About this module

Whether you're launching your first-party data strategy or accelerating existing efforts, this module focuses on building foundations that serve advertising revenue. Learn from organisations who recently transformed from having "very little first-party data" to building millions of authenticated users that power direct deals and programmatic strategies. Explore productising first-party data through building targeting ad products and segments based on content, identifiers, contextual and other signals, and discover which partners and platforms can accelerate your progress across revenue streams.

10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. (New York time)
Welcome and introduction

Join this session for an overview of INMA’s Advertising Initiative and what to expect from this master class.

Gabriel Dorosz, Advertising Initiative Lead, INMA, United States



10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. (New York time)
Inside the New York Post’s first-party data acceleration

Amanda Gomez shares how the company jump-started its first-party data journey and turned it into real advertising wins. From building the foundation to creating ad-ready segments and driving internal alignment, Amanda will walk us through how the Post moved fast, experimented smartly, and unlocked new value for advertisers.

Amanda Gomez, SVP, Revenue Operations, New York Post, United States



10:45 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. (New York time)
Laying the groundwork: Building and scaling first-party data foundations

Drawing from firsthand experience in designing and scaling a first-party data infrastructure, this session will spotlight the practical steps, key challenges, watchouts, and strategic wins behind building a strong data foundation. Expect real-life lessons on aligning teams, implementing tools, and turning data into a long-term advertising asset, shared by a practitioner who's been at the center of it all.

Christer Ljones, Director of Advertising Data Capabilities, Schibsted, Norway



11:25 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (New York time)
Beyond the banner: HT’s full-funnel data activation

This session explores how HT Media rapidly evolved from minimal first-party data to a full-funnel adtech ecosystem. Learn how content consumption patterns, user behavior, and proprietary identifiers were harnessed to create high-impact audience cohorts, native ad solutions, and performance-led campaigns across the HT network — all powered by an in-house CDP and MarTech stack.

Tushar Garg, Head of Marketing and User Growth, HT Digital Streams, India



12:00 p.m. - 12:25 p.m. (New York time)
Building first-party data systems: Lessons from an experienced practitioner

This session will focus on hard-won insights from building first-party data infrastructure at different organisations, as a pioneer in the space and again in today's more mature landscape. This session reveals what foundational decisions proved durable, which technology choices aged poorly, and how the playbook for successful implementation has evolved. Expect candid lessons on team alignment and the faster paths to advertiser value that only come from experience.

Kendell Timmers, SVP Data Analytics, Science, and Insights, CNN



12:25 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. (New York time)
Wrap up of Module 1 and preview of Module 2
Gabriel Dorosz, Advertising Initiative Lead, INMA, United States

About this module

Reorganising internally and aligning teams around the power of first-party data is critical to long-term success. This session explores building data tools, powering sales teams with audience insights, programmatic activation strategies, implementing clean rooms and advanced activation techniques, establishing first-party measurement frameworks to demonstrate advertiser value, plus operational case studies of how organisations are turning audience insights into revenue.

10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. (New York time)
Welcome, recap, and introductions
Gabriel Dorosz, Advertising Initiative Lead, INMA, United States



10:15 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. (New York time)
Monetising Audience Insights: The Mediahuis Ireland approach to first party data

Connor Diamond, from Mediahuis Ireland, shares how they transformed their first-party data strategy from basic collection to sophisticated audience products that drive real advertiser demand. This session reveals the practical evolution from behavioural and contextual targeting to highly engaged segments and innovative data products that create measurable value for both publishers and advertisers. Expect candid insights on building data products that work, the operational changes needed to scale, and where smart publishers are taking their data strategies next.

Connor Diamond, Head of Data Insights, Mediahuis Ireland



10:40 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. (New York time)
Beyond Targeting: Building a Smarter First-Party Data Future

What does a winning first-party data roadmap really look like? It’s more than just audiences and targeting. Today’s publishers must also excel in brand-safe environments, leverage clean rooms for secure collaboration, and deliver meaningful measurement. And the smartest are weaving AI into the process—only where it truly adds value. Join us as Ekstra Bladet shares hard-earned lessons, key dos and don’ts, and a clear view of what it takes to turn first-party data into a competitive advantage.

Thomas Lue Lytzen, Director, Ad Sales & Tech at Ekstra Bladet, Denmark



11:05 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. (New York time)
Future-ready insights: Building a scalable function to support sales in a GenAI era

As publishers deepen their investment in first-party data, audience insights teams have an opportunity to play a more strategic role in enabling commercial growth. This session explores how The Washington Post is evolving its insights function to better support pre-sale storytelling by creating scalable frameworks that help sales teams respond to briefs faster, with greater clarity and impact. Amelia Simpson will share how her team is exploring GenAI as a workflow enhancer, building scalable cohorts grounded in behavior and 1PD, and reorganizing processes to stay agile as client needs evolve. The session will highlight practical considerations for insights leaders balancing current demands with future-readiness.

Amelia Simpson, Director, Audience Insights, The Washington Post, United States



11:30 a.m. - 11:55 p.m. (New York time)
First Party Context: Leveraging journalistic expertise to drive advertising results

Ben Holt, from the Financial Times, will share how the FT built a first-party contextual solution that makes the most of the rich metadata that sits behind its award-winning journalism.
Using a unique editorial knowledge graph that maps tens of thousands of topics, articles are categorised with the help of AI and then checked by editors to ensure exceptional accuracy and relevance. This approach places ads in the most suitable contexts, boosting engagement by up to 50% while also protecting brand reputation. The system also works seamlessly with third-party tools, giving advertisers new insights, helping them reclaim valuable inventory, and opening up fresh opportunities to connect with readers.
Join us to discover how smarter use of context can transform advertising results and create better experiences for both brands and audiences.

Benjamin Holt, Head of Advertising Data, Financial Times, United Kingdom



11:55 p.m. - 12:25 p.m. (New York time)
From data points to deal points: Building products that sales teams can actually sell

This session reveals how to transform raw first-party data into compelling advertiser products that drive deal velocity and premium pricing. We’ll cover the practical steps of building data dashboards, creating advertiser-facing insights, and developing data storytelling frameworks that help sales teams demonstrate value. Learn how to package audience intelligence, develop compelling case studies, and train commercial teams to confidently sell data-driven solutions that advertisers actually want to buy.

Erin Hennessy, VP Ad Product Innovation, Business Insider



12:25 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. (New York time)
Wrap up of Module 2 and preview of Module 3
Gabriel Dorosz, Advertising Initiative Lead, INMA, United States

About this module

The future of first-party data activation for advertising lies in AI-powered targeting and commerce signal integration. Learn from advanced implementations and the most innovative partnerships that combine content engagement, AI, and shopping insights to unlock new data-powered products and revenue.

10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. (New York time)
Welcome, recap, and introductions
Gabriel Dorosz, Advertising Initiative Lead, INMA, United States



10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. (New York time)
AI, commerce & targeting: Creative first-party data deployment to win new advertising budgets

What if publishers could capture more than upper-funnel advertising budgets? This session will showcase how The New York Times is using first-party data to unlock new revenue streams and win advertiser budgets for a variety of business objectives. From GenAI driving ad personalisation to reader behaviour signals that drive commerce results, learn about how first-party data can be creatively deployed to empower Sales and drive full-funnel results for advertisers.

Valerio Poce, Executive Director of Ad Product Marketing, The New York Times, United States



10:45 a.m. - 11:25 a.m. (New York time)
AI-powered audience monetization: Unlocking high-performance adtech with LLMs & first-party intelligence

What if every user signal and content impression could be monetized with precision and intelligence? In this masterclass, explore how Times Internet’s AI-powered AdTech framework combines LLMs, GenAI, and advanced first-party data strategies to transform digital advertising. Discover how real-time content intelligence and vector embedding technologies extract rich user attributes, generate dynamic audience segments, and predict user intent—powering contextual targeting, brand-safe experiences, generating automated media decks, and creating personalized, high-performance assets. Walk away with practical insights into future-proof monetization strategies that help publishers unlock new budgets, drive measurable results, and stay competitive in a privacy-first ecosystem.

Abhishek Nigam, Business Head, Ad Tech Platform - Colombia, Times Internet, India



11:25 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (New York time)
Clean rooms in action: Turning data collaboration into advertiser wins

Implementing clean room technology to transform advertiser relationships and campaign performance is the focus of this session. We’ll reveal the practical steps behind launching successful data collaboration initiatives, from initial partner conversations to technical implementation and measuring results. Learn how one campaign achieved greater reach and lower costs through secure first-party data matching, and discover the operational changes needed to make clean rooms a core part of your monetisation strategy.

Kabil Rahaman, Head of Commercial Data, The Globe and Mail, Canada



12:00 p.m. - 12:25 p.m. (New York time)
First-party data roadmap: from strategy to implementation

In our final session Josh synthesizes key insights and his experience into a practical action plan for publishers ready to transform their first-party data strategies. This closing session will seek to distill the essential frameworks, technology decisions, vendor evaluation criteria and organizational changes needed to move from data collection to revenue activation. Whether you're starting your journey or accelerating existing efforts, this session seeks to provide the roadmap to turn Master Class insights into measurable results.

Josh Peters, Former Global Head of Commercial Data Strategy, WP, United States



12:25 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. (New York time)
Wrap up of Module 3 and the Master Class
Gabriel Dorosz, Advertising Initiative Lead, INMA, United States