AdExplainer Archives | AdExchanger https://www.adexchanger.com/category/adexplainer/ News and Views on Data-Driven Digital Advertising and Marketing Thu, 19 Mar 2026 21:13:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 https://www.adexchanger.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cropped-adx-icon-1-32x32.png AdExplainer Archives | AdExchanger https://www.adexchanger.com/category/adexplainer/ 32 32 What Does A Beta Test Of A Sell-Side Agent Look Like? https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/what-does-a-beta-test-of-a-sell-side-agent-look-like/ Thu, 19 Mar 2026 05:19:03 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=454356 Using machine learning to automate and optimize ads is familiar to publishers. For years, this tech has helped publishers tune floors and serve the best ads behind the scenes. Now, publishers are exploring automation and optimization through agentic AI. Many publishers have identified a similar use case: sales agents who actively make decisions in the […]

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]]> Understanding MCP, The ‘Universal Adapter’ For AI In Advertising https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/understanding-mcp-the-universal-adapter-for-ai-in-advertising/ Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:56:22 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=453703 If there are two things ad tech isn’t short on, it’s acronyms and, more recently, AI product demos. But MCP – short for Model Context Protocol – is more than another TLA (sorry, three-letter acronym) or AI buzzword. Metaphorically speaking, it’s plumbing for AI: the piping that lets large language models connect to other software […]

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]]> Why You Should Know (And Use) The Marketing Efficiency Ratio Metric https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/why-you-should-know-and-use-the-marketing-efficiency-ratio-metric/ Tue, 29 Jul 2025 04:40:19 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=439687 “In the year of the lord 2025, we do not use ROAS.” That was the position of one agency media buyer during a conversation about the Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER). The data-driven advertising metric has been around for many years but is now reaching mainstream or at least revered status. That is an exaggeration, of […]

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]]> Your CAPI Cheat Sheet: Understanding Conversion APIs https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/your-capi-cheat-sheet-understanding-conversion-apis/ Wed, 23 Jul 2025 05:00:52 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=439263 Hot: Server-side conversion APIs that send marketing data directly to ad platforms. Not: Traditional browser-based tracking methods like cookies, pixels and scripts. Thanks to privacy regulations and browser restrictions, client-side tracking – as in, collecting and tracking user behavior directly through a browser – has become a heck of a lot harder to do. Enter: Conversion APIs. […]

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]]> When Did Ad Tech Get So Obsessed With Outcomes, Anyway? https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/when-did-ad-tech-get-so-obsessed-with-outcomes-anyway/ Wed, 02 Jul 2025 05:00:56 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=438045 Talking about outcomes is practically a mandate, especially in the CTV space, where ad buyers and vendors alike are heavily invested in streaming television’s potential as a lower-funnel, performance-driving channel.

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]]> Why Data Minimization Is A Very Big Deal For Ad Tech https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/why-data-minimization-is-a-very-big-deal-for-ad-tech/ Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:47:44 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=429143 When it comes to data collection, the ad tech industry has long had a hoarder mentality. Gather up as much data as you can from as many sources as possible, store it indefinitely, and if you’re not quite sure what to do with it now, hey, you can always just figure out that part later. […]

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]]> How A 134-Year-Old US Law Still Defends Against Monopolies Today https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/how-a-134-year-old-us-law-still-defends-against-monopolies-today/ Mon, 09 Sep 2024 05:15:39 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=413152 It might be surprising to learn the government fights against monopolies the same way now as it did in the late 19th century – partly because the laws haven’t needed to change all that much.

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]]> AdExplainer: The Rise Of Sell-Side Curation https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/adexplainer-the-rise-of-sell-side-curation/ Tue, 21 May 2024 04:35:03 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=404164 Audience curation is a manifestation of what the online ad industry has long been calling for: closer collaboration between partners that isn’t built on unreliable third-party signals. To curate custom ad inventory, buyers have started working more closely with the sell side. Publishers have strong insights into user browsing behavior that advertisers can use for […]

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]]> T-Commerce Vs. Shoppable TV https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/t-commerce-vs-shoppable-tv/ Wed, 17 Apr 2024 05:00:32 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=399858 Television commerce, or T-commerce, is similar to shoppable TV: both refer to buying something you see on television. But shoppable TV is far more nascent – and also has different implications on attribution.

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]]> The Rise Of Ecommerce Ad Metrics https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/adexplainer-the-rise-of-ecommerce-ad-metrics/ Mon, 08 Apr 2024 05:21:16 +0000 https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=399277 Ecommerce isn’t just a new category for online advertising. It’s changing how online advertising works. The first generation of online ad metrics was all about measuring the impact of the ad itself: click-through rate, app installs, video views and the like tied to a standard CPM. Those metrics were an attempt to prove that online […]

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