Ad Campaigns
IAB Tech Lab launches programmatic CTV genre guidance for public review
MUMBAI: After a quiet pause since its 2020 retirement, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Tech Lab is back with a roar, reimagining the digital advertising playbook.
Known for its pivotal role in shaping online advertising standards, the global body has unveiled an ambitious update to its programmatic connected TV (CTV) guidance, powered by the advanced frameworks of Content Taxonomy 2.0 and 3.1.
Like a phoenix rising, these updates signal a bold comeback, aiming to eliminate inefficiencies, unify the industry, and set a new benchmark for digital advertising clarity.
Open for public review until 31 January 2025, the move invites the advertising ecosystem to shape the future of programmatic innovation together.
The updates, developed by the Taxonomy & Mapping Working Group and Programmatic Supply Chain Working Group, introduce key features:
. New OpenRTB attributes: genres and gtax
. Updated genres list in Content Taxonomy 3.1
. Specific implementation guidance for CTV genres
. Bi-directional mapping between Content Taxonomy 1.0 and Ad Product Taxonomy 2.0
These enhancements address inefficiencies caused by free-text genre descriptions, which complicate bidstream data interpretation for DSPs. By adopting standardised genres and the gtax framework, the industry can achieve better contextual targeting and more tailored campaigns.
Content Taxonomy 1.0, deprecated in 2020, still poses challenges for companies relying on older systems, leading to inefficiencies and risks like content misclassification. The new mapping guidance bridges the gap, allowing compatibility between older and newer systems. This ensures DSPs using older taxonomies can effectively read and interpret labels from SSPs leveraging Content Taxonomy 2.0.
IAB Tech Lab CEO, Anthony Katsur emphasised the significance of these updates, “We’re tackling the complexity head-on. This work is about simplifying the way the industry connects and operates, so businesses can spend less time dealing with friction and more time creating value. It’s a step toward making programmatic advertising smarter, faster, and more reliable for everyone.”
The updated taxonomies empower publishers and advertisers to categorise content more precisely, enabling curated inventory and privacy-respecting advertising experiences. Features like genres and gtax provide actionable data, making contextual buying strategies more effective.
Taxonomy & Mapping Working Group associate product manager & co-lead, Katie Shell highlighted the benefits, “This update builds on the foundation of our existing taxonomies, addressing opportunities to enhance efficiency and streamline processes. By introducing these new resources, we’re equipping the industry to work more efficiently and build toward the next generation of taxonomies.”
IAB Tech Lab invites industry stakeholders to review and provide feedback on the guidance during the public comment period, which closes on 31 January 2025. The input will help refine these tools to align with evolving industry needs.
“This initiative solves a fundamental challenge for our industry—ensuring that taxonomies integrate effortlessly across platforms,” said Subtextive CEO & principal, Temese Szalai. “By offering these mappings and implementation guidance, we’re addressing inefficiencies and creating real, measurable impact for publishers, advertisers, and platforms alike.”
For further details and participation in the public comment process, visit IAB Tech Lab’s official page.
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
