Lynne D. Johnson

New York

Content Director @admonsters | Class, Race & Gender Adjunct @SUNYEmpireLabor | Co-Founder #TechSoulPodcast | Tweets = my own

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Articles

đź› ď¸Ź What Happens When Publishers Build the Stack? - AdMonsters

1 week ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

When publishers stop waiting for better tech and start building it themselves, the ad stack starts to shift. This is how Stephanie Layser, Justin Wohl, and Justin Barton are creating tools rooted in lived experience to deliver transparency, control, and better outcomes across the supply chain. Did you catch last weekâ€™s news? Amazon is building a prebid adapter.Â Someone from the AdMonsters community had a hand in making that happen.
What VaynerMedia’s John Terrana Wants You to Understand About Attention

2 weeks ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

John Terrana, President of the Americas and Global Chief Media Officer at VaynerMedia, explains why attention isn’t just a KPI. From TikTok affiliates to YouTube’s overlooked power, he lays out how real-time buying, creative talent, and common-sense measurement can unlock real growth. At POSSIBLE 2025, we spoke with John Terrana, President of the Americas and Global Chief Media Officer at VaynerMedia, to discuss media’s most valuable currency: attention.
Creativity Isn’t Dead—It’s the Cheat Code - AdMonsters

2 weeks ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

At POSSIBLE 2025, Megan Jones, Chief Media Officer at Digitas, rolled back the covers on scroll culture, AI shortcuts, and the strategy-first mindset brands need to stop chasing metrics and start making moments. At POSSIBLE 2025, we caught up with Megan Jones, Digitas’s Chief Media Officer, to discuss scroll culture, AI overload, and what brands do wrong when they chase data but forget the idea.
30 Years In, Yahoo’s Still Got a Signal—and a Strategy - AdMonsters

2 weeks ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

At POSSIBLE 2025, Yahoo CRO Rob Wilk shared the company’s “greatest hits with new tracks” approach to reinvention—and explained why client loyalty, not hype, is the real signal of success. Yahoo’s been around for three decades. But that doesn’t mean we should mistake staying power for standing still.
90 Million Followers Later, Here’s What NowThis Knows About Gen Z

3 weeks ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

NowThis editor-in-chief, Michael Vito Valentino, shares what makes Gen Z tick, how to earn their attention, and why trusting creators is non-negotiable. Michael Vito Valentino has a pulse on what it means to make media that resonates. As Editor-in-Chief at NowThis, he’s tasked with creating programming that meets Gen Z where they are—and where they’re going.
What Weather Data Can Teach Us About Ad Strategy

3 weeks ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

At POSSIBLE 2025, we caught up with Felix Zeng, Head of Programmatic at The Weather Company, to discuss data ethics, environmental signals, and how forecasting weather and ad trends aren’t all that different—until they are. When you work in programmatic for a company built on forecasting weather, people assume you can see the signals before anyone else. That’s whether it’s a storm or a shift in programmatic strategy.
Everything Is Everything. Change Comes Eventually. Will Media Owners Lead It?

3 weeks ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

The browser isn’t the center of the internet anymore. From zero-click discovery to TikTok commerce, the sell side holds the signals to shape what comes next. AdMonsters Lynne d Johnson breaks down what it means to move beyond the browser—and into the signal. Many of you know me for programming sessions and writing content for AdMonsters. But my digital roots run deep.
Snackable Media Acquires AdGrid: Justin Barton on Building a Multicultural Tech Stack That Puts Publishers First

1 month ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

Snackable Media’s acquisition of AdGrid marks a first. A Black-owned header bidding wrapper and full-stack ad platform built with multicultural publishers in mind. Founder Justin Barton explains the strategy, the tech, and why it’s time to redefine scale and ownership in ad ops. There are multicultural ad networks. And, even a few minority-owned SSPs. But have you ever heard of a Black-owned header bidding wrapper?
Cracks in the Ad Stack: Publishers Want Power, Not Just Promises

1 month ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

Publishers aren’t celebrating the Google antitrust ruling. It just confirmed their reality. From floor pricing frustrations to platform lock-in, they’re done waiting for structural change. They’re ready to reclaim control: one lever, one partner, one practice at a time. It always starts with a sigh. That moment in the conversation when someone drops the polite industry speak and says the thing we’re all thinking.
Google on Trial: What the Verdict Means for Ad Tech’s Future

1 month ago | admonsters.com | Lynne D. Johnson

Google’s ad tech dominance faces a major legal challenge. AdExchanger’s Allison Schiff and AdMonsters’ Lynne d Johnson break down the DOJ verdict, what’s next for publishers and advertisers, and why the fight for the open web isn’t over yet. When a federal judge ruled that Google had illegally monopolized the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. The verdict essentially confirms what most of the ad tech industry already knew. So, what’s the big story now?