#92: AdTech Economic Forum is Coming to London
ATEF London, Our Unit of Production, The Four Factors of [AdTech] Production
“Music [advertising] is music [advertising]. If you want to make [advertising] music and you have people that you want to play music with [make advertising with], then you can make music [advertising].” — Bob Marley, Talk’in Blues
As many of our readers know, we launched the AdTech Economic Forum (ATEF) in NYC last April and we smashed it out of the park — at least that’s what attendees told us. Back then, we called it the "Davos of AdTech” and now it’s taken on a life of its own. Next step — take it to the next level!
Not only is ATEF returning to NYC on March 19, 2025, but we are also launching our inaugural London event (with a twist) at The Royal Institution on February 6, 2025.
Attendees of our NYC event last April already know that ATEF is highly curated and goes deep and broad across the intersection of finance, economics, and advertising technology. Every detail ranging from our incredible speaker lineup and unique agenda format to our selection of the best espresso and chocolates in NYC is curated with total attention to detail.
You can expect the same curation style at our London event but the format is totally different. In London, the focus is on green shoot companies that make the adtech world go around and the investors that fund their dreams.
Our London audience and our esteemed judges will hear pitches from six adtech companies from six categories:
Agency Tech
DSP Tech
Data Tech
Curation Tech
SSP Tech
Publisher Tech
If you’re an adtech player falling into one of these categories and want to test your metal in front of a live audience and impress our judges, then get your application done today. One adtech per category will be picked to give it their best shot.
Our Unit of Production
Whether in New York or London or anywhere else ATEF might show up next, our unit of economic production is enlightenment. That’s the product that comes off our production line.
We rely on four raw materials to make our enlightenment factory hum: Content, Connections, Conversations, and Collaboration.
Content: “AdTech Economic Forum’s content and speaker lineup are better than any other AdTech conference by a country mile.” We heard that sentiment throughout the day last April in NYC and many times afterward. Comments like that and all the love make our effort and attention to detail worth it. Thank you!
Connections: If the networking atmosphere doesn’t click at a conference, all the networking value that everyone wants will probably not happen. And when birds of a feather flock together, incredible connections are made. New connections, reconnections, anticipated connections, and the many unexpected connections elevate our thinking and our community to a whole new level.
Conversations: Most good things in business (and life) start with a conversation. As Bruce Springsteen said, “You can’t start a fire without a spark.” We specifically curate all ATEF events down to the last little detail to help ignite one conversational spark after the other. Good things will almost always follow when a conversation gets started.
Collaboration: For ATEF, effective collaboration results in deal-making. We define collaboration as a process where two parties work together to achieve a common goal which also involves creating an environment that fosters fresh and open conversation, sharing, and a willingness to negotiate and compromise.
Here’s a little ditty for you: Pascal Gauthier was the original COO of Criteo. He is a great motivator and defines what it means to be authentic. In the early days of Criteo, he repeatedly reminded everyone of "the most important thing" — You have to make deals. He'd give talks at Criteo offices in Paris, London, NYC, Boston, Tokyo, etc. saying something like:
"You have to make deals. Not just with customers. It’s not just about sales deals. That’s obvious. You have to make deals with publishers, that’s table stakes too. What about other suppliers like data partners? Make deals with everyone. Salespeople have to make deals with our product team. Product developers have to make deals with commercial people and with each other. There are trade-offs everywhere. That’s the point. Make trade-offs. Managers have to make deals with new hires ..and also with those who need a course correction or leave or get fired. The more deals we make the better off we are. Go make deals!"
ATEF London, February 6
In economics, there is a thing called the factors of production. There are the resources used to create goods and services in an economy. Factors of production are typically classified into four main categories.
1. Land: This includes all natural resources that are used to produce goods and services. It encompasses everything from agricultural land to mineral resources, water, and forests.
In AdTech Land, the big resource is data. Data makes our world go around… and increasingly data trades make it spin faster.
2. Labor: This refers to the human effort, both physical and mental, that is used in the production process. It includes the skills and expertise of workers and can vary in terms of quantity and quality.
When programmatic adtech came on the scene circa 2007, all the gurus thought it would automate media buying and kill media buying as a job. The opposite happened with an explosion of new jobs. We estimate there are 30K programmatic traders and ad ops folks employed around the world. The same thinking is happening with the AI revolution, e.g. AI will reduce employment. If history is a good indicator of the future, Quo Vadids predicts a massive explosion in new jobs across the advertising space.
3. Capital: This includes the tools, machinery, buildings, and technology that are used in the production of goods and services. Unlike land, which is a natural resource, capital (aka innovation and productivity) is created by humans and is used for growing production efficiency.
This is what hundreds of new adtech companies and investors from angels to venture capital and from private equity and investment banks bring to the market every year. Think about it this way, capital is an asset, and assets get financed by selling equity or raising debt. In other words, investors and lenders allocate money to areas of capital creation with the best chance (or risk-adjusted chance) of financial returns.
4. Entrepreneurship: This is where AdTech Economic Forum London comes into play. Entrepreneurship involves the ability to combine the other three factors of production in innovative ways to create goods and services.
Instead of playing it safe in the labor market, entrepreneurs like the ones pitching at AdTech Economic Forum London risk everything to start a business in exchange for high returns and if successful, they drive economic growth around the world.
See you in London!
Disclaimer: This post, and any other post from Quo Vadis, should not be considered investment advice. This content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe this information, or any other material from Quo Vadis, as investment, financial, or any other form of advice.