In today’s Digest, we cover WhatsApp introducing ads, Sainsbury’s launching an AI-powered retail media platform, Disney adding Amazon to DRAX, and Ad Net Zero expanding emissions standards across media channels.

WhatsApp to Introduce Ads 

WhatsApp is preparing to introduce ads on its Status screen, the first major step toward monetisation since launching as a free, privacy-first chat app. Similar to Instagram Stories, users will begin seeing ads interspersed between WhatsApp Status updates after viewing a few in a row. The ads will be powered by Meta’s ad system, using general signals such as users’ location, language settings, followed channels, and previous ad interactions.

Meta emphasised that no personally identifiable information like phone numbers, messages, calls, or group data will be used to target ads. However, if users have linked their WhatsApp to Meta’s Account Center, those preferences may influence which ads are shown.

Sainsbury’s to Launch AI-Powered Retail Media Platform

Sainsbury’s retail media arm, Nectar360, is set to roll out a new AI-powered platform, Nectar360 Pollen. Nectar360 is designed to streamline how brands plan, activate, and measure campaigns. The unified platform will bring together audience insights, media planning, creative optimisation, and attribution under one roof.

Nectar360 leverages generative AI to help brands create hyper-targeted campaigns by building relevant audiences and enhancing creativity. It also includes a multi-touch attribution model and visualisation dashboard to analyse the impact of each media touchpoint and optimise in real time. 

Highlighting the benefit of having all media capabilities in one place, Charlotte Murphy, head of digital retail media at Unilever UK (part of the platform’s test group), called it “genuinely user first”.

Disney Adds Amazon to DRAX

Amazon has announced its integration with Disney Advertising’s Real time Ad Exchange (DRAX), becoming the third demand-side platform alongside Google and The Trade Desk to access Disney’s premium inventory across Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu.

This partnership allows advertisers to combine Disney’s audience intelligence with Amazon’s rich commerce signals. Through a secure connection between Amazon Publisher Cloud (built on AWS Clean Rooms) and Disney Compass, brands can now activate campaigns that align Disney’s audience data with browsing, streaming, and purchasing insights from Amazon. The new integration will be available to US advertisers using Amazon DSP starting in Q3 2025, following an initial rollout with select unnamed brands. 

Ad Net Zero Expands Emissions Standards Across Media Channels

Ad Net Zero has released an updated version of its Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF), introducing new voluntary standards for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement and supply chain reporting across six media channels: digital, TV, OOH, print, audio, and cinema.

V1.2 of the framework, developed by IAB Europe’s Methodology and Framework Working Group, features expanded guidance for digital media, including detailed formulae, data levels, and default values making GHG emissions estimation for digital now fully operational. Measurement methodologies for audio, print, and cinema channels have also been finalised.

The updated framework is designed to offer a unified, industry-wide approach to GHG emissions calculation, giving advertisers, agencies, and media owners a consistent baseline for reporting and reducing carbon emissions across media plans. Advertisers adopting the GMSF can either align their own carbon calculators with the standard or request that partners use the framework, enabling greater consistency and comparability across campaign reporting.