Advertising Week New York kicked off in full force, gathering the industry's top minds for an immersive four days of insightful content, networking, and engaging events. The strong turnout highlighted the industry’s drive to learn, collaborate, and navigate today’s fragmented media landscape. Key discussions revolved around AI’s new role in the industry, with Samba TV at the forefront of this critical topic. Here’s a look at some of the week’s standout moments:

The next generation of TV is powered by GenAI - but how much of it is just hype? An executive interview with Samba TV’s Co-founder and CEO

AI is transforming the media landscape, giving marketers powerful tools to position their brands, craft their stories, and optimize campaigns like never before. Samba TV Co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin sat down for an executive interview at the show to discuss how AI-powered video analysis is delivering real-time insights at scale. There is no question that AI is a gamechanger for advertising but how much of it is hype? Read more about his take in Business Insider and watch his interview here. 

"I think for the first time I'm starting to hear skepticism around AI. In an industry that loves to show it's early to adopt new tech, it's been easy for practitioners to claim they're using generative AI to do things that aren't really new, like basic personalizing and targeting ads. What's the marketing spin versus what's new for marketers to evaluate? Let's not just think about how to cut costs; let's use it to do better storytelling." --Samba TV Co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin

Samba TV kicks off the week with partner news that ushers in the future of contextual ad targeting and measurement

Samba TV has teamed up with IRIS.TV to revolutionize contextual advertising and cross-platform measurement. Using award-winning Samba AI™, the partnership unlocks next-gen opportunities by analyzing video catalogs indexed with IRIS_ID—a secure universal content identifier that enables publishers to share granular video data with advertisers. This powerful combination delivers privacy-first targeting and advanced measurement of reach, frequency, and business outcomes. Read more about it in TVTech.

Is contextual advertising making a comeback? Industry leaders chat through cookie challenges and how AI can help navigate

With cookie tracking limited, contextual targeting has gained traction as a privacy-friendly strategy, allowing ads to align naturally with content. Many advertisers are adopting a hybrid approach, blending cookie-based targeting with content-driven ads. Enhanced by AI, contextual targeting offers real-time insights and delivers relevant ads without relying on personal identifiers, making it a powerful tool in a privacy-first world. Samba TV took the stage with Warner Bros. Discovery, Chime, FreeWheel, and Univision to dig into how to best navigate these recent industry changes and explore innovative AI-based targeting techniques. Watch the full session here.