First time at a Publisher Forum? Come down and hear what the next few days are about—and you'll get to meet rookies like yourself.

Meet your fellow attendees over drinks and snacks! Participants will be broken up into groups and asked to complete a (fun, we swear!) activity that will inform the agenda and discussion over the coming days.

Representatives from sponsoring companies join the party.

Best get a big helping of this scrumptious breakfast because you've got a long day ahead!

A big hello from emcee Rob Beeler, AdMonsters Chair, who will share the house rules, introduce the AdMonsters team and give an overview of the next few days.

In the past, user experience was not the highest concern for many publisher revenue teams. But as the responsibilities of revenue and ad operations teams has expanded, they’ve had to find a balance between looking out for user concerns alongside satisfying advertiser demands and securing spend—which advances an enlightened view of monetizing digital media. Trusted Media Brands' transformation from a 100-year-old print publication to a multi-platform media company has been centered around and truly driven by user experience. CEO Bonnie Kintzer will dive into how this mindset has enabled the brand to stay relevant and successful, and how diversification into new areas such as experiential is a lucrative path forward for publishers of all stripes.

GDPR represents the single most significant regulation in the history of digital advertising. Its impact will be felt by nearly every single participant in the ecosystem. This session will kick off with a presentation by OpenX Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Doug McPherson, who will share seven essential steps to GDPR compliance. Industry luminary Rob Beeler will then moderate a discussion on the importance of GDPR readiness and how the regulation is likely to impact the digital advertising industry.

Grab coffee and snacks and whisper among your peers about that krazy keynote!

The eternal question: build or buy that piece of ad technology? Before you take out your wallet, take a look at what it takes to build the tech you need. Patrick McCann, VP, Data Science at CafeMedia, explains how publishers can use open-source kits and other DIY tools to create solutions to common problems. He’ll show us introductory, intermediate and advanced cases for improving yield, efficiency, performance and more.

Media companies have recognized that podcasting is an important part of their content mix: Podcasts are inexpensive to produce, and they present opportunities to branch into audio formats (which audiences love). So how do you make any money off of them? Brett Robinson shares knowledge NPR has gained from their extensive podcasting work.

Advertising is evolving beyond audience targeting as we had known it, and toward reaching individuals. Identity marketing speaks to the user, and can give the user a greater sense of trust and safety in their browsing environment—before they turn to ad blockers for that same safety. Brandon Seltenrich tells us about the conversations (and technology) publishers need to have with partners along the whole ad supply chain to make identity marketing a reality.

AdMonsters Chair Rob Beeler and Editorial Director Gavin Dunaway get the industry lowdown during these brief interviews with sponsoring tech providers.

If you're not quite awake, AdMonsters Editorial Director Gavin Dunaway is here to sound the alarm about the biggest happenings in ad tech with help from The Media Trust’s Alex Calic. The two will walk through the latest on GDPR, Ads.txt, consolidation, and who would win in a fight: Care Bears or My Little Pony.

After a crazy morning of content, we bet you could use a bite!

What's keeping digital revenue professionals up at night? AdMonsters Chair Rob Beeler and Editorial Director Gavin Dunaway will enlist data gathered from attendees in painting a picture of the current scenario for operations and other publisher monetization specialists. They might make a few jokes too—you were warned...

Are you tired of hearing about how AI and machine learning are going to disrupt digital advertising? Perhaps you’d be more excited about supposedly groundbreaking technology if you could actually see some relevant applications, or ways in which you could use AI to make your job easier… say tomorrow? In this conversation with Integral Ad Science’s VP of Product Management Dave Maquard, AdMonsters Chair Rob Beeler will explore AI through a familiar lens—the quest for viewability and the fight against ad fraud.

The branded content boom has been a great complement for premium advertising in the wake of display commoditization. Sure, it’s brought new challenges on the operations side, but it also has opened up new opportunities to expand the revenue team’s realm—especially when it comes to social media. CitizenNet’s Adam Hua will explore the intricacies of monetizing and activating branded content campaigns, while detailing how they can open doors on the social front.

After running quietly in the background for a few years, the brand safety conversation has come roaring back to the headlines and to the forefront of publisher/advertiser relationships. But does “brand safety” mean the same thing to publishers as it does to advertisers? And are brand-safe content environments the only thing we should be discussing when there's more than just a brand's reputation at risk? It's time we look beyond where ads play and address all of the issues of how - viewability, validation, domain, transparency and more. Hulu’s Head of Ad Tech and Platform Operations, Adam Moser, is here to discuss what it will take for publishers to change the conversation around brand safety and how we can begin to solve for the industry’s bigger issue – budget safety.

The IAB's Flex Ad portfolio is here! But as the industry at large looks toward getting on board with it, publishers are asking whether advertisers are ready for it, and advertisers are asking whether publishers are ready for it. Shailley Singh, Director, Mobile and Ad Products at the IAB Tech Lab, believes publishers need to make the first move, and he's eager to answer those lingering questions publishers are asking about getting Flex-compliant. He also has insights to share about what other major industry players, mobile and otherwise, are doing to ramp up Flex adoption.

The latest wave of mobile redirects has made clear that publishers have to up their ad quality game—the rules have changed, so the old playbooks no longer apply. CBSi's Amy Cerrito will discuss her team's organization and efforts, including sandboxing and other techniques to improve user experience.

Just one more cup of joe to get you through the afternoon!

While they had a good ride on the hype train, server-to-server integrations have not completely displaced "traditional" header bidding as predicted. Instead, many publishers are finding hybrid setups advantageous for a variety of reasons. In this intimate panel, we'll chat about setups, challenges, and whether S2S hookups will eventually dominate programmatic.

What’s going on with the hottest names in ad tech? Who is debuting game-changing products? What digital media trends are the providers excited about… and what’s making them nervous? During these brief but insightful panels, we’ll get the real scoop on the latest industry developments.

In this unique format for getting to know the tech providers sponsoring the Publisher Forum, attendees have the opportunity to do a tech crawl to investigate new technologies, learn a bit about how each company is changing the digital advertising industry. (Of course, there will be drinks and snacks to liven up the conversation.) Sponsoring companies will give attendees markers, and those that grab enough will be eligible for a serious prize given out during the Attendee-Sponsor Dinner.

A gourmet meal enjoyed by attendees and sponsoring tech provider together, accompanied by music and... surprises?

Sponsoring tech companies join the publishers for breakfast... Maybe after a crazy night?

What's the matter with these kids today? Or really, what kind of advertising and/or messaging engages a younger audience? Are there certain formats that appeal to the youth? How can publishers best use social media in these pursuits? Sweety High CEO and Cofounder Frank Simonetti will address these questions as well as hit topics such as content marketing and influencers.

FreeWheel’s Geoff Wolinetz, industry and AdMonsters veteran, will provide a detailed look at the growing impact of linear on what was once a “digital-only” based business. Geoff will provide insight on how evolving consumer viewing trends and the flight to the big screen are having enormous impact on how publishers must approach their advertising management and operations, both today and tomorrow.

AdMonsters Chair Rob Beeler and Editorial Director Gavin Dunaway get the industry lowdown during these brief interviews with sponsoring tech providers.

Header integrations, PMPs, open market—we'll tackle it all.

Linear-digital convergence, measurement, viewability—we'll cover it all.

Trafficking, order management, client services—we've got you covered.

Hit the streets of Huntington to explore with your peers in these awesome activities!

Prepare to embark on a memorable culinary journey with your new best pals in digital media.

What's going on at AdMonsters anyway? A deep dive into our latest happenings, including surveys, playbooks, meetups and more.

1. Hiring and Retention
2. Training
3. Workflow and Order Management
4. Account Management/Client Services
5. User Experience and Site Performance
6. Reconciliation and Finance
7. Reporting and Analytics
8. Data Management and Alliances
9. Vendor/Partner Management
10. TAG, Coalition for Better Ads, and Other Industry Initiatives
11. Social
12. Working With Other Departments