Digiday Daily

April 01, 2026

Whatever hope remained that this would be a short war is fading. And with it, the assumption that the economic damage would be too. When times get hard, brands don’t abandon paid search and retail media. If anything, they lean harder into performance. Which means large swathes are, for now, largely insulated.

TOP STORY

Managing Through Crisis

‘Predictability has become a luxury’: As the Iran war drags on, ad markets are starting to sweat

Whatever hope remained that this would be a short war is fading. And with it, the assumption that the economic damage would be too.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

Join us at the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit, May 6–8 in Palm Springs, to explore how AI agents are reshaping programmatic, from bidding and negotiation to measurement and optimization.
In the reality of today’s media environment, scale is fragile. Traffic is rented. Content alone is no longer defensible. But participation turns audiences from passive consumers into active participants. Partner insights from Viafoura.
Audience strategy has historically focused on reaching predefined consumer segments based on assumed traits. Neuro-contextual intelligence helps media planners identify high-intent moments in real time — distinguishing between passive browsing and active consideration. Partner insights from Seedtag.

MEDIA & PLATFORMS

The Programmatic Publisher

Publishers see double-digit growth from The Trade Desk's OpenPath, but volatility remains

Several publishers said that TTD is temporarily allowing duplicate bids on those integrating with OpenAds, as a sweetener to ease onboarding. One publisher said it plans to accelerate integration with OpenAds, to capitalize on this “likely temporary window.”

Member exclusive

Future of TV Briefing: What publishers have to offer creators

This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at what publishers have to offer creators as more media outlets enlist independent video makers.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM PATHLABS

Human-led service is an AI differentiator for agencies

As AI increases the bar for speed and responsiveness, the best people spend more time coordinating than doing the work only humans can do. Tools meant to simplify can end up costing agencies time, confidence and eventually, accounts.

Retail Media Rewritten

Walmart-Vizio’s CTV measurement faces incrementality hurdle

Walmart’s Vizio deal promises closed-loop CTV measurement, but brands are waiting for data clean rooms and proof of incrementality.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM AMAZON ADS

How one company layered its own intelligence on top of Amazon Ads MCP Server

Rather than add another interface for sellers and agencies to work with, Hector Ai brought Amazon advertising intelligence to where customers were already working for a more natural agent-driven workflow.

MARKETING

Generative AI