What Are Walled Gardens In Advertising? An Advertiser Guide

To succeed in digital advertising, advertisers and publishers need to master the art of working within—and beyond—the boundaries of Walled Gardens. It’s not rocket science; success comes down to crafting a strategic digital game plan and executing it well.

The big three Walled Gardens—Google, Meta, and Amazon—consume a significant portion of the digital ad revenue pie. But what exactly are Walled Gardens, how do they shape the advertising world, and where do independent adtech players like Next Millennium fit into the equation? In this guide, we’ll explore:

What Is a Walled Garden in Advertising?
How Do Walled Gardens Impact Advertisers and Publishers?

Next Millennium helps you put the right ads in the right places.

What Is A Walled Garden In Advertising?

In the world of digital advertising, a Walled Garden is a closed platform where the provider maintains complete control over every aspect of the advertising ecosystem.

This includes content, custom apps, media sources, technology, services, user data, and access.
Major players like Google, Meta, and Amazon operate these self-contained systems, controlling ad inventory, campaign management, and performance tracking—all within their exclusive environments.
What sets Walled Gardens apart is their approach to data. Unlike open ad exchanges, which provide third-party data access for flexible targeting, Walled Gardens keep their first-party data tightly locked.
While this exclusivity can enhance privacy and user experience, it limits how advertisers and publishers can leverage external data sources.

Independent adtech organizations—like ad networks, ad exchanges, SSPs (Supply-Side Platforms), DSPs (Demand-Side Platforms), and ad servers—fill the gaps by offering more customization and flexibility. These alternatives are ideal for advertisers needing unique data sets or specialized targeting, even if they don’t match the scale of the big players.

The History Of Digital Walled Gardens

The concept of Walled Gardens has deep roots, dating back to the 1970s in the telecommunications industry. John Malone, founder of Telecommunications, Inc. (later acquired by AT&T), coined the term to describe telecom companies’ ownership of everything transmitted via their networks. Fast forward to the digital age, and the idea was adopted by major tech companies as they began to dominate their ecosystems. Apple, for example, created its iOS environment—a seamless yet closed loop of devices, apps, and marketplaces.

The power of modern Walled Gardens truly emerged when privacy regulations like GDPR came into play. With third-party cookies on the decline, companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon doubled down on their first-party data, creating secure, closed environments for targeted advertising. While this move safeguarded user privacy and complied with new laws, it also excluded independent ad tech companies from accessing the data goldmine, forcing them to innovate new ways to connect advertisers and publishers effectively.

By understanding Walled Gardens and their limitations, advertisers can navigate these ecosystems while exploring open alternatives to optimize their campaigns. Knowledge is power, and knowing the difference between ad networks and ad exchanges is a great way to supercharge your digital advertising strategy.

Walled Garden Examples

The big three Walled Gardens—Google, Meta, and Amazon—consume a significant portion of the digital ad revenue pie. These platforms thrive on vast amounts of behavioral, search, and purchase data collected from their billions of users. This environment of first-party data creates an intensely rich, enticing lure for advertisers to target audiences with precision. Let’s break it down:

Google: With over 1.5 billion Gmail users and over 3.1 trillion searches annually, Google processes about 8.5 billion searches daily—or 5.9 million searches per minute! It’s a goldmine of intent-driven user data.
Meta (Facebook): Home to 3 billion active across its platforms, Meta captures insights into user preferences, social behaviors, and interactions. The average American spends over 30 minutes a day on Meta platforms, offering advertisers ample opportunities to engage.
Amazon: Known as the shopping behemoth, Amazon boasts 315 million active customers and generates $20 billion in ad revenue. With 18.5 purchases happening every second, advertisers gain unparalleled access to purchase intent and buying behaviors.

That’s a lot of juicy user data wrapped up in these exclusive ecosystems! The sheer scale and depth of these Walled Gardens make them incredibly powerful tools for advertisers, but navigating them requires a strategic approach to make the most of their opportunities while understanding their limitations.

Independent AdTech

As we discussed in the “What is a Walled Garden in Advertising” section, independent adtech companies provide an alternative to the closed ecosystems of Walled Gardens.

What sets these independent companies apart is their commitment to transparency, flexibility, and innovation. Unlike Walled Gardens, independent ad tech companies:

Offer transparency of measurement and reporting, with third-party integrations to substantiate campaign performance and revenue.
Enable real-time adjustments, giving advertisers and publishers more control and flexibility to optimize campaigns dynamically.
Provide broader access to audience data, allowing for more comprehensive targeting across multiple sites and platforms.

Adtech companies like Next Millennium go a step further by offering:

Ability to create custom solutions using proprietary, tailored tech
Direct access to data scientists, in-house creative teams, marketing experts, and dedicated support.
Flexibility to upload first-party data, unlocking new targeting opportunities.
A wide array of creative ad formats, including video, app, and interactive formats, to maximize engagement.
Competitive pricing models

Get the freedom to innovate, unshackled by the strict data usage rules, ad format restrictions, and bidding strategies imposed by Walled Gardens. If you’re looking for an ad network to elevate your website revenue, check out 10 of the Best Ad Networks for Publishers that outperform others in the digital advertising space.

How Do Walled Gardens Impact Advertisers And Publishers?

Walled Gardens can impact both advertisers and publishers, offering unique advantages while presenting distinct challenges.

Advertisers:

Pinpoint Personalization: The sheer volume of first-party data enables highly personalized ad campaigns for messaging and targeting.
Efficiency Experts: Comprehensive tools within these platforms allow advertisers to test, optimize, and measure campaigns to maximize impact.

Publishers:

Collaboration Kings: Partnering with major advertisers in Walled Gardens often leads to lucrative revenue streams through exclusive partnerships.
Security Matters: Walled Gardens employ robust measures to ensure data security, privacy, and compliance, providing publishers with a sense of trust and reliability.

However, the closed structure of Walled Gardens isn’t without drawbacks. Advertisers and publishers face restrictions on data access, limited reporting, fewer ad format options, and challenges with broader targeting. These limitations can stifle creativity, innovation, and competition, making it harder to stand out in a saturated market.

If you’re feeling boxed in by Walled Gardens, programmatic advertising offers a compelling alternative.

How Programmatic Advertising Works Outside Walled Gardens

Programmatic advertising automates the buying and placement of ads, leveraging technology and real-time data to reach users more effectively. It pulls from multiple data sources—such as mobile usage, social media interactions, and browsing habits—to tailor ads to user profiles dynamically.

Unlike Walled Gardens, programmatic advertising operates on a network of open ad exchanges and independent platforms. This means advertisers gain access to a broader array of ad inventory across multiple publishers, enabling greater flexibility and customization. Beyond simple demographics, programmatic ads use insights like purchase history and device behavior to create highly targeted campaigns.

For a deeper dive into programmatic advertising, check out What Is Programmatic Advertising and How Does It Work. Staying agile is key to thriving in the digital advertising landscape.

Optimize Your Digital Ad Performance And Revenue With Next Millennium

If you run an agile business, don’t you want a partner as agile as you? While Walled Gardens offer impressive data advantages, they aren’t the only option. Next Millennium connects publishers with premium brands like McDonald’s, Puma, and Nespresso, creating exclusive opportunities for niche audiences.

Advertisers benefit from access to premium publisher inventory, exclusive first-party audiences, and high-demand placements. For publishers, we sell inventory to partner agencies with substantial budgets, using innovative ad formats that grab attention and deliver results.

At Next Millennium, we prioritize your success, helping you optimize your ad performance and revenue while providing the flexibility and autonomy that Walled Gardens can’t.

It’s hard to predict the future of Walled Gardens, but with Next Millennium as your partner, you’ll stay ahead of the game—leveraging the best of independent adtech to grow your revenue and often surpassing the big players, as we’ve done with Hasbro.

Ready to take the next step? Book a discovery call today!