The first episode of the Middlemen podcast, featuring Tom and Todd talking about MFA on the open web! This episode introduces The Middlemen Podcast and explores the foundations of retail media and identity in ad tech. Tom & Todd set the stage for the series by diving into the concept of “identity” in advertising technology and its critical role in the evolution of retail media. Here are the main points:

• Podcast Introduction: Hosts Tom Limongello and Todd Sawicki launch the show, aiming to demystify the complex world of retail media, ad tech, and the intersection of commerce and technology.
• Identity as the Foundation: The discussion centers on how “identity”—the ability to recognize and track users across platforms—has become the backbone of modern advertising. The hosts explain that understanding identity is essential for grasping how retail media works, as it enables precise targeting and measurement.
• Ad Tech’s Colossal Misunderstanding: The episode addresses recent controversies in the ad tech industry, particularly around identity technology. The hosts break down why identity is often misunderstood, how it works, and why it’s so messy and fragmented.
• Retail Media’s Emergence: The conversation connects the dots between identity and the rise of retail media. As privacy changes and third-party cookies fade, retailers’ first-party data (collected directly from shoppers) becomes increasingly valuable. This shift is positioning retailers as powerful new players in the digital advertising ecosystem.
• Setting Up Future Topics: The hosts tease upcoming episodes, promising deeper dives into retail media, the games sellers play with audiences, and how value is represented in the evolving landscape.

In essence, Episode 1 is about laying the groundwork: if you want to understand retail media, you first need to understand the central role of identity in today’s advertising technology. ​⁠https://www.linkedin.com/posts/toddsawicki_a-colossal-misunderstanding-by-the-middlemen-activity-7201272008280612864-NzP9

Show notes:

We talked in this episode about the struggle publishers have making money, the characterization of sites as 'MFA' for having heavy ad loads, as well as the practice of publishers buying traffic as a form of consumer acquisition and why that's a part of the monetization process that isn't going away, but which is different from outright fraud like bot traffic or other invalid traffic.We referenced two recent articles in this episode.1) Allison Schiff of AdExchanger on Forbes & Perion:https://www.adexchanger.com/publisher...2) Andrew Casale of Index Exchange on MFA:https://www.adexchanger.com/data-driv...Here's some further reading as well that shows the Zombie nature of how MFA resurfaces regularly.Brian O'Kelley's 'open letter to the advertising punditry':https://bokonads.com/p/an-open-letter...