PubMatic vs Verve

2026 AdExchanger Awards Gala Honors Industry Best

The 2026 AdExchanger Awards Gala, held in New York City, celebrated excellence in advertising and ad tech, honoring organizations, technologies, and leaders across programmatic media, commerce media, CTV, identity, measurement, AI, and ad tech. Winners included People Inc., PubMatic, DoorDash, Magnite, and Index Exchange. The event took place in conjunction with Programmatic I/O New York and featured a live audience vote for the 'People's Programmatic Pick,' won by Mike Richter of Unplugged Collective. The gala recognized breakthrough technologies, data-driven campaigns, and visionary leadership, setting a standard for performance and innovation in the industry.

• The 2026 AdExchanger Awards Gala was held on September 29, 2026, in New York City.
• Winners included People Inc., PubMatic, DoorDash, Magnite, and Index Exchange.
• Mike Richter of Unplugged Collective won the People's Programmatic Pick award.

The Media Shop and PubMatic Launch Southeast Asia’s First Agentic Luxury Campaign

Press Release, September 30, 2026: The Media Shop and PubMatic launch Southeast Asia's first agentic luxury campaign.

PubMatic CEO Rajeev Goel on Agentic Buying and Cutting Complexity

In an interview with ExchangeWire, PubMatic CEO Rajeev Goel discussed the company's evolution from an SSP to a broader platform, focusing on reducing ad tech complexity and empowering publishers and advertisers through agentic buying. Goel highlighted three pillars: Activate, for direct buyer-SSP transactions; Agentic OS, a suite of 20+ AI agents; and Decision Fabric, which allows agencies and DSPs to run algorithms within PubMatic's infrastructure. He emphasized that AI agents will surpass human traders in accuracy, with governance and reasoning mechanisms for oversight. Goel predicts that agent-to-agent buying will shift power to publishers and advertisers, the 'principals', rather than technology platforms. The company reported 4,000 publisher-created deals using AI year-to-date through Q2.

• PubMatic CEO Rajeev Goel was interviewed by ExchangeWire at ATS London.
• PubMatic has three pillars: Activate, Agentic OS, and Decision Fabric.
• Activate has been in-market for about four years, with hundreds of advertisers using it.

Gaming Spurs Real-World Brand Discovery, Captify UK Data

Captify (part of Verve) analysed UK search data from January–July 2026 alongside Fandom survey data and finds gaming is increasingly a commerce and brand-discovery channel. One-third of UK gamers (33%) are more likely to consider a brand after an in-game interaction (47% for 18–24s); 55% of 18–24s discover brands in-game versus 27% overall. The report highlights specific campaign lifts (e.g., The Sims 4 drove a 40% rise in searches for Coach) and shows Fortnite players searched Lamborghini far more often than Porsche. Captify also found AI responses broaden brand comparisons (AI mentions both PlayStation and Xbox far more than users do). Anticipation for GTA VI is already driving console research: 20% of GTA VI searchers researched Xbox and 16% researched PlayStation. The findings signal opportunities for brands to engage younger, high-consideration gaming audiences.

• Captify analysed billions of UK real-time search signals from January–July 2026 alongside Fandom 2026 UK survey data.
• 33% of UK gamers said they are more likely to consider a brand after an in-game brand interaction; that rises to 47% among 18–24-year-olds.
• 55% of 18–24-year-old gamers discover brands through in-game presence versus 27% of gamers overall.

AI-Generated Ads Reduce Brand Trust for One in Three

A representative survey of 2,000 Germans commissioned by Verve Group and conducted by Censuswide finds mixed consumer attitudes toward AI in advertising. Thirty-five percent said they would trust a brand less if they knew an ad was AI-generated, rising to 45% among 18–24-year-olds, while 69% could imagine buying on the recommendation of an AI chatbot. Eighty percent prefer ad-funded app benefits over paying fees, and many respondents expressed data-protection concerns and use self-help measures (rejecting cookies, incognito mode). The findings coincide with Article 50 of the EU AI Act, which requires clear labeling of AI-generated ads from 2026-08-02. Verve CEO Remco Westermann says consumers accept AI when it works in the background but lose trust when its use is visible, with implications for creative strategy, compliance, and labeling practices.

• Article 50 of the EU AI Act requires clear labeling of AI-generated advertising from 2026-08-02.
• Verve Group commissioned the representative survey, conducted by Censuswide among 2,000 people in Germany.
• 35% of respondents said they would trust a brand less if they knew an ad was AI-generated; 45% among 18–24-year-olds.