Teads is returning to Cannes Lions post-merger with Outbrain, and its telling purchasers how the newly-combined firm, might help manufacturers make use of synthetic intelligence, focused promoting and data-driven methods to develop their companies and attain.
Right here, Teads CEO David Kostman and Chief Enterprise Officer of the Americas Jeremy Arditi speak to The Submit about life post-merger, how the corporate works with information publishers to win again promoting {dollars} and to harness the facility of AI.
Q: What’s the mission of Teads and the way do you’re employed with purchasers to maximise their promoting methods?
David Kostman: At Teads, we’re targeted on making a platform to drive the most effective outcomes at giant scale
on the open web, delivering actual outcomes for advertisers for all their campaigns from branding to efficiency. Our objective is to change into the one-stop associate for manufacturers and businesses to raised join the steps of the buyer journey — balancing branding and efficiency advertising methods to extra successfully nurture audiences as they transfer by way of the funnel and ship actual enterprise outcomes from their media funding.
Jeremy Arditi: Manufacturers have relied for too lengthy on level options when promoting on the open web. There’s a large alternative for Teads to change into the vacation spot for these advertisers to achieve the open web viewers at scale and drive stronger enterprise outcomes from them with a cohesive full-funnel technique. We all know that discovering the best stability of funding in long-term model consciousness and short-term efficiency positive aspects is a tantamount situation for contemporary entrepreneurs — we intend to change into the associate that permits them to seek out that ideally suited stability and seamlessly execute in opposition to it.
Q: How has Cannes Lions advanced in your firm and what are you most trying ahead to this week?
DK: It has been solely 4 months since we merged Outbrain and Teads, and we’re thrilled to
share extra concerning the Teads model and strategic route on the Cannes Lions this yr. Cannes is a good alternative to fulfill so a lot of our nice companions and have in-depth discussions with them round the way forward for the business and the way Teads will play a significant function of their plans.
JA: In 2025, manufacturers are extra targeted than ever on driving measurable outcomes, particularly amidst such excessive macroeconomic uncertainty. We count on the Lions to function many discussions round promoting effectivity, outcomes, and the function of AI in powering them. We consider the imaginative and prescient and mission of the brand new Teads couldn’t be extra well timed with that in thoughts — and plan to focus most of our time at Cannes on sharing how we are able to allow our companions to navigate these crucial subjects.
Q: Outbrain lately acquired Teads. How has that amplified your corporation?
DK: It’s been an thrilling time, because the union of Outbrain and Teads types one of many largest promoting platforms on the open web – with over $1.6 billion in gross promoting spend. The 2 corporations convey collectively many years of deep experience in efficiency promoting, predictive modeling, omnichannel branding, and video. That mixture allows us to not solely create a scaled promoting platform — however one that’s higher positioned to assist manufacturers optimize their promoting technique from branding to efficiency.
JA: We rolled out the tagline “Elevated Outcomes” to symbolize the brand new Teads imaginative and prescient, reflecting our concentrate on driving actual enterprise outcomes with each media greenback whereas elevating advertiser expectations of the gorgeous artistic experiences they’ll ship from display screen to display screen. It’s been thrilling to see the market response and the way a lot curiosity there may be on this worth proposition just some brief months after the announcement of our merger closing.
Q: Shoppers are cautious to spend resulting from financial uncertainty and information of the tariffs, have you ever seen an influence on promoting budgets in consequence?
DK: We’ve seen advertisers focus extra on true enterprise outcomes, given the bigger financial uncertainty available in the market immediately. Advertisers need to perceive precisely how every step of their advertising funnel, from branding to consideration to efficiency, correlates to actual outcomes and gross sales ROI [return on investment]. Platforms which are in a position to supply clear options to those questions and level to an attributable end result for each funding kind would be the ones that thrive on this interval.
enterprise outcomes on this unsure economic system. Teads
Q: What are some examples of your most profitable partnerships?
JA: We’ve constructed an unbelievable basis by way of the greater than 50 Joint Enterprise Partnerships with Fortune 500 manufacturers all over the world. This mannequin displays a number of of Teads’ core strengths, most of all, our means to function a consultative associate who deeply understands the model’s bigger aims, model values, and issues when reaching their audiences.
With the brand new Teads, we’re in a position to develop how we advise these companions – offering options to seamlessly join the artistic expertise they ship from CTV [connected television] to net and past. All whereas exhibiting how delivering each branding and efficiency methods by way of one scaled
platform delivers stronger enterprise outcomes. We’re excited to maintain increasing this enterprise and change into JBPs’ one-stop associate to drive the most effective enterprise outcomes in all places their viewers consumes media.
Q: Manufacturers have been cautious of promoting with information publishers. How do publishers fight that? What have you ever seen that works?
DK: The warning here’s a notion drawback, not a efficiency drawback. We’ve seen manufacturers block trusted information publishers out of warning whereas working adverts subsequent to misinformation on social platforms. That disconnect must be challenged. What works is shifting the dialog from emotion to proof. The fact is, adverts on high quality information content material carry out simply in addition to these on way of life or sports activities pages. Publishers who current this information clearly and use expertise to keep away from genuinely unsafe content material are profitable again belief.
Teads is working carefully with companions like Stagwell and Prohaska to convey consciousness and {dollars} again to premium information. When manufacturers see that these environments are usually not solely protected however efficient, they acknowledge the worth. It’s not about asking them to assist journalism out of precept — it’s about exhibiting them it really works.
Q: How will AI speed up the open web’s means to change into a complement to walled-garden promoting methods?
DK: Walled gardens have efficiently delivered outcomes due to their algorithmic method, tied on to deterministic person conduct and pursuits, optimized for advertiser outcomes throughout a large scale of numerous media environments. Nonetheless, their entry is restricted to solely particular person moments and mindsets — the open web gives a broader canvas of moments to generate consciousness, affect buy choices, and drive outcomes. Consequently, it has one of the numerous high quality ranges of engagement, consideration, and curiosity information indicators to gasoline AI fashions.
Leveraging these indicators successfully can allow us to seize a a lot bigger alternative by way of how we join client experiences throughout screens to drive outcomes. AI will permit us to fill crucial gaps in understanding how shoppers transfer by way of a model’s advertising funnel. Up to now, deterministic perception into the person’s profile has been essential to allow this. Now, AI is difficult us to re-think what elements we actually must ship an amazing, related client expertise that finest matches model gives with client moments.
Q: What’s the way forward for platforms and demand-side platforms as manufacturers navigate and harness AI transformation?
JA: AI is ready to reshape the way forward for platforms and DSPs [demand-side platforms], particularly in how manufacturers develop and scale campaigns. On the artistic aspect, it allows fast manufacturing and testing of personalised, high-quality belongings throughout screens — one thing as soon as reserved for giant advertisers. On the identical time, AI is reducing limitations to entry in CTV, making premium video extra accessible to small and medium companies by decreasing prices and simplifying manufacturing. As AI continues to evolve, the way forward for promoting will probably be outlined not simply by who has the largest funds however by who makes use of expertise most intelligently.
