In an industry obsessed with the next shiny tool, Alessandro De Zanche stands apart as a strategist who prioritizes the “why” over the “how.” With a career spanning critical phases of adtech evolution including leadership roles at Yahoo and News Corp, Alessandro has seen the ecosystem from every angle.
We sat down with him to dismantle the current state of monetization in adtech. His message is clear: The era of “throwing spaghetti at the wall” is over. The future belongs to media owners who can break down internal silos, treat privacy as a product, and demand a “Know Your Customer” standard in programmatic advertising.
Here is Alessandro’s playbook on building a sustainable, high-quality media ecosystem.
The Foundation: Audience Centricity Over Blueprints
For Alessandro, monetization isn’t just about CPMs or fill rates; it’s about survival through relevance. The industry’s biggest mistake, he argues, is the application of generic “blueprints” to unique audiences.
“If there is no audience, there is no advertiser… There is no advertising success without audience centricity,” Alessandro asserts.
He recalls his time at News Corp, where he oversaw strategies for The Times and The Sun. While a strict paywall worked wonders for the premium audience of The Times, it was a “disaster” for The Sun. The solution wasn’t to force a model, but to listen to the audience. They lowered the paywall for The Sun and pushed brand extensions like bingo and betting products that actually fit the users’ needs.
The takeaway? “Don’t read too much… don’t take blueprints,” he jokes, before clarifying: Strategy must be born from looking into the eyes of your specific audience, not copying a competitor’s homework.
The “Funnel of Trust”: Turning Privacy into Revenue
While many publishers view privacy regulations as a hurdle, Alessandro sees them as the ultimate competitive advantage. He introduces a concept he calls the “Funnel of Trust.”
“Privacy is not something that you build overnight… It’s been a huge mistake for quality media owners because privacy trust is an opportunity to differentiate themselves from untrustworthy competitors,” he explains.
The industry’s reliance on “quick fixes” like forced consent buttons has failed to establish real relationships. Alessandro argues that consent should be a proactive expression of trust, a value exchange.
- Top of Funnel: Explain why you are asking for consent.
- Middle of Funnel: Use that trust to encourage registration.
- Bottom of Funnel: Build a progressively richer profile based on voluntary data sharing.
By productizing trust, publishers can command higher premiums from advertisers who prioritize safe, compliant environments.
Redefining Programmatic: The Case for “Tier 1” and KYC
Alessandro is critical of the current programmatic “Open Marketplace,” noting that premium media brands have “diluted their value” by commingling with long-tail, low-quality sites. He proposes a radical restructuring of the digital advertising ecosystem into two distinct tiers:
- Tier 1 (The Transparent Garden): A strict environment where buyers and sellers are known to each other. He advocates for a financial-industry style KYC (Know Your Customer) policy. “You don’t need technology. You don’t need AI. You just need human decisions… to identify their customers,” he says.
- Tier 2 (At Your Own Risk): The open, murky marketplace for those willing to accept the risks of fraud and lower quality. He is hopeful that Tier 2 will improve thanks to agentic AI, although he believes the road will not be easy, since AI is available to the good guys as well as the bad guys.
“Tier 1 in digital advertising must be about buyers and sellers. They are known to each other… Your ad will not end up on an unknown website and vice versa,” Alessandro states.
Breaking the Silos: The Holistic Approach
One of the most “underappreciated” aspects of modern monetization is organizational alignment. Alessandro points out that conflicting KPIs between advertising, subscription, and editorial teams often cannibalize revenue.
“If you have conflicting KPIs and objectives between advertising and audience revenue, that will lower the potential of both,” he warns.
A user who is likely to subscribe should be treated differently than a user who is valuable for ad revenue. This requires dynamic metrics and a holistic strategy where data flows freely across the company, rather than being hoarded by specific departments.
AI as a Tool, Not a Strategy
In a world buzzing with AI, Alessandro remains grounded. He views AI not as a magic wand, but as a commodity that supports strategy. The true differentiator in the age of AI will be the human touch.
“AI is a commodity. It’s not a differentiator… While many will be zagging, the successful ones will be zigging. They will focus on human-generated content,” he predicts.
He envisions AdTech evolving from “rulers” of the ecosystem to “enablers” background players that use technology (and AI) to bring human strategies to life.
Final Advice: Think With Your Head
Looking toward the future, Alessandro’s advice to the next generation of AdTech leaders is simple yet profound: Stop following the herd.
“Think with your head… It’s an industry that loves jumping on the bandwagon and shiny trends. But if you really want it to be a meaningful journey… think with your head,” he concludes.
Success won’t come from the next tech update, but from building a quality environment where advertisers, publishers, and audiences share a common, trusted interest.
Alessandro De Zanche (not just ADZ) posts thought provoking and excellent insights about adtech and publishing ecosystem regularly, you can access his weekly newsletter here: https://newsletter.notjustadz.com
