EventsOctober 2, 20265 min read
What our clients told us at SBC Lisbon: budgets, GEOs and 2027 plans
Three days of back-to-back meetings with advertisers and publishers at the SBC Affiliate Leaders Summit — here are the patterns behind everyone's 2027 planning.
Expo floors are the industry's most honest feedback channel. Between September 29 and October 1 our team lived at the SBC Affiliate Leaders Summit in Lisbon, and the conversations at our booth told a clearer story about 2027 than any forecast report we've read this year.
Budgets are growing — but moving
Almost every advertiser we met is planning a bigger 2027 media budget. The catch: it is moving away from pure pop volume and toward formats with clearer intent signals — Telegram placements, in-page push, and retargeting pools. Teams that used to buy one format at scale now want four formats working together.
GEO rotation is the new normal
Tier-1 fatigue is real. Several casino and sportsbook clients described rotating spend into LATAM and selected African and Asian GEOs, with Brazil dominating the discussion for obvious reasons (see our Brazil analysis). The smartest teams are not abandoning Tier 1 — they are hedging it.
What publishers asked for
On the supply side, publishers wanted two things: stable demand that does not vanish overnight, and better creative tooling. Bulk uploads, honest reporting, and predictable payment terms beat exotic features in every conversation.
If we missed you in Lisbon — our calendar is open. The best conversations of the week started with a simple question: what does your ideal FTD actually cost?
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