Why was this initiative created?
Every year, brands invest hundreds of billions of euros in advertising, helping to fund the digital economy globally. These investments support innovation, sustain media organisations, enable technological development, and create value across the wider digital ecosystem.
But today, too much of that value is concentrated in the hands of a few global platforms. Close to 80% of digital advertising value is captured by a small number of global players, while European companies are left competing on unequal terms.
This imbalance is accelerating. Around 90% of digital advertising growth is now captured by global platforms, making it harder for Europe’s media and technology ecosystem to scale, invest, and compete.
Every year Europe delays, value becomes even more concentrated. That is why Europe needs a stronger, more competitive media ecosystem, one built on quality, trust, transparency, simplicity and meaningful connections between brands, publishers, and audiences.
Today’s digital advertising landscape has become increasingly fragmented and complex. Too often, that complexity creates distance between where media budgets are invested and where real value is created.
At the same time, Europe’s premium publishers continue to deliver trusted content and high-quality experiences that millions of people rely on every day.
The European Media Marketplace was created to close this gap. It makes it easier for advertisers to invest in trusted European media, while helping ensure that more value flows back to the publishers and media owners who create it.
Why now?
Data players are coming into their own. We're at an inflection point where companies sitting on valuable data are starting to recognize the strategic power they hold within the digital economy.
Data is the strongest angle right now. Whether you look at the rise of CTV or the growing demand for addressability, data is the thread connecting every major trend. We believe we're entering this space at exactly the right moment.
Sovereignty is no longer a niche concern, it's a business imperative. For publishers and media owners who have become overly reliant on third-party partnerships, taking back control of their data and infrastructure is now a top priority.
Our approach is both pragmatic and opportunistic. We see the sovereignty conversation as a genuine opening. These players need an alternative, and The European Media Marketplace is positioned to offer one.
Is the marketplace designed to compete with walled garden environments?
Not adversarially. The global platforms set a high bar: scale, precise audiences, a simple buying experience, and Europe's premium open web can't match that combination today, despite carrying the trusted content millions rely on. The European Media Marketplace closes that gap by bringing consented first-party data, premium inventory and one activation layer together, so advertisers can buy European media with the same confidence and simplicity. It's less about competing with any one environment than about offering a credible premium alternative where more value flows back to European media and data owners.
What makes this alliance different from others we've seen before?
Most past European alliances were either data co-operatives that were difficult to buy from, or discussion forums that produced principles rather than products. The European Media Marketplace is operational from day one as it runs on Equativ's existing curation platform (Maestro). It brings together 5 key components that rarely sit together in one single Stop-Shop:
It also has a common, IAB-aligned taxonomy so different data speaks one language, and an independent governance.
Is this a new advertising platform?
The platform and the technology aren’t new as the Marketplace runs on Equativ’s existing infrastructure. However, we consider it as a new gate that aims at creating a more valuable relationship between brands, audiences and premium media across Europe. To do so, it connects assets which already exist: data owners' consented first-party data and publishers' premium inventory — and makes them buyable packaged into macro audience segments, through one interface, whether directly, as a managed service, or through an advertiser's existing DSP. We're unifying a fragmented landscape, not adding another silo.
Does this Marketplace guarantee that European media owners receive a greater share of the value?
The value transfer is built into the architecture, not promised in principle. In a typical media transaction a euro passes through DSP, SSP, network, data and verification fees, and a large share is lost before reaching the publisher.
The European Media Marketplace is designed to increase the share of revenue that reaches media owners by providing a high-quality, safe, and direct path to inventory:
How will you measure whether the initiative is successful?
In stages, against evidence.
Are the Founding Members welcoming new participants later on?
Yes. Founding Partner status carries real first-mover benefits, but expansion is an explicit goal: a pan-European marketplace only works if it keeps growing its reach and contributors.
Is there any criteria set for Founding Partners? What requirements do the project set?
Yes. Founding Partners are leading European data and media owners that bring scaled, consented first-party audiences — principally telecom operators, retailers and commerce platforms, alongside the ad-tech partners that enable activation. The bar is genuine European scale and deterministic, consent-based data: in a premium, privacy-first marketplace, the quality and addressability of what a partner contributes matters as much as its size.
What types of inventory are available through the European Media Marketplace?
Premium, omnichannel European inventory accessed directly rather than through the open-exchange long tail: connected TV and OTT, online video, display, native and in-app — more than 10,000 premium European websites and apps through trusted direct partnerships, with significant CTV scale across the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the rest of Europe. The emphasis is curation and quality: supply-path optimisation prioritising direct inventory, made-for-advertising sites removed, invalid-traffic blocking, and brand safety.
How is data used within the European Media Marketplace? How do you guarantee data privacy in the process?
The model is privacy-first by construction. Founding partners contribute approved, consented first-party signals, which Equativ aggregates into standardised macro-segments on an IAB-aligned taxonomy. Advertisers only ever buy those macro-segments — combining audiences from several providers — never raw or partner-identifiable data; the outputs are aggregated and non-identifiable. The framework is consent-based and GDPR-aligned, built on authenticated identity including telecom consent frameworks such as Utiq. Data owners keep ownership and control, and use is contractually restricted through data transfer and processing agreements, with no commercialisation beyond the agreed scope.
What benefits does it bring to publishers, broadcasters, retailers, telecom operators and data owners?
For publishers and broadcasters, it's economics: more working media reaching their premium inventory because fewer intermediaries sit in between, plus direct, quality demand and stronger positioning for the premium open web. For retailers, telecoms and other data owners, it opens a new, high-margin European-scale data revenue stream — monetising consented first-party audiences across the open web while keeping ownership and control, improving yield on their own inventory and extending audiences onto third-party media.
What outcomes can advertisers expect?
Less waste and more working media, first of all. Beyond that, precise deterministic European audiences at scale which means sharper targeting and stronger return on spend, reached in premium, brand-safe environments, all through one interface rather than a patchwork of partners. Beyond activating existing data within the European Media Platform, advertisers have the ability to onboard their own first party data for advanced targeting capabilities (look-alike,...).
In addition, the platform offers proprietary creative enhancement solutions for advertisers’ creative assets, free of charge, to help them reach their performance goals.
It's the combination: better data, premium inventory, stronger creative in one place, with an agentic layer.
At what point does a national advertiser need a European buying solution?
The European Media Marketplace is built for both local and pan-European activation, so it isn't only for cross-border campaigns. A national advertiser reaches the tipping point either when scaling beyond the home market without stitching together a dozen local partners, or when fragmentation within a single market — multiple data sources, vendors, inconsistent measurement — starts capping reach and eroding efficiency. The advantage is that they can start in one market and extend across Europe through the same interface, taxonomy and trusted supply, so the European option is there the moment it's needed.
Does this make media buying more efficient, or does it create another intermediary?
More efficient — the intent is to remove intermediaries, not add one. Today a transaction can pass through DSP, SSP, network, data and verification fees, with much of the budget lost before it reaches the publisher. The European Media Marketplace consolidates consented data, premium supply, brand safety and activation into one curated, transparent layer with direct publisher access, shortening the path rather than lengthening it. It's a marketplace in its own right, but it replaces several opaque layers with one transparent one — and the test of any intermediary is whether more value ends up with those who create it, which is exactly what this is designed to do.
What type of measurement solutions the platform is offering?
We utilize Equativ's proprietary measurement tools in conjunction with verified data from audited external partners.
The EUMM will onboard independent and transparent measurement players. On top of their targeting capabilities, Retailer & Telcos will help to bring advanced measurement capabilities to capture conversion.
Tech partners as Utiq will also bring innovative measurement capabilities to the EUMM
Does the European Media Marketplace accommodate mid-market agencies/advertisers?
Equativ is building an infrastructure powered by artificial intelligence agents to support media planning, problem-solving, and optimization. This approach aims to transform the platform into a one-stop shop, equally accessible to agencies, direct advertisers, and mid-market clients, while streamlining self-service adoption.
What role does artificial intelligence play?
A central one, on two fronts.
How does the acquisition of LiveRamp by Publicis impact this initiative?
This significant acquisition signals a strong commitment from major agencies toward the Open Web. As Publicis strengthens its position, its competitors are now tasked with identifying scalable alternatives for data activation. Given the scarcity of comparable solutions at scale, this creates an ideal window of opportunity for the European Media Marketplace.