The news: Kerel Cooper, CMO of GumGum—the contextual-first ad platform that employs computer vision to deliver relevant ads without personal data—says contextual advertising has shifted from an education challenge to a growth opportunity. In an EMARKETER interview at Advertising Week New York, he noted that interest in context-based targeting is “steadily growing” as marketers seek privacy-safe ways to reach audiences without relying on cookies or personal data.

GumGum looks to understand what consumers are reading or watching “in the moment,” using AI to interpret full-page or frame-by-frame context to serve more relevant ads. Cooper described the company’s dual buying model—direct insertion orders (IOs) with managed service or programmatic options—and stressed that strong client service remains a key differentiator.

Why it matters:

• Privacy pressure is redefining ad relevance. As cookies phase out, contextual targeting provides a compliant, scalable way to reach users based on real-time content signals rather than personal identifiers. Besides Cooper calling this model “inherently privacy safe,” 49% of marketers in a Supermetrics study said they believed contextual targeting will become more important in the cookieless era.
• Brand safety and context are converging. Cooper said legacy “keyword blocking” methods were outdated, and pointed to AI’s ability to read and understand content as a better way to protect brand reputation while maintaining scale. This suggests contextual solutions are not just an alternative to behavioral targeting but a more intelligent approach to media placement.
• The open web’s value proposition is rising. With social platforms deprioritizing brand safety, Cooper sees an opening for the open web to reclaim advertiser trust. He said contextual environments—where brands know exactly what surrounds their messages—offer a premium, positive experience worth paying for.
• Omnichannel consumption demands flexibility. Today’s consumers move fluidly between sites, streaming platforms, and AI-driven interfaces. Cooper argued that advertisers must be “available everywhere,” applying contextual logic across formats and devices.

Our take: Cooper positions contextual advertising as the foundation of a healthier digital ecosystem, arguing that relevance doesn’t require surveillance. His idea of “mindset marketing”—reaching people when they are most receptive rather than relying on demographic profiles—comes at a pivotal moment as marketers move from data-driven precision to human-centered targeting. The takeaway: Advertising can be relevant without compromising privacy.

That shift is already underway. Forty-seven percent of US digital ad buyers said they are using or plan to use AI for contextual targeting as part of their media planning and buying, per an EMARKETER study. As third-party identifiers disappear and generative AI floods content channels, Cooper’s push for AI-powered context analysis could define the next era of targeting. Advertisers able to interpret meaning—not just metadata—will be best positioned to deliver messages consumers actually welcome.