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The Great Unbundling
2025 is the year advertising technology resolves conflicts of interest
For more than a decade, the advertising industry has been defined by a structural tension: Platforms providing buy-side technology have also been deeply entrenched in selling media inventory. Companies like Google leveraged their scale, deep pockets, and technological resources to dominate both sides of the coin. Any capitalist with such advantages would have done the same.
This dual role helped these media giants and Big Tech consolidate power over critical functions in advertising. Targeting, bidding, ad serving, and measurement often came from the sellers themselves, presenting inherent conflicts of interest and anti-competitive concerns. Marketers could not be sure whether these tools were designed to deliver optimal results for their campaigns — or to prioritize the platform's own media inventory.
For years, advertisers had little choice but to tolerate this trade-off. The efficiencies offered by these platforms outweighed concerns about neutrality, particularly when independent alternatives were scarce, but those concerns were always there. Fast forward to today, and the dynamics have changed. As the industry becomes more omnichannel and regulatory scrutiny increases — most notably through the DOJ's antitrust trial against Google — the tradeoffs of relying on integrated platforms have become increasingly untenable and intolerable.
In 2025, the longstanding conflicts of interest between buy-side and sell-side media technology will finally be resolved.
How We Got Here
Google's dominance in both buy-side and sell-side technology was the result of a perfect storm of competitive advantages. With its deep pockets, engineering talent, and unprecedented scale, the company was uniquely positioned to build an ecosystem where advertisers could target, bid, serve, and measure ads — all while transacting on Google's own inventory. Public markets rewarded this strategy, enabling Google to accelerate its growth and entrench its position further.
Compounding this, regulatory oversight lagged the rapid development of the industry. For years, there was little intervention to address the inherent conflicts of interest in Google's business model. The result was a marketplace where one player held outsized influence, with marketers forced to weigh the benefits of its tools against the risks of consolidation.
Outside of Google, the broader advertising technology ecosystem was still developing. Independent solutions were fragmented, complex, and often lacked the scale to compete effectively. While they offered greater neutrality, the open ecosystem introduced its own challenges, such as added friction, inefficiency, and higher costs.
What has changed today is two-fold. First, regulators are taking a closer look. The DOJ's antitrust case against Google reflects a growing acknowledgment that conflicts of interest in media technology must be addressed. Note that much of the DOJ's focus was on fairness to other publishers and not the inherit conflict of the world's largest publisher providing holistic buy-side ad tech solutions.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, the independent ecosystem has matured. Consolidation and innovation have reduced many of the inefficiencies that once plagued open platforms. What used to be a fragmented and costly alternative now represents a viable, efficient option for marketers seeking neutrality and transparency.
2025: The New Normal
The push for neutrality goes far beyond bidding, targeting, ad serving, and planning. It extends to every part of the buy-side technology stack, including measurement, identity, and creative optimization. Marketers are no longer willing to accept tools that come with the risk of bias. Instead, they are gravitating toward independent solutions that ensure transparency, accountability, and flexibility across the board.
The alternatives available today are stronger, more efficient, and far more viable than they were even a few years ago. Neutrality is no longer a tradeoff; it's the foundation for the next phase of growth across the entire supply chain.
That's why by the end of 2025, the unbundling of buy-side and sell-side technology will no longer be a trend but the norm. Technology for targeting, buying, measuring, and optimizing media will operate independently of inventory sales wherever possible.
This is not just a short-term adjustment; it's a fundamental change that reflects the maturation of the industry. Conflicts of interest, which once seemed inevitable, will no longer be tolerated. Instead, advertisers will embrace platforms that empower them to operate with clarity and trust, driving better results for their brands.
There's no going back. Neutrality is the future, and the industry is finally ready to embrace it.
Mediaocean is a partner in the ANA Thought Leadership Program.
