Digital Marketing Updates: May 2025
May was a big month in digital, and if you blinked, you might’ve missed some pretty major updates. Netflix has officially joined DV360 in Australia, Microsoft’s DSP is on the way out, and Meta’s opening up Value Optimisation beyond purchases. Here’s what’s new, what’s changing, and what it means for your strategy.
Netflix comes to DV360 in Australia
Netflix has announced it will now open inventory trading to Google’s programmatic DSP, Display Video 360, within Australia. Previously limited to direct IO and Microsoft DSP buys, with chunky entry costs/advertiser vetting, this presents a fabulous opportunity for brands to reach viewers that are no longer watching Free-To-Air television.
Chat to your Alpha team if you’d like to explore campaign costings.
Microsoft DSP to be sunset in 2026
Microsoft’s venture into the Display Side Platform world looks to be coming to an end. Having acquired the programmatic platform Xandr in 2021, Microsoft will sunset the product by March 2026.
This decision will further heighten the challenge of cross-platform data-sharing, likely meaning more focus placed on ramping up the capabilities of Microsoft-only technology platforms.
They also have some advanced price tracking and purchasing options, so once you’ve got your heart set on a product, you can tell AI Mode to track the price of the product and when they detect a price drop, they will notify you and can even purchase it for you using their “buy for me” feature, checking out through the retailer’s website on your behalf. Referred to as Agentic Checkout, you can set your preferences for products, Google will track the product and even complete the purchase automatically when the timing is right, meaning you can configure AI Mode to shop for you while you’re off living your best life.
Meta opens Value Optimisation to all conversion events
Value Optimisation is coming for non-purchase events within Meta Ads Manager. Still in the final stages of beta testing, VO will become available for optimisation for Complete Registrations, Subscriptions, or Custom Events in the coming months.
Channel reporting coming to Google’s Performance Max
Google’s AI-powered Performance Max campaign type has been notoriously difficult to extract deeper-level performance reporting for advertisers.
They are in the ‘beta’ stage of testing Channel Performance Reporting (within Google Ads Manager) to allow visibility on how many impressions, clicks, conversions and spend has gone towards each channel.
Meta releases new AI App
Meta is continuing their charge to compete with Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s ChatGPT in the battle for AI supremacy.
Their next phase is the release of a standalone consumer-facing app called “Meta AI”. This allows users to interact easily with its AI, in addition to a ‘discover’ section to see how their friends/connections are engaging with AI.
The free app is available for download.
That’s a wrap on May’s biggest digital updates. With platforms shifting, AI racing ahead, and more tools landing, staying ahead means staying informed. If any of these updates have sparked your curiosity, our team is just a message away.