Aceex

Ad Tech's Future: Navigating Privacy and AI Challenges

Dariia Kutsopal, COO of Aceex, discusses major challenges facing ad tech — notably tightening privacy regulations, signal loss, measurement difficulty and platform changes — and explains why many vendors struggle to maintain stable performance. She attributes volatility to reliance on unstable inputs, over-automation without guardrails, and shifting user behaviour and auction dynamics. Kutsopal recommends investing in first‑party and contextual data, increasing transparency in optimisation logic, shortening feedback loops with stronger monitoring, and aligning product, engineering and analytics teams operationally. She expects 2026 to be tougher as privacy becomes more fragmented and AI-driven competition intensifies, making efficiency and adaptable architectures decisive for survival.

2026: The Year OOH Advertising Soars with Transparency

The article surveys ad-tech insiders on what 2026 may hold for out-of-home (OOH) advertising, highlighting a continued growth trajectory and rising transparency. It notes Outsmart's Q3 OOH growth of 4.4% to nearly £377m, with classic OOH at 33% of spend and growing 6.5% versus 3.3% for digital. The industry has advanced transparency through the OAAA's Programmatic OOH Transparency Pledge. The market remains buoyant, projected to exceed USD 26bn (£19.71bn) by 2034, driven by digital transformation and urbanisation. Experts foresee DOOH increasingly leading omnichannel campaigns thanks to better data and smarter creative optimization, while AI-enabled workflow improvements are anticipated. Additionally, cross-border programmatic DOOH accounted for 37% of VIOOH's H1 2025 revenue, and the UK OOH market is forecast to grow around 4.5% in 2026.

Aceex Marks 6 Years with Future-Focused Team Reflections

Aceex celebrated its sixth anniversary, highlighting six years of growth in the fast-moving ad tech landscape and a steady expansion of partnerships with enterprise clients. The celebration took a reflective turn as the team wrote letters to themselves and the company about aspirations for 5 to 10 years, and those letters were shared on LinkedIn, giving a personal glimpse into the future. CEO Emin Alpan described the journey as unpredictable but exciting. In the past year, Aceex reported delivering 12.5 billion impressions, launching 1,123 campaigns, and onboarding 41 new partners, underscoring the platform’s continued reach. The initiative reflects a culture of experimentation and long-term thinking, while Aceex emphasizes building meaningful partnerships with DSPs, publishers, and other collaborators to maintain leadership in programmatic advertising through a human-centric approach.