Observed Signal · Feb 15, 2023 · Earnings Report · Source: Quo Vadis News · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Agency Review: AdTech7 vs AdTech18
Quo Vadis analyzes its AdTech18 and QV Agency7 portfolios to compare performance since 2018. The piece notes four winners and three losers within the QV7 portfolio, which is up 14% overall and lags broad market indices. If S4 Capital and Next Fifteen are excluded, the QV Big5 would be down 5%. IPG leads the large holding companies with a 50% gain, while WPP declines by 45%. Next Fifteen Communications emerges as the standout new agency with a 141% rise, and S4 Capital shows about a 23% gain overall. The analysis highlights a shift in payables from agencies to DSPs like The Trade Desk and DV360, illustrating disintermediation and a debate between organic growth and revenue growth. It emphasizes productivity, automation, and the importance of value creation through innovation in OpenPath-era programmatic advertising, ending with an invitation for reader questions.
Industry portfolio performance analysis of AdTech portfolios and agency holdings
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- QV7 portfolio up 14% since January 2018.
- If S4 Capital and Next Fifteen are excluded, QV Big5 down 5%.
- IPG up 50% among large holding companies; WPP down 45%.
- Next Fifteen Communications up 141% as a new agency.
- S4 Capital up 23% overall.
Connected Companies & Entities
8 Entities mappedOntology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
AdTech Portfolios Diverge: Gains, Losses, and Market Shifts
Quo Vadis published a 3Q25 AdTech, MarTech and agency update reviewing quarter results, portfolio performance and market dynamics. The newsletter reports the equal-weighted AdTech12 portfolio is up 13% year-to-date as of 3Q25 reporting (peak in Feb 2025), while its MarTech8 portfolio is down 47% and the agency portfolio shows wide dispersion (Publicis up ~48%; WPP down ~75%). The piece highlights The Trade Desk's weakened market capitalization (below $20B) and uncertain management plan, AppLovin and Zeta as relative outperformers, Teads' weak valuation after Outbrain’s acquisition, and DoubleVerify's attractive valuation potential. The author argues advertisers prioritize measurable outcomes over transparency, explaining continued growth of black-box/automation products (Meta Advantage+, Google PMax) and rising challenges in CTV/open-web inventory transparency. The newsletter includes event housekeeping for Advertising Economic Forum (NYC) and a London Last Media Dollar live event.
Olyzon Launches Agentic Orchestration Platform for Advertising
Olyzon, an agentic orchestration platform for advertising, has launched its technology live in market, optimizing real advertising campaigns. The platform enables agencies and brands to orchestrate media budgets across CTV, YouTube, social, digital audio, and DOOH from a single interface, integrating with existing DSPs, SSPs, and measurement partners. It is positioned as a working example of a Unified Media Platform (UMP), connecting systems that previously operated in silos. Key integrations include Amazon DSP, DV360, The Trade Desk, Yahoo DSP, Universal Ads, Vibe, Spotify, PubMatic, Swivel.ai, DoubleVerify, Xpln, Lucid, and Innovid. The launch was announced at Advertising Week New York.
Former Utiq and Xandr/Microsoft Leader Joins illuma for AI Scaling
illuma, a London-based AI company specializing in contextual decision intelligence, has appointed Michel Guillon as head of solutions architecture. Guillon brings two decades of adtech leadership experience from Utiq and AppNexus/Xandr/Microsoft, where he worked closely with illuma's integrations. His role will help partners integrate illuma's contextual intelligence into their systems at enterprise scale, leveraging his deep knowledge of DSP and SSP architecture and data interoperability. illuma's AI technology is used by brands, agencies, publishers, and platforms to optimize advertising decisions in real time, and is available through major platforms including The Trade Desk, Equativ, Index Exchange, Amazon, DV360, Yahoo, OpenX, PubMatic, and Magnite. The appointment underscores illuma's expansion across leading advertising platforms.
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