Ep. 98 From Standards to Streaming: Hillary Slattery on Programmatic, Curation & AI

In this episode of the Ad Tech Godpod, host AdTechGod speaks with Hillary Slattery, Senior Director of Product Management at IAB Tech Lab. They discuss Hillary's career journey, the differences between IAB and IAB Tech Lab, the rise of programmatic advertising in CTV, challenges in transparency and data sharing, innovations in live event advertising, the role of curation, and the impact of AI on the advertising industry.

Hillary emphasizes the importance of transparency, the need for standards in advertising, and her motivation as a female leader in a technical role.

Takeaways

• Hillary Slattery has a diverse background in ad tech.
• IAB and IAB Tech Lab serve different but complementary roles.
• Programmatic advertising in CTV is a growing trend.
• Transparency in data sharing is a significant challenge.
• Curation is becoming increasingly important in advertising.
• AI is reshaping the advertising landscape.
• Hillary values her role as a female technical lead.
• The conversations in ad tech are always evolving and interesting.
• There are legitimate reasons for the lack of transparency from sellers.
• Hillary is motivated by the impact of her work and the people she collaborates with.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Hillary Slattery and Her Journey

02:36 Understanding IAB and IAB Tech Lab

05:21 Programmatic Advertising and CTV Trends

07:57 Challenges in Transparency and Data Sharing

10:58 Innovations in Live Event Advertising

13:41 The Role of Curation in Advertising

16:38 AI's Impact on the Advertising Industry

19:18 Motivation and Leadership in Ad Tech

TikTok’s Fate, Rembrandt’s Big Bet, and CTV’s Transparency Leap

This week’s episode of The Refresh covers three major developments shaping advertising and adtech: the long-awaited resolution of the TikTok U.S. drama, a notable merger between Rembrandt and Spaceback, and Index Exchange’s groundbreaking integration with Grace Note. Host Kate unpacks the details, implications, and what these shifts mean for advertisers, creators, and platforms heading into 2025.

5 Key Highlights:

• TikTok’s U.S. operations are set to spin into a new company with majority American ownership (80%), including Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake, while ByteDance retains 20%.
• A new TikTok U.S. app is reportedly in testing, requiring users to migrate accounts, raising concerns about logins, content transfers, and algorithm performance.
• Rembrandt acquired Spaceback, adding scale with 3,000+ advertisers and expanding its AI-driven creative offerings to blend product placements with organic content.
• The merger reflects broader industry trends: AI-driven “intelligent creative,” creative functions shifting into buying platforms, and the blending of context with content.
• Index Exchange and Grace Note launched the first integration enabling show-level targeting and reporting in CTV, addressing long-standing transparency challenges for advertisers.

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