Ciaran O'Kane is sketching again - this time he's taking a look at the power of email as a critical monetisation and distribution channel...

The open web contracting. Referral traffic has been obliterated primarily by Google and the shift in consumer behaviour. The open web is on rule decline but the open internet is not. It includes the likes of DOOH, retail media, app, audio and CTV. 

Over the next few weeks, ExchangeWire will release some sketches of the overlooked ecosystems that make up the 'open internet'.

One of the most underserved spaces is email - and it's the subject of this edition of the MadTech Sketch. Publishers are building a moat around email and it serves as a critical monetisation and distribution channel. It's a huge inventory supply channel for retail media, figuring massively in the omnichannel ambitions of retail media networks.

The problem with email ads are myriad: it's unique and complex ecosystem; it's underserved by ad tech; and buyers have no idea how to activate it. And yet the opportunity is significant. In the sketch we focus on four vendors: LiveIntent, Google, Passendo and Beehiv who are active in the space.

Click here to discover all of Ciaran's MadTech Sketches.