The Open Internet - Email as an Ad Channel

"Over the next few weeks, ExchangeWire will release some sketches of the overlooked ecosystems that make up the 'open internet'. One of the most underserved spaces is email - and it's the subject of this edition of the MadTech Sketch. Publishers are building a moat around email and it serves as a critical monetisation and distribution channel. It's a huge inventory supply channel for retail media, figuring massively in the omnichannel ambitions of retail media networks."

"The open web is on rule decline but the open internet is not. It includes the likes of DOOH, retail media, app, audio and CTV. The problem with email ads are myriad: it's unique and complex ecosystem; it's underserved by ad tech; and buyers have no idea how to activate it. And yet the opportunity is significant. In the sketch we focus on four vendors: LiveIntent, Google, Passendo and Beehiv who are active in the space."

Referral traffic has been largely obliterated by Google and shifting consumer behaviour, driving decline across parts of the open web while the open internet grows to include DOOH, retail media, apps, audio and CTV. Email remains one of the most underserved yet strategically important channels. Publishers are building a moat around email because it offers dependable monetisation and distribution and supplies substantial inventory for retail media and omnichannel retail media networks. Email advertising faces challenges: a unique, complex ecosystem, limited ad tech support, and buyer activation gaps. Significant opportunity exists with vendors such as LiveIntent, Google, Passendo and Beehiv active in the space.

Read at Exchangewire