Adlook

Digiday Future Leader Awards 2026 Finalists Announced

Digiday, together with Glossy and Modern Retail, published the list of finalists for the 2026 Future Leader Awards, which recognizes rising leaders with ten years of experience or less across marketing, media and product disciplines. Highlighted finalists include Seojoon Oh (senior product manager at Uber), Natasha Macri (senior director of marketing partnerships at Time) and Katie Zaro (omnichannel marketing manager at eos). The announcement describes finalists’ work—Seojoon Oh’s platforms supporting Uber’s $1.7 billion advertising business, Macri’s scaling of Time’s partnership pipeline and Zaro’s DTC site redesign and CRM gains—and lists nominees across multiple categories (e.g., product, media, content, AI, audio, e‑commerce, technology). The piece is an industry recognition of emerging talent shaping measurement, partnerships and omnichannel experiences.

Netflix and OpenTable Embrace Ads Amid Industry Shifts

Netflix has seen renewed advertiser interest after growing its ad-supported subscriber base and upgrading programmatic capabilities, including a recent partnership with Amazon DSP; its ad business still represents only 3.3% of total revenue. Amazon’s 2024 Prime Video rollout — making ads the default for subscribers unless they paid to opt out — is cited as a contrasting strategy that delivered immediate scale. Restaurant reservation platform OpenTable announced OpenTable Media, a new ads business that enables targeting on its website, email newsletters and via in-restaurant marketing, and offers aggregated diner data; pilot partners include Diageo, Cobra Beer and Ghirardelli. The roundup also highlights a Google notification incident blamed on systems (not AI) and several industry hires, including Comcast Advertising’s appointment of James Borow as general manager of Universal Ads.

Industry Reacts: Google Keeps Cookies

Google announced there will be no standalone prompt to opt out of third-party cookies in Chrome, effectively keeping cookies in place amid ongoing antitrust scrutiny of the browser. The decision resets expectations about Privacy Sandbox and cookieless identity timelines, with consent mechanisms remaining unchanged. A VideoWeek piece cites six ad-tech executives weighing the implications for identity, measurement, and the broader move toward privacy-preserving alternatives. While Privacy Sandbox APIs introduced foundational changes, several critical issues remain unresolved, potentially delaying a full shift away from cookies. Industry voices urge exploring privacy-respecting models such as contextual advertising and enhanced IP-based controls, and emphasize the need for new partnerships rooted in aligned incentives and open communication. The article also situates the discussion within macro context, including regulatory considerations and a shift toward data-clean-room–driven approaches and collaboration across the ad-tech ecosystem.