Anyone walking around the Cannes Lions festival this year could hardly have failed to notice one recurring theme: the future of advertising. In almost every panel discussion, every talk and many conversations, the focus was on names such as […], Europe’s equivalent of Google, Amazon or Netflix. However, it was precisely these discussions that made it clear that the industry is increasingly exploring alternatives to the dominant platforms. Issues such as data sovereignty, transparency and high-quality premium environments were just as prominent in Cannes as the question of how Europe can capitalise more consistently on its competitive advantages in future.
For Dirk von Borstel, Managing Director of Virtual Minds, however, it is precisely this debate that often leads in the wrong direction. The crucial question is not how Europe can beat Big Tech, but why it should play by its rules at all. “If European broadcasters try to beat US tech giants by playing by American rules, it will be an uphill struggle. Yet Europe’s strength lies elsewhere entirely, namely in high-quality, brand-safe premium environments.”
Anyone who defines competition solely in terms of global reach, massive cloud infrastructures or the maximum collection of individual user data automatically adopts the rules of the game set by US platforms. Yet that is precisely where Europe’s real competitive advantages do not lie.
The European TV market does not need to imitate Big Tech. Rather, its particular strength lies in combining the unique characteristics of television with modern technology. This is because television can do something that global platforms find difficult to replicate: it creates shared reach, cultural relevance and a high-quality, brand-safe environment for advertising. The task now is to consistently build on these advantages through technological innovation.
It is not a question of a lack of reach, but rather of making more consistent use of that reach. European broadcasters already have what advertisers are increasingly looking for: trustworthy content, strong media brands and high-quality advertising environments.
Ultimately, it all comes down to two concepts: trust and sovereignty.
Trust is the real competitive advantage
Whilst Big Tech is increasingly faced with issues surrounding transparency, data sovereignty and brand safety, European broadcasters have a competitive advantage that cannot simply be replicated. Dirk von Borstel sums up this advantage in a simple formula: “Ultimately, it all comes down to two concepts: trust and sovereignty.”
Television remains one of the most credible media. It offers high-quality content, safe advertising environments and reaches millions of people within a cultural context that goes far beyond mere reach.
For advertisers, this is becoming increasingly important. They want to know where their campaigns appear, how their budgets are being spent, and whether their brands are being promoted in a safe environment. At the same time, there is a growing demand for transparency and measurable metrics.
European media companies already meet these requirements. They operate within a clear regulatory framework, handle user data responsibly and have close ties with their local audiences. What was long regarded as a regulatory disadvantage is increasingly becoming a strategic advantage.
After all, trust is no longer merely a soft image factor. It is increasingly becoming a measurable competitive advantage.
Europe’s problem was never the content
Europe has been producing first-class content for decades. The key difference, however, lies not in the content itself, but in the technology used to market it. This is because such technology often comes from the very same platforms that are competing for the same advertising budgets. For Dirk von Borstel, therefore, one thing is clear: “AdTech Made in Europe is not simply an alternative – it is an economic necessity.”
This necessity goes far beyond industrial policy interests. Having their own technological infrastructure is essential if European media companies are to regain control over their marketing and strengthen their economic independence. To achieve this, the technologies underpinning TV marketing must once again be brought more firmly under European control. After all, whoever controls the technology ultimately decides on data, inventory and value creation.
This is precisely where modern European AdTech comes into its own: it makes it possible to combine the reach of television with the efficiency of programmatic marketing, without relinquishing control over data and inventory to external platforms. Solutions such as the Virtual Minds Media Manager are already demonstrating how linear and digital TV can be brought together on a European technology platform. This enables broadcasters to market their TV inventory in a unified manner whilst retaining data sovereignty, transparency and value creation within Europe.
Fragmentation is holding Europe back
The future of the TV advertising market will not be determined by who owns the largest platform. It will be determined by whether Europe harnesses its existing potential collectively. Europe has long had the necessary prerequisites in place. What has not yet been fully implemented are common marketing standards.
By 2030, the question of whether television is linear or digital will no longer arise. What will matter to advertisers in future is the ability to plan, manage and optimise campaigns consistently across all TV channels, regardless of the distribution method.
At the same time, fragmentation remains one of the European market’s greatest weaknesses. No single broadcaster will be able to achieve the same scale as the global platforms on its own. This makes common technological standards, collaboration and interoperable solutions – which simplify access to high-quality TV content – all the more important.
Europe also has a historic opportunity when it comes to identity. With the end of third-party cookies, privacy-focused identity solutions could become a European model of success, provided they are conceived and implemented across all sectors.
For Dirk von Borstel, the path to 2030 therefore involves three key areas of action: “We must consistently drive forward technological consolidation, achieve the full convergence of linear and digital television, and develop interoperable, privacy-focused identity solutions. The interplay of these factors will ensure the long-term competitiveness of Europe’s TV market.”
The way forward is clear. What is needed now is consistency
The key question, therefore, is no longer whether European broadcasters can compete with Big Tech.
They’re already doing it.
Not because they meet the same criteria, but because they offer something that is becoming increasingly valuable in the digital advertising market: trust, high-quality content and transparent advertising environments.
The task, therefore, is not to copy Big Tech. It is to consistently combine the unique advantages of television with modern technology and, on that basis, to develop a business model that equally combines efficiency, data protection and quality.
The Cannes Lions have shown that the future of advertising is being redefined. Europe does not need to follow the strategies of global platforms. The foundations for its own model of success have long been in place: trustworthy content, high-quality advertising environments and technologies that foster autonomy rather than dependence. Now is the time to work together to turn this potential into sustainable competitive advantages.
