ENG Blog

Highlights from Relevant Digital: April Ad Tech Insights

suvi.leino@relevant.fi (Suvi Leino) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:15:35 GMT

At Relevant Digital, April has been about moving from discussion to practical validation. Instead of just following industry conversations, we’ve been testing new setups in practice, gathering real data, and looking beyond surface-level metrics to understand what truly drives performance.

In this month’s Ad Tech Insights, Ronny Linder (CPO & Partner) shares early findings from testing The Trade Desk’s OpenAds initiative, highlighting why controlled experiments and transparent measurement matter more than assumptions. Petri Kokkonen (CEO & Partner) reflects on key takeaways from the DanAds Summit Europe, focusing on holistic revenue optimisation and the need to move beyond siloed thinking.

Finally, Suvi Leino (Head of Marketing) presents insights from our latest customer satisfaction survey, covering what publishers value most today and how tools like Relevant AI are increasingly supporting day-to-day optimisation work.

From Data to Clarity: How AI Turns Ad Sales Data into Insights

thuy.ho@relevant-digital.com (Thuy Ho) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 07:00:00 GMT

Advertising sales, especially programmatic, generate an overwhelming amount of data. In the days of direct deals, a contract typically involved just a buyer and a seller. Today, even a standard PMP introduces additional layers such as agencies and intermediaries. Moving into header bidding, the number of participants inflates quickly, along with the data they generate.

Transparency in Programmatic Advertising: What Does It Mean for Publishers?

suvi.leino@relevant.fi (Suvi Leino) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 06:49:45 GMT

Transparency in programmatic advertising is one of the most widely discussed topics in the industry. It is constantly debated, often from the perspective of challenges, inefficiencies, and complex supply chains. But what does transparency actually mean for publishers?

IAB Finland Board Member and Relevant Digital CEO Petri Kokkonen Appointed Co-Lead of IAB Europe’s Programmatic Working Group

suvi.leino@relevant.fi (Suvi Leino) — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:32:30 GMT

Relevant Digital’s CEO and Partner, Petri Kokkonen, has been appointed Co-Lead of the IAB Europe Programmatic Working Group, representing IAB Finland. He will serve alongside Ralf Ollig, VP Product at Sportradar.

Highlights from Relevant Digital: March Ad Tech Insights

suvi.leino@relevant.fi (Suvi Leino) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:12:00 GMT

At Relevant Digital, March has been full of meaningful discussions, hands-on testing and real-world insights across the ad tech landscape. From evolving header bidding strategies and new supply path dynamics to the growing role of AI and server-side, we’re seeing clear shifts in how publishers approach monetisation.

In this month’s Ad Tech Insights, our team shares what we’re seeing in practice across our client base and the wider ecosystem. Ronny Linder, CPO and Partner at Relevant Digital, explores The Trade Desk’s OpenAds and what it could mean for publishers and the supply chain, while Ken Mathai, Senior Solutions Engineer, shares observations on Amazon’s growing role in header bidding and how publishers are testing different setups.

In addition, Petri Kokkonen, CEO and Partner, reflects on key takeaways from d3con in Hamburg, from AI-assisted content creation to the continued momentum behind server-side.

Understanding Ad Revenue Performance Through Dimensions and Metrics

suvi.leino@relevant.fi (Suvi Leino) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:11:26 GMT

Programmatic monetisation generates vast amounts of data. While parts of optimisation are increasingly automated, understanding what actually drives revenue still requires analysing that data from the right angles. At the same time, the programmatic ecosystem has become increasingly complex. Publishers work with multiple SSPs, ad servers, and demand partners across different deal types, each producing its own reports and metrics. As a result, gaining a clear overall view of monetisation performance can be challenging.

Highlights from February: Ad Tech Insights

suvi.leino@relevant.fi (Suvi Leino) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 09:16:17 GMT

As the programmatic landscape continues to evolve, publishers are balancing innovation with operational resilience. In this month’s recap, we examine Prebid’s move into agent-based selling through the Sales Agent and what it signals for open infrastructure, unpack Microsoft’s decision to shut down its Prebid video caching service and its practical implications, and share concrete test results from bidder-specific pricing in AdX.

The common thread across these developments is clear: automation is accelerating, infrastructure decisions are becoming more critical, and measurable optimisation requires both control and visibility. For publishers, the focus is no longer just on adopting new features, but on testing, safeguarding revenue streams, and building a setup that remains flexible as the ecosystem continues to shift.

Server-side Prebid: The Next Step in the Evolution of Programmatic Advertising

suvi.leino@relevant.fi (Suvi Leino) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 08:43:21 GMT

Header bidding has significantly transformed programmatic advertising, and an increasing number of publishers rely on it to grow their ad revenue. Until recently, browser-based client-side implementations have dominated the landscape: they have been easy to deploy and offered access to third-party targeting data, but they have also introduced latency and increased page load time, especially when a large number of demand partners are involved.

Prebid Video Options: How In-Stream and Out-Stream Fit Modern Video Monetisation

thuy.ho@relevant-digital.com (Thuy Ho) — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 14:30:51 GMT

Video is one of the most valuable but complex revenue streams for publishers. Today, many publishers still rely heavily on non-programmatic video monetisation, such as direct IOs, sponsorships, curated PMPs, and sales-led video packages.

Highlights from January: Ad Tech Insights

suvi.leino@relevant.fi (Suvi Leino) — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 13:48:03 GMT

As we look ahead to 2026, the ad tech landscape continues to shift at speed, driven by AI, changing buying models, and growing pressure on publisher revenues. This month, we take a closer look at Amazon’s move into the Prebid auction and what it means for publishers in practice, unpack the key takeaways from IAB Europe’s Attitudes to Digital Advertising 2026 report, and explore what’s next for open infrastructure through Prebid’s 2026 vision. Together, these perspectives highlight a common theme: publishers need more control, clearer visibility, and simpler operations to navigate an increasingly complex ecosystem.