Publisher Collective

Hi Wednesday afternoon... A little light reading before the end of the day for you.

With the GDC: Festival of Gaming 2026 softly fading into memory, we've put together our key takeaways from the event... Take a look: https://hubs.ly/Q048FcWt0

Brands are shifting their budgets toward a more stable alternative: Direct Deals. But what are advertisers actually looking for when choosing a publishing partner? It’s no longer just about "vanity metrics" like raw reach. Today’s brands want measurable business outcomes and meaningful engagement. Read more about it, in our latest blog 👇 https://hubs.ly/Q048kNNW0

Ever wondered what it's like to be a Commerical Director? 🤔 Wonder no more...We sat down with Andrew Church to talk about what drives him, how he supports his team and his day-to-day! https://hubs.ly/Q047Klzv0

Every month we try and get a bit of time with a publisher to understand more about them, what they come up against running a site and what they see in their future. This month we caught up with NPI Profile...🩺 For those not in the know, NPI Profile is a free online directory that makes it easy to find detailed healthcare information - check out what they had to say below 👇 https://hubs.ly/Q047JVYf0

Really happy and excited to announce that I have started at Publisher Collective as Chief Revenue Officer. Having worked as a publisher and for publishers for most of my career I couldn't be happier to be joining Andrew Buckman and the wider Publisher Collective team to drive the business forward with our publishing, platform and buying partners. So great to be back into a full time role in such an interesting and progressive company but at the same time a big thank you to all my clients whilst in the world of 'fractional' work - great experience which has helped broaden my knowledge across all areas of the publisher, adtech and buyer ecosystem. And for all those who are still looking for roles in what is still a very tough job market believe me, I feel your pain it has been truly awful at times. I wish you luck and more than happy to meet for a coffee. https://lnkd.in/ev5zk5Em

For many publishers, the word video still triggers bad memories: autoplay audio, content pushed below the fold, spinning loaders, and DevTools warnings. Over time, we’ve learned to associate video with disruption. The truth? Most of these experiences weren’t the format’s fault, they came from unmanaged, default implementations optimized for reach, not user experience. Video isn’t a passing trend. In fact, digital media experts rank it as a top investment priority this year. Avoiding it because of past mistakes risks missing controlled, thoughtful opportunities. Check out our latest piece: https://hubs.ly/Q044sXdd0

“Made by AI.” It’s everywhere. From slightly off visuals to copy that feels generic and hollow, AI-generated advertising is everywhere. It’s easy to see why: with tightening budgets, AI offers a fast, cost-efficient way to produce content. Yet despite this surge, only fewer than half of advertisers consistently disclose when they’re using generative AI, even though 89% report doing so at least occasionally. That’s why the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) AI Transparency and Disclosure Framework is such a pivotal development. These guidelines aren’t meant to slow innovation, they provide a structure for ethical AI use, building trust and credibility in the process. For advertisers, embracing this framework isn’t just compliance, it’s a strategic move that can impact creativity, credibility, and how consumers perceive your brand. In our latest post, we break down the IAB AI Transparency and Disclosure Framework. We explore why it matters, and highlight what it means for the future of advertising. 📎Check it out here: https://hubs.ly/Q043_6C-0

The ad industry is quietly crossing a fault line: we’re moving from basic automation to truly agentic AI. And whenever the ground shifts, the real battle isn’t about features, it’s about standards and who gets to define them. Two very different philosophies are emerging: 1. AdCP: a clean‑slate protocol A new, open standard built so AI agents can communicate directly across ad systems. If it works, it rewrites how interoperability happens; not an evolution, a replacement. 2. IAB Tech Lab’s Agentic Roadmap: an incremental path Instead of starting over, it extends today’s frameworks and tries to graft agentic capabilities onto the infrastructure the industry already runs on. What’s fascinating is that these approaches aren’t just technical choices. They reflect two competing visions for the future of programmatic: - Do we rebuild the pipes for an AI‑native world? - Or do we retrofit the old pipes and hope they can carry the new load? It’s early, and maybe both paths coexist... ...but history suggests standards rarely share power for long. The real question, or at least the one I’m curious about, is this: Which vision do you believe will shape who controls the rules of programmatic in the AI era? ie where should I invest time, money and strategic focus?

A little while ago, we teamed up with Liquid Advertising to power the open beta and launch of Mecha BREAK, delivering high-impact display media that truly stood out in live-service gaming environments. By securing an unmissable share of voice across key gaming communities, we helped Mecha BREAK cut through the noise at its most critical release moments, to drive awareness, momentum, and sustained player attention. Check out the full story here: https://hubs.ly/Q043k6bj0