The U.S. is no longer bringing new users to the Internet: With U.S. web traffic plateauing, smartphone growth in China, India, and Brazil is responsible for driving over 400 million new people online.

The findings of a biannual survey of marketers' confidence increased by six points from a year ago. Despite the slight increase, 30% of marketers said they're more concerned that their organizations aren't investing in the right customers, a 13% decrease in confidence compared to the 2016 findings.

More than 40% of online ads are larger than industry standards, which results in sluggish sites and consumer frustrations over slow load times. Programmatic ad networks, in particular, are slowing ad delivery.

French ad tech firm Criteo surpassed analysts' estimates in Q3, and is looking toward new products to fuel its growth.

Programmatic platforms join forces with TiVo and agency DWA Media to show how combining targeting, data, and programmatic TV deliver stronger customer engagement.

New York City is already a hub for digital media, advertising, and all manner of tech startups. Now, the city has pledged $250 million to launch Civic Hall, a hub for tech companies, tech training, events, and more.

So what does all the talk about "moment marketing" mean? Just ask Forrester analyst Melissa Parrish, who said it's critical to mobile marketing, and contextual signals will be key.

Aly Nurmohamed, VP, Global Publisher Strategy, at Criteo weighed in on ad blocking: "We're not yet in the midst of an adblockalypse." Yet he argued that there remains a lot of work to be done to ensure that ads are "engaging with consumers and not getting in the way of their online experience."

While ad blocking remains a major hurdle for advertisers, publishers, and the entire digital ecosystem, digital researcher eMarketer revised its ad blocking forecast, lowering estimates of ad blocking users in the U.S. to 75.1 million. That still means that more than one quarter or 27.5% of U.S. internet users will use ad blockers this year, according to the revised forecast.

Berlin-based mobile data exchange adsquare announced its entry into the U.S. market in late January. The entry was considered a "must" even amid increasing consolidation in ad tech.