Trend Report

From Boom To Bust: Programmatic Display’s Existential Crisis

Publishers Must Focus On Audience Loyalty And Measurement

 and  three contributors
Sep 10, 2025

Summary

As search referral traffic wanes and advertisers prioritize performance and scale, walled gardens’ value proposition gets stronger. Macroeconomic volatility and any resulting budget cuts only exacerbate this dynamic. To compete for ad budgets in this precarious environment, open web publishers must focus on strengthening their audience relationships and proving their impact on marketing outcomes. This report explores how market trends will affect different publisher segments and what publishers can do to maximize their buyer appeal and keep open web programmatic on advertisers’ media plans.

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