Can the European Media Marketplace Break the Platform Monopoly?
Commentary by Verena Gründel: Europe's publishers want to combine their reach, first-party data, and advertising inventory. But will that be enough to challenge the major platforms?
Technology Isn’t the Biggest Challenge
To me, the European Media Marketplace is one of the most exciting projects in the European advertising market. It offers the chance to create a counterweight to the major tech platforms. One that pools reach, data, and inventory across national borders and is designed to make media buying significantly easier.
The European Media Marketplace is initially backed by ten companies from the European advertising industry. Together, they aim to create a platform that allows advertisers to purchase premium inventory, first-party data, and reach from various publishers more easily and across national borders.
But the more I look into the project, the clearer it becomes to me: success or failure will not depend on technology alone. The real challenge lies with the publishers. Are they willing to give up some of their independence in order to develop greater clout together? Or will the European Media Marketplace ultimately remain just another well-intentioned industry project?
As I also wrote in Horizont, this is, in my view, the crucial point. For years, advertisers have been seeking a European alternative to walled gardens. One with scalable reach, precise targeting, and measurability that meets today’s requirements.
After all, in marketing, the following applies now more than ever: What can’t be measured won’t get a budget.
Once this foundation is in place, publishers will finally be able to once again showcase their true strengths: high-quality ad environments, trust, brand safety, and proven advertising effectiveness.
But there is still a long way to go before the marketplace becomes a serious counterweight. If the project fails, it will hardly be because of the technology.
It will be because Europe’s publishers have called for greater collaboration in advertising sales — but were ultimately unwilling to embrace it themselves.
