Digital Advertising

Build your advertising and subscription value

The media industry is evolving at a rapid pace and building sustainable commercial models has never been more complex.

With deep experience across leading media brands, we help organisations accelerate growth through user-centric digital strategies, underpinned by advertising and subscription excellence.

There is no single model for success. Our projects range from optimising ad yield and activating first-party data to launching new revenue streams, all aimed at building long-term engagement, recurring revenue and sustainable growth.

Optimising Advertising Yield

Improve ad monetisation through performance analysis, audience insights, and strategic organisational frameworks.

Ad revenue analysis and benchmarking to identify CPM trends and revenue opportunities.
Ad inventory and pricing strategy to balance ad load, pricing, and user experience.
Data-driven audience targeting with segmentation, contextual targeting, and engagement-based pricing.
Roadmap for ad yield growth with quick wins and long-term strategies.
Industry performance benchmarking to compare key ad metrics with top publishers

First-Party Advertising Solutions

Build and optimise a first-party data ad strategy, enhancing ad performance and direct sales while reducing reliance on third-party cookies.

First-party data monetisation with a privacy-first, data-driven ad strategy.
Audience segmentation and identity solutions for better ad targeting.
Setting up direct sales channels and PMP deals to monetise premium inventory and support high-value programmatic partnerships.
Sponsorship and branded content strategy with native ads and custom formats.
Commercial strategy alignment to optimise ad operations and cross-functional collaboration.

Additional Ad Revenue Streams

Develop new ad revenue models, including affiliate marketing, video/audio monetisation, and emerging ad innovations.

Affiliate and commerce ad strategy to monetise partnerships and shoppable content.
Video and audio monetisation with premium ad formats and CTV opportunities.
Leveraging AI-driven ad optimisation to enable automated pricing, enhance predictive targeting and maximise campaign performance.
Subscription-based ad models to balance ad-supported and premium experiences.
Roadmap for new revenue streams to launch and scale high-growth ad models.

Supporting a European publisher with its advertising strategy

FT Strategies assisted a European media brand in enhancing its advertising growth strategy for improved effectiveness.

Throughout a five-week project, we highlighted how more than 15% of advertising revenue could be captured through a change in strategy and operations. We also delivered prioritised recommendations to help recover losses in structural and page-view-driven advertising revenue.

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George Adelman
Director

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Brundan Haran
Senior Manager

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George Montagu
Head of Insights

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Sam Guest
Senior Consultant

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As an editorially-led business who has embraced digital, we have found FT Strategies to be a highly credible partner bringing affinity, ambition and expertise.
Hannah Telfer MD for Audiences, Penguin UK

Working with FT Strategies on the GNI Digital Growth Program has been great and seamless. They have demonstrated their expertise in the field, and this is reflected in the excellent feedback we’ve received.
Eero Korhonen Head of Strategic Partnerships, Google

I cannot compare it to any other consulting project that I have engaged with before. The access to unique knowledge is inspiring and stimulates many old and new questions in my organisation.
Danuta Bregula Director of Subscription Strategy, Gazeta Wyborcza

This is a new form of consulting. You're coming with the brains and the FT experience. You're changing consulting for the better, I really mean it!
Philippe Colombet Group Chief Data Officer, Bayard

The recommendations, experiments and quick wins that come out of our sessions are invaluable. Also, having access to experts has been great, particularly as we look to create our own RFV propensity model.
Ross Wilmot Head of Consumer Marketing, The Independent

There are so many things we share with the FT in terms of values and business model that it was a natural fit.
Imran Amed CEO and Editor in Chief, Business of Fashion

One of the most valuable consulting projects I've been involved with. The FT Strategies team were incredibly knowledgeable and responsive as they guided us through the process.
Joanna Chmielewska Analytics Manager, DC Thomson

Amazing. Absolutely love what you've done, completely aligned with your thinking on what we need to do.
Emma Huntingdon Chief Executive Officer, Admiral Pioneer

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