The browser isn’t the center of the internet anymore. From zero-click discovery to TikTok commerce, the sell side holds the signals to shape what comes next. AdMonsters Lynne d Johnson breaks down what it means to move beyond the browser—and into the signal.
Many of you know me for programming sessions and writing content for AdMonsters. But my digital roots run deep.
As GM of Digital at Vibe and Spin, Head of Community and Content at Fast Company, and SVP of Social at the Advertising Research Foundation, I helped build the tools and models that shaped digital media. As a digital strategist at agencies, I connected brands and audiences in more human, data-driven ways.
Reconnecting with old colleagues at POSSIBLE this year reminded me of those times and made me realize we’re at another inflection point. It’s giving me deja vu, but this time, it’s moving faster, and the stakes are higher.
We’ve Been Here Before. But the Stakes Are Higher Now.
Back then, we were building what digital could be. Now, we’re being asked to rebuild what it must become. And, the people on the sell side, you already hold the signals. You see the story playing out in real time. You know how quickly the ground is shifting.
Let’s be real, the browser isn’t the center of the universe anymore. Discovery happens in AI feeds and creator content. Commerce is built into the scroll. CTV draws ad budgets but demands new storytelling. Communities thrive on Discord, Reddit, and Twitch, not in comment sections. And that’s exactly why we built the upcoming AdMonsters Sell Side Summit Nashville theme: Beyond the Browser. Into the Signal.
What Happens When Retail Media and CTV Actually Click?
At POSSIBLE, Evan Hovorka, VP of Product Innovation at Albertsons Media Collective, told me what it looks like when retail media and CTV fully align. He described true omnichannel as a viewer seeing a product during a CTV cooking show, walking into a store the next morning, and seeing that exact item on display, matched by timing, context, and data.
That kind of orchestration doesn’t happen on its own. It takes signal, precision, and infrastructure. The kind that sell-side teams already have. When CTV and retail media come together, it’s not just about reaching a viewer. It’s about recognizing shoppers, understanding their intent, and meeting them with the right message at the right moment.
The Attention Economy Has New Coordinates
Megan Jones, Chief Media Officer at Digitas, told me attention isn’t just something to capture—it’s something to protect. She said, “Everyone’s fighting for a flicker of attention.” It’s fleeting and fragmented. Connection is still the North Star, but the pathways are no longer linear. “We’re helping brands break through, not just show up,” she said. Showing up isn’t enough when scroll culture has rewired how people engage.
John Terrana, President of the Americas and Global Chief Media Officer at VaynerMedia, shared a similar sentiment. “We chase underpriced attention,” he said. And the smartest bets? They’re not in display or even premium programmatic. “Most brands are still asleep on where audiences are spending their time.” That attention? It’s on TikTok. It’s in Discord. It’s inside the overlooked corners where the next campaign brief rarely reaches.
This is what Beyond the Browser looks like. Attention is the new inventory. The sell side has the tools to follow it. The question is whether we’re willing to rethink how we track it, price it, and design for it.
It’s the same orchestration Hovorka described. Connecting streaming impressions to in-store moments is only possible if we understand where attention lives. That’s the sell side’s opportunity. You’re not just serving ads. You hold the data that tells the story. And if you can follow attention as it moves beyond the browser, you can help brands close the loop.
Wherever the User Is, That’s the Store
Many publishers are still chasing pageviews, optimizing for clicks, but audiences are scrolling by. They’re clinging to banners that aren’t built for swipes. Some are watching affiliate revenue plateau while TikTok Shop is exploding. It now accounts for over 68% of all social commerce sales in the US.
Creators like Stormi Steele are moving over $1 million in product during a single livestream. This isn’t a DTC side hustle. It’s the new storefront. It’s a signal that the UX has shifted, and consumers are following the smoothest path to purchase.
Zero-Click Discovery Is Already Reshaping Monetization
Traditional discovery is eroding fast. Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google’s SGE are rewriting the journey to content. Perplexity drives 95% less traffic to publishers than Google Search. And studies show a 34% drop in clicks when an AI overview appears above an article in search results.
Perplexity has started monetizing that journey. They’re linking directly to retail and commerce partners.
As Taz Patel, Head of Advertising and Shopping at Perplexity, recently shared at DMS by Luma, “We’re not just adding ads—we’re rethinking how people interact with advertising and making it additive to the experience.” That includes sponsored product prompts, one-click shopping via Perplexity Pro, and tools designed to keep users on-platform through the full purchase funnel.
To their credit, they’re also working on tools to help publishers monetize inside the experience. But the question remains: Will those tools truly return value to the open web? Or will they offer participation in someone else’s walled garden?
We live in a zero-click discovery world, and the implications for revenue are massive. Audiences are getting the info, but they’re not getting to you.
From Signal to Strategy
Sell side teams can map real journeys across screens, touchpoints, and platforms. But that only works if we stop chasing metrics that flatten the consumer into a moment.
Success is about relationships, not just reach. Lifetime value (LTV) should guide how we price media, design products and UX, and retain audiences.
So what now? This is where the sell side shows up. You know the audience better than anyone. You’ve got the data. You’ve got the signals. And you’re the ones being asked to prove performance while the ground shifts beneath your feet.
Here’s how smart sell side teams are already adapting, and what you can learn from them:
- Look at your inventory through an LTV lens. Audit which placements and platforms drive repeat visits, subscriptions, or purchases, not just clicks. Shift pricing and packaging to reward those outcomes.
- The New York Times prioritizes lifetime value over CPMs, fueling subscription growth.
- Bundle your video like it matters. Package CTV, social, and web video together, and make it shoppable. Offer unified reporting so buyers see the full value.
- NBCUniversal’s unified video ad packages across platforms boost advertiser ROI.
- Stop counting clicks and start measuring connections. Track repeat visits, time spent, and engagement actions. Use these as core KPIs in your sales narrative.
- The Financial Times uses “quality reads” and time spent to drive retention.
- Use AI like a partner. Automate reporting, audience segmentation, and dynamic creative. Deploy AI-powered personalization to increase subscriptions or commerce conversion.
- The Globe and Mail’s Sophi AI increased subscriptions by 17%.
- Design for the scroll. Prioritize in-feed video, interactive stories, and swipeable formats. Test and iterate on mobile-first layouts.
- NowThis and Vox Media’s mobile-first, swipeable stories drive engagement.
- Make your first-party data work. Unify data across teams to build richer audience segments for advertisers and personalize on-site experiences.
- Dotdash Meredith’s D/Cipher platform leverages first-party and contextual data, driving a 12% increase in digital ad revenue and outperforming cookie-based targeting.
- Follow the culture, not just the dollars. Launch test campaigns on TikTok, Twitch, or Discord. Partner with creators to co-create content and measure engagement.
- The Washington Post’s TikTok strategy built a massive Gen Z following.
- Own your audience. Period. Invest in newsletters, SMS, and closed communities. Launch a subscriber-only Discord or WhatsApp group.
- Morning Brew’s newsletter business drives direct engagement and revenue.
So yeah, everything is everything. But what’s meant to be? That part’s still up to us.