Thematic Intelligence: Adtech

Thematic Intelligence: Adtech

Summary

Advertising technology (adtech) is a blanket term covering all software and services used to deliver and target digital advertisements. It is the backbone of a global internet advertising industry that is on track to generate $1 trillion in sales by 2030, up from $581 billion in 2023, according to GlobalData forecasts. Adtech will play a vital role in this growth.

Key Highlights

• Data privacy legislation such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Google’s plan to launch new privacy tools, and Apple’s frequent launches of privacy features on its devices are compelling the industry to rethink its strategies. Using technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), adtech vendors must adopt targeting practices based on the ad's context instead of relying on users’ personal data. They must also adopt privacy-first approaches to ensure user data is not shared among advertisers.
• The need for transparency across the supply chain and reduced dependence on intermediaries will grow as data privacy concerns mount. Consequently, data management platforms and ad networks will lose their relevance.
• The tech giants (e.g., Google, Meta, Amazon, and Alibaba) dominate the adtech industry with massive user bases, hyperscale cloud platforms, and sophisticated adtech walled gardens. Over the next three years, several pure-play vendors will become acquisition targets for Big Tech.

• This report provides an overview of the adtech theme.
• It identifies the key trends impacting growth of the theme over the next 12 to 24 months, split into three categories: technology trends, macroeconomic trends, and regulatory trends.
• It includes comprehensive industry analysis, including forecasts for the global internet advertising market to 2030.
• It contains details of M&A deals driven by the adtech theme, and a timeline highlighting milestones in the development of adtech.
• The detailed value chain comprises three distinct segments: demand-side, intermediaries, and supply-side.

• Adtech plays a vital role in a brand’s visibility among existing and potential consumers. It covers the entire ad campaign process, from identifying and targeting the right audience to managing channels and selling ads to publishers. Subsequently, adtech companies help brands measure the effectiveness of their ads and understand the customers’ interests.
• The rapid rise in the number of internet users, the increasing digitalization of businesses, and the growing sophistication of analytics tools are key factors driving the growth of the adtech industry.
• This report provides an invaluable guide to this important theme, including details of the leading players and up-to-date market forecasts.