In late 2023, I wrote a post about a concept that was haunting the programmatic supply chain: Information Asymmetry. At the time, the industry was reeling from the ANA’s landmark study on programmatic transparency. The black box, we deemed, was the primary villain; a complex, opaque system where intermediaries knew everything and advertisers knew the least. We've always said that those who know the least, pay the most.
Now we're fast forwarding to 2026. The landscape has changed, the tech has evolved, but has the problem? And if it hasn't, what are we doing to understand it?
As we release our latest State of Digital Media Report, it’s clear that while this black box has become more sophisticated, the fundamental imbalance of power remains. In fact, it has morphed into what we now call the Media Confidence Gap.
Here is how the challenges of 2023 have evolved into the strategic goals of 2026:
1. Moving from Technical Complexity to AI Opacity
In 2023, we complained about the complexity of log-level data. Today, that complexity is managed by AI-driven bidding algorithms and performance tools like Advantage+ and Performance Max.
The risk is no longer just not understanding the data, it's the fact that many people don't understand the decision. When an algorithm spends your budget in milliseconds across a fragmented web, the need for human-led governance is higher than ever. It doesn't take rocket science; you need a framework for accountability.
2. The Persistence of Misaligned Incentives
Three years ago, we highlighted how KPIs were driven by cost reduction rather than transparency. In 2026, we see this playing out as companies race for the lowest and cheapest at the expense of attention and brand safety.
Luckily, our new report shows that the most successful brands have pivoted. They are moving away from efficiency-only metrics and toward High-Attention Benchmarks. They realize that a low CPM is often just a high price for invisible media.
3. Calibrating for a Multi-Signal World
In 2023, we argued that one size doesn't fit all. Today we're seeing how much of an undrestatement that is. With the death of the third-party cookie finally in the rearview mirror, advertisers are juggling first-party data, clean rooms, and retail media networks.
That black box isn't just in programmatic anymore, we're seeing it in every walled garden and retail network. Success in 2026 requires a specific, calibrated approach that looks at your specific category and capability level, rather than following a generic industry template.
What's the Path Forward? Education and Analysis
Despite it being almost three years ago, the advice we gave in 2023 remains solid and true today: Education is the only antidote to asymmetry.
- Educate: Align your team on the basic principles of 2026 media: from AI ethics to Retail Media transparency.
- Analyze: Move beyond the quarterly deck. Conduct deep-dives that a CMO actually wants to read. If it isn't interesting to the board, it isn't strategic enough.
- Govern: Stop being a customer of the supply chain and start being the client with primacy.
The box only stays closed if you allow it to. Our State of Digital Media Report provides the tools to pry it open for good.
Ready to close your Confidence Gap?
Download the 2026 State of Digital Media Report here
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