize delivery. It should help brands better understand the moments in which people engage with content.
This is where Neuro-Contextual Advertising becomes increasingly relevant.
By combining neuroscience principles with AI-powered contextual understanding, Liz, our Neuo-Contextual AI, is designed to interpret signals of interest, emotion, and intent in real time. The goal is not to identify individuals, but to understand the meaning surrounding the moment itself.
That approach reflects a larger shift happening across the industry.
Advertising is moving away from static targeting systems and toward adaptive environments capable of responding dynamically to changing emotional and contextual signals.
Creativity and Context Are Becoming Reconnected
Another major theme across the Palais des Festivals was the growing relationship between creativity and contextual relevance.
For years, programmatic advertising has often separated creative storytelling from media strategy. But at Cannes Lions 2025, many industry leaders argued that creativity can no longer function independently from context and audience understanding.
As media environments become increasingly fragmented, brands face growing pressure to create campaigns that feel synchronized with the emotional tone surrounding the content experience.
This is especially important across premium video, streaming, and creator-driven ecosystems where audiences expect advertising to feel more integrated and less disruptive.
Throughout the week, conversations increasingly focused on how creative effectiveness improves when messaging aligns with the real-time audience mindset.
That shift is transforming how marketers think about personalization itself.
Rather than personalizing around identity, advertisers are beginning to personalize around context, emotion, and intent.
This idea also appeared in conversations surrounding contextual TV, curated supply, and premium media environments. Brands are looking for advertising experiences that feel more thoughtful, more emotionally aware, and more aligned with the content moments consumers actively choose to engage with.
Journalism, Trust, and Smarter Contextual Understanding
Beyond AI and creativity, Cannes Lions 2025 also highlighted growing industry concerns around journalism, trust, and responsible monetization.
We participated in discussions exploring how rigid keyword blocklists and simplistic brand safety systems can unintentionally harm quality journalism.
This became an important conversation across the International Festival of Creativity because advertisers increasingly recognize that brand safety cannot rely exclusively on broad exclusions or outdated contextual assumptions.
High-quality journalism covering politics, climate, economics, or global conflict often becomes demonetized despite offering trusted, premium environments for advertisers.
That creates a difficult contradiction for the media ecosystem.
The solution discussed throughout Cannes 2025 was not abandoning brand safety altogether, but evolving toward more intelligent contextual systems capable of understanding nuance, tone, and meaning more effectively.
This conversation reinforced one of the industry’s broader shifts: context is becoming more sophisticated.
Modern contextual understanding is no longer limited to keywords alone. It increasingly depends on a deeper interpretation of emotional tone, audience mindset, and environmental relevance.
Looking Ahead to Cannes Lions 2026
As the industry prepares for the next Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, many of the conversations that defined 2025 are continuing to evolve.
This year, we will expand those discussions further at La Perle, our Cannes space designed for meetings, collaborative sessions, workshops, and thought leadership conversations.
The upcoming agenda reflects many of the themes that emerged throughout Cannes Lions 2025.
Sessions such as “The End of Guesswork: How to Reach Consumers Who Are Actually Ready to Listen” will explore how advertisers can move beyond stale targeting proxies and align campaigns with real-time emotion, interest, and intent.
Other conversations will focus on curated supply, contextual TV, AI and creativity, neuroscience, media responsibility, and human-centered advertising experiences.
We will also introduce experiential activations such as the “Scent of Context” lab, an immersive workshop designed to explore how emotion, memory, and sensory environments shape contextual understanding.
Together, these experiences reflect a broader evolution happening across advertising itself.
The industry is no longer asking only how to target people more efficiently. It is asking how to better understand the emotional and cognitive moments that shape attention.
From Profiles to Human Understanding
Looking back, Cannes Lions 2025 represented more than another industry gathering. It reflected a meaningful turning point in how advertising thinks about relevance.
AI became more mature. Context became more intelligent. Creativity became more connected to audience's mindset. And marketers increasingly recognized that understanding people requires more than data points alone.
For us at Seedtag, those conversations continue shaping the future of Neuro-Contextual Advertising.
Because the future of advertising will not belong to the brands that know the most about consumers. It will belong to the brands that understand the moment best.
And increasingly, that future is becoming more human-aware.
Our Blog
Brand safety is often considered an advertiser’s priority. Yet in today’s complex ecosystem, digital marketing for publishers cannot thrive without robust brand safety measures of its own. In an era marked by privacy concerns, misinformation, and intensifying competition, publishers must ensure that their advertising environments protect both their reputation and the trust of premium advertisers.
In a landscape where 67% of advertisers prioritise brand safety and where brands risk losing two-thirds of their customers if their ads appear next to misinformation, publishers must take a proactive approach to ensuring a brand-safe environment.
Below, we explore the crucial role of brand safety for publishers, highlighting how advanced AI-driven solutions and contextual advertising can secure revenue streams and safeguard a publisher’s standing in the digital landscape.
Why Brand Safety Matters More Than Ever
In recent years, brand safety has surged in importance, following high-profile incidents where prominent advertisers discovered their content next to inappropriate or harmful material. While brand safety has traditionally been seen as an advertiser concern, publishers are finding themselves under similar scrutiny. Potential partners want assurances that their ads will not appear alongside questionable or damaging content, and any reputational risk is now a two-way street.
Publishers are brands in their own right, entities with values, reputations, and long-term visions. A single brand-unsafe association can weaken a publisher’s credibility, especially among advertisers who are increasingly selective about where they place their spend. Failure to address brand safety can also erode the loyalty of readers who expect a consistent, trustworthy environment.
Is Brand Safety the Missing Link?
When looking at digital marketing for publishers, brand safety often surfaces as the missing piece in achieving sustainable revenue growth. Without effective safeguards in place, publishers risk:
- Losing Premium Advertisers: Many advertisers simply refuse to partner with publishers lacking clear brand safety protocols.
- Damaging User Trust: Consumers notice mismatched or inappropriate ads and may question the editorial standards of the publisher.
- Jeopardising Future Growth: If your site gains a reputation for lax oversight, it becomes far harder to secure robust partnerships down the line.
How Brand Safety Affects Digital Marketing Campaigns
In practical terms, brand safety impacts everything from marketing strategies and marketing campaign planning to audience perception. Advertisers want to ensure that each campaign reaches the right target audience in a context that aligns with their brand. Publishers who fail to offer such security may see fewer bids, reduced eCPMs, and lower overall ad inventory value.
Are Your Brand Safety Practices Holding You Back?
Some publishers adopt overly broad keyword blocking or blanket restrictions, hoping to avoid risk entirely. While this can address the immediate concern, it often inadvertently blocks legitimate content, resulting in lower monetisation. In effect, too many marketing efforts get choked off before reaching audiences who would otherwise be receptive.
Balancing safety and scale is key. Relying on outdated or simplistic “malgorithm” keyword approaches can inadvertently eliminate entire verticals of content (think legitimate articles on health, travel, or politics) where an advertiser could have effectively engaged potential readers or prospective customers.
Common Brand Safety Pitfalls for Publishers
- Malgorithm Misalignments
When automated systems match ads to content based purely on surface-level keywords, they often disregard tone, sentiment, or context. For instance, a brand promoting healthy lifestyles might inadvertently appear next to articles discussing controversial or negative health claims. This mismatch not only diminishes ad impact but can also erode advertiser trust. - Inappropriate Content Conflicts
The “Dirty Dozen” (topics like violence, terrorism, and hate speech) may not always be relevant to every publisher. However, it is crucial to identify where your site stands on such themes. Publishers covering sensitive news topics, for example, must clearly differentiate between factual reporting and sensationalised content so advertisers can decide whether it matches their comfort level. - Bot Traffic and Fake Impressions
Advertisers are wary of spending budgets on non-human or fraudulent traffic. By ignoring ad fraud protection, publishers risk a situation where large segments of ad inventory are served to bots, wasting advertiser spend and sabotaging genuine engagement. Publishers who fail to address this will find high-quality advertisers less willing to invest.
The Strategic Role of AI-Driven Contextual Solutions
Publishers often struggle with brand safety because older systems rely on simplistic rules. However, advanced AI-driven technology interprets both text and visual signals, distinguishing fact-based journalism from sensational content. This nuance is especially critical in today’s climate, where news is sometimes automatically flagged for controversial topics even though it may be high-quality reporting.
By employing AI to read sentiment, identify subtle context, and filter out truly risky placements, publishers can prove that ads next to factual news need not harm brand perception. Indeed, premium journalism outlets that adopt these strategies tend to retain top-tier advertisers by ensuring a controlled environment without sacrificing editorial integrity.
As brand safety standards evolve, so too must publisher strategies. Overly cautious content blocking will deprive legitimate journalism of advertising revenue, leading to a vicious cycle of reduced funding for high-quality reporting. Conversely, ignoring brand safety leaves you vulnerable to misplaced adverts, reputational damage, and lost business.
A nuanced approach to brand safety, backed by AI-driven contextual advertising, allows publishers to present a consistent, secure, and valuable environment. Advertisers, reassured by these measures, are likely to invest more in your inventory. Readers, seeing carefully moderated content, trust your platform and return for informed engagement.
Building a Sustainable Brand Safety Approach
Brand safety is not an optional add-on; it is now integral to digital marketing for publishers. Whether you run a niche blog, a national news site, a CTV publisher, or an industry-specific portal, adopting a proactive stance on brand safety pays dividends in trust and monetisation. A robust brand safety framework underscores your commitment to editorial quality, premium partnerships, and user experience.
Publishers who embrace AI solutions that go beyond keyword-based filtering can strike the perfect balance between protecting brand interests and supporting crucial topics, even those that are challenging or sensitive.
By safeguarding your advertising space and creating an environment where brands feel truly secure, you position your publication at the forefront of digital marketing for publishers and proving that brand safety is not just an advertiser concern but a key to sustainable success for everyone involved.
Curious about how contextual AI can strengthen your brand safety strategy and maximise monetisation opportunities? Discover more about how contextual works for publishers
Advertising is continually reinventing itself in the face of new technology and changing consumer expectations. Many advertisers already see the possibilities of generative AI in improving efficiency and increasing sales. Yet there’s an even bigger shift on the horizon that goes beyond creating marketing copy or predicting audience segments.
That shift is agentic AI - but what is agentic AI, and why does it matter for advertising?
Agentic AI refers to AI-driven “agents” that can operate independently to achieve specific goals, carry out multi step tasks, and respond to real time data without constant human oversight.
Think of an AI assistant that does far more than generate content; it can plan, optimize, and autonomously tweak campaigns based on performance signals. For brands and publishers, these AI agents open new doors for reaching the right audiences in ways that respect user privacy while achieving tangible outcomes.
Below, we’ll explore how agentic AI is reshaping digital advertising, particularly how it elevates contextual advertising to a new level of relevance and effectiveness, and how real-time decision-making, continuous learning, and privacy-friendly design combine into a framework that marketers can use to solve complex challenges with minimal friction. Most importantly, we’ll show how advertisers can integrate these AI powered agents to stay ahead of industry shifts and future-proof their campaigns in an era that demands intelligence and trust in equal measure.
A Snapshot of an Evolving Advertising Landscape
More than ever, the advertising world finds itself grappling with consumer privacy concerns, new regulations, and an explosion of AI-driven tools. According to industry data from Forrester, about 91% of advertisers are already using or considering using generative AI. Of those adopters, nearly 81% believe it has the potential to boost sales. These figures reflect a real desire in the market: brands want flexible technology that can maximize results while respecting user boundaries.
Yet generative AI is only one piece of the puzzle. While generative models excel at producing text or visuals, advertisers need broader capabilities to plan and execute campaigns end-to-end. This is where agentic AI steps in, linking advanced analytics, optimization, and action to create seamless marketing flows.
Key Market Signals Driving Agentic AI Adoption
- Desire for Efficiency: Advertisers want to cut down on manual tasks and launch campaigns quickly.
- Increased Need for Personalization: Brands aim to deliver more relevant messages without violating privacy.
- Privacy Regulations: With cookies and user tracking under constant scrutiny, advertisers look to contextual methods that don’t rely on personal data.
- Competitive Advantage: Companies that experiment with AI-driven tactics early can adapt rapidly to new consumer behaviors.
When AI Takes the Wheel: The Essence of Agentic AI
So, what is agentic AI at a practical level? It’s a type of artificial intelligence AI that doesn’t just follow static rules or churn out one-time suggestions. Instead, agentic AI operates autonomously, gathering data, making informed decisions, and carrying out specific tasks with minimal human intervention. The technology stems from large language model innovations and other advanced ai models that support reasoning and problem solving steps.
By design, agentic AI systems can integrate with multiple data sources. This means they can scan real-time signals such as user engagement metrics or content trends, and immediately adjust campaign settings. Instead of waiting days for a human to interpret data and push new creative, the AI agent can optimize placements, budget allocations, or even messaging on a specific campaign. If customer queries spike around a particular product feature, the AI agent can serve relevant ads highlighting that exact feature with no lengthy lag time required.
A big question arises: If AI is handling so much, what’s the role of human experts? In practice, advertisers provide the strategic vision, define success metrics, and ensure human intervention when needed.
The AI focuses on executing tasks, optimizing campaigns, and learning from continuous feedback loops. This collaboration preserves creativity while reducing repetitive tasks.
Agentic AI and the Changing Web
Recent forecasts suggest a rapidly changing internet, where a significant portion of website visits could be carried out by AI-based tools. These automated systems might scan pages to compare prices or gather product details, all tasks once done only by humans. This shift might sound like a threat to traditional ad-supported sites, yet many see it as an opportunity to refocus on human engagement.
When bots handle the purely transactional side, websites can become more immersive spaces that truly capture user attention such as places for brand storytelling, vivid content, and genuine community interaction. This is especially vital for publishers who want to maintain audience loyalty. If a growing share of “visitors” are actually AI assistants, the real people who do visit will expect more than just product specs or quick checkouts; they’ll want meaningful experiences.
For advertisers, agentic AI can help identify these high-intent human visitors in real time, serving well-placed ads that speak to genuine user interests. By pairing agentic AI with contextual advertising, marketers ensure they’re not running ads solely aimed at personal data. Instead, they focus on the page itself (its theme, tone, even sentiment) automatically matched to user intent.
Unlocking Intention in the Mid-Funnel
For years, the mid-funnel in digital advertising has been a place where leads show interest but often drop off before converting. Many marketers find themselves spending on click-throughs that never lead to a purchase or deeper brand relationship. With AI intention models and agentic AI, this mid-funnel gap narrows dramatically.
- Immediate Adaptation:
If a user spends time reading about a particular product category, an AI powered agent can respond by showing a short case study or targeted promotional offer right then and there. It detects the shift from casual interest to deeper consideration and aligns ad content accordingly. - Smarter Sequencing:
Instead of bombarding users with repetitive messages, agentic AI can sequence content in logical steps. A person who has already read an introductory piece might see more specific insights or success stories that guide them toward a conversion. - Real-Time Reallocation:
If budgets are misaligned or if mid-funnel ads aren’t resonating, agentic AI can immediately adjust. It can allocate extra funds to more impactful messages or channels, ensuring advertisers don’t waste impressions on audiences that aren’t ready to act.
By turning attention into action at these crucial in-between stages, agentic AI doesn’t just capture leads; it nurtures them with timely content. As a result, advertisers can reduce mid-funnel drop-off and see stronger returns on every impression served.
The Contextual Connection: Privacy, Relevance, and Performance
While traditional audience-based targeting is under pressure from data regulations, contextual advertising provides a natural alternative that respects user privacy. Instead of profiling individuals, contextual approaches analyze the environment (a web page’s text, sentiment, or imagery) and serve relevant ads accordingly so brands can remain both effective and compliant.
When agentic AI meets contextual AI, the result is a marketing strategy that feels less like guesswork and more like continuous learning in motion:
- Faster Optimization: Campaigns can be recalibrated on the fly, aligning ad creatives with emerging trends or breaking news that resonates with the page’s content.
- Multi-Level Relevance: Agentic AI doesn’t only match ads to the surface-level topic; it can interpret subtext, user engagement signals, and real-time metrics.
- Future-Ready Model: As regulations tighten, contextual strategies anchored by AI agents stay a step ahead by minimizing reliance on personal data.
In essence, advertisers get a double benefit: data-driven insights without invasive practices, and real-time performance boosts courtesy of an AI that never sleeps.
Embracing an Agentic Future in Digital Advertising
Agentic AI isn’t a passing trend; it’s a new standard for how digital campaigns are planned, launched, and optimized. By tapping into decisions based on real-time content signals, advertisers gain agility and scalability that manual processes can’t match. Publishers, meanwhile, can refine their content and user experiences to attract both human visitors and AI-driven workflows.
In a landscape where “set-and-forget” strategies quickly become outdated, agentic AI offers a proactive, real time data–driven approach. It helps advertisers transform fleeting attention into meaningful engagement and drives publishers to create deeper connections with their human readers.
The convergence of agentic AI with contextual advertising elevates digital marketing to a place where ads are timely, relevant, and respectful of user privacy.
By automating the routine and accelerating the complex, these AI powered agents free up human teams to focus on creativity, strategy, and ethical innovation. The result? Campaigns that deliver consistent outcomes and adapt to market shifts faster than ever before.
If you’re looking to align your brand with the future of advertising, now is the time to explore the advantages of agentic AI. Its ability to solve complex tasks, deliver informed decisions, and power the next generation of contextual AI experiences will define how brands connect with consumers in the years to come.
Want to dig deeper into how advanced contextual advertising can elevate your campaigns? Explore more about Contextual AI here.
In the competitive world of advertising, sports continue to stand out as one of the most culturally resonant and emotionally charged arenas for brands to connect with consumers. And in 2025, this power intensifies, driven by a packed calendar of summer sports events, surging multi-screen consumption, and shifting audience behaviors.
The insights are clear: consumer interest in sports spikes by 34% during major summer events, and brands aligned with summer sports see a 21% increase in brand recall. This isn’t just a seasonal opportunity but a strategic imperative.
This blog post explores how sports marketing trends are evolving in 2025, and how Seedtag’s contextual AI, Liz, is powering the ability to align marketing strategies with the exact moments, athletes, and fan passions that matter most.
The Rise of Real-Time Sports Marketing
Sports are inherently contextual. Every game, match, or tournament unfolds in real time, and so does audience attention. What’s trending before kickoff might shift entirely by halftime. In this environment, traditional media plans are no longer enough. Advertisers need agility, anchored in intelligence.
Seedtag’s contextual insights, powered by Liz, its proprietary AI, reveal a dynamic, multidimensional map of what sports fans are truly engaging with. Across platforms and formats, Liz processes the full context of sports content, allowing advertisers to activate brand messaging in perfect alignment with fan moments.
And this isn’t speculation: 79% of consumers engage across multiple screens during sports events, and 62% of sports enthusiasts consume content primarily on mobile. The opportunity to deliver contextually relevant messaging that follows the rhythm of the fan journey has never been greater.
Golf: Precision Targeting Meets Prestige
Golf audiences represent a blend of tradition and tech-savviness. With iconic events like The Masters, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, and British Open dominating the summer sports calendar, interest spikes around both players and venues.
The most engaged players (Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm, and Xander Schauffele) attract consistent media attention, while legendary venues like Pebble Beach and Augusta National create deep emotional resonance for fans.
Golf engagement is also evolving. Conversations around LIV Golf, streaming coverage across Peacock, ESPN, CBS, and Amazon, and PGA-LIV merger dynamics have introduced new narratives. Brands aligned with golf can activate around luxury travel, fashion, sportswear, wellness, and financial services - all within premium content environments.
Using Liz, advertisers can insert campaigns into contextually relevant golf content that spans from swing technique tutorials to pre-tournament speculation, tailoring messaging to the mindset of the moment.
Hockey and the Stanley Cup: Local Loyalty, International Reach
Ice hockey delivers one of the most engaged fan bases of any summer sport. The Stanley Cup playoffs bring together regional pride, historic rivalries, and fast-paced gameplay, fueling engagement across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
The most talked-about teams include the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, and Colorado Avalanche, while player-driven stories dominate fan interest. Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Brad Marchand, and Auston Matthews are frequent media magnets.
What makes hockey especially valuable to marketers is the depth of context: fans aren’t just following scores, they're engaged with penalty box drama, draft class speculation, and international team stories. This creates an expansive contextual graph ideal for advertisers aiming to align with real-time fan energy.
Brands can activate across CTV, digital sports analysis, and fantasy platforms, reaching audiences where they’re comparing stats, discussing trades, or reliving game highlights.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Global Football, Local Activation
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, hosted by the United States, marks a significant evolution in the global football calendar and a pivotal moment for brands.
With games set in high-capacity stadiums like MetLife, Hard Rock, and Mercedes-Benz, this edition of the tournament brings together football’s global powerhouses and American audience reach. Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Inter Miami are already dominating mentions, with players like Haaland, Neymar, Modric, Vinicius Jr., and Messi attracting cross-continental attention.
Fan conversations overlap with Copa America, UEFA qualifiers, and national leagues, creating a rich and multilingual content ecosystem. Liz can identify where each club or player intersects with fan conversations whether it’s on team strategy, training regimens, or pre-game predictions.
For advertisers, this is a prime opportunity to connect with travelers, multicultural communities, sports bettors, and lifestyle consumers across premium content and multiple languages, all within privacy-first environments.
Tennis: Personalities That Power Year-Round Relevance
Few sports offer as much one-on-one narrative potential as tennis. With the Grand Slam season in full swing (Wimbledon, Roland Garros, the US Open, and Australian Open) players become storylines, and every match is a micro-drama.
On the women’s side, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, and Madison Keys headline engagement. For the men, Djokovic, Alcaraz, Nadal, Federer, and Medvedev lead digital conversations, alongside emerging names like Jack Draper and Ben Shelton.
Contextual interest goes beyond match scores. Fans are drawn to training insights, player rivalries, off-court personalities, and health routines, opening up powerful adjacency for brands in skincare, performance nutrition, fashion, and fitness tech.
Seedtag’s contextual AI enables brands to align with specific storylines - be it Gauff’s rise, Federer’s legacy, or Alcaraz’s next challenge, creating relevance at the exact moment it matters most.
Formula 1: A Global Platform Accelerating Fan Attention
Formula 1 continues to gain momentum as a high-engagement, multi-market platform. Its summer races in Monaco, Silverstone, Monza, Suzuka, Las Vegas, and Mexico City pull in viewers not only for speed and spectacle, but for stories of engineering, rivalry, and innovation.
Fans closely follow top drivers like Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris, as well as rising stars such as Oscar Piastri and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Team narratives (Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes) add depth to every race week.
F1’s audience overlaps with tech enthusiasts, travel buffs, and high-net-worth consumers, making it ideal for automotive, luxury, and electronics brands looking to deliver message precision.
With Liz, advertisers can target content where fans are exploring driver telemetry, race predictions, and post-race analysis in order to contextually sync ads with moments of high emotional investment.
Baseball: Multi-Generational Appeal and Cultural Identity
Baseball’s place in summer is unmatched for its consistency and cultural nostalgia. From Little League to the World Series, baseball threads through American life, offering long-form, habit-driven content engagement.
Teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, Braves, and Cubs dominate mentions, while star players like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts remain at the heart of fan conversations.
Importantly, baseball’s multi-generational appeal means brands can engage across age groups and interests. From stats-based storytelling to family traditions, it’s an environment where QSR, FMCG, education, and Americana-themed brands can deliver highly relevant creative.
Seedtag’s contextual tools allow advertisers to seamlessly insert messaging into game recaps, player interviews, historical comparisons, and fan prediction content, all while respecting user privacy.
Strategic Implications for Brands
Across all of these sports, one thing is clear: audiences are not passive. They’re active, informed, multi-screening, and emotionally invested. And as consumer interest in sports rises by 34% during summer, marketing strategies must evolve to meet the moment.
Contextual targeting offers brands a solution that’s real-time, privacy-first, and precisely aligned with the stories fans care about.
For advertisers, this means:
- Moving away from static media planning and toward real-time contextual planning.
- Using contextual insights to shape messaging that adapts to match in-the-moment fan attention.
- Activating across CTV, mobile, and publisher environments where sports conversations actually happen.
- Replacing reliance on outdated third-party data with AI-driven contextual relevance.
Sports Marketing Trends: From Audience to Impact
Summer 2025 will be defined by more than warm weather. It’s a season filled with high-impact sports moments, each representing a chance to do more than place an ad, but to resonate with fans, to deliver immersive experiences, and to create long-term brand affinity.
By aligning with sports marketing trends, understanding fan behavior through contextual insights, and activating through Seedtag’s AI-powered solutions, advertisers have the tools to make every impression matter.
Advertising today demands more than just reach. As digital consumption evolves and regulations tighten, advertisers face a dual challenge: deliver meaningful results while respecting user privacy. The days of passive impressions and overreliance on personal data are fading fast.
Intent-based marketing is gaining more traction than ever as a strategic approach that targets audiences based on real-time context and content signals that suggest purchase readiness or interest.
Unlike traditional models that follow users around the web based on past behavior, intent based strategies look at what truly matters: what a user is actively engaging with in the moment.
At the core of this shift is intentionality: the ability to understand user purpose without personal identifiers. It's not just a workaround for privacy laws; it's a better way to market.
From Guesswork to Precision: Understanding Intent Based Marketing
Intent-based marketing focuses on users' real-time content consumption to determine their mindset. Instead of profiling users by demographics or historical browsing behavior, it aligns ads with the type of product or service the user is actively exploring. The goal: increase the likelihood of conversion by targeting based on intention, not identity.
This approach eliminates a major flaw in traditional digital marketing: mid-funnel waste. Many marketing teams struggle with lead generation that never materializes into action. Users click, scroll, and bounce. Why? Because they weren’t ready to buy.
With intention-based targeting, advertisers can:
- Minimize wasted impressions.
- Boost conversion rates.
- Align messaging with where users are in the buying journey.
- Stay compliant with privacy regulations.
It’s about precision over presence - reaching fewer users, but reaching them at the right moment.
For years, marketers have used keyword and category targeting to serve ads on pages aligned with certain topics. But this method has its limits. A page tagged "automotive" doesn’t reveal whether the reader is casually browsing or actively comparing models.
The difference between browsing and buying is the gap intent based marketing seeks to close. Without identifying user behavior or storing personal data, AI models can now infer intent directly from the content being consumed.
How AI Models Drive Intention Based Targeting
The backbone of modern intent based marketing is artificial intelligence. Advanced AI models, trained on intent-labeled data sets, allow marketers to distinguish between users who are simply curious and those who are ready to act.
These AI models evaluate more than keywords. They analyze structure, language, tone, sentiment, and visuals within digital content to assess intent signals in real time. For example:
- Informational content such as "What are hybrid car benefits?" signals research-phase interest.
- Transactional content like "Best lease offers for hybrid SUVs" signals readiness to purchase.
These nuances are invisible to basic contextual methods but they are critical to outcomes. AI models trained in intention modeling don’t just react to content, they interpret it. And because they continuously learn from performance data, they improve over time, enabling advertisers to fine-tune campaigns based on evolving user behavior.
Seedtag’s proprietary Contextual AI, Liz, brings this to life. Liz doesn’t just parse keywords but understands content with human-like depth. Powered by Natural Language Processing, machine learning, and computer vision, Liz can:
- Analyze textual and visual content in parallel.
- Score intent signals dynamically.
- Adapt targeting logic based on campaign goals.
What sets Liz apart is the ability to model intent across campaigns, meaning the same AI framework can flex to suit the conversion path of an automotive client one day and a consumer tech brand the next. Every page impression is scored and optimized for intent, aligning ad delivery with readiness, not randomness.
These AI-powered systems take into account where a piece of content ranks on search engines, how it’s written, and how audiences engage with it while creating a more robust view of user mindset than historical behavior ever could.
By combining AI’s real-time analysis with privacy-first design, intention modeling transforms digital marketing from reactive to proactive. And it does so without invading users’ personal space.
Real Outcomes Across the Marketing Funnel
Intent-based marketing isn’t just theory. It's already delivering stronger outcomes for brands looking to maximize every impression.
In a recent campaign, automotive leader Nissan used intention models to optimize vehicle consideration and lead generation. The results:
- 34% reduction in Cost Per Lead (CPL).
- 67% drop in Cost Per Qualified Visit (CPQV).
- Improved performance across every stage of the conversion funnel.
By identifying users who were further along the buying journey, Nissan engaged prospects who were ready to act and saw real return on their digital marketing investment.
These results highlight a key advantage of intent marketing: it turns attention into action.
"Our challenge was to optimize Nissan’s full-funnel strategy, improving consideration without compromising efficiency in the lower funnel. These results confirm that contextual AI is key to driving brand performance," said José Manuel Muries, Cluster Director, Nissan United.
Beyond the Funnel: Ethical, Efficient, and Future-Ready
In an era where users demand transparency and regulators demand compliance, intent based strategies offer a sustainable solution. There’s no need to trade relevance for responsibility.
Intention modeling does not collect personal data or track users across the web. Instead, it interprets signals within the environment a user has already chosen to engage with. That means brands can:
- Protect user privacy.
- Avoid data-driven bias.
- Reduce reliance on third-party cookies.
- Deliver messages that feel timely, not intrusive.
And because intent modeling is dynamic, it continues optimizing in real time, helping advertisers stay agile as market behavior evolves.
Reimagining the Mid-Funnel with Intent Based Strategies
For too long, the mid-funnel has been a blind spot in digital marketing - too broad for performance metrics, too narrow for brand awareness. But with the rise of intent modeling, marketers can now:
- Identify when users shift from awareness to consideration.
- Serve tailored content that matches their stage in the buying journey.
- Optimize marketing tools to drive higher value actions, not just clicks.
This shift transforms marketing efforts from static exposure to strategic activation, maximizing the value of each touchpoint.
Intentionality in Action: A New Standard for Performance
Performance marketing has long relied on short-term KPIs. But a privacy-first world requires more thoughtful planning. Intent-based marketing introduces a framework where long-term brand value and short-term results aren’t in conflict.
It enables advertisers to:
- Understand online behavior in real time
- Predict potential customers’ needs without invasive data
- Create high-performance campaigns rooted in trust and transparency
By aligning marketing approaches with real user purpose, brands can build relationships that last beyond a single click, closing the gap between strategy and signal.
But intent based strategies are not plug-and-play. They require:
- Clear alignment between business goals and user actions
- Campaigns built around relevance, not reach
- Investment in AI-powered platforms that understand content the way humans do
But the payoff is measurable. When brands stop chasing users and start meeting them in moments of intent, they turn uncertainty into opportunity.
The advertising ecosystem is evolving fast. Privacy-first doesn’t mean performance-second.
With intent based marketing, advertisers can reclaim efficiency, improve outcomes, and meet growing expectations for ethical, effective digital marketing.
To see this in action, explore Liz, the Contextual AI behind Seedtag’s intention models, designed to predict and act on real-time intent across the open web.
To mark International Women’s Month, Seedtag brought together a powerhouse group of industry leaders for a special episode of The Pub Way Podcast hosted by Tina Iannacchino, VP of Publisher Partnerships North America at Seedtag. She was joined for a dynamic conversation that brought forward honest, bold, and deeply human insights from women who are shaping the future of advertising and media.
This special panel featured:
- Jackelyn Keller, CMO at Comscore
- Natasha Byrne, Global Business Lead at Omnicom Media Group
- Samantha Skey, CEO at SHEMedia
- Luisa Izquierdo, CHRO at Seedtag
With this year’s International Women’s Day theme Accelerate Action as a guide, they explored leadership, representation, and the tangible steps needed to create more inclusive, impactful environments.
- From Imposter Syndrome to Imposter Awareness.
- Redefining What Leadership Looks Like.
- Why Context Matters In Advertising and Leadership.
- Taking Action That Moves the Needle.
- What Comes Next.
From Imposter Syndrome to Imposter Awareness
“I kept saying, ‘What if I’m not good at what I do?’” said Natasha Byrne, reflecting on a major career shift. “Even at my level, I had that imposter syndrome.”
But what many women label as internal insecurity is often a reaction to external dynamics. Samantha Skey challenged the very term: “Imposter syndrome was created by the patriarchy. It’s not that we’re broken, it’s that we’re made to feel like we don’t belong.”
Jackelyn Keller added, “We need to change the stories we tell ourselves. Instead of saying, ‘I’m quitting smoking,’ say, ‘I’m not a smoker.’ That shift in identity and self-talk is powerful.”
Across the board, the takeaway was clear: what we call self-doubt is often a response to environments that haven’t been built with us in mind. Changing the narrative starts with recognizing that - and speaking up anyway.
Redefining What Leadership Looks Like
“I was the only woman in the room and the youngest,” said Luisa Izquierdo, recalling her early years as an HR director. “I had to coach and guide people decades older than me. What helped was preparation. That’s how I built my confidence.”
For others, it was about redefining the qualities often negatively labeled as ‘feminine.’
“In the beginning, I thought empathy and emotion made me weak,” said Natasha Byrne. “Now, I see them as my superpowers.”
And leadership doesn’t just show up in boardrooms. Jackelyn Keller shared a moment of pride when her young daughter challenged her school’s curriculum for reinforcing outdated gender roles. “She raised her hand and said, ‘We don’t read that in my family.’ She changed the book for the whole class.”
These stories highlight how leadership today is rooted in authenticity, emotional intelligence, and a willingness to challenge the status quo, whether that’s in the workplace or the classroom.
Why Context Matters In Advertising and Leadership
Throughout the episode, the panel returned to a shared belief: that the future of advertising, and leadership, is personal.
Luisa Izquierdo emphasized the need to encourage women to take risks and aim higher, saying, “We raise the bar for ourselves constantly. It’s painful to see brilliant women still doubting their worth.”
And when discussing the evolution of advertising, personalization and relevance took center stage. But not at the expense of empathy or privacy.
The message? Advertising doesn’t need to follow users around. It can meet them where they are through meaningful, real-time context. That’s where contextual advertising has a role to play: making relevance possible without sacrificing respect.
Taking Action That Moves the Needle
Our panelists did not just reflect on challenges but also shared the concrete actions that can help change the system.
Samantha Skey spoke about the importance of transparency, explaining how her company reports compensation by gender and race and creates space for open conversations on topics that are often overlooked, like caregiving. “There’s power in visibility,” she said. “We can’t fix what we don’t acknowledge.”
Jackelyn Keller emphasized the value of starting before everything is perfect. “Let’s treat change like a product roadmap. Build the MVP, launch it, learn from it,” she said. “Progress doesn’t need to be perfect - it just needs to keep moving.”
The message across the board was clear: meaningful change doesn’t happen in one sweeping moment. It’s built through everyday decisions, intentional policies, and a willingness to speak up and show up, even (or maybe especially) when it’s uncomfortable.
What Comes After Women's History Month
This conversation offered a forward-looking view of what leadership can and should look like in today’s advertising world. Whether it was calling out outdated systems, rethinking how we support women at every life stage, or encouraging the next generation to lead with confidence, reinforcing that change starts with action, not intention.
At Seedtag, we’re committed to building the kind of workplace and advertising ecosystem where inclusion, authenticity, and context drive every decision. Because real relevance isn’t just about what people are watching or reading but about who they are, what they value, and how they want to be seen.
Want to discover the full conversation? Tune in to this special episode of The Pub Way Podcast and explore how women in advertising and media are leading change from the inside out.
The SXSW 2025 Conference and Festivals once again turned Austin, Texas into a dynamic hub of technology, creativity, and cultural convergence. Known for its eclectic mix of interactive media, film premieres, and featured sessions, this year’s event pushed boundaries beyond just what’s new, focusing instead on how tech can meaningfully serve people.
Seedtag brought together leading voices from the industry into the Wild Wild Land of Advertising for an unforgettable experience about connecting, learning, and exploring how contextual advertising can evolve in a world defined by data, privacy, and personalization.
A Seedtag Experience to Remember
In the middle of the buzzing South by Southwest, Seedtag hosted top-tier brand and agency leaders in immersive settings to encourage meaningful conversations, building stronger partnerships, discussing strategic insights, and exploring how our contextual AI Liz is reshaping the advertising ecosystem.
Our SXSW presence reflected Seedtag’s mission to deepen the connection between brands and audiences by helping advertisers and publishers deliver relevant, privacy-compliant, and engaging content at scale.
With an audience of marketers navigating increasingly complex media landscapes, we focused on what matters most: helping our clients understand how Seedtag’s solutions fit into a privacy-first, performance-driven, and attention-led future of advertising.
Personalization, Privacy, and AI: What Dominated the SXSW Conversation
Amid art installations and experiential activations, the conversations inside SXSW were grounded in practical insights. The event highlighted a growing industry focus on hyper-personalization. But the nuance lies in how that personalization is achieved. The call was clear: marketers want to move beyond static demographic profiles and understand what motivates their audiences in the moment. Contextual advertising answers that by meeting users where they are, based on what they’re engaging with rather than who they are.
Equally important was the topic of scale through AI-driven strategies, which are becoming increasingly essential for sorting and interpreting massive amounts of content and behavioral signals. However, speakers across the conference emphasized the importance of human oversight to ensure accuracy, transparency, and ethical application. This aligns with Seedtag’s approach to contextual AI: blending machine learning with human-like semantic understanding to deliver content suitability and brand safety.
Personalization also came up in discussions about content curation. Attendees explored how empowering users to shape their content environments results in deeper engagement and better advertising outcomes. For advertisers, this means more than programmatic efficiency; it means delivering messaging that feels natural, timely, and aligned with a user’s interests in that exact moment.
SXSW also highlighted the rising pressure on advertisers to shift toward privacy-forward solutions. With traditional identifiers fading and the industry moving beyond cookies, contextual targeting emerged repeatedly as a necessary, scalable alternative. Not only does it enable compliant, data-conscious ad delivery, it also enhances relevance and user experience.
See You Next: Where to Connect with Seedtag
If you missed us at SXSW 2025, don’t worry. Seedtag will be at POSSIBLE, the Digiday Programmatic Summit, and of course, Cannes. Catch up with us to continue the conversation on how contextual advertising is helping brands adapt, evolve, and thrive in the ever-changing digital ecosystem.
A Context-First Vision for the Road Ahead
At Seedtag, we believe in solutions that balance innovation with responsibility. That means designing advertising strategies that work for everyone: advertisers, publishers, and consumers.
Want to explore how contextual advertising can reshape your digital strategy? Let’s connect.
Television is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in its history. As viewers shift from traditional cable to streaming services, Connected TV (CTV) has become the new frontier for both brands and publishers.
By 2025, 86.3 million US households are expected to be CTV viewers, surpassing the reach of traditional TV. This shift presents an unparalleled opportunity for advertisers to engage with audiences in more personalized, measurable, and data-driven ways.
However, for CTV to reach its full potential, the industry must overcome challenges related to data fragmentation, standardization, and transparency. The future of CTV is about unlocking efficiencies, optimizing targeting, and fostering collaboration between advertisers and publishers.
CTV 101: What It Is and How It Works
CTV advertising refers to video ads delivered through internet-connected TV devices, such as Smart TVs, streaming sticks (Apple TV, Roku, Fire Stick), gaming consoles, and set-top boxes.
Unlike traditional TV ads, CTV advertising is highly targeted, using demographic, behavioral, and contextual signals to deliver relevant ads to viewers.
CTV ads can be inserted dynamically into streaming content and measured using real-time performance metrics, giving advertisers insights into:
- Who saw the ad.
- How they interacted with it.
- Whether they took an action after viewing.
"Household adoption of Smart TVs is set to exceed 80% in the U.S. within the next five years."
As more consumers shift to ad-supported streaming models, brands and publishers must rethink their ad strategies to capitalize on this expanding ecosystem.
Why CTV Is Winning Over Advertisers and Publishers
The shift toward CTV advertising is not just a response to changing consumer behavior, it’s a strategic move toward more efficient, measurable, and cost-effective advertising.
For Advertisers: A Smarter Way to Engage Consumers
"Studies show that CTV achieves an attention rate of 82% vs. 69% for linear TV."
This increased engagement makes CTV one of the most powerful digital advertising platforms available today. For brands looking to advertise on CTV, key advantages and additional benefits include:
- Precision Targeting – Unlike traditional TV, CTV enables granular audience segmentation, reaching consumers based on interests, viewing history, and demographics.
- Cost Efficiency – With programmatic buying, advertisers optimize their ad spend, reaching the right audience without excessive waste.
- Measurable Performance – Brands can track impressions, engagement, and conversions, ensuring their ads deliver tangible business results.
For Publishers: Unlocking Revenue Opportunities
With ad-supported streaming models growing, publishers have more ways to monetize premium content. Streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ have introduced ad-supported tiers, while over two-thirds of viewers on Peacock, Paramount+, and Hulu are expected to opt for ad-supported plans next year.
For publishers, CTV presents a way to maximize ad inventory and drive higher CPMs, thanks to:
- A more engaged audience – Streaming viewers are actively selecting content, leading to higher ad retention rates.
- Diverse revenue models – Publishers can monetize through pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads, ensuring a flexible ad strategy.
- Cross-device opportunities – CTV ads can integrate with mobile and desktop campaigns, providing an omnichannel advertising experience.
“By 2028, CTV is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13%, reinforcing the importance of this format for publishers looking to future-proof their business models.”
Solving CTV’s Biggest Challenges: Data, Measurement, and Standardization
Despite its advantages, CTV still faces hurdles that advertisers and publishers must navigate to fully unlock its potential.
Data Fragmentation and Standardization
One of the biggest challenges in CTV advertising is the lack of uniform data-sharing practices. Log-level data—which provides granular insights into user behavior—remains fragmented across different platforms.
This fragmentation leads to:
- Ad repetition issues – Viewers often see the same ad multiple times in succession, creating negative brand sentiment.
- Limited transparency – Advertisers struggle to track where their ads appear, impacting brand safety and performance measurement.
The industry must work toward standardized data-sharing models that give advertisers and publishers a clearer view of ad performance.
The Role of First-Party Data to advertise on CTV
As third-party cookies continue to decline, first-party data has become the most valuable asset in CTV advertising strategies.
- Better audience insights – First-party data enables precise targeting without infringing on user privacy.
- Privacy-compliant solutions – Cookieless advertising ensures compliance with evolving data regulations.
- Improved ad relevance – Personalized ad experiences lead to higher engagement and conversion rates.
"More than half of the open web and all CTV inventory have already been cookieless for some time."
By harnessing first-party data, brands and publishers can optimize ad placements, reduce waste, and improve targeting accuracy.
What’s Next for CTV Advertising?
The future of CTV advertising is being driven by emerging technologies and new industry standards that improve efficiency and measurement.
1. Programmatic TV & AI-Driven Targeting
Programmatic CTV advertising allows brands to buy ad inventory in real time, ensuring maximum efficiency and reach. AI-driven targeting enhances personalization and performance optimization.
2. New Ad Formats to advertise on CTV
New ad formats specifically designed for CTV are creating more immersive ad experiences, helping brands connect with audiences in meaningful ways.
3. Cross-Device Advertising for Seamless Engagement
CTV will become a seamless part of omnichannel campaigns, integrating with mobile, desktop, and social advertising strategies to enhance user engagement.
“CTV ad revenue is projected to reach $42.5 billion by 2028."
Why CTV Is the Future of Advertising
CTV is no longer an emerging trend—it is the present and future of television advertising. With higher engagement, precise targeting, and measurable performance, it offers a compelling alternative to traditional TV.
For publishers, it provides new monetization opportunities through ad-supported streaming models, maximizing revenue while maintaining a seamless viewing experience. As CTV viewership continues to grow and regulatory restrictions make other channels less effective, CTV campaigns will become an even more powerful way for advertisers to reach their target audiences and brands that advertise on CTV today will gain a long-term competitive advantage.
The industry’s next step is clear: addressing data-sharing challenges and embracing first-party data to improve measurement, targeting, and campaign effectiveness. The brands and publishers that invest in CTV today will gain a long-term competitive advantage.
At Seedtag, we help brands and publishers unlock the full potential of CTV advertising by providing contextual AI solutions that drive performance, ensure brand safety, and optimize targeting strategies. Our technology empowers advertisers to deliver privacy-first, engaging campaigns that reach the right audience at the right time. As CTV continues to grow, our solutions help advertisers maximize impact by refining placements, improving engagement, and enhancing measurement strategies.
Ready to take your CTV advertising strategy to the next level? Contact Seedtag today to explore how our contextual AI solutions can drive results for your brand.
For years, advertisers have debated whether their budgets should be concentrated within walled gardens or expanded across the open web. As consumer behaviors shift and privacy regulations reshape the advertising landscape, the conversation has become more relevant than ever. The dominance of closed ecosystems, such as Facebook, Instagram, Google, and Amazon, has led many brands to rely heavily on these platforms. However, growing concerns around lack of transparency, limited audience segmentation, and rising costs have pushed advertisers to explore alternatives.
Instead of viewing this as a binary choice, advertisers must recognize the need for a balanced approach—one that leverages the advantages of walled gardens while capitalizing on the transparency, scale, and contextual intelligence offered by the open web.
Where Are Users Spending Their Time?
The way people interact with digital content is changing, and advertisers need to follow the audience. While walled gardens continue to attract logged-in users, research indicates a growing shift toward the open web.
This shift is driven by consumer preference for quality content, greater control over privacy, and dissatisfaction with the experience in closed ecosystems. Users browsing the open web are often more engaged, actively seeking information, news, and entertainment—creating valuable moments for advertisers to connect with them.
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Walled Gardens vs Open Web: What Advertisers Need to Know
Both walled gardens and the open web play a vital role in digital advertising. However, understanding their strengths and weaknesses is key to optimizing campaign performance.
The Appeal and Challenges of Walled Gardens
- High user engagement: Walled gardens benefit from logged-in users, allowing for better audience segmentation.
- First-party data access: Brands can leverage structured data for precise targeting.
- Seamless ad experiences: Advertisers can optimize for in-platform engagement within a controlled environment.
However, these platforms also present significant challenges:
- Lack of transparency: Advertisers have limited insight into ad performance beyond platform metrics.
- Higher costs: Competition for ad inventory in closed ecosystems drives up prices.
- Brand safety risks: As content moderation policies shift, advertisers face uncertainty about where their ads appear.
Advertising on the Open Web: Strengths and Challenges
- Greater transparency: Advertisers have full visibility into where ads are placed and how they perform.
- Expansive reach: Consumers spend most of their total online time on the open web, creating more opportunities for engagement.
- Privacy-first advertising: The open web enables contextual targeting without relying on third-party data.
However, challenges include:
- Fragmentation: The open web consists of thousands of websites, apps, and connected TV platforms, requiring robust ad strategies.
- Variable content quality: Ensuring ad placements appear alongside trusted, premium content requires advanced contextual intelligence.
A balanced digital ad strategy should integrate both ecosystems, leveraging the structured targeting of walled gardens while taking advantage of the transparency and reach of the open web.
Brand Safety in Walled Gardens: A Growing Concern for Advertisers
Recent changes in content moderation policies on platforms like Meta have raised brand safety concerns for advertisers. The relaxation of fact-checking programs and shifts in hate speech policies could increase the risk of brand exposure to controversial or harmful content.
Additionally, reliance on a black box model—where advertisers have minimal control over ad placements and audience data—adds to the challenge. The demand for more control over brand safety and ad transparency has led many advertisers to diversify their spending across trusted media outlets on the open web.
Contextual Advertising: A Key Strategy for the Open Web
With the decline of third-party cookies and increasing concerns over data privacy, contextual advertising has emerged as a powerful solution for targeting audiences effectively—without tracking personal information.
- No reliance on third-party cookies: Contextual AI analyzes content relevance instead of user behavior.
- Enhanced user experience: Ads appear in relevant, brand-safe environments, increasing engagement.
- Higher ad performance: Research shows that contextual ads achieve a 70% view rate, compared to 64% for cookie-based ads.
Brands that invest in contextual intelligence gain a privacy-compliant alternative that ensures effective targeting and brand suitability across the open web.
Why Advertisers Need an Omnichannel Strategy
Rather than viewing walled gardens vs open web as opposing forces, advertisers should adopt an omnichannel approach that leverages both ecosystems strategically:
- Use walled gardens for structured audience segmentation and conversion-driven campaigns—where first-party data plays a strong role.
- Capitalize on the open web for reach, brand safety, and contextual targeting—ensuring engagement in premium, high-quality content environments.
- Integrate contextual AI solutions to enhance relevance, improve audience targeting, and maintain compliance with privacy regulations.
Where Should Advertisers Invest?
The debate over open web vs walled gardens is no longer about choosing one over the other. A successful digital advertising strategy requires a hybrid approach that balances precision with scale, targeting with transparency, and brand safety with performance.
- Consumer habits are evolving—users are spending more time on the open web while walled gardens remain important for structured targeting.
- Brand safety concerns are rising—advertisers need control over where their ads appear.
- Privacy-first strategies are the future—contextual AI provides a sustainable, high-performing solution.
By combining targeted engagement from walled gardens with contextual intelligence on the open web, brands can future-proof their strategies while maximizing ad performance.
At Seedtag, we empower advertisers with cutting-edge contextual AI solutions that enhance targeting, ensure brand safety, and optimize campaign performance in a privacy-first world. Contact us today to explore how our technology can drive measurable results for your brand.
Each year, March Madness takes center stage as one of the most thrilling and unpredictable tournaments in sports. With bracket-busting upsets, rising college stars, and national title hopes on the line, the NCAA Tournament is more than just basketball—it’s a cultural phenomenon. But, When is March Madness 2025? The 86th annual edition of the tournament will begin on March 18, and will conclude with the championship game on April 7.
For advertisers, March Madness 2025 offers a golden opportunity to connect with engaged audiences through sports betting trends, brand sponsorships, and multi-platform fan interactions. Let’s dive into the top March Madness trends and the strategies brands can use to capitalize on the madness.
- March Madness Takes Over: How Fans Are Engaging.
- Brackets, Bets, and Big Wins: The Betting Boom.
- Rising Stars: The Players Defining March Madness 2025.
- Sponsorships That Score: How Brands Are Winning Big.
- Beyond the Court: March Madness as a Cultural Event.
- How Advertisers Can Maximize March Madness 2025.
- The Playbook for March Madness Success.
March Madness Takes Over: How Fans Are Engaging
College Basketball’s Biggest Stage Dominates the Conversation
"With 97% of sports-related discussions centered on March Madness, the tournament generates non-stop buzz across multiple media channels. Whether analyzing top seeds, predicting upsets, or debating NCAA tournament odds, fans are deeply invested in every game."
Key Insights:
- March Madness ranks as the most discussed sporting event, surpassing even the World Series and Bowl Season in cross-sport engagement.
- North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Iowa State are among the most talked-about programs, presenting regional engagement opportunities.
- Bracketology and sports betting discussions are skyrocketing, making March Madness a must-watch for advertisers looking to tap into fan excitement.
Why This Matters for Brands:
Companies that integrate their campaigns into the most engaging conversations around March Madness can maximize visibility and audience connection.
Brackets, Bets, and Big Wins: The Betting Boom
Bracket-building and sports betting have become March Madness staples. Fans are not only tuning in to watch but also placing wagers on point spreads, tournament game outcomes, and Cinderella story upsets.
Key Insights:
- Bracket predictions and NCAA tournament odds dominate engagement, with analysts like Joe Lunardi and Ken Pomeroy leading the discussion.
- Platforms like CBS Sports, ESPN, and DraftKings are at the forefront of sports betting and NCAA tournament odds coverage.
- The legalization of sports betting across more states has increased participation, with fans placing bets on everything from 16 seed upsets to national championships.
Why This Matters for Brands:
Companies in sports betting, analytics, and gaming can benefit from contextual advertising strategies that align with real-time betting trends and fan predictions.
Rising Stars: The Players Defining March Madness 2025
March Madness always produces breakout stars. Some will lead their teams to national titles, while others will cement their legacies with unforgettable performances. Tracking player momentum can help advertisers tap into real-time fan engagement.
Key Insights:
- Cooper Flagg (Duke) is the most mentioned player, with over 1,100 articles discussing his performance.
- Johni Broome (Auburn) leads in total visits per article, indicating high levels of fan engagement.
- Paige Bueckers (UConn) and JuJu Watkins (USC) are among the most-discussed women’s players, reflecting the growing media spotlight on women’s college basketball.
Why This Matters for Brands:
Advertisers can increase engagement by aligning with high-profile players, leveraging real-time highlights, and integrating contextual AI-driven ad placements during peak game moments.
Sponsorships That Score: How Brands Are Winning Big
Sponsorships remain one of the most powerful tools for brands looking to gain visibility during March Madness 2025. Leading sponsors are making waves with integrated campaigns, in-game activations, and digital-first advertising strategies.
Key Insights:
- AT&T leads all sponsorship discussions, appearing in 5,000+ articles.
- Capital One and Coca-Cola remain dominant sponsors, leveraging TV spots and digital activations.
- Buffalo Wild Wings and Reese’s are driving strong fan engagement, with Reese’s content receiving 64 visits per article.
Why This Matters for Brands:
Sponsors who integrate their messaging into game-day experiences, bracket challenges, and multi-platform activations will see the most impact.
Beyond the Court: March Madness as a Cultural Event
March Madness is bigger than basketball—it influences fashion, social media, and global sports discussions. Its reach extends far beyond the U.S., making it a key moment for international engagement and cross-industry collaborations.
Key Insights:
- International interest in March Madness is growing, particularly in Europe, Canada, and Australia.
- Basketball legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James continue to shape NCAA tournament conversations.
- Social media engagement surges during the tournament, creating multi-screen advertising opportunities.
Why This Matters for Brands:
Companies that blend sports, culture, and digital trends into their March Madness marketing will connect with a broader, more engaged audience.
How Advertisers Can Maximize March Madness 2025
Key takeaways of March Madness Trends
Align with Bracketology & Betting Trends
- Place ads around bracket predictions, betting insights, and NCAA tournament odds.
- Partner with platforms like ESPN and CBS Sports to reach the most engaged audiences.
Tap Into Rising Stars & Team Storylines
- Focus on top-ranked seeds, standout players, and dramatic matchups.
- Use real-time highlights and AI-driven ad placements to stay relevant.
Capitalize on Women’s College Basketball Momentum
- Feature high-performing female athletes in campaigns.
- Support gender equity initiatives with strategic sponsorships.
Invest in High-Impact Sponsorships
- Leverage AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Capital One’s sponsorship visibility.
- Create March Madness-themed activations and promotions.
Expand Across International & Multi-Platform Audiences
- Adapt messaging for global audiences engaging with March Madness.
- Use CTV, mobile, and social media integration to maximize reach.
The Playbook for March Madness Success
March Madness is unpredictable, thrilling, and a dream opportunity for advertisers. As the tournament unfolds, seeds will fall, legends will rise, and millions of fans will stay glued to their screens.
Brands that align with bracket fever, top player narratives, betting trends, and cross-platform engagement will dominate the conversation and drive real impact.
Learn how Seedtag’s contextual AI solutions are ready to craft data-driven, contextual campaigns that capitalize on the excitement and unpredictability of March Madness.
The advertising industry is undergoing a seismic transformation driven by privacy regulations, changing consumer expectations, and evolving data policies. For years, third-party cookies played a critical role in targeted advertising, allowing brands to track users across the web and serve ads based on their behavior. However, rising concerns about sensitive information, transparency, and data privacy laws have led to a shift away from traditional tracking methods.
From the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the U.S., advertisers must now navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape to ensure compliance while maintaining an effective ad experience.
In this article, we explore the major privacy regulations shaping the industry and what advertisers need to do to adapt.
The Evolution of Advertising Privacy: Key Milestones
Apple & Browser Tracking Restrictions (2017-2019)
The shift toward privacy-first advertising began when Apple introduced Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) in Safari in 2017. This feature blocked third-party cookies, significantly limiting advertisers' ability to track users across websites. Shortly after, Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) followed suit in 2019, accelerating the industry’s shift toward privacy-focused solutions.
GDPR: The Global Benchmark for Privacy Regulations (2018)
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) set a new standard for data protection and privacy laws worldwide, requiring businesses to obtain explicit user consent before collecting personal data. The regulation significantly impacted how advertisers use Google Ads, audience targeting, and personalized ads, as non-compliance can result in hefty fines.
What Advertisers Must Do:
- Implement clear, opt-in consent mechanisms for data collection.
- Use first-party data responsibly and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations.
- Adapt contextual targeting strategies to serve relevant ads without relying on cookies.
CCPA: Strengthening Consumer Data Rights in the U.S. (2020)
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) introduced stricter controls on consumer data by allowing users to opt-out of data sales and request access to their stored information. This law has become a model for other U.S. states implementing data protection and privacy laws.
What Advertisers Must Do:
- Ensure compliance with opt-out requirements, enabling users to control their data.
- Conduct annual cybersecurity audits to assess risk and compliance.
- Align third-party partnerships (DSPs, ad networks) with privacy regulations.
Google’s Privacy Sandbox & Chrome’s Changing Policies (2021-Present)
Google’s Privacy Sandbox was announced as a privacy-first alternative to third-party cookies, aimed at balancing privacy and targeted advertising. However, after several delays, Google announced in 2024 that it would no longer phase out third-party cookies, leaving many advertisers questioning the long-term viability of party data tracking.
What Advertisers Must Do:
- Shift focus toward privacy-first strategies, such as first-party data and contextual targeting.
- Explore Privacy Sandbox alternatives, including Google’s Topics API.
- Adapt campaign measurement methods to comply with data privacy laws.
Upcoming Global Privacy Regulations in 2025
The future of advertising privacy will be shaped by upcoming data privacy regulations worldwide. Here’s what advertisers need to know by region.
United States: Expanding State-Level Privacy Laws
By 2025, eight additional U.S. states will implement new privacy regulations modeled after CCPA, further restricting data collection and consumer tracking practices.
Key Updates for Advertisers:
- Universal opt-out mechanisms must be implemented to respect user privacy preferences across platforms.
- Restrictions on children’s data will increase, requiring stricter compliance when serving ads to minors.
- Automated decision-making transparency mandates will require advertisers to disclose AI-driven targeting processes.
How to Adapt:
- Review advertising platforms and ensure compliance with state-specific privacy laws.
- Implement clear consent options for personalized advertising.
- Work with privacy-first tech companies to align with evolving compliance standards.
European Union: Stricter GDPR Enforcement & AI Regulations
The GDPR framework continues to evolve, with stricter rules for cross-border data transfers and AI-driven advertising set to take effect in 2025. Additionally, the EU AI Act will introduce new restrictions on AI-powered ad targeting.
Key Updates for Advertisers:
- New Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for intra-EU data transfers.
- Guidelines on ‘Consent or Pay’ models, requiring transparency on paid vs. free data-sharing options.
- AI risk assessments will be mandatory for automated ad targeting.
How to Adapt:
- Update user consent flows to align with GDPR’s enhanced transparency rules.
- Conduct risk assessments for AI-driven targeted advertising.
- Limit the use of sensitive information and ensure ethical AI practices.
LATAM: Stricter Data Protection Measures in Brazil
Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD) will introduce tougher penalties for non-compliance, making advertising privacy a top priority for brands operating in the region.
Key Updates for Advertisers:
- Users will gain stronger rights to data deletion.
- Fines for non-compliance will increase, affecting businesses that do not align with data privacy regulations.
- Stricter consent requirements for digital advertising.
How to Adapt:
- Strengthen first-party data collection strategies to align with consumer protection laws.
- Regularly audit advertising platforms to ensure LGPD compliance.
- Develop privacy-focused ad strategies that respect user consent.
APAC: New Data Privacy Regulations in India & Australia
In 2025, India’s Personal Data Protection Bill and Australia’s privacy tort law will introduce new challenges for advertisers in the APAC region.
Key Updates for Advertisers:
- India: Data localization rules will require companies to store consumer data within the country.
- Australia: Individuals will be able to sue companies for privacy breaches, increasing legal risks.
How to Adapt:
- Develop localized data processing solutions to comply with India’s regulations.
- Strengthen data security to protect against privacy lawsuits in Australia.
- Implement transparent ad disclosures to build consumer trust.
The Future of Privacy-First Advertising
Privacy-first advertising is no longer just a regulatory requirement—it’s a new standard for digital marketing. Brands that embrace first-party data, contextual targeting, and AI-driven compliance solutions will thrive in the evolving landscape.
Key Strategies for Advertisers:
- Invest in privacy-first ad technologies that enhance data protection.
- Use contextual targeting to deliver relevant ads without sensitive information.
- Align with tech companies focused on ethical data collection practices.
- Continuously update privacy compliance policies to meet evolving data privacy laws.
By prioritizing transparency, protecting consumer data, and adopting privacy-first ad strategies, advertisers can navigate this new era while maintaining trust and performance.
Want to stay ahead of the privacy revolution? Discover how Seedtag’s contextual solutions can help advertisers succeed in a privacy-first world.
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The role of Supply-Side Platforms in digital advertising has transformed significantly, shifting from simple intermediaries to strategic partners that enable publishers to maximize revenue, maintain transparency, and embrace privacy-first solutions.
In a recent episode of The Pub Way podcast, Jessica Breslav, Chief Customer Officer at Index Exchange, joined Seedtag VP of Strategy & Planning Mike Villalobos to discuss how SSPs are evolving to create long-term value for publishers. From automation and data-driven insights to sustainability and privacy-first advertising, the conversation highlighted the critical shifts taking place in the advertising supply-side platform ecosystem.
Let’s dive into the key takeaways from the episode and explore how SSPs are helping publishers optimize their inventory, connect with potential buyers, and navigate a changing landscape.
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What Does Supply-Side Platforms Stand for and How Does It Work in Advertising?
An Supply-Side Platform is a technology platform that helps publishers manage, sell, and optimize their ad inventory by connecting them with Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs), ad networks, and ad exchanges. SSPs facilitate Real-Time Bidding (RTB) transactions, allowing publishers to offer their inventory to multiple buyers in a competitive auction.
Key Supply-Side Platforms Benefits for Publishers
- Automation to streamline operations and maximize yield.
- Transparency to provide insights into ad performance and revenue streams.
- Privacy-first solutions to comply with data regulations while optimizing ad placements.
“Supply-Side Platforms are no longer just an intermediary; they’re strategic enablers helping publishers drive efficiency, maximize revenue, and navigate the evolving programmatic landscape.” - Jessica Breslav.
The Evolution of Supply-Side Platforms: Transparency, Automation & Value Creation
From Transactional Platforms to Publisher-Focused Partners
The SSP landscape has come a long way from being a simple technology platform that facilitated real-time bidding (RTB) transactions. Today’s Supply-Side Platforms are designed to do much more than just connect publishers with ad exchanges, networks, and demand-side platforms (DSPs).
Automation for Efficiency & Yield Optimization
Jessica Breslav emphasized that automation is now critical in enabling publishers to manage, sell, and optimize their ad inventory effectively. By leveraging automation, SSPs help publishers limit the number of times ads are shown to the same users, ensuring a better user experience and higher engagement.
Greater Transparency & Control
Transparency in Real-Time Bidding (RTB) transactions is now a priority for Supply-Side Platforms, with new tools allowing publishers to see where their ad spend is going, track impressions, and gain deeper insights into their target audience. This shift ensures that publishers retain greater control over their monetization strategies while building trust with advertisers.
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Maximizing Publisher Revenue with Supply-Side Platforms
As SSPs evolve, publishers are finding new ways to monetize their content more effectively.
Premium Inventory & Smart Monetization Strategies
Premium inventory has become a key focus for publishers aiming to attract high-value advertisers. As Jessica noted, “Premium inventory is critical—brands want to reach high-quality audiences in brand-safe environments.” SSPs play a crucial role by helping publishers’ sites optimize inventory, ensuring that display ads are matched with the most relevant potential buyers.
Data-Driven Insights for Smarter Monetization
Leveraging Real-Time Analytics: SSPs now provide real-time reporting and analytics, enabling publishers to track key performance indicators such as eCPM, fill rates, and revenue trends. These insights empower publishers to fine-tune their monetization strategies.
Better Audience Segmentation: SSPs help publishers refine audience segmentation, ensuring they can offer advertisers highly targeted placements that drive engagement and revenue.
Stronger Buyer-Publisher Collaboration: SSPs facilitate direct relationships between publishers and advertisers, reducing reliance on intermediaries while enhancing the value of programmatic deals.
The Privacy-First Future: How Supply-Side Are Adapting
With third-party cookies disappearing and stricter data privacy regulations in place, publishers must rethink their targeting strategies. SSPs are stepping up with privacy-first solutions that allow publishers to maintain their ad revenue while complying with regulatory changes.
Shifting Toward Contextual Targeting
Breslav highlighted the importance of contextual advertising as a privacy-friendly alternative to cookie-based targeting. SSPs are working closely with advertisers, DSPs, and ad networks to create privacy-first targeting strategies that rely on contextual insights rather than tracking user behavior.
Standardization & Compliance
From sellers.json to transparency benchmarks, SSPs are helping publishers manage, sell, and optimize impressions in ways that align with evolving industry standards. These efforts ensure that both buyers and publishers can navigate the digital ecosystem with confidence.
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Sustainability in Supply-Side: A Green Priority
Sustainability has become a major focus in Supply-Side advertising, with industry leaders like Index Exchange taking steps to reduce digital ad waste and improve environmental impact.
Reducing Supply Chain Redundancies
One key initiative involves minimizing duplicative supply paths, which helps limit excess bid requests and reduce energy consumption. By streamlining RTB transactions, SSPs are making digital advertising more efficient and sustainable.
Strategic Partnerships for Sustainability
Platforms like Index Exchange are forming partnerships with sustainability-focused organizations, such as Scope3, to measure and mitigate carbon emissions in programmatic advertising. These efforts not only align with industry goals but also enhance brand safety by ensuring advertisers invest in ethical, responsible advertising practices.
How Publishers Can Future-Proof Their Monetization Strategies
Supply-Side Platforms are no longer just technology platforms—they’re strategic partners that help publishers connect with buyers, optimize impressions, and drive sustainable revenue growth. Here are the key takeaways from this episode of The Pub Way:
- Embrace automation to optimize inventory and streamline operations.
- Invest in premium inventory to attract high-value advertisers.
- Adopt privacy-first solutions, including contextual targeting and first-party data strategies.
- Implement sustainability initiatives to reduce environmental impact and build brand trust.
- Leverage real-time data to refine audience segmentation and maximize performance.
As SSPs continue to evolve, publishers who prioritize automation, transparency, and privacy-first solutions will stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly competitive digital advertising space.
Final Thoughts: The Role of Supply Side Platforms in the Future of Digital Advertising
As the SSP landscape continues to shift, publishers must embrace data-driven strategies that balance revenue growth, privacy, and sustainability. Supply-side platforms are now critical enablers in helping publishers navigate the complex world of digital advertising, ensuring they can sell and optimize inventory while maintaining compliance with industry regulations.
If you’re looking to optimize your advertising strategy with contextual AI and privacy-first SSP solutions, reach out toSeedtag today and explore how we can help maximize your monetization potential.
Seedtag is aware of a recent research study conducted by DeepSee.io, regarding ad placements on websites with limited or low-quality content. We take these matters seriously and are committed to maintaining the highest standards for our advertising network.
We are actively investigating the specific instances highlighted and are conducting a thorough review of our publisher network. As a first step, we have already disconnected inventory from Bidgear from our network. We are also working closely with partners like Jounce Media to understand how these sites were not previously flagged and blocked.
Our immediate actions include:
- Enhanced Publisher Audits: We are implementing a more robust and comprehensive audit of our entire publisher network to ensure ongoing compliance with our quality standards.
- Automated Detection: We are developing an automated system to identify and flag websites with minimal or insufficient content for review and potential removal from our network. This will enhance our proactive monitoring capabilities.
Seedtag's premium network is a priority. We are dedicated to providing a high-quality advertising experience for our clients and users. We are committed to transparency and will continue to refine our processes to ensure brand safety and appropriate ad placement. We will share updates as we progress.
The Super Bowl isn’t just a sporting event—it’s a global media spectacle, drawing millions of viewers who tune in for the game, the halftime show, and, of course, the Super Bowl ads. With the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles set for a highly anticipated rematch in 2025, brands have a unique opportunity to engage audiences in new and innovative ways.
But as consumer behavior evolves, so does the way people watch NFL games. Traditional TV still commands significant reach, but NFL on CTV is on the rise, offering advertisers a more immersive, targeted, and measurable way to connect with audiences.
With CTV viewership surging, advertisers must rethink how they capture attention during the big game. Here’s what the data reveals about NFL trends leading up to Super Bowl 2025, and how brands can leverage them for maximum impact.
The New Prime-Time for Super Bowl Ads
The way audiences watch NFL games has changed dramatically over the past few years. According to Prosper Insights & Analytics, streaming platforms have gained significant traction among football fans, particularly younger demographics who prefer CTV NFL football over traditional cable TV.
Key Numbers Driving the CTV Shift
- Super Bowl content generates 4.3x higher engagement on CTV than traditional TV, making it the preferred platform for high-impact ad campaigns.
- Younger demographics (18-34) are 2.5x more likely to stream the game, reinforcing the importance of digital-first advertising strategies.
- The rise of sports betting has also fueled CTV NFL football engagement, as Super Bowl betting trends show increased second-screen activity during games.
Why This Matters for Advertisers:
Traditional Super Bowl TV ads remain powerful, but they come with significant challenges—high costs, limited personalization, and an inability to engage viewers in real time. Seizing the NFL football season allows brands to:
- Deliver targeted ads to relevant football audiences using first-party data
- Engage viewers throughout the regular season and not just on Super Bowl Sunday
- Leverage real-time insights to optimize ad placements dynamically
As more fans turn to watch the big game, advertisers must rethink how they distribute their budgets. Contextual AI offers the next step in precision targeting, ensuring that ads appear in the most relevant football content at the right moment.
Contextual AI: The New Playmaker for Ad Relevance
The challenge with Super Bowl advertising is relevance. Viewers are bombarded with flashy, high-budget ads during NFL games, but the brands that succeed are the ones that connect with audiences on a contextual level.
Why Context Matters for NFL Trends:
Contextual AI enables brands to tap into the conversations happening around the Super Bowl—not just through traditional sports content, but also via cultural moments, trending player storylines, and fan engagement topics.
Take the Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift phenomenon. Their high-profile relationship has transcended football, driving record-breaking NFL viewership numbers among non-traditional sports fans. Brands that can align their Super Bowl ads with trending moments like these stand to gain significantly more visibility and engagement.
- Contextual AI ensures your brand’s message is delivered in the right content environment.
- It dynamically adapts ad placements based on trending topics during the NFL season.
- It eliminates the need for cookies while still delivering precise audience targeting.
By leveraging NFL insights and real-time Super Bowl trends, brands can ensure their Super Bowl CTV campaigns are not just seen—but actually resonate with fans in meaningful ways.
Who is Who: The Matchup and Key Players
- The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are set to clash, generating significant digital engagement, with the Chiefs leading in media mentions (11,526 related articles) and the 49ers following closely with 9,987 mentions.
- Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs lead in digital engagement, with Mahomes securing the highest brand-safe mentions and remaining the most visible player, commanding 7,472 related articles and 43 visits per article.
- Travis Kelce’s cultural crossover due to his relationship with Taylor Swift has resulted in a significant 49% increase in non-sports fan engagement with Super Bowl content and has fueled 6,791 related articles and 49 visits per article.
- Christian McCaffrey dominates offensive player conversations, making him a key figure for brands targeting fitness and performance audiences. He has seen significant fan interest, with 2,371 related articles and 26 visits per article.
The Super Bowl Fan Experience: What Drives Engagement?
Super Bowl engagement is fueled by more than just the game itself. Fans engage with the event through multiple touchpoints, including fantasy football, home-viewing experiences, sports betting, and social media interactions. With multi-screen usage increasing by 12%, fans are consuming game content across CTV, mobile, and social platforms, making it essential for advertisers to adopt cross-platform strategies. In addition, fantasy football discussions remain highly relevant, with top player mentions like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Tyreek Hill influencing engagement beyond just team loyalty. This means brands aligning with fantasy football, player stats, and live predictions have a greater chance of capturing audience attention.
Food and beverage trends also play a crucial role in shaping Super Bowl engagement. Game-day food culture remains a dominant force, with buffalo chicken dip, nachos, and tailgate snacks among the most-searched items in the weeks leading up to the event. Advertisers in the food and beverage sector should take advantage of this by integrating their products into game-day marketing narratives. Meanwhile, health-conscious eating trends continue to rise, with increased searches for air-fried snacks and dairy-free alternatives, presenting new opportunities for health and wellness brands.
Another key engagement factor is the crossover between sports and entertainment. The Super Bowl halftime show consistently generates a 29% increase in second-screen activity, making it an ideal moment for brands to connect with audiences. Additionally, Travis Kelce’s media influence—boosted by his relationship with Taylor Swift—has expanded NFL discussions beyond traditional sports fandom, driving a 49% increase in non-sports fan engagement with football-related content. Brands that integrate cultural moments into their Super Bowl campaigns can tap into a wider, more diverse audience.
On the digital front, sports betting is surging. Super Bowl-related betting searches saw a 43% increase leading up to last year’s game, demonstrating the high demand for real-time, AI-driven ad placements within sports betting content. Brands in the fintech and gaming industries should align their campaigns with live betting moments, odds updates, and game analysis content to maximize relevance.
Super Bowl Sunday is no longer a single-screen experience. As fans turn to Super Bowl CTV, mobile apps, and interactive social platforms, brands need to adapt their advertising strategies to stay ahead of evolving fan behaviors. The brands that prioritize multi-screen engagement, cultural relevance, and real-time AI-driven contextual advertising will be the ones celebrating a win long after the game clock runs out.
Where can I get some? How Brands Can Take the Trophy Home
With the rise of Super Bowl CTV, the evolution of NFL trends, and the growing role of AI-driven advertising, brands need smarter, more targeted strategies to stand out.
How to Get Ahead:
- Invest in CTV and multi-screen strategies: the shift to Super Bowl CTV is undeniable, and brands need to ensure they are where the audience is.
- Leverage Contextual AI to enhance ad relevance: forget one-size-fits-all Super Bowl ads. Align with trending NFL insights to create ads that feel natural and engaging.
- Engage fans beyond the game itself: the regular season, NFL betting trends, and cultural moments surrounding NFL games present extended opportunities to connect with fans.
Next Steps in the Game:
In July 2024, Google announced that it would not deprecate third-party cookies, a move that sent ripples through the advertising industry. However, while this development offered a temporary reprieve, the cookie remains on an irreversible track toward deprecation. Today, nearly half of the open web operates without cookies, with platforms like Connected TV (CTV) and mobile in-app environments being cookieless by design. Legislation, ad blockers, and shifting user consent patterns further complicate the landscape as studies conducted with YouGov reveal that over half of Chrome users reject cookies on certain websites, while almost a third reject cookies across all sites.
Advertisers are facing exponential challenges in user identification, forcing a rethink of traditional strategies.
Yet, is this a challenge, or an opportunity in disguise? Consumers are more concerned about their privacy than ever before, and brands that embrace this shift toward transparency and privacy-first approaches will build stronger, more trusted connections with their audiences. At the core of this transformation is the first-party data strategy, a sustainable and effective approach that builds deeper connections with audiences.
- The Evolution of Data Privacy and Its Impact on Advertising
- What is a First-Party Data Strategy?
- The Benefits of a First-Party Data Strategy
- How Contextual Advertising Complements First-Party Data
- Building a First-Party Data Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Pioneering Privacy-First Advertising with Seedtag
The Evolution of Data Privacy and Its Impact on Advertising
The digital advertising landscape has undergone a seismic shift in recent years. Privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, alongside growing consumer awareness, have reshaped how brands collect and use data. While these changes create hurdles for advertisers who relied on third-party cookies, they also signal a new era of innovation and responsibility.
Why this matters:
- Third-party cookies are fading away: Platforms are phasing them out, and consumer opt-out rates are climbing.
- Privacy is non-negotiable: Modern consumers demand control over their data, and brands must adapt or risk losing trust.
- Cookieless environments are expanding: From CTV to mobile apps, more platforms are inherently cookieless, accelerating the need for new strategies.
Brands that adopt a first-party data strategy and integrate privacy-first approaches are not only surviving this transformation - they’re thriving.
What is a First-Party Data Strategy?
A first-party data strategy focuses on collecting, managing, and activating data that is directly sourced from consumers. Unlike third-party data, first-party data is collected consensually and is highly reliable. This data (gathered through interactions such as website visits, app engagements, email sign-ups, purchase histories, and surveys) provides a transparent, reliable foundation for marketing efforts.
Key features of first-party data:
- Privacy-compliant: Collected with user consent, ensuring alignment with data privacy regulations and building trust with your audience.
- Highly accurate: Reflects real consumer behavior, offering trustworthy insights for audience segmentation and campaign optimization.
- Brand-owned: Empowers businesses to craft tailored marketing strategies unique to their audience, reducing dependency on third-party providers.
In addition to compliance and accuracy, first-party data gives brands a competitive edge by allowing them to integrate their insights with contextual AI. At Seedtag, this approach amplifies the impact of contextual advertising by ensuring real-time relevance without compromising privacy. By layering first-party data with contextual insights, brands can achieve hyper-personalized campaigns that resonate deeply with users and really make the most of first-party data advertising.
The Benefits of a First-Party Data Strategy
- Enhanced Privacy Compliance With data privacy regulations tightening globally, first-party data provides a reliable way to engage audiences while respecting their rights. It eliminates reliance on third-party cookies and fits seamlessly into cookieless advertising strategies.
- Granular Audience Insights First-party data allows brands to segment audiences based on precise behaviors, enabling campaigns that resonate deeply with individual preferences. By understanding consumers better, advertisers can move beyond generic targeting to deliver meaningful experiences.
- Improved Campaign Performance Accurate data leads to more effective audience segmentation, resulting in better campaign performance and higher ROI. First-party data also reduces waste by ensuring that ads reach the right people at the right time.
- Future-Proof Strategies Relying on third-party cookies is no longer sustainable. A first-party approach ensures brands stay ahead of industry shifts and are prepared for an evolving advertising landscape.
How Contextual Advertising Complements First-Party Data
At Seedtag, we believe the future of advertising lies in the intersection of contextual AI and first-party data. This partnership creates a dynamic framework that allows advertisers to:
- Deliver precise, relevant ads: Contextual targeting ensures ads align with the content users are engaging with in real-time.
- Respect user privacy: By avoiding reliance on intrusive tracking methods, contextual advertising keeps campaigns compliant with data privacy regulations.
- Enhance engagement: By focusing on the user’s immediate environment, brands can create more meaningful connections and improve ad performance.
Seedtag’s contextual AI uses machine learning to provide human-like understanding of content. This ensures that ads are placed in contexts that align with user interests, increasing attention and engagement. According to research conducted by Seedtag and Lumen, contextual ads are 87% more likely to be viewed than standard ads. This highlights the importance of context in capturing fragmented attention spans, especially in a world moving away from third-party cookies where attention in advertising is becoming more crucial than ever.
The Privacy Advantage of Contextual Advertising
Unlike behavioral targeting, contextual targeting analyzes the semantic relevance of a page, ensuring ads are relevant to the content without relying on personal data. This makes it an inherently privacy-first solution. It also enhances brand safety by ensuring that ads are placed only in environments that align with brand values. For advertisers, this means reaching audiences in a way that builds trust and delivers results.
Imagine a customer exploring your website, browsing specific products, and providing feedback. This data reveals what they value, enabling you to craft a first-party data marketing strategy that delivers highly relevant ads. When combined with contextual targeting, these insights power engaging and privacy-compliant campaigns that reach users in the right moments.
For instance, a fashion brand could leverage first-party data to identify frequent shoppers and pair this insight with contextual advertising by serving ads on style-focused platforms. This dual approach ensures relevance without compromising trust.
Contextual advertising is more than just an alternative to behavioral targeting—it’s a long-term solution that aligns with evolving consumer expectations and regulatory frameworks. By analyzing the content of a page rather than tracking users, it delivers ads that feel natural and relevant. This approach fosters trust and ensures brand safety while providing measurable results.
Why Context Matters More Than Ever
- Boosts Engagement: Relevant ads capture attention without disrupting the user experience.
- Promotes Brand Safety: Ensures ads appear in suitable, trusted environments.
- Future-Proofs Campaigns: As third-party cookies phase out, contextual advertising offers a scalable and sustainable solution.
Building a First-Party Data Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Audit Your Data Sources: Identify where your data comes from; whether it’s website interactions, CRM systems, or offline touchpoints. Ensure these sources are comprehensive and privacy-compliant.
- Focus on Data Privacy: Adopt robust practices to secure user consent and comply with regulations like GDPR and CCPA. Transparency is key to building trust and ensuring long-term compliance.
- Leverage Contextual Technology: Integrate tools like Seedtag’s Contextual AI to amplify your data strategy, ensuring ads are relevant and engaging in real time.
- Create Detailed Audience Segments: Use your first-party data to define precise audience groups, enabling personalized messaging that resonates with individual preferences.
- Test, Learn, and Optimize: Monitor campaign performance regularly, refine your approach, and adapt to shifting consumer behaviors and market trends.
- Invest in Training and Collaboration: Ensure your teams are well-versed in leveraging first-party data and contextual technology. Cross-functional collaboration between marketing, analytics, and IT teams is essential for success.
Pioneering Privacy-First Advertising with Seedtag
The advertising industry is entering a new era where privacy, relevance, and innovation coexist. By adopting a first-party data strategy and integrating it with contextual advertising, brands can overcome the challenges of a cookieless world while delivering effective, engaging campaigns.
At Seedtag, we’re committed to helping advertisers navigate this transformation. Our contextual AI solutions ensure that brands can thrive in a privacy-first future, creating campaigns that resonate without compromising user trust.
Ready to future-proof your advertising strategy? Contact us today to discover how Seedtag can help you lead the way with first-party data and contextual AI.
Last week, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 took over Las Vegas, the global stage for innovation showcased the latest advancements in technology. This year’s CES Show 2025 was a game-changer for digital advertising, shaped by transformative discussions, tech announcements, innovation and much more.
Ready to dive into what was buzzing in Las Vegas?
From our Seedtag Sky Suite at the ARIA Hotel to high-impact networking events, we connected with industry leaders, shared groundbreaking advancements in contextual AI, and explored how privacy in advertising is reshaping the future of marketing. We even managed to dance the night away at ‘Strangers No More’ with Unplugged Collective - truly an edition to remember.
Here’s a look at our very own event highlights and the key industry trends that had everyone talking at CES Las Vegas 2025.
- Seedtag going strong at CES 2025
- Key Industry Trends from CES 2025
- Seedtag’s CES 2025 Cheatsheet for Advertisers
- Leading the Way in Contextual Innovation
Seedtag going strong at CES 2025
We surely made a strong impression at CES Las Vegas 2025 with a series of exclusive events and experiences that brought the best of contextual advertising to the spotlight.
Seedtag Suite: A Hub for Innovation and Networking
Located in the luxurious Aria Sky Suite, the Seedtag Suite hosted our top-tier clients, including representatives from GroupM, OMG, Carat, NBCU, and Fubo. Guests were treated to personalized experiences, including rejuvenating IV transfusions, machine learning workshops, and exclusive Seedtag CES merchandise.
Unplugged Collective’s Strangers No More
Seedtag partnered with Unplugged Collective to host the Strangers No More event, a dazzling mix of networking, music, and immersive experiences. With over 600 attendees, this event left a lasting impression, highlighting how we bring creativity and innovation to the digital advertising landscape.
Contextual AI in the spotlight
At the Seedtag Suite, we unveiled our latest advancements in contextual AI technology, demonstrating how our solutions can redefine CTV advertising and improve ad relevance without compromising user privacy. From harnessing AI to power contextual strategies to privacy-first targeting strategies, we highlighted how Seedtag’s technology is leading the way in contextual targeting.
Key Industry Trends from CES 2025
1. AI’s Inflection Point: Transforming Targeting and Personalization
Generative AI took center stage at CES 2025, revolutionizing how brands approach contextual advertising. AI is no longer a buzzword but a vital tool in crafting precise, relevant, and engaging campaigns.
We showcased how AI contextual advertising enables brands to move beyond tracking user behavior to focus on the immediate context of user engagement. By analyzing real-time content, generative AI delivers display ads that align seamlessly with consumer interests, ensuring higher engagement and relevance.
What to Expect from Contextual Artificial Intelligence
- Generative AI is redefining marketing strategies by enabling hyper-personalization while respecting personal information and user privacy.
- 2025 is the year for brands to adopt AI-driven solutions that optimize content creation, campaign performance, and consumer engagement.
2. The Rising Dominance of CTV Advertising
As streaming continues to replace traditional TV, CTV advertising emerged as a hot topic at CES Las Vegas 2025. This shift reflects changing consumer habits, with cord-cutters embracing on-demand content and advertisers reallocating budgets to reach engaged streaming audiences.
Why CTV Is Essential
- Precision Targeting: Unlike traditional TV ads, CTV enables brands to tailor their messaging to niche audiences.
- Real-Time Metrics: Advertisers gain access to detailed insights into viewer preferences, optimizing campaigns on the fly to improve ROI.
- Personalized Ads: CTV offers unparalleled opportunities to connect with users based on their current interests and viewing habits.
Seedtag’s CTV advertising solutions stood out for their ability to combine contextual insights from the open web with streaming data. This approach ensures that ads resonate deeply with viewers while respecting their privacy. As CTV advertising evolves, it’s clear that contextual targeting will remain a cornerstone of effective campaigns in this space.
3. Privacy in Advertising: A Growing Imperative
Privacy was a recurring theme at CES 2025, reflecting the industry’s response to stricter data regulations and growing consumer awareness of how their data is used. With new privacy laws taking effect in multiple U.S. states and the continued influence of GDPR, brands must adapt their marketing strategies to prioritize user privacy.
Challenges of Privacy in Advertising
- Signal Deprecation isn’t Privacy: Many “privacy-safe” solutions fail to address the broader regulatory environment and consumer sentiment. This only emphasizes the importance of solutions that genuinely prioritize user privacy over short-term fixes.
- CTV and Privacy: While CTV avoids cookies, its reliance on IP address tracking introduces new privacy challenges. Regulations like the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) classifies IP addresses as personal information, requiring advertisers to rethink their targeting methods.
"The Time for Contextual Advertising is Now"
Seedtag demonstrated how contextual targeting provides a long-term solution to these challenges. By focusing on the content a user is engaging with at that moment, contextual advertising avoids the need for personal data while delivering relevant, engaging ads. This privacy-first approach aligns with the expectations of both consumers and regulators, ensuring compliance without sacrificing effectiveness.
Seedtag’s CES 2025 Cheatsheet for Advertisers
CES 2025 reaffirmed once again the power of contextual AI, CTV advertising, and privacy-first solutions in the evolving adtech landscape. What can brands and agencies learn from this?
- Embrace AI: Generative AI is essential for delivering personalized, efficient campaigns that resonate with modern consumers.
- Invest in CTV: The rapid growth of streaming audiences makes CTV advertising a must-have in any forward-looking marketing strategy.
- Prioritize Privacy: Contextual targeting offers a sustainable solution for balancing personalization with compliance, ensuring your ads remain impactful and trustworthy.
Leading the Way in Contextual Innovation
As CES 2025 demonstrated, the future of digital advertising lies in solutions that balance innovation with responsibility. Seedtag’s expertise in contextual advertising ensures that brands stay ahead of industry trends, delivering ads that engage audiences without compromising privacy.
Ready to elevate your advertising game? Discover how Seedtag’s contextual AI can transform your campaigns and help you thrive in the ever-changing landscape of digital advertising.
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