Forced Implementation of Kokai Across TTD Platform Despite Resistance from Users

The Trade Desk's Kokai Platform: Innovation Amidst Challenges

The Trade Desk, a leading independent advertising platform, launched Kokai on June 6, 2023, as a platform for digital advertising innovation. This new platform, designed to revolutionise the industry, processes over 13 million advertising impressions every second and now includes measurement innovations for connected TV and retail media channels.

Kokai features retail measurement data from partner retailers such as Albertsons Media Collective and Walgreens Advertising Group when audience data is enabled. This integration provides valuable insights for advertisers, helping them to target their campaigns more effectively. The system also incorporates three measurement indices: the Retail Sales Index, TV Quality Index, and Quality Reach Index.

Connected TV and retail media networks represent particularly promising segments within this market. These sectors have seen significant growth in recent years, and Kokai's focus on these areas demonstrates The Trade Desk's commitment to staying at the forefront of digital advertising.

However, The Trade Desk faces ongoing challenges, including competition from technology giants like Alphabet and Meta, privacy regulation changes, and the decline of third-party cookies. In response to these challenges, the company has begun restricting agencies from launching new campaigns without using its Kokai platform.

Recent updates to Kokai focus on campaign management efficiency with tools designed to increase control and visibility of ads across channels. This is aimed at streamlining the digital media buying process and making it more user-friendly. However, one media buyer has criticised the platform's user interface, stating that it is not intuitive.

Despite these criticisms, The Trade Desk's financial fundamentals remain strong. The company has $1.369 billion in cash and cash equivalents, $552 million in short-term investments, and a current ratio near 2. Customer retention rates exceed 95%.

The Trade Desk's stock price has declined 55% since November 2024, and the company's Q4 2024 revenue reached $741.01 million, marking a significant deceleration from the company's previous consistent 25%-plus growth rate. This decline could be attributed to the aforementioned challenges, as well as the forced migration to Kokai, which has generated resistance from programmatic advertising professionals.

Despite these setbacks, The Trade Desk continues to push the boundaries of digital advertising with its Kokai platform. The platform distributes AI capabilities across all aspects of the digital media buying process, making it a powerful tool for advertisers. The Trade Desk also announced "Ventura," a new streaming TV operating system, in November 2024, further demonstrating its commitment to innovation.

Kokai's Partner Portal allows thousands of partners to connect directly with The Trade Desk using standardized adapters. This network of partners helps to expand the reach of Kokai and makes it an attractive option for advertisers.

The digital advertising market represents a substantial growth opportunity with an estimated total addressable market of approximately $1 trillion and a 14.5% compound annual growth rate. As such, The Trade Desk's Kokai platform is well-positioned to capitalise on this growth and continue to drive innovation in the digital advertising industry.

Bill Simmons, former VP of Product at The Trade Desk, announced his departure on March 14, 2025. With Simmons' departure, it remains to be seen how The Trade Desk will continue to navigate the challenges it faces and continue to innovate in the digital advertising industry.

Forced Implementation of Kokai Across TTD Platform Despite Resistance from Users