https://t.co/xhr5EUEd9V

Great to be back on with @JamesBorow and @DanielDruger for their new podcast @The_ADSN. They gave me the simple task of discussing how tariffs could impact M&A in the ad tech and MarTech ecosystems.

(6/6) In typical Amazon fashion, this is not being charged for today. Instead they are looking to build the customer habit and further drive Amazon as the source of commerce intent, with the added signals likely to be used to improve performance in Amazon's DSP.

(5/x) *Jan 2025: Platform for 3rd party retailers to use their tech *Jan-Apr 2025: running a variety of "loss leader" tactics to become the default DSP for advertisers *April 2025: "Buy for me" to further entrench Amazon in the intent / commerce signals for all retail

(4/x)*2022: launched "Buy with Prime" to capture commerce signal off AMZN *'23-'24: numerous partnerships with critical social platforms (Meta, TikTok, Snap, etc.) *2024: made ads on by default in Amazon Prime, significantly impacting the amount of CTV inventory

(3/x) It's pretty staggering to see the amount of moves Amazon has made over the last 3 year in order to expand its presence in the advertising ecosystem. This image is what it looked like in '22 and below are just a few of the recent moves they've made (in chronological order):

(2/x) This allows Amazon to seamlessly check out for consumers on 3rd party retailers' sites. While touted as a convenience for customers (which it is), it's also an elegant way for Amazon to capture more intent and commerce signals, driving its growing advertising power house.

Over the last 3 years, Amazon has consistently expanded its "Hedged Garden" positioning in order to have access to data and inventory at all levels of the Commerce Media ecosystem. The most recent of which was announced last week with the introduction of "Buy for me" (1/x)

After a wild first two days of trading (+2200%), Newsmax ($NMAX) now has a market cap greater than both WBD and Paramount! This is for a business with revenues of <1% and 2% of WBD & PARA, respectively

The announced merger of Hulu + Live TV and Fubo with Disney as majority owner of the NewCo is a bit more complex than it appears at face value. I've dug into the details and attempted to provide a bit more clarity as to the What, How, and Why of this deal. (1 / 6) $FUBO $DIS

(6/6) If that position (and performance) can be maintained, the ultimate goal is to become the "definition" of the category, much like Google, Meta, and Amazon did for search, social, and retail media, respectively.

(5/6) As the destination, those new to Applovin see it as the "de-facto" access point vs. one of many companies accessing this inventory.

(4/6) This turned Applovin into the "destination" for the results vs. a pipe to open app inventory and begins to create strong flywheels for the business.

(3/6) This is a nuanced point, but one that can have profound impacts, as it helps drive both business and investor momentum. The basis for this shift was driven from Applovin's release of Axon 2.0 in '23, bringing automated, black-box performance to the mobile app ecosystem.

(2/6) This is particularly apparent from commerce marketers commenting on the new opportunity and relating Applovin to other channels like Meta or Google, despite Applovin not monetizing it's own inventory* (*note - they do own some O&O content but that's not the current driver)

Applovin "The Channel": A lot has been posted about Applovin's surge in revenue growth and stock price, but one item that I have not seen and can't get out of my head is Applovin being discussed as a "channel" vs. a "platform" as those in ad tech would traditionally think of it.

Be sure to check out @tkawaja's latest piece on the state of Ad agency hold co's. Great analysis on the steps Publicis has taken to win share and more than double it's market cap over the last five of years.

(5/5) This is a concept we're watching closely as the broader ad tech ecosystem sets up for more 3rd party data deprecation, CTV leans into the longer tail of advertisers, and new commerce / 1P Data platforms consider what role they can play in the ad tech ecosystem.

(4/5) This mirrors the walled gardens with Advantage+ and PerformanceMax, putting more power into the hands of the models to drive performance, with less data. While access to data is still critical, arguably the power of optimization models is the bigger driver going forward.

(3 / 5) Over the last year, that has begun to change, but not because of new data access, instead it's how that data is being used. Applovin launched their AXON 2.0 product in Q2 of '23 and since then have shown incredibly strong software revenue growth every quarter.