Stop following and start leading: how media owners can defeat Made For Advertising companies and their enablers

Alessandro De Zanche

Mar 24, 2024 — 5 min read

A time bomb has been ticking deafeningly loud and uninterrupted across the digital advertising ecosystem for at least the last 15 years, and it just exploded.

Dubbed “Made for Advertising”, the only reason to exist for these websites and apps is click baiting people, filling ad slots and making money in the process.

Tick-tock, tick-tock: the industry - and many quality media owners against their own interests - have not only embraced the sound, but even danced around it. Slave to the rhythm. Which is why the negative consequences for media companies caught next to the explosion could be even more substantial than the damage suffered until now.

Understanding background and true dynamics

For over 15 years, revenues from premium media brands and budgets from advertisers have been siphoned away. All while MFA owners and unscrupulous, dishonest ad tech companies have profited.

How did they get away with it for so long and so easily?

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