By Simon Thorne, Managing Director, Flashtalking by Mediaocean
The recent antitrust ruling against Google has exposed issues with their monopolistic practices in search and programmatic advertising, highlighting the urgent need for a strategic shift in the ad tech industry. With control over more than 90% of publishing investments, Google has created a challenging environment for advertisers with mounting regulatory scrutiny and the threat of significant regulatory changes.
A prime example is the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal granting a collective proceedings order for a £13.6 billion lawsuit against Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices in online display advertising.
While this is a positive development for the industry (as it aims to promote a more competitive and equitable adtech environment) now is the time for advertisers to start taking proactive steps and reassess its reliance on Google’s ecosystem.
While advertisers won’t necessarily move away from Google’s core platforms such as Search and YouTube, diversifying your ad tech stacks and reallocating budgets to alternative channels such as Connected TV (CTV) and audio, can provide more balanced and transparent options. Advertisers can therefore mitigate the risks of their reliance on a full Google stack, should the proceedings deem Google are required to break up their ad tech stack. That said, the road ahead remains unclear. Google has the option to appeal, which could prolong legal proceedings well into 2027 or beyond. So, let’s examine what’s next for Google’s monopoly and how this trial will redefine the advertising landscape.
Long-term consequences
The outcome of these trials, alongside regulatory action such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) could reshape the digital advertising landscape.
If Google were to lose the trial, being forced to divest parts of its business, such as spinning off Chrome as an independent entity as the Department of Justice has argued it should in the search trial, or any piece of its ad tech stack as could be one of the required remedies from the second trial, the ramifications would be enormous. Losing access to search and browser data would weaken Google’s ability to deliver integrated advertising solutions, forcing marketers to adopt alternative ad servers and identity solutions.
This potential shake-up would create opportunities for independent ad tech companies to thrive, ushering in a more diverse and open ecosystem with unbiased measurements. For brands and agencies, this means adopting a more flexible, omnichannel approach that emphasises interoperability and multi-identity solutions.
Rethinking advertising strategies
The trials’ revelations have underscored the potential risks of overdependence on Google’s infrastructure. From its search dominance to its integrated ad tech stack, the company has long provided convenience and scale for advertisers. However, these advantages come with vulnerabilities, especially as regulatory scrutiny intensifies.
Brands now face the need to diversify their advertising strategies to minimise risk; a key approach lies in embracing an omnichannel framework. Platforms such as Connected TV (CTV), Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH), and digital audio are gaining traction as viable alternatives that reduce reliance on any single ecosystem. This shift allows advertisers to balance their media mix, adapt to changing consumer behaviours, and insulate themselves from potential platform-specific disruptions.
Moreover, advertisers must prioritise solutions that ensure level competition across channels. Platforms that facilitate transparency and focus solely on delivering on key advertiser metrics will provide the best opportunities for brands and agencies.
Google won’t kill off Cookies, but users might
After several years of delays, Google announced in July 2024 that it would not be deprecating third-party cookies in its Chrome browser as originally planned. Instead, advertisers will be required to obtain user consent before processing their data, as Chrome will prompt users with a choice to opt in or out of being tracked by third-party cookies.
This means that tracking user behavior across websites is no longer straightforward, pushing advertisers to invest in robust first-party data infrastructures. Innovations like Google’s Privacy Sandbox, contextual advertising, and alternative identity solutions such as ID5, FTrack, and RampID are shaping the new landscape.
For many brands, this transition has accelerated their adoption of privacy-first practices and spurred innovation in data collection and audience segmentation. AI-driven technologies are playing a critical role in filling the gaps left by third-party cookies, providing scalable solutions for targeting and personalization.
Ad tech providers are stepping in to offer innovative cookieless solutions, such as probabilistic and deterministic identity technologies, which ensure privacy-first audience targeting. Solutions like these enable advertisers to maintain precision in their campaigns while adhering to stringent privacy regulations. These media-neutral solutions will prove durable in a post-Google antitrust world.
The benefits of audience curation
As data privacy regulations become stricter, we’re seeing the practice of audience curation gaining momentum. By narrowing their focus to specific, well-defined target groups, brands can improve engagement and optimise return on investment (ROI). First-party and contextual data play a pivotal role in this approach, allowing advertisers to reach consumers in privacy-compliant ways without sacrificing relevance.
This level of granularity not only enhances targeting efficiency but also aligns with consumer expectations around data use. Curating audiences ensures that brands retain control over their messaging while reducing wasted ad spend, especially in an environment where broad-based targeting is becoming increasingly impractical. With audience curation, the role of a third-party ad server is critical to ensure the creative delivered is personalised to the context and moment.
The path forward
The Google antitrust trial presents an opportunity for the digital advertising industry to redefine itself. As the industry moves toward greater transparency and openness, advertisers must embrace strategies that reduce dependency on a single platform. Diversifying data sources, leveraging alternative ad channels, and focusing on audience curation will be essential for building sustainable advertising practices. By adapting to these changes, brands can not only navigate the challenges ahead but also position themselves for long-term success in a more balanced ad tech landscape.
