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Brian Gleason, who previously served as Chief Revenue Officer and President of Retail Media at Criteo, has transitioned to a new leadership role as CEO of Seedtag, a prominent contextual ad platform. In a recent interview with AdExchanger, Gleason articulated a significant shift in his strategic focus, asserting that contextual advertising presents an even greater opportunity than the burgeoning retail media sector he championed at Criteo. This move signals a broader industry trend toward re-evaluating advertising’s core principles, moving beyond granular audience targeting towards a deeper understanding of connection, attention, and emotion.
Gleason’s perspective stems from a belief that the industry’s intense focus on cookie-based targeting has, in a way, detracted from the fundamental purpose of advertising: forging meaningful connections with consumers. He contends that true engagement is driven by attention and emotional resonance, signals that are often missed by traditional methods relying solely on cookies or basic content categorizations. The advent of advanced AI tools, however, is poised to unlock these deeper insights, enabling ad tech to leverage them effectively.
Seedtag, under Gleason’s new leadership, is actively pursuing this vision. The company’s acquisition of video-focused SSP Beachfront last year is a key indicator of this strategy. This acquisition empowers Seedtag’s proprietary AI agent, "Liz," to deliver contextual targeting with an added layer of emotional resonance across Connected TV (CTV) and the open web. This integration aims to bridge the gap between content and consumer sentiment, a crucial element in capturing attention in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.
The Magnitude of the Contextual Opportunity and Seedtag’s Growth Trajectory
Gleason estimates the global contextual advertising market to be between $250 billion and $350 billion, a figure that underscores the immense potential he sees in this space. "It took a lot to rip me away from commerce media, because I love that space, but this was an even bigger opportunity," Gleason stated, highlighting the scale of the shift.
Seedtag has already established a significant global presence, operating in 17 markets and connecting with over 16,000 publishers. While the company originated in Madrid, its expansion into the U.S. market two years ago has been met with considerable success, reporting 120% growth in the region last year. The European market has also demonstrated robust performance, with over 30% growth in the EMEA region during the last quarter. This strong growth trajectory positions Seedtag as a key player in the evolving contextual advertising ecosystem.
Seedtag’s Strategic Pillars Under New Leadership
Gleason outlined three primary priorities for Seedtag moving forward:
- Advancing Neurocontextual Targeting: The company is focused on introducing and scaling its "neurocontextual" targeting approach. This methodology aims to connect with audiences not just based on the content they are consuming, but also by understanding their emotional state, attention levels, and genuine interests. This represents a significant evolution from traditional keyword- and category-based contextual targeting, leveraging Seedtag’s AI platform, Liz, to achieve deeper engagement.
- Global Scaling and U.S. Expansion: Continued growth in the United States and across all existing markets remains a critical objective. This involves deepening relationships with existing publishers and onboarding new ones to expand Seedtag’s supply footprint.
- Cross-Channel Expansion, Particularly in CTV: Seedtag is prioritizing the expansion of its capabilities in the Connected TV (CTV) space. Recognizing the limitations of traditional contextual approaches in this dynamic environment, the company is investing in developing solutions that can effectively leverage contextual signals and emotional resonance for CTV advertising. This strategic move aligns with the rapid growth of CTV viewership and the increasing demand for more sophisticated advertising solutions in this medium.
Leadership Evolution and Strategic Acceleration
While Gleason emphasized that there will be no fundamental change in Seedtag’s overall direction, his specific expertise and background are expected to accelerate growth in key areas. "There won’t be a fundamental change, but with my background, there are areas that we could scale and accelerate," he noted.
Key areas for accelerated development include:
- Strengthening Brand Relationships: Building and nurturing deeper partnerships with brands will be paramount. Gleason’s experience in high-level revenue roles positions him to foster these crucial alliances.
- Expanding Publisher Supply, Especially in CTV: A significant focus will be placed on increasing Seedtag’s inventory, with a particular emphasis on securing premium supply within the CTV ecosystem. This aligns with the company’s strategic goal of offering comprehensive cross-channel solutions.
- Enhancing Agency Connectivity: Leveraging his extensive experience working with major advertising holding companies like WPP, Publicis, and Omnicom, Gleason aims to integrate Seedtag’s tools more seamlessly into agency planning systems. This strategic initiative seeks to make Seedtag’s solutions more accessible and actionable for media agencies, driving broader adoption.
Empowering Publishers in a Dynamic Market
Gleason’s career began in publishing, and he expressed a strong commitment to helping publishers monetize their content more effectively. His philosophy centers on understanding and maximizing the value of the publisher-consumer relationship. "I started my career in publishing, and it’s about understanding the value of the relationship you have with the consumer, then figuring out how to get the maximum value from that relationship," he explained.
He stressed the importance of moving beyond basic audience targeting and focusing on delivering relevance through a deep understanding of content. Seedtag’s Liz AI agent is designed to provide publishers with enhanced insights into their content’s nuances and the emotional connections it fosters with their audiences, thereby enabling more impactful monetization strategies.
The Future of Programmatic Advertising: AI Agents and Interoperability
The conversation also touched upon the emerging vision of programmatic advertising evolving into a system where buy-side AI agents communicate directly with sell-side AI agents. Gleason acknowledged this potential but cautioned against an overly fragmented approach. "I don’t know if they’re going to be separate agents on both sides. How many different agents can anybody operate?" he questioned.
He emphasized the critical need for seamless connectivity between these AI systems, recognizing the inherent complexity of achieving this integration. Gleason believes that a few key players will ultimately dominate this landscape. He positioned Seedtag as a potential intermediary, aiming to be the "pathway that connects the buy and the sell side with intelligence that spans both sides." The challenge, he noted, lies in achieving this connectivity at scale, across multiple channels, which is what makes the current market opportunity so compelling.
Addressing the "Black Box" Concern with AI
Concerns about the opacity of AI systems and unaccountable algorithms are prevalent in the industry. Gleason directly addressed this by underscoring the non-negotiable importance of transparency, brand safety, and privacy. "Transparency, brand safety and privacy have to be the basic foundations for anything we do," he asserted.
Seedtag’s approach prioritizes clear communication about inventory, ad placements, and campaign outcomes. Furthermore, the company is committed to educating clients and partners about its AI models, explaining their functionality, customization options, and how they surface emotional connections. This proactive approach aims to demystify AI and build trust within the ecosystem.
Seedtag’s Market Positioning: An Intelligent Exchange
In an industry where the lines between Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) and Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) are increasingly blurred, Seedtag is carving out its niche. Gleason clarified that Seedtag is not aiming to become an end-to-end platform. Instead, it operates an exchange where its inventory is accessible and its intelligence is made available to various buying paths. "No. We have an exchange where our inventory is available, and we’re going to continue to build that out," he stated.
The company’s "agentic frontend with Liz" is positioned as the primary activation point. However, Seedtag also provides pathways for users of traditional DSPs to activate campaigns through their exchange, ensuring flexibility and interoperability.
Exploring Synergies with Retail and Commerce Media
When asked about potential collaborations with retail and commerce media platforms, particularly Criteo, Gleason expressed an open and enthusiastic outlook. He highlighted the significant potential for integrating commerce data with neurocontextual insights. "If I’m thinking about commerce and neurocontextual, well, emotion is brand recall. Imagine taking an emotional signal, marrying that to a contextual target and purchase intent, and then moving that up and down the funnel," he explained.
This vision suggests a future where advertising can seamlessly connect emotional engagement with purchase intent, creating more effective and holistic campaign strategies across the entire marketing funnel. Gleason concluded by stating, "We’d love to have that conversation with everybody, including Criteo," signaling a willingness to explore partnerships that can drive innovation in this space.
The implications of Gleason’s strategic vision for Seedtag are far-reaching. By prioritizing emotional resonance and attention alongside contextual relevance, the company is positioning itself at the forefront of a paradigm shift in advertising. As the industry navigates the post-cookie era and the increasing sophistication of AI, Seedtag’s focus on deeper consumer connection could prove to be a significant differentiator, reshaping how brands engage with audiences in the digital realm. The success of this strategy will depend on Seedtag’s ability to effectively implement its AI capabilities, foster strong partnerships, and maintain transparency in an increasingly complex advertising landscape.
