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Against the backdrop of UK House at Cannes Lions, Propeller partnered with UK Advertising and Press Gazette to bring together a cross-section of publishers and adtech leaders for a closed-door roundtable on the evolving landscape of global audience scaling and monetisation.
Led by Dominic Ponsford, Editor-in-Chief at Press Gazette, representatives from publisher-side and the world of adtech - gathered to discuss the future of publishing, the decline of platform dependency and the need for more effective, trust-based monetisation models. While the session operated under Chatham House Rules, common threads quickly emerged which we’ve highlighted below.
With Google and Meta’s estimated UK advertising revenues reaching £26 billion, the stakes for independent and legacy publishers have never been higher. The discussion surfaced clear tensions, shared pain points and cautious optimism about where technology and partnership can take the industry next.
Cracking the audience code
Scaling audiences remains a central challenge, especially for publishers straddling multiple regions. For those expanding from the US into Europe, regulatory compliance, fragmented tech stacks and brand safety sensitivities all present barriers to unlocking growth.
David Bradford, Managing Director for Europe at Bloomberg Media, reflected: “I think where we've had success is where we take an audience-led approach, rather than looking at platforms specifically.”
Participants agreed that trust is increasingly the currency of value, particularly in an era of commoditised content. For some publishers, that means investing in AI-driven tools to bring reliable journalism to under-served markets. For others, it’s about developing video products and original programming to deliver deeper engagement and monetisable opportunities beyond traditional news.
Jonathan Haines, Managing Director, UK and Northern Ireland at Equativ, added: “It's an exciting time for the publishers themselves to be able to take control of the audiences they want to reach.”
From ‘Google Zero’ to brand-led ecosystems
Many around the table noted the declining reliance on search and the urgent need to wean off the platform dependency that defined the last decade. Google traffic declining was certainly a problem - but many solutions are out there.
The emerging strategy is intent-led content tailored for diversified distribution: vertical videos, social-first experiences and proprietary apps. Publishers are now rethinking what it means to meet audiences where they are - and more importantly, how to get them to come back.
Ben Chesters, MD Clients at Hearst UK, summed it up by looking forward: “What we'll get to is a point where AI will create a rhythm of content that repeats, allowing us to do bigger projects, bigger initiatives, bigger experiences.”
Rethinking monetisation with tech and trust
A clear theme emerged around the shift from commoditised programmatic to curated, high-value brand partnerships. Attention metrics are taking precedence over impressions, with many explaining more meaningful measures of audience engagement.
Ben Samuel, VP partnerships at AudienceProject, noted: “The more that media owners lean into measurement, the more successful it's going to be.”
The adtech contingent offered perspectives on new tools for monetisation - from AI-driven contextual targeting to end-to-end media platforms designed to give publishers greater control over supply, data and demand. Cookieless solutions and privacy-compliant identity frameworks are also evolving rapidly, especially as Safari now accounts for nearly half of market share in some regions.
Alex Humphries-French, MADTech Practice Director at Propeller, framed it as a moment to “bring back the human in the tech side of things. That’s where you start creating those connections and partnerships - and that’s where publishers, for example, will start getting more trust in the technology.”
Beyond brand safety: towards brand alignment
The brand safety debate ran hot, with the consensus being that hard news is too often treated as toxic inventory, despite evidence to the contrary. Several participants pointed to recent research suggesting attention levels can be higher in serious news contexts, creating an opportunity for brands to reframe how and where they show up.
Philip Acton, Country Manager UK at Adform captured the sentiment with a direct appeal: “Trust us, this is a good place for your brand to be. And you'll see some performance elements - the user of that page will get a good advertising experience.”
This underscored the need for a more nuanced understanding of content suitability and a renewed appreciation for the value of quality journalism.
Following this school of thought - although not centre stage of every conversation, AI’s potential was impossible to ignore. From translation to audience segmentation to editorial strategy, AI is reshaping how publishers connect with consumers and create monetisable moments.
Hannah Buitekant, Chief Commercial Digital Officer at dmg media, captured the room’s forward-looking view: “You need to bring the advertising relationship into the content creation that we are creating.”
One eye on the future…
As editorial and commercial boundaries continue to blur, the most successful publishers may be those who can navigate that shift with integrity and intelligence. The message from Cannes was clear: the future of publisher monetisation lies in trust, control and creativity. As platforms evolve and audiences fragment, those who invest in meaningful partnerships, intelligent tech and editorial integrity will be best placed to thrive.