AdTech Vendor · vs · AdTech Vendor
AdRoll vs System1
Structured technology and market comparison · 2026
Direct Feature Comparison
AdRoll · vs · System1Adtech platform for retargeting, DSP and B2B ABM.
Performance advertising platform with owned media and intent-driven monetisation.
Analyze all overlapping signals and tech stacks for AdRoll and System1
Compare mutual enterprise clients, monetization models, live market signals, and partner networks directly in the interactive Knowledge Graph.
Comparison Analysis
What is the main difference between AdRoll and System1?
When comparing AdRoll and System1, both platforms operate within the Demand-Side Platform (DSP), Connected TV (CTV) & OTT, and AdTech Vendor ecosystem. AdRoll is positioned as Adtech platform for retargeting, DSP and B2B ABM, whereas System1 focuses on Performance advertising platform with owned media and intent-driven monetisation. Decision-makers evaluate both solutions when orchestrating their commercial monetization and technology stack.
What are the top alternatives to AdRoll and System1?
When evaluating AdRoll and System1, enterprise buyers also consider other platforms in Demand-Side Platform (DSP), Connected TV (CTV) & OTT, and AdTech Vendor. You can discover the full competitive landscape and evaluate other alternatives by viewing their respective footprint profiles on Polaris7.
Market Signals
Recent Market Signals & Activity: AdRoll vs System1
Documented market movements, strategic partnerships, product releases, and regulatory developments mapped across Polaris7.
AdRoll
Recent Signals
- ·https://martechseries.com/feed/Advertising Trends
AdRoll reports 45% drop in prospecting CPMs
AdRoll released its Q3 2026 State of Digital Advertising Report, showing a 45% year-over-year decline in display prospecting CPMs from July 1 to Sept. 8, offering a lower-cost window for holiday marketers before prices typically rise. Display retargeting CPMs fell 29.1% year over year, with a 40.2% drop from Q2. Account-based marketing CPMs increased 4.4% year over year but declined 15.1% from Q2. The report also indicates that despite lower ad prices, consumer spending remains steady, with a 4.5% increase in card spending per household. AdRoll CEO Vibhor Kapoor advises marketers to reallocate budgets based on full-funnel performance. The report includes insights from a study with eTail on retargeting challenges, highlighting that only 13% of retailers successfully bring back over 20% of cart abandoners, and underscores the importance of first-party signals in tailoring messaging.
- AdRoll's Q3 2026 report shows display prospecting CPMs dropped 45% year over year.
- Display retargeting CPMs declined 29.1% year over year and 40.2% from Q2.
- ABM CPMs increased 4.4% year over year but fell 15.1% from Q2.
- ·https://martechseries.com/feed/Chat & Conversational UI / Conversational Ads
AdRoll Pilots ChatGPT Ads for Multichannel Reach
AdRoll announced a pilot allowing a select group of AdRoll and AdRoll ABM customers to test advertising placements inside ChatGPT. The pilot aims to help SMB, mid-market and B2B advertisers evaluate how conversational-AI placements complement existing media strategies across the customer journey. Ads are designed to appear below ChatGPT responses when contextually appropriate and — according to OpenAI — do not influence model outputs; OpenAI also keeps conversations private and does not sell user data to advertisers. AdRoll will provide campaign support for participants and said the pilot builds on its multichannel investments, including connected TV, digital out-of-home, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations that connect AdRoll with AI assistants and agentic workflows.
- AdRoll announced a pilot that enables a select group of AdRoll and AdRoll ABM customers to test advertising placements in ChatGPT.
- Ads in ChatGPT appear below the end of a response when contextually appropriate and do not influence ChatGPT's responses.
- OpenAI keeps users' conversations private from advertisers and does not sell user data to advertisers, per the article.
System1
Recent Signals
- ·The DrumCTV
Netflix Ad Boss Pitches Full-Funnel Media Plan in UK
At its first UK Upfront, Netflix's advertising chief Amy Reinhard outlined the company's ambition to expand beyond a top-of-funnel, linear TV substitute to compete for digital budgets. Netflix announced that its ad-supported plan reaches over 14 million UK viewers, with expansion into nine more EMEA countries set for March 1, 2027. Pause Ads will be available programmatically via partner DSPs next month, and demographic targeting will now include income and household composition. The company cited System1 research showing its brand partnerships excel in long-term brand-building, and highlighted live events like the Fury vs Joshua fight to attract advertisers. Reinhard stressed Netflix's subscription-first economics prevent ad load pressure, with an attention rate of 86% for UK ad-tier viewers.
- Netflix's ad-supported plan reaches over 14 million UK viewers, nearly one in four people.
- Netflix will launch its ad tier in nine additional EMEA countries on March 1, 2027.
- Pause Ads will be available programmatically through partner DSPs from next month.
- ·The DrumCreative Effectiveness
QR Codes in Ads Called 'Stupid' as CTV Scan Rates Collapse
Andrew Tindall, a senior leader at System1, argues that QR codes in advertising are ineffective and harmful to brand building, citing new research showing CTV QR scan rates plummeting 60% between H1 2025 and Q4 2025 to just 0.004%. He references data from BrightLine, Innovid, TiVo, and LG Ad Solutions, which collectively show consumers largely ignore QR codes due to lack of interest. Tindall criticizes the industry's obsession with 'shoppable media' and immediate response, emphasizing that advertising's primary role is to build memory and future demand, drawing on research from WPP Media and Ehrenberg-Bass. He advocates for emotional, crafted ads without QR codes, citing works like 'The Long and the Short of It' and 'Lemon'.
- CTV QR scan rates in BrightLine's data fell 60% between H1 2025 and Q4 2025 to 0.004%.
- Innovid found only 200 QR scans per 1 million impressions.
- TiVo reported QR code scanning in TV ads fell from 30% in 2022 to 24% in 2024.
- ·The DrumBrand Strategy
Cult Brand Building Key to D2C Coffee Survival
Sian Conway-Wood, who has worked with a D2C specialty coffee roastery, argues that the roast-of-the-month subscription model is flawed, promoting churn and failing to build lasting customer loyalty. She advocates for building a 'cult brand world' with consistent creative elements and content, rather than relying on rotating products and advertising. The case study shows that a tighter product range, a consistent brand narrative featuring 'tiny people' miniature models, and an active social media presence (around 60 posts a month) led to significant growth: subscription revenue grew 187%, organic social traffic up 274%, and direct traffic up 80%, with almost no paid media spend. The article emphasizes that for premium, intangible products like coffee, brand differentiation and pricing power are more critical than physical distribution or advertising spend.
- Subscription revenue grew 187% across the engagement.
- Organic social traffic increased by 274%.
- Direct traffic increased by 80%.
Compare their exact ecosystem overlaps.
Explore all deep relationships in Polaris7. Discover exactly which mutual clients, integrated technologies, and overlapping partners AdRoll and System1 share across the market ecosystem.