Navigator London 2026: what we learned (besides that Rory Latham hates auctions)

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Navigator London 2026: what we learned (besides that Rory Latham hates auctions)

BY HAZEL BROADLEY, BEELER.TECH


This June, we convened for our third annual Navigator London event, and bringing the community together felt as important as ever. The agenda was built with publishers firmly in mind, with some inspiring keynotes. But true to form, some of the sharpest insights came to light away from the stage, in the many breakout sessions, over lunch, and likely in the local pub afterwards.

So let’s take a look at just some of the trends and technology that will shape many industry decisions in the coming months. 

1.  Standards matter: building the publisher stack in the age of AI

IAB Tech Lab’s Shailley Singh was clear on one thing – agents should make adops more deterministic, not just faster, by leveraging standardized, auditable workflows. To get to that point, publishers need to start “testing the agent” internally, using seller agents in shadow mode to improve productivity, before moving to autonomous negotiation. 

The biggest opportunity for publishers will be richer signals, stronger protocols, and better interoperability that will enable agents to make smarter decisions and build greater trust across the advertising ecosystem.

Specifically, Shailley’s four recipes for success in 2026 include the ARTF (Agentic Real-Time Framework), agentic audiences, agentic advertising management protocols, and LLM Content Monetization Protocols (CoMP).

2. From the other side of the auction: a buy-side perspective 

Rory Latham (WPP Media)’s blunt admission that he “hates auctions” might not have been what people expected to hear, but it reflects his frustration with the complexity and opacity of today’s supply chain. Offering a rare buy-side voice, his stance was this: buyers should know “exactly who’s buying” to create more meaningful negotiation, measurement, and value for everyone involved.

This means that, in order to attract advertiser budget:

  • Programmatic advertising still needs greater trust and transparency. 
  • AI should be judged by the problems it solves, not the hype surrounding it. 
  • Stronger collaboration between publishers, agencies, SSPs, and DSPs is essential, to improve identity, curation, and deal structures.

Simple in theory. Considerably harder when everyone’s incentives point in different directions.

3. Strategic planning: combining rigour and agility 

Long-term strategic planning can help media organizations navigate rapid industry change without becoming distracted by every shiny new thing. 

At Financial Times, Anthony Hitchings works backwards from a five-year business strategy, using financial modelling, data analysis and cross-functional planning to identify future revenue constraints, prioritize investments and align teams around shared objectives. 

His recommendations for success:

  • Create shared metrics across departments
  • Build flexible two-year roadmaps
  • Evaluate emerging technologies such as AI against long-term priorities

The key takeaway? Rather than being purely data-driven, aim to be ‘data-led’, using insights to inform strategic decisions while maintaining clear business goals. Successful organizations combine rigorous planning with the agility to adapt, treating innovation as a means to a strategic end, not a trophy to chase for its own sake.

4. RFPs and AI direct-sold workflow 

Few three-letter acronyms inspire as much dread, or determine as much revenue, as the RFP. With many publishers increasingly using AI to drive operational efficiency, how can that be translated into the RFP process in particular?

In this conversation, led by The Washington Post’s Jason Tollestrup, one publisher shared 

a stat that made the room sit up: an internally built AI tool cut RFP response times from three days to eight minutes. Eight. Minutes.

But participants agreed that technology alone is not enough. Successful AI adoption depends on clear business use cases, investment in experimentation, robust governance, and integration with existing systems. 

As AI becomes more widely available, competitive advantage will come from how organizations combine proprietary data, domain expertise, and human oversight to deliver differentiated outcomes – while freeing teams to focus on higher-value work. 

5. The news opportunity: why investing in journalism makes business sense

Advertisers have become increasingly cautious about investing in news, often relying on broad brand safety measures such as domain exclusions, keyword blocking and blanket pauses during major news events. Yet this caution is often misplaced, says Double Verify’s Jack Marshall, and is arguably costing advertisers more than it’s protecting them from.

Despite advertisers perceiving premium news brands as being high risk, analysis showed only 0.4% of inventory (by url) is classified as high risk. Being classed as medium risk – around 35% – puts off buyers, but using DV’s bespoke brand safety segments can give them confidence to cherry-pick placements, rather than rejecting all that inventory outright.

News content offers engaged, affluent audiences, strong campaign performance and is typically free from the types of content brands genuinely want to avoid. By taking a more nuanced approach to suitability, and working more closely with publishers, advertisers can support quality journalism while delivering stronger business results. 

That’s just a slice of the day – there was plenty more we couldn’t squeeze in. Our thanks, as always, go to all the speakers and attendees who turned up, spoke candidly, and made Navigator London worth clearing the calendar for.

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