LinkedIn has signed a partnership with The Trade Desk for connected-TV advertisements. The Trade Desk's clients can use LinkedIn data to target their connected-TV advertisement buys.

The Trade Desk is an adtech company that operates a demand-side platform. Demand-side platforms are software that allow advertisers to automate their ad buys and target audiences across websites, apps, and streaming television.

The partnership is currently in a test phase with a small group of brands. Advertisers and agencies that use The Trade Desk for digital ad buying can now layer LinkedIn data to reach more than 1 billion professionals on connected television.

"Partnering with The Trade Desk will make it easier for advertisers to automate their LinkedIn-powered CTV ad buys," said Matt Derella, vice president of LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. "The broader trend that I'm hearing and observing is that in a more LLM-first world, B2B brands in particular know they have to get discovered — so they're moving to video."

LinkedIn first began offering connected-TV ads in 2024. LinkedIn works with its parent company, Microsoft, through Microsoft's supply-side platform Monetize to source and place its connected-TV ads.

"With our ambitions for the open internet, we love when we get this kind of lean-in from large partners that may not have been as interoperable in the past," said Will Doherty, senior vice president of inventory development at The Trade Desk.

"As we talked to different agencies and customers, their name came up consistently," Derella said.

LinkedIn has an audience network that allows advertisers to extend their LinkedIn ad campaigns to third-party apps and websites. The company's audience includes more than 1 billion professionals.

U.S. advertiser spending on connected-TV ads is forecast to grow 14% this year to more than $37 billion, according to EMARKETER. EMARKETER forecasts LinkedIn's U.S. ad revenue will grow 8.9% to reach $5.3 billion in 2026.

The Trade Desk faces increased competition and disruption from the rise of AI and from Amazon's multi-year effort to gain market share in the demand-side platform space. The Trade Desk's share price has fallen by more than 50% in the past year.

Publicis Groupe said it would no longer recommend The Trade Desk to clients following an independent audit. A Trade Desk spokesperson said any notion that the company had failed the audit was false and that it had enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Publicis.