The Current

The biggest changes in advertising are taking place on the open internet, including areas like identity, the future of television, and retail media. The Current, created by The Trade Desk, is a news platform focused on the latest trends in modern marketing. We talk to key figures in the marketing industry to help you understand these major changes, how they are unfolding, and the reasons behind them.

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Articles

AI’s new era and a live sports showdown: The biggest takeaways from Cannes Lions 2025

1 week ago | thecurrent.com | Ilyse Liffreing

The lines between tech, creativity and culture continue to blur at Cannes Lions. The melting pot that is the International Festival of Creativity saw the industry move beyond buzzwords and into business mode this year. AI was once again the dominant force driving most conversations, but unlike last year, marketers came armed with real use cases.
Programmatic Pioneers 2025: Sorrell, industry leaders predict AI-led shake-up in media buying roles

2 weeks ago | thecurrent.com | Zac Wang

Barely a day after soon-to-be former WPP CEO Mark Read said there was “no doubt” AI would “compress” many advertising jobs, his predecessor, Sir Martin Sorrell, echoed the warning, predicting that AI would “completely gut what goes on in media planning and buying.”The two comments were made at different conferences — SXSW London and Programmatic Pioneers — but they raise the same critical question: What does the media buyer of the future look like?
We analyzed hiring data to predict where advertising is going next

3 weeks ago | thecurrent.com | Shawn Lim

Talent acquisition has long been a bellwether for where programmatic and ad tech are going next. Today, a fundamental transformation is reshaping the talent landscape moving well beyond traditional media buying and planning functions. Agencies are restructuring programmatic teams, while brands are building capabilities in-house.
Why agencies are buying ad tech firms

3 weeks ago | thecurrent.com | Chris Stokel-Walker

A recent spate of mergers and acquisitions begs the question: why are major advertising agencies suddenly on an ad tech shopping spree? Interpublic Group’s (IPG) turned on the faucet with its December 2024 acquisition of Intelligence Node, an e-commerce intelligence platform. IPG, WPP and Omnicom quickly followed with a deal to take on minority stakes in Mediaocean. Then, Publicis Groupe bought Lotame in March and WPP purchased InfoSum in April.
CTV and retail media push European digital ad spend past €100 billion, as search falters

1 month ago | thecurrent.com | Zac Wang

Europe’s digital ad market has hit a major milestone, surpassing €100 billion in annual spend for the first time last year. The growth was largely driven by connected TV (CTV) and retail media. That shift — outlined at IAB Europe’s Interact conference in Brussels last week — is coming partly at the expense of search budgets, according to Daniel Knapp, chief economist at IAB Europe. The news landed against a backdrop of economic uncertainty.
Empathy at scale: What Headspace and Dotdash Meredith are teaching us about AI

1 month ago | thecurrent.com | Ilyse Liffreing

LAS VEGAS — Picture this: It’s the height of the holiday season. A young mom, juggling work, kids, and chaos sees an ad that doesn’t try to be clever — it simply gets her. It acknowledges her stress, offers empathy, and suggests a mental health tool that might actually help. That ad wasn’t dreamed up late at night by a team of agency creatives. It was built by AI. That’s what Headspace and Monks achieved in their latest seasonal campaign.
How U.S. upfront trends look different in the U.K.

1 month ago | thecurrent.com | Zac Wang

At this year’s U.S. upfronts, streamers leaned hard on live sports — but that play doesn’t work everywhere. NBCUniversal may have locked in U.S. rights to the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup, but in Britain, major sports rights are already tied up by local broadcasters. That leaves global platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and Warner Bros. Discovery with a different challenge: to win over advertisers through standout content, smarter ad tech and stronger measurement.
As tariff concerns grow, brands like Ford and DSW reposition messaging around transparency and value

1 month ago | thecurrent.com | Ilyse Liffreing

Volkswagen’s recent TV spot for its all-electric 2025 ID.4 doesn’t just tout performance and design — it has a message tailored to the current moment. The tagline: “Proudly assembled in Chattanooga.” In a political and economic climate where “Made in America” carries growing significance, it’s a strategic pivot designed to signal stability, trust and value. And VW isn’t alone.
NBCUniversal upfront positions Peacock as the live sports streaming leader with NBA deal, new features

1 month ago | thecurrent.com | Ilyse Liffreing

RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL, NY —To kick off NBCUniversal’s 2025 upfront, the company’s global ad chief, Mark Marshall, descended from the ceiling of Radio City Music Hall on a bubble-like lift, decked out in a pink blazer — a theatrical nod to its Oscar-winning hit Wicked. “I just want everyone to think about over the next couple weeks when you’re allocating where you’re going to put your dollars,” Marshall joked.
OMR 2025 takeaways: Marketers weigh in on AI automation, performance marketing, and podcasts

1 month ago | thecurrent.com | Zac Wang

At this year’s OMR conference in Hamburg — Europe’s largest gathering of marketing and tech leaders — one theme emerged: Advertisers are growing increasingly skeptical of the AI-automated world envisioned by Big Tech. Many are also starting to rethink performance marketing’s outsized role in the mix. From the rising demand for transparency to the growing appeal of podcasts, the mood at OMR 2025 was one of recalibration. Here are the key takeaways.