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Welcome to The Brief by Kuro House, your daily dose of sharp, insightful updates from the world of marketing, media, and advertising. Today, we’re diving deep into a series of stories that reveal the shifting power dynamics in ad tech, the rise of creative intelligence, regulatory drama in TV, and the strategic moves of the industry’s biggest players. Let’s get into it.
First up, let’s talk about the ongoing tension between The Trade Desk and the major ad agency holding companies, as highlighted in Digiday’s recent coverage of WPP’s latest earnings call. WPP’s CFO, Joanne Wilson, fielded questions about The Trade Desk and didn’t mince words: she explained that WPP works with a variety of DSPs (demand-side platforms) and SSPs (supply-side platforms), evaluating them project by project, always prioritizing transparency and effective client investment. But here’s the kicker—Wilson characterized The Trade Desk’s domain, the “open internet,” as a shrinking slice of the ad market. She declined to give hard numbers, but another WPP exec described the open internet as “the long tail,” and forecasted its share would continue to get smaller. This is a direct response to The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green’s recent accusations that holding companies are manipulating programmatic supply chains to extract undisclosed margins. The larger trend? More money is flowing into streaming, paid social, and retail—channels that are faster, cleaner, and closer to revenue. In 2023, WPP spent $1.1 billion with The Trade Desk globally, but $1.4 billion on Meta in the U.S. alone. With Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon projected to absorb nearly 59% of global ad spend outside China by 2027, the walled gardens are only getting taller. The open web is no longer the default destination for ad dollars, and holding companies are doubling down on their own tech and data capabilities to align with where the money—and the audience—actually are. The future of the programmatic supply chain is up for grabs, but one thing’s clear: the old alliances are fracturing, and the next chapter is all about control.
That brings us to another key player in this drama—The Trade Desk itself. According to Adweek, CEO Jeff Green took the stage at Possible 2026 in Miami Beach and made a public show of support for ad agencies, acknowledging the mounting pressures they face: tighter budgets, the explosion of AI, and a more complicated media supply chain. Green’s message was clear: “You can’t keep taking money out of the middle, providing a higher level of service in a more complicated ecosystem, and do that for less and less.” He empathized with the squeeze on agencies, especially those caught between advertisers and publishers. This is a notable olive branch after months of public friction, with Green signaling that The Trade Desk wants to be a partner, not an adversary, as agencies navigate increasingly complex terrain. The subtext? As the ecosystem shifts, The Trade Desk is positioning itself as an ally for agencies under siege, even as the structural realities of the market are pushing spend elsewhere.
Meanwhile, over at Omnicom, the focus is all about “core operations” and strategic clarity, as reported by Adweek. In Q1 2026, Omnicom reported $5.6 billion in revenue from its core businesses—up nearly 7% year over year—and operating expenses of the same amount, largely due to its acquisition of IPG. The company has made a decisive move to offload agencies and brands that no longer fit its growth or margin criteria, with $1 billion in businesses already sold and another $2.2 billion on the chopping block over the next year. CEO John Wren explained that Omnicom’s goal is to have more than half its revenue come from a faster-growing, integrated media business spanning media, commerce, data, CRM, consulting, and content automation. The company is also investing in building direct relationships with publishers, aiming to reduce the “toll” paid to intermediaries. In addition to selling off non-core assets, Omnicom has merged or sunset more than 20 major agency brands since the IPG deal closed. The message is clear: the future is about integration, efficiency, and directness—cutting out the middlemen and focusing on the services clients actually want.
Let’s pivot to a fascinating trend in the M&A world: the race to own “creative intelligence,” as covered in detail by Digiday. This isn’t about snapping up creator networks or sports agencies—it’s about acquiring the data and analytics infrastructure that sits beneath creative work, enabling pre-testing, optimization, and AI-powered performance intelligence. Recent deals tell the story: Havas bought Ctrl Digital, Publicis Groupe acquired AdgeAI for a reported $100 million, and Brave Bison took a big stake in System1, whose behavioral science product predicts creative performance before a campaign launches. The logic is simple: creative is the last big lever in advertising that hasn’t been fully quantified, and AI is finally making it possible to connect creative assets to outcomes before any media dollars are spent. According to Winterberry Group, U.S. creative intelligence-powered spend is projected to grow at 23% CAGR, hitting $11.47 billion by 2028. The big holding companies are at the front of this race, but ad tech vendors, marketing clouds, and platforms are not far behind. Brands in CPG and retail are leading the charge, and the priority is now practical AI applications that can fast-track creative experimentation and concepting. The next three years will see a scramble to own the intellectual layer that sits atop the AI infrastructure—because whoever controls it, controls the future of creative ROI.
Finally, a story that blends media, politics, and regulation: the FCC has ordered eight ABC-owned TV stations to file for early license renewals, as reported by Adweek. Normally, these stations—located in major markets like New York, LA, Chicago, and Houston—wouldn’t be up for renewal until 2028, but the FCC has moved up the deadline to May 28, 2026. The reason? Ongoing investigations into possible violations of the 1934 Communications Act and the agency’s prohibition on lawful discrimination, reportedly tied to Disney’s DEI practices. But the timing is conspicuous, coming right after a wave of political backlash against Jimmy Kimmel for a joke he made about Melania Trump during a White House Correspondents’ Dinner parody. The first lady called for Kimmel to be punished by ABC, accusing him of spreading hate, and the Trump administration followed up by demanding Kimmel’s firing. Kimmel defended himself, insisting the joke was not a call for violence but a commentary on the couple’s age difference, and pointed out his long-standing opposition to gun violence. This isn’t Kimmel’s first run-in with the FCC or political figures—he was suspended in 2025 for controversial comments, and the FCC has previously pressured ABC affiliates to preempt his show. The current investigation and the early renewal order highlight the increasingly fraught intersection of media, politics, and regulation, with late-night comedy once again at the center of the storm.
That’s all for today’s episode of The Brief by Kuro House. From the strategic chess moves of holding companies and ad tech giants, to the rapid rise of creative intelligence and the regulatory spotlight on broadcast media, it’s clear that the marketing landscape is evolving faster than ever. Stay curious, stay sharp, and remember: the only constant in this industry is change. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
