Vendors jostle for position ahead of coming contextual pivot

The media and marketing ecosystems are banking on a swing back toward contextual targeting. No one knows quite how much, but the players have already begun jockeying for position. “Marketers — and agencies — will continue to seek efficiencies,” said Deva Bronson, evp of digital investment at Dentsu Aegis. “We've all trained ourselves to expect those prices. Nobody's going to go pay a $27 CPM. Not after we've all gotten used to paying $15.” Read more below.

• Vendors hawking contextual wares have swamped publishers and agencies, hoping to grab media dollars once spent using third-party cookie targeting.
• Alisha Marie and Remi Cruz are two creators who have diversified beyond YouTube to other platforms and revenue sources, including commerce and a joint podcast called “Pretty Basic” that the pair premiered in October 2018. Hear how they're becoming their own media companies.
• For Digiday+ members, the promise of another virtual event — this time the Cannes Lions — when many execs are Zoomed out and feel like it’s impossible to unplug from daily work has some questioning the worth of attending.
• The Washington Post's expanding news hubs in Seoul and London are meant to ensure the publication has reporters in different time zones to cover news as soon as it breaks.
• Publisher commercial execs don't expect in-person sales meetings to return any time soon but have adopted various in-person options in the interim.