If data is the new oil, then first-party data is a crypto farm sitting atop an oil field. Like all valuable commodities, though, first-party data is not evenly distributed.

The future is zero- and first-party data. Audiences must regain a central role in the digital advertising ecosystem. But the industry is facing one of its biggest challenges to date, and it’s not on the technical and regulatory fronts.

These days, marketers and agencies using self-serve tools to buy and trade media are under a lot of pressure to deliver incredible results on smaller and smaller budgets. Manual optimization only compounds those difficulties—it takes forever, it is inconsistent and it is not scalable.

Take a trip down memory lane with me, when not too long ago, brands owned themselves. Taglines communicated tangible value, consumers bought products and services—and that was that.

We are used to seeing brand partnerships where brands with shared values come together to broaden their reach and maybe cachet. However, what we have seen more recently are brand collisions and mash-ups, where on the surface, it’s not as obvious as to why they’ve come together.

As the calendar turns to April, advertisers and publishers turn their attention to the all-important upfront season. Of course, CTV disruption and the rise of digital channels make every subsequent upfront more important.

The long-awaited return of the Shondaland hit period drama series has finally returned, and it did not disappoint. And when it comes to South Asian representation, Bridgerton must be celebrated for getting it right.

Editor’s note: As part of our coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, creative professionals who remain in the country have reached out with their own personal accounts. Anton Dolhov, a brand strategist, shared the following dispatch. This piece has been edited for formatting and clarity.

The industry has faced some significant challenges recently, from the debate about working from home and how it impacts office culture and community to hiring talent who aligns with your mission and also brings marketable skills—that change nearly every week.

It’s well known that YouTube is one of the most-visited websites in the world. This makes it critical to identify the latest YouTube marketing trends to get an edge above the rest and make your presence felt on it. But why should you leverage YouTube for marketing in the first place?