We discuss our launch of PitchLab and the continued rise of indie agencies, the looming presence of Cannes, and the creativity challenges in retail media and CTV advertising.

This week's special guest is Joe Evea, SVP Advertising and Retail Media EMEA at Titan OS, which this week announced it had raised €50 million in Series A funding, in a round led by Highland Europe.

We discuss the creative potential of CTV, such as the TV Home Screen, the chaging needs and demands from the buy side, and the vital of proving incremtality.

"We work with a agency which spends a lot of money on Netflix but they're only buying 30% of the Netflix customers on our devices because only 30% buy into the ad tier," he pointed out. "We're able to use data to enable them to reach the other 70% and that incrementally is very important. But we need more focus on the creative. It's great that. you've got incremental reach but how can you use the medium to create advertising that really resonates and I think that will be a major discussion point in 2026."

And with Christmas starting to hit, we discuss the critical role of industry socialising in building and strengthening the relationships the drive this industry.

"We're doing team-focussed meetings at agencies more and more now and this is so much more efficient and productive," said Evea. "We've even started taking a TV into agencies to demonstrate the home screen and it's really working."

The It's Always Media Thursday podcast returns for its 10th series, with guests Zuzanna Gierlinska and Fi Salmon.

The podcast is an irreverent take on a week in digital media and marketing, hosted by NDA Editor-in-Chief Justin Pearse and Publisher Andy Oakes.

To kickstart the news series we are joined by not only Fiona Salmon, MD, Mantis, in her guise as the newly-crowned Adtech Personality of the Year, awarded each year by Exchangewire, but also last year's winner Zuzanna Gierlinska, now Partner at our new Panel Power training scheme.

In a rare Peppa Pig-free episode, we discuss what such an accolade really means in practice, and the importance of community in our industry, currently being borne out by the retail media sector. And Fiona provides fascinating insight into the changing focus of publishers she is witnessing as they continue revenue stream diversification.

And on the day before NDA's Trinity Winter lunch, we discuss the vital role of industry events and, shameless plug here, our Panel Power training programme's mission to raise the quality bar of industry panels, for both audience and participant's company's ROI.

In the latest episode of the New Digital Age Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Justin Pearce sits down with Will Jones, Head of Omnichannel Activation at Adform, to discuss the evolution of omnichannel marketing, the challenges of measurement and fragmentation, and how Adform is helping brands and agencies navigate the fast-changing programmatic landscape.

Will’s media journey began almost 20 years ago at New Media Age, where he and Justin first worked together. From those early days of the dotcom boom and social media’s infancy, Will has seen the digital industry transform dramatically. Today, at Adform, he leads efforts across CTV, digital out-of-home, and audio, helping advertisers bring these channels together seamlessly.

“Buyers are facing huge challenges,” Will explains. “With so many new channels emerging, resources are stretched. Brands need partners that make activation simple, transparent, and consistent across markets.” He points to Adform’s Campaign Planner as a key innovation. enabling clients to plan, activate, and measure campaigns across multiple channels from one place.

The conversation also explores data sovereignty and the importance of maintaining transparency and control over where ads appear and how data is used. “We’re passionate about giving clients visibility,” Will says. “They need to know exactly where their media is running and how their audiences are reached.”

Creativity remains a crucial part of omnichannel success, particularly as formats like CTV and digital out-of-home mature. “These are immersive, emotional environments,” Will adds. “Getting the creative right is what makes omnichannel work.”

Looking ahead, Will sees enormous potential: “If we can connect these channels effectively, standardize measurement, and keep experiences premium, the next few years will be truly exciting.”