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Digital advertising leaders converge for IAB Europe's H1 2025 insights

Industry experts gather in London to address programmatic trends, with outcomes-driven campaigns leading market shift.

Luis Rijo

• 6 min read
IAB Europe Virtual Programmatic Day 2025 London event logo featuring geometric cubes and Rakuten branding
IAB Europe Virtual Programmatic Day 2025 London event logo featuring geometric cubes and Rakuten branding

IAB Europe hosted its Virtual Programmatic Day H1 2025 on July 8, 2025, drawing hundreds of digital advertising professionals to examine the industry's first-half performance and second-half outlook. The hybrid event, broadcast from Rakuten Advertising's London offices, featured four panel discussions covering programmatic fundamentals, omnichannel strategies, curation practices, and attention measurement.

According to Emma Jowett, VP Northern Europe Sales at IAS and panel moderator, the industry demonstrated stronger performance than expected. "We were expecting a strong H1 but not as strong," stated Andrew Buckman, Chief Growth Officer at Azerion, during the opening panel. The programmatic sector showed resilience despite geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.

Summary

Who: IAB Europe, featuring industry executives from Azerion, PubMatic, WPP, European Broadcaster Exchange, Sportradar, Virtual Minds, Bauer Media, OneTag, Magnite, Index Exchange, Microsoft Advertising, Comcast Advertising, DoubleVerify, Publicis Next, and Mail Metro Media

What: Virtual Programmatic Day H1 2025, a hybrid industry conference examining programmatic advertising trends, performance metrics, curation practices, and attention measurement across connected television, retail media, and omnichannel campaigns

When: July 8, 2025, from 15:00 CET/14:00 BST, marking the mid-year assessment of European programmatic advertising performance and second-half strategic outlook

Where: Hybrid format broadcast from Rakuten Advertising's London offices with virtual attendance options, representing Europe's largest programmatic advertising event with hundreds of participants

Why: Address first-half performance assessment, signal loss challenges, outcomes-driven campaign requirements, supply chain transparency needs, and emerging measurement approaches shaping programmatic advertising's future across European markets

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Retail media drives expansion amid measurement challenges

The first-half period saw significant growth in retail media investments, which has become a major force in programmatic advertising. Jason Wescott, Global Head of Commerce Solutions at WPP and Chair of IAB Europe's Retail & Commerce Media Committee, revealed that digital advertising achieved unprecedented growth with 16% year-over-year expansion in Europe.

According to Wescott, the global advertising revenue forecast was downgraded from 7.7% to 6% during the first half, reflecting broader market caution. However, digital maintained its momentum with pure-play digital representing 73% of global advertising revenue. When including digital extensions like connected television and digital out-of-home, the share reaches 81%.

Connected television emerged as a standout performer across multiple discussions. Mara Negri, CEO of European Broadcaster Exchange and VP Marketing at Publieurope, highlighted the platform shift driving investment growth. "We ended 2024 in a very good position and we were expecting 2025 to be similar," Negri explained, noting that broadcasters are increasingly making linear television available through programmatic channels.

Performance focus reshapes campaign strategies

The event's recurring theme centered on performance-driven advertising, with traditional brand metrics expanding to include measurable outcomes. Emma Newman, Chief Revenue Officer EMEA at PubMatic, observed that "pretty much everything that we see now has a performance element even in those channels perhaps would be considered more branding."

According to Buckman, campaigns now require measurable success metrics beyond awareness. "Attention is no longer enough," he stated, emphasizing the need for store visits, purchases, or downloads depending on campaign objectives. This shift reflects the industry's 72% planned increase in programmatic investment for 2025.

The performance emphasis extends to video advertising, where speakers noted that CTV campaigns increasingly include performance requirements alongside traditional brand objectives. This dual-purpose approach represents a fundamental change in how marketers structure their video investments.

Curation addresses supply chain consolidation needs

Panel discussions revealed significant momentum around programmatic curation, with industry leaders describing it as a major shift comparable to header bidding's impact. According to Filippo Gramigna, co-CEO of OneTag, curation involves "the intelligent selection of media and data with an optimization that happens in real time for better outcomes."

Frank Schofield, Director of Enterprise Sales & Commerce Media EMEA at Magnite, emphasized buyer control and transparency as primary drivers. "What the buyer wants, it's still control, transparency, ROI," Schofield noted, describing curation as moving decisioning closer to supply sources while reducing intermediary layers.

The curation discussion aligned with broader industry adoption of IAB frameworks, which have gained traction across major platforms including Google Ad Manager and Microsoft Advertising. Sarah Botherway, Director of Marketplace Operations at Index Exchange, highlighted the collaborative aspect between supply-side platforms and media buyers.

Matthew Adams, Regional VP of Media & Ad Tech at Microsoft Advertising, revealed a strategic shift toward sell-side innovation. Microsoft recently announced the deprecation of its DSP Invest, focusing instead on supply-side curation capabilities. "We think brands building marketplaces and buyers ultimately leaning into curation is going to be the real path forward," Adams explained.

Attention measurement gains practical implementation

The final panel addressed attention metrics' role in campaign optimization, moving beyond theoretical discussion to practical application. Lucy Wallace, Head of Programmatic at Publicis Next, noted increased testing activity over the past six months, attributing this to improved accessibility of attention measurement tools.

According to Anna Libova, Senior Director Publisher Sales at DoubleVerify, attention measurement has proven effective across the full marketing funnel. "We have seen enough data to very firmly say that improved attention does bring outcomes across the full funnel," Libova stated, describing attention as a privacy-friendly solution for understanding campaign effectiveness.

The discussion highlighted ongoing standardization challenges, with panelists noting that different platforms and vendors use varying attention definitions. Lauren Dick, Managing Director of Media & Commerce at Mail Metro Media, emphasized the need for industry alignment: "It can't really be a proxy until everyone has the same definition of attention."

Recent implementation examples demonstrate attention metrics' practical value. French agency EssenceMediacom achieved 7% cost efficiency improvements using attention-based bidding in Display & Video 360, while Integral Ad Science reported 130% conversion lift from high-attention impressions.

Cross-channel measurement complexity persists

Omnichannel programmatic discussions revealed persistent measurement challenges across different advertising formats. Ralf Ollig, VP Product at Sportradar, acknowledged that "there's no holy grail on doing this so far" regarding cross-channel measurement, citing different currencies and tracking limitations across platforms.

Tom Peruzzi, Spokesperson of Virtual Minds' management board, noted the complexity of comparing one-to-many channels with one-to-one channels. Despite these challenges, he highlighted successful examples like Austria's television industry, where broadcasters, agencies, and advertisers collaborated for two years to develop digital-compatible measurement standards.

Charlie Brookes, Director of Digital at Bauer Media Audio UK, emphasized the importance of understanding individual channel capabilities while working toward integrated measurement approaches. His team focuses on leveraging multiple touchpoints across audio, providing retargeting opportunities that support performance measurement.

Industry outlook emphasizes automation and partnerships

Looking toward the second half of 2025, speakers identified automation and strategic partnerships as key themes. Multiple panelists discussed agentic AI's potential to make programmatic tools more accessible, particularly for new industry entrants.

According to Buckman, natural language interfaces could simplify campaign setup, allowing users to specify requirements like "a campaign for BMW in the southwest of France for 45 to 60 year old professionals" without navigating complex platform interfaces.

Partnership announcements reflected this consolidation trend, with speakers noting unexpected collaborations like TF1 and Netflix, Disney and Amazon, and Sky Channel 4 with ITV. These partnerships aim to combine premium content with advanced technology platforms, creating competitive alternatives to major walled gardens.

The event's technical discussions revealed infrastructure improvements across the programmatic ecosystem. Recent partnerships like StackAdapt and Index Exchange achieved 71% query reduction in streaming television advertising, demonstrating efficiency gains from technical innovation.

Marketing implications for campaign strategies

The July 8 event's insights carry significant implications for marketing teams navigating the second half of 2025. The emphasis on outcomes-driven campaigns suggests budget allocation should prioritize measurable performance indicators across all advertising formats, including traditionally brand-focused channels like connected television.

According to the panel discussions, successful programmatic strategies now require integration across multiple measurement approaches. Teams should consider attention metrics alongside traditional performance indicators while preparing for continued signal loss affecting targeting capabilities.

The curation discussion indicates opportunities for more direct relationships between advertisers and premium publishers. Microsoft's expansion of curation tools and Google's new curation capabilities provide practical implementation paths for teams seeking supply chain transparency.

Marketing professionals should anticipate continued automation deployment while maintaining strategic oversight of campaign decisioning. The balance between automated efficiency and human control remains critical for campaign differentiation and performance optimization.

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