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Brian Gleason, a prominent figure in the advertising technology landscape, has transitioned from his previous role as CRO and president of retail media at Criteo, where he expressed significant enthusiasm for the burgeoning retail media sector. Now, as the newly appointed CEO of contextual ad platform Seedtag, Gleason asserts that contextual advertising represents an even more substantial opportunity, driven by a fundamental shift in marketer priorities towards connection, attention, and emotion – elements he believes are best captured by advanced AI.
Gleason’s perspective marks a notable pivot, signaling a broader industry trend away from an over-reliance on cookie-based targeting towards more nuanced and contextually aware advertising strategies. In an interview with AdExchanger, he articulated this vision, stating, "We’ve become so hyper-focused on cookies and targeting that we lost what advertising really was about: connection." This statement underscores a growing sentiment within the industry that the granular, data-driven approaches of recent years have, in some ways, detracted from the core purpose of advertising – to forge meaningful links between brands and consumers.
The Evolution of Advertising and the Rise of Contextual Intelligence
The advertising industry has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past two decades, largely driven by the digital revolution. Initially, advertising was rooted in broad reach and creative impact, aiming to capture consumer attention through compelling messaging. The advent of the internet and subsequent digital platforms ushered in an era of precise targeting, fueled by the proliferation of user data and the development of cookies. This allowed advertisers to reach specific demographics and individuals with unprecedented accuracy, leading to a surge in performance marketing.
However, the increasing scrutiny of data privacy, highlighted by regulations like GDPR and CCPA, and the impending deprecation of third-party cookies by major browsers, have necessitated a re-evaluation of targeting methodologies. This has created fertile ground for contextual advertising, which focuses on placing ads within relevant content, thereby reaching audiences based on their current interests and the surrounding editorial environment rather than on their past browsing behavior.
Gleason’s embrace of contextual advertising at Seedtag stems from a belief that this approach can deliver deeper engagement by tapping into the emotional and attentional signals present in content. He explained, "When it comes to connecting with audiences, what truly matters is attention and emotion, signals that can’t be captured by cookies or traditional content taxonomies." This points to a sophisticated understanding of consumer psychology and how it can be leveraged in advertising.
Seedtag’s Strategic Vision: Neurocontextual Targeting and Global Expansion
Seedtag, under Gleason’s leadership, is positioning itself at the forefront of this evolution with its focus on "neurocontextual targeting." This approach aims to go beyond simple keyword or category matching by utilizing artificial intelligence to understand the emotional resonance and attention-grabbing qualities of content. The company’s proprietary AI agent, Liz, plays a central role in this strategy.
The acquisition of video-focused Supply-Side Platform (SSP) Beachfront last year was a significant step in this direction, enabling Liz to target audiences across Connected TV (CTV) and the open web based on context and emotional sentiment. This expansion into CTV is particularly noteworthy, as it addresses a growing demand for sophisticated advertising solutions in the rapidly expanding television streaming market.
Gleason outlined Seedtag’s top priorities:
- Introducing Neurocontextual Targeting: This involves leveraging AI to understand emotion, attention, and interest in content, moving beyond traditional keyword-based contextual targeting.
- Scaling in the US and Globally: Seedtag has already established a significant international presence, operating in 17 markets and connecting with over 16,000 publishers. The company experienced 120% growth in the US last year and over 30% growth in EMEA in the last quarter, underscoring its rapid expansion.
- Cross-Channel Capabilities, Especially CTV: Expanding its reach and effectiveness in the CTV space is a key objective, acknowledging the limitations of current contextual capabilities in this dynamic environment.
The Size of the Opportunity: A Multi-Billion Dollar Market
Gleason’s conviction in the potential of contextual advertising is supported by the sheer scale of the market. He estimates the global contextual advertising market to be worth between $250 billion and $350 billion. This figure highlights the substantial opportunity for platforms that can effectively deliver relevant and engaging ad experiences in a privacy-conscious world.
"Contextual as a category is probably $250 billion to $350 billion. 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, emphasizing the significant growth potential he sees in his new domain.
Leadership and Strategic Acceleration
While Gleason emphasizes that there won’t be a fundamental shift in Seedtag’s direction, his extensive experience is expected to accelerate growth in key areas. His background includes a decade at WPP, a major advertising holding company, giving him deep insights into agency relationships.
"Our relationships with brands are incredibly important. Expanding our footprint with more publisher supply, specifically in CTV, is also important. And there’s the agency connection. I spent 10 years at WPP and have great relationships with Publicis, Omnicom and others. Integrating our tools into their planning systems is something we can accelerate," he explained.
This focus on strengthening ties with brands and agencies, coupled with an aggressive expansion of publisher supply, particularly in the CTV arena, indicates a strategic push to solidify Seedtag’s position as a market leader.
Empowering Publishers and Monetization Strategies
Gleason’s career began in publishing, and he maintains a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by publishers. His priority for helping publishers monetize more effectively centers on maximizing the value of their consumer relationships through enhanced content understanding.
"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. You need to not just have a targeting mechanism based on an audience, but to bring relevancy to the content by understanding it. Our Liz agent will help publishers better understand their content and the emotional connection," he elaborated.
By enabling publishers to gain deeper insights into their content and its emotional impact on audiences, Seedtag aims to empower them to offer more valuable inventory to advertisers. This symbiotic relationship is crucial for the long-term health of the digital advertising ecosystem.
The Future of Programmatic Advertising: AI Agents and Interoperability
The conversation around the future of programmatic advertising often revolves around the concept of AI agents communicating with each other. Gleason acknowledges this evolving landscape but stresses the need for interoperability and practicality.
"I don’t know if they’re going to be separate agents on both sides. How many different agents can anybody operate? There’s got to be connectivity between those two worlds, and it’s not easy to bring them together," he commented.
Seedtag’s ambition is to become a central hub that connects the buy and sell sides with intelligence that spans both, offering a pathway for advertisers to leverage AI-driven insights across their campaigns. The challenge, as Gleason notes, lies in achieving this with scale and across multiple channels.
Addressing Concerns: Transparency and Brand Safety in the Age of AI
The rise of AI in advertising also brings concerns about "black-box" systems and unaccountable algorithms. Gleason is acutely aware of these issues and emphasizes that transparency, brand safety, and privacy must be foundational to any AI-driven advertising solution.
"It’s absolutely true. Transparency, brand safety and privacy have to be the basic foundations for anything we do. Be completely transparent with the inventory and where ads are running, and also in how you show outcomes," he asserted.
He further stressed the importance of human oversight and understanding in the AI adoption process: "It can’t just be technology talking to technology. We have to bring people along the journey and help clients understand AI: Here are the models, how they work, how you can customize them and how they surface the emotional connection." This commitment to education and transparency is vital for building trust and ensuring responsible AI implementation.
Seedtag’s Position in the Evolving Marketplace
With the lines between DSPs and SSPs increasingly blurring, Seedtag aims to carve out a distinct niche. While not aspiring to become an end-to-end platform, the company is focused on making its intelligence accessible across various buying paths.
"No. We have an exchange where our inventory is available, and we’re going to continue to build that out. However anybody wants to buy, we want to we make our intelligence accessible to that buying path. The agentic frontend with Liz will be the main point of activation, but if you want to use a traditional DSP to activate campaigns through our exchange, there’s a pathway to do that," Gleason explained.
This flexible approach allows Seedtag to cater to different advertiser needs, whether they prefer direct integration with its AI agent or utilization of existing DSPs.
Potential Collaborations and the Future of Commerce Media
Gleason’s past experience in retail media, particularly at Criteo, naturally leads to questions about potential collaborations. He sees a strong synergy between commerce media and neurocontextual targeting, particularly in leveraging emotional signals to enhance brand recall and drive consumers through the marketing funnel.
"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. We’d love to have that conversation with everybody, including Criteo," he stated, leaving the door open for strategic partnerships within the commerce and retail media space.
As the advertising industry navigates the post-cookie era and embraces the transformative power of AI, Brian Gleason’s leadership at Seedtag signals a renewed focus on the core principles of advertising: connection, attention, and emotion, amplified by intelligent technology. The company’s strategic direction appears poised to capitalize on the significant opportunities within the expanding contextual advertising market, aiming to redefine how brands engage with consumers in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
