Podcasts about paid media

Meet Liron Segev. As a longtime YouTube consultant, he built an "AI Content Engine" for YouTube and other social media platforms to help founders and businesses make content easier. Because there are two contrary problems: 1) Businesses need to make content, and 2) Businesses don't have time to make content. Liron helps them solve that. SPECIAL GUEST:Liron Segev | Website | LinkedIn | YouTubeHOST: The YouTube Marketing Unofficial Podcast is hosted by:- Dane Golden, YouTube Paid Media SpecialistLinkedInRead Liron's Entrepreneur JourneyPodcast TranscriptWatch Video 

Meet Liron Segev. As a longtime YouTube consultant, he built an "AI Content Engine" for YouTube and other social media platforms to help founders and businesses make content easier. Because there are two contrary problems: 1) Businesses need to make content, and 2) Businesses don't have time to make content. Liron helps them solve that. SPECIAL GUEST:Liron Segev | Website | LinkedIn | YouTubeHOST: The YouTube Marketing Unofficial Podcast is hosted by:- Dane Golden, YouTube Paid Media SpecialistLinkedInRead Liron's Entrepreneur JourneyPodcast TranscriptWatch Video 

For Mother's Day, Tye DeGrange hands the mic to his mom — Ginger DeGrange. Rodeo queen. Horse trainer. Summer camp founder. 36-year instructor who's taught 10,000+ students the art of horsemanship at Santa Rosa Junior College. This one's full of great stories: the OJ Simpson trail ride, a student who went on to dine with the Queen of England, competing at the Grand National, and the old reinsman who taught Ginger that quiet confidence beats loud energy every time. Plus real lessons on building confidence, earning trust, and leading with feel — on and off the horse.

Bienvenidos a un nuevo (mini) episodio, diferente. Quédate si te interesa entender cómo está cambiando Meta Ads y qué controles sigues teniendo (aunque muchos no lo sepan).Hoy vamos a hablar de algo clave: la evolución de Meta hacia un modelo cada vez más automatizado. La plataforma toma más decisiones que nunca y esto no es necesariamente malo. De hecho, es hacia donde va el ecosistema digital.El problema es que, en este nuevo contexto, muchos anunciantes piensan que han perdido el control. Y no es así.Existen configuraciones clave que siguen marcando la diferencia y que la mayoría ni conoce ni está utilizando.Es por ello que en este vídeo te explicamos:• Cómo está evolucionando Meta hacia la automatización• Qué controles siguen existiendo dentro de la plataforma• Por qué muchos anunciantes no los están aprovechando• Las 3 configuraciones clave que debes conocer:  - Audience segments  - Placement controls  - Value rulesEntender esto puede cambiar completamente cómo planteas tu estrategia de Paid Media.

eTail Palm Springs is one of the most important events on the e-commerce calendar. As one of the most anticipated events in the e-commerce calendar, eTail brings together senior retail leaders, DTC brands, and digital innovators to explore the evolving future of online and omnichannel retail. Every year, the event draws a powerful mix of founders, marketers, technology providers, and retail operators — all under one roof in the California desert.Isaac Morey, Co-Founder of Content Cucumber, was on the ground at eTail Palm Springs this year recording conversations for the Talk Commerce podcast. The result? A compilation video packed with some of his favorite interviews from across the show floor. Each one is a quick snapshot of the people, ideas, and energy that make eTail such a standout event.Here's a look at every clip in the compilation.0:40 Scott Ohsman, Always Off Brand5:38 Elizabethe Lachhar, RezolveAI10:57 Amrit Shergill, ShopVision14:21 Udayan Bose, NetElixer16:27 Andrew Watt, MAI18:17 Patrick Yoon, CHEQScott Ohsman, Always Off Brand: AI Is Moving Past the HypeScott Ohsman kicked things off with signature energy and a sharp take on where AI in e-commerce really stands. He argues that AI is finally moving from buzzword to tactical tool — but warns that a "blister" correction is coming, and that mediocre brands relying on AI as a crutch will be the first to get flushed out.D2C Brands Are About to Have a MomentIn the same conversation, Scott made the case that D2C brands are quietly positioned for a traffic windfall thanks to LLM-driven search sending users directly to brand websites. It's unpaid traffic, and the brands doing solid foundational work will benefit most.The Vibes at eTail Are UnmatchedScott closed with a love letter to the eTail experience itself — the Palm Springs sunshine, the resort setting, and the surprisingly positive energy on the exhibitor floor. According to Scott, even the vendors are in a good mood here, and that says a lot.Elizabeth Lachhar, Rezolve AI: The Case for Agentic CommerceElizabeth Lechhar from Rezolve AI broke down what agentic commerce actually means and why it matters right now. With Generation Alpha bringing five trillion dollars in buying power online in the next few years, the traditional e-commerce funnel is reaching end of life — and brands need to prepare for a conversational, hyper-personalized future.Shopping Will Become a 360° ExperienceElizabeth painted a picture of what the near future of shopping looks like: not just searching for a blazer, but asking an AI what to wear in Palm Springs, what goes with it, and whether you can still wear it to lunch. Commerce is becoming circular and lifestyle-driven, not linear.Get Your Data Ready NowIn her closing remarks, Elizabeth urged retailers to start preparing their data infrastructure for the agentic future. From multi-dimensional search to automated payments, the entire commerce stack is about to change — and Resolve AI is building the end-to-end platform to support that shift.Amrit Shergill, ShopVision: Why Retros Shouldn't Be AnecdotalAmrit Shergill of ShopVision explained how most brands rely on fragmented, anecdotal data when looking back at key campaigns like Black Friday. His company captures every digital touchpoint across competitors and reseller channels, turning guesswork into clarity and predictive insights.Pricing Intelligence: Finding White Space in the MarketAmrit dove deeper into a specific pain point he's hearing at eTail: pricing challenges. Brands with large wholesale networks are missing margin and product-line opportunities because they can't see how competitors are pricing similar products. His platform matches products across brands and surfaces the white space.Udayan Bose, NetElixir: $30 Million in Revenue Driven by ExperimentationNetElixir's founder, Udayan Bose shared that their machine-learning-powered experimentation platform has driven roughly $30 million in cumulative additional revenue across 250 experiments in the past year. The message is clear: performance AI — the kind that drives measurable outcomes — is the next frontier every e-commerce brand should pursue.NetElixir: AI Is Moving from Buzz to ActionUdayan also noted a shift in the eTail conversations this year: people aren't just talking about AI anymore — they're asking whether it actually drives results. NetElixir's high Net Promoter Score (84.4, double the industry average) backs up their claim that human expertise combined with AI delivers exceptional performance.Andrew Watt, MAI: Agentic AI for Google Ads ManagementThe team at MAI founded by former Google Ads and Instacart ad platform engineers introduced their agentic AI for paid media. Their platform plugs into Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Shopify, then autonomously builds and manages campaigns — taking over work that used to require agencies or in-house teams. They're expanding to Bing and Meta next.Patrick Yoon, CHEQ: Client-Side Detection: Cleaning Up Invalid TrafficPatrick explained how their client-side pixel unlocks intelligence retailers have never had access to before — from reducing paid media ad waste by up to 70% to identifying which bots on your site are malicious and which are actually acting on behalf of real consumers through LLMs.The AI-Bot Hybrid Future of Retail WebsitesIn a deeper dive, Patrick shared that Gartner predicts one in five interactions on retail websites will involve an LLM by 2028. The takeaway: you can't just block all automation anymore. Retailers need nuanced intelligence to distinguish between helpful AI agents and bad actors, and that distinction will directly impact ROI.

#349 | Megan Lueders (CMO, Sonatype), Ido Mart (CMO, ManyChat), and Kim Storin (CMO, Zayo) join Dave for a live CMO panel from an Exit Five meetup in Austin. Megan breaks down how the pace of change in marketing has outrun every other function in the business. Ido talks about why your strengths as a CMO only matter if you choose the right environment for them. And Kim shares how she measures marketing impact in a company with long, complex sales cycles and drops a line worth writing down: marketing is never green when the business is red. They also get into pipeline attribution, founder-led content, LinkedIn influencers, and what most CMOs get wrong about aligning with their CEO on what marketing actually is.Timestamps(00:00) - - Intros: Megan Lueders (Sonatype), Ido Mart (ManyChat), Kim Storin (Zayo) (05:33) - - What they wish they'd known when they became CMO (10:32) - - How marketing has changed more than any other function (13:07) - - How to measure marketing impact in long, complex sales cycles (14:37) - - Growth at all costs vs. efficiency: how they're navigating it (21:55) - - How to talk to your CFO about marketing spend (25:28) - - What's not working anymore: email, granular data, paid media (32:52) - - What is working: sales enablement, influencers, product marketing (36:50) - - Why B2B is actually more emotional than consumer buying (40:39) - - Audience Q&A: defending channels that work but don't have clean attribution (42:30) - - Acquisition vs. retention: where are you actually spending time (46:29) - - Founder-led content and executive presence on social (49:58) - - LinkedIn influencers: is the spend worth it (52:49) - - Sales enablement and how to make messaging stick internally Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn more at vector.co, and get on the waitlist for their new MCP server by clicking here. Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

Bienvenidos a un nuevo episodio de Marcando Diferencias, powered by 21Nova Strategy, donde nos adentramos en la historia de Clara y Oriol, cofundadores de Mind Traveler, una marca que ha sabido evolucionar desde sus primeras piezas de colgagafas y joyería hasta construir un universo de moda con identidad propia y ventas en más de 30 países.En esta conversación descubrimos cómo la marca ha ido pasando de producto a producto hasta encontrar su verdadero territorio de marca, y cómo se construye una comunidad que no solo compra, sino que conecta.Hablamos sobre:Cómo nace y evoluciona Mind Traveler hasta convertirse en una marca de moda con propósito claro.La estrategia detrás de su crecimiento en redes sociales y los formatos de contenido que mejor les funcionan.Cómo entienden la viralidad y la convierten en una herramienta de negocio real.La realidad de vender fuera de España: logística, aduanas y expansión internacional.El papel del Paid Media, el estudio del consumidor y la toma de decisiones basada en datos.Cómo la IA ya forma parte de su forma de entender el negocio.Su visión de futuro: crecimiento, consolidación y profesionalización.Un episodio sobre cómo una marca crece, se adapta y toma decisiones para escalar, conservando su identidad.IG Marcando Diferencias: @marcandodiferencias_IG Mind Traveler: @mindtravelerbcnLinkedIn 21Nova: 21Nova

When ad costs spike and attribution gets messy, even the best marketing budgets can start to feel unreliable. In this episode, Optidge's own Joe Wolf and Alejandro Torres cut through the noise on marketing budget planning and ad spend forecasting: what the models look like, where most plans fall apart, and how to build one that holds up when platforms shift, and results lag.This episode lights a fire under a candid, lively discussion of the most complex client-facing problems marketers will encounter, using our own experiences as fuel. An Optidge Office Hours EpisodeOur Office Hours episodes are your go-to for details, case studies, how-to's, and advice on specific marketing topics. Join our fellow Optidge team members, partners, and sometimes even 1:1 teachings from Danny himself, in these shorter, marketing-focused episodes. Get ready to get marketing!Episode Highlights: The Optidge team shares that most clients arrive at budget conversations with a plan already in mind, and reveal that refining it is actually harder than building from scratch.One campaign example shared that a real estate client panicked when overall performance began to drop. Joe and Alejandro affirm that the problem isn't always the channel taking the blame and requires a broader analysis.The team shares insights into Optidge's cohort-based reporting, noting the changes in how you measure paid media success and how to use it to prevent knee-jerk decisions.Both Joe and Alejandro touch on the halo effect using real examples: store visits, YouTube demand lift, and self-reported attribution from intake forms.The conversation emphasizes that assuming every lead is equal is the most expensive mistake in budget planning, and that building unified dashboards and planning for the whole year helps to keep the big picture top-of-mind.Episode Links: Digital Marketing Mentor Podcast: Optidge.com/podcastODEO Academy: odeoacademy.comOptidge Paid Media Services: Optidge.com/paid-mediaEpisode 050: Debunking, Diversifying, and Diving into the Data of Paid Social Ads with Joseph Wolf (Office Hours) Episode 067: The Superpowers of Effective PPC Budget Management and Pacing with Alejandro Torres (Office Hours) Send us Fan MailFollow The Digital Marketing Mentor:Website and Blog: thedmmentor.comInstagram: @thedmmentorLinkedin: @thedmmentorYouTube: @thedmmentorInterested in Digital Marketing Services, Careers, or Courses? Check out more from the TDMM Family:Optidge.com - Full Service Digital Marketing Agency specializing in SEO, PPC, Paid Social, and Lead Generation efforts for established B2C and B2B businesses and organizations.ODEOacademy.com - Digital Marketing online education and course platform. ODEO gives you solid digital marketing knowledge to launch/boost your career or understand your business's digital marketing strategy.

Bienvenidos a un nuevo (mini) episodio, diferente. Quédate si te interesa conocer el principal error que cometen las marcas online y los e-commerce a la hora de plantear su paid media.Hoy vamos a hablar de algo que muchos pasan por alto: la obsesión con las métricas de plataforma. Sí, hablamos del famoso ROAS de Meta, Google, TikTok etc… esa métrica que solo mide lo que pasa dentro de la plataforma y no refleja el impacto real en tu negocio.Es hora de mirar más allá: entra en juego el MER, Marketing Efficiency Ratio, que compara facturación vs inversión en performance. Esto te da una visión real de rentabilidad y evolución del negocio, más allá de un clic o una conversión puntual.Es por ello que en este vídeo te explicamos:Por qué centrarse sólo en el ROAS de plataforma es un errorCómo mirar las métricas desde la rentabilidad real del negocioEjemplos prácticos por producto, ticket medio y mercadoQué mirar antes de decidir escalar campañas

In this episode, Maddie Lightening shares candid stories about common pitfalls in paid media management, the importance of leveraging AI wisely, and how to approach mistakes with a growth mindset. Discover practical advice on account structuring, controlling CPCs, and embracing experimentation to stay ahead in the fast-paced world of PPC.Main Topics Covered:The significance of proper account currency configuration and how currency conversion errors can impact reportingThe risks and lessons learned from outdated account structures, especially in Google AdsHow to implement CPC caps within bid strategies to regain control without performance lossThe importance of not just adopting AI but using it strategically and with purposeThe value of a "FAFO" mindset—try, fail, learn, and move forward in paid mediaTips for managing mistakes seamlessly, including transparency with clients and teamKey insights into seasonality and account adjustments during peak periodsCreative ways to break the rules with AI, like running targeted campaigns with unique placementsThe role of curiosity in PPC success — always testing and asking "what if?"Timestamps:00:00 - Introducing Maddie Lightening and her PPC background00:52 - Maddie's journey to Head of Paid Media at Hallam02:17 - Maddie's fun fact: from banana bread to F1 autographing03:40 - Navigating industry interests outside PPC04:36 - Common mistake: Currency conversion errors and reporting impact06:12 - Lessons from account structure mistakes inherited from other agencies07:52 - Handling performance drops without panic09:23 - When to restructure campaigns and assessing seasonal impacts11:23 - What could have been done differently during account restructuring12:44 - Client reactions to structural changes: fear vs. frustration14:23 - Managing CPC increases and external factors influencing CPCs18:38 - Implementing CPC caps in bid strategies for better control21:12 - Breaking rules: Running targeted campaigns with AI and Google restrictions22:30 - Advice for professionals discovering account mistakes23:35 - The importance of accountability and giving yourself grace25:22 - Maddie's PPC value: FAFO — fuck around and find out26:26 - Curiosity and testing as fundamental PPC skills27:32 - Overcoming fear of AI bans in agencies28:41 - Integrating AI into routine work—don't ban it, use it effectively30:07 - Avoiding common AI pitfalls: Providing enough context and data32:02 - The dangers of complete AI bans and staying adaptable33:55 - Future-proofing PPC strategies with AI and technology understanding36:39 - Maddie's fun movie title: “Rush” – PPC's fast-paced nature38:16 - Connect with Maddie on LinkedIn for more insightsResources & Links:⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn - Maddie Lightening⁠⁠⁠⁠PPC Live Event Schedule⁠Join us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Slack⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

On this episode, we explore how leading brands are implementing successful offsite strategies. Focuses include data partnerships and clean rooms, audience targeting off-platform, measuring offsite incrementality, and balancing scale with signal quality. EMARKETER Senior Analyst, Minda Smiley hosts Jason O'Toole, Head of Connected Commerce & Media at Gildan and Ryan Verklin, Paid Media & Retail Media Senior Lead at Bayer.   Get more insights like these with our free, industry-leading newsletters covering advertising, marketing, and commerce. Sign up at emarketer.com/newsletters Follow us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/emarketer/ For sponsorship opportunities contact us: advertising@emarketer.com For more information visit: https://www.emarketer.com/advertise/ Have questions or just want to say hi? Drop us a line at podcast@emarketer.com For a transcript of this episode click here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-beyond-sponsored-products-what-offsite-means-media-plan-behind-numbers-special-edition © 2026 EMARKETER

Get a breakdown of Tom's frameworks in my free newsletter: https://bit.ly/48JKUaaApply to work with me:https://bit.ly/4aqqEewTom Lewis is Steven Bartlett's advertising performance partner and co-founder of Metastat. At 22, he's helped scale brands and creators by replacing guesswork with data.In this episode, Tom explains how top creators use paid ads to test thumbnails, titles, hooks, guests, and even product ideas before publishing, sometimes for under £100 on The Diary Of A CEO. He shares how Meta ads can help predict virality, improve click-through rates, and turn content into a repeatable growth system.We also cover when creators should monetise, why many launch too early, and why paid ads should support organic growth, not replace it. A practical guide to turning content into predictable growth and revenue.Listen on your podcast player:https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/creatorplaybooksFollow Callum on socials:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecallumc/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@heycallumX - https://x.com/mcdonnellcallumLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/callummcdonnellProduced by 7xContent - make your own podcast with us:https://www.7xcontent.comFollow Tom: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-lewis-a46877167/Timestamps (accurate + true to transcript)00:00 Introduction to Tom Lewis and Steven Bartlett's Advertising Machine00:13 Tom Lewis' Journey and Partnership with Steven Bartlett04:46 The Power of Paid Media and Experimentation05:22 Deep Dive into Testing and Experimentation12:20 Practical Tips for Running Effective Ad Campaigns18:47 Optimizing Meta Ads for Traffic21:19 Budgeting for Effective Ad Campaigns22:59 Balancing Creativity and Data24:04 Tom's Best Frameworks25:28 The Importance of Eliminating Guesswork26:38 Building a Brand Before Monetization29:12 Using Paid Ads to Catalyze Growth29:12 Understanding Meta's Ad Auction System34:08 Creating Engaging Ad Content35:08 The Power of Problem-Solution Hooks36:42 Leveraging Dragons' Den Pitches43:48 Iterating on Successful Ad Concepts52:06 Meta Ads Campaign Structure52:45 The Outlier Graph and Winning Ads55:07 The Evolution of Magic Ads57:39 Setting Goals for Meta Ads58:00 Instagram Profile Visits Strategy1:02:50 Retargeting and Audience Segmentation1:06:08 Choosing the Right Product for Creators1:11:51 The Future of Meta Advertising1:14:24 Focusing on Long-Term Customer Value1:21:44 Structuring Your Team for Success1:24:42 Insights on Working with Steven Bartlett1:27:00 Conclusion and Next Steps

Jenny Bristow, CEO & Founder of Hedy & Hopp, is joined by Miranda Ochsner, Director of Paid Media to discuss the significant impact of the 2026 midterm elections on healthcare marketing. Political ad spend is expected to exceed $10 billion ahead of this year's midterms, presenting significant challenges for marketers, particularly when it comes to traditional channels, like TV and radio. They discuss these challenges and offer strategic advice for navigating the volatility of marketing during a political season.Episode NotesSince political campaigns typically have first-right access to advertising inventory across local TV and radio stations, other advertisers risk being “bumped.” No matter how far in advance you planned and purchased placements, getting bumped means your spots may be moved to less effective times of the day, like overnights, or removed entirely. This forces marketers to pivot quickly to deal with credits and reallocate budget.The following strategies can help marketers plan ahead, as the political season is scaling up quickly:Have a Plan B: Even the best laid plans need contingencies during political seasons, as inventory and political noise is largely out of your control. Think about scaling back or pausing tactics during the busiest weeks to ensure your message isn't getting lost.Capitalize on Alternative Placements: Be flexible and consider adjusting daypart mixes. Shifting from highly competitive times to alternative slots can maintain reach even during a busy season.Diversify Media Channels: Beyond traditional local TV and radio placements, digital channels like online video and Connected TV offer additional control. Just be aware that additional control comes with additional costs, which are projected to increase by 20-50% in competitive markets.Prioritize High-Intent Tactics: Channels like paid search remain stable and effective drivers of qualified traffic, even despite potential increases in bid costs.Since political seasons are guaranteed to be unpredictable, focus on early, proactive planning to ensure a consistent, high quality presence.Connect with Jenny:Email: jenny@hedyandhopp.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennybristow/Connect with Miranda:Email: miranda.ochsner@hedyandhopp.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirandamochsner/ If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love to hear your feedback! Please consider leaving us a review on your preferred listening platform and sharing it with others.

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How Rethinking Paid Media Can Drive More Efficient, Sustainable B2B Growth In this competitive environment, the fundamentals of effective B2B marketing are more crucial than ever, yet many brands are losing sight of them. As platforms become more inundated with noise, organizations are increasingly over-investing in paid media while under-investing in the strategic groundwork that makes paid campaigns perform. This imbalance leads to wasted spend, mixed messages, and weaker results, just as B2B audiences are becoming more selective. So, how can marketing leaders leverage paid media to drive more efficient, sustainable B2B growth? That's why we're talking to Andrea Ness (Head of Media, ddm marketing + communications), who shares her expertise on how rethinking paid media can drive more efficient, sustainable B2B growth. During our conversation, Andrea emphasized the importance of integrating paid media with owned and earned media to creative a holistic customer journey. She stressed that B2B paid media should amplify strong messaging rather than being the sole focus of a marketing campaign. With sales cycles often lasting 6-18 months, Andrea highlighted the need for consistent messaging across all channels and the importance of building long-term trust. She also underscored the significance of long-lasting assets such as website and thought leadership for sustainable ROI. Andrea advocated for a strategic approach to measurement, leveraging full-funnel metrics that go beyond immediate conversions to capture the true impact of a brand's digital presence. https://youtu.be/HdpEGsfjxuI Topics discussed in episode: [00:00] Why a weak narrative just means broadcasting confusion at scale  [02:44] Why teams skip to conversions and why it backfires in 6–18 month buying cycles  [05:45] The problem found when sales, PR, web, and leadership aren’t saying the same thing  [09:19] How B2B buyer behavior has changed, and why sales calls are the last resort  [13:24] How to reframe brand investment in language leadership buys into  [17:09] The three paid media pitfalls every B2B marketer must avoid [21:59] Why foundational messaging lifts every channel, and how to evolve it  [24:59] Demystifying owned, earned, and paid media [32:11] Long-lasting assets vs. short-term ads: SEO, thought leadership, and repurposed content that compound  [34:48] Brand lift studies, return visitors, time on site, and the metrics that prove full-funnel progress  [37:56] Why you must build the house before you turn on the amplifier Companies and links mentioned: Andrea Ness on LinkedIn  ddm marketing + communications   Transcript Andrea Ness, Christian Klepp Andrea Ness  00:00 People usually don’t convert on the first ad exposure that they see. So you really, really do want to make sure that there are so many other ways that they can get to that information. Advertising helps. But you know, like, like, if you look at you know what your journey is. And really, it’s a great exercise if you don’t have a customer journey, like, laid out on paper and really, and looking at that, not just for paid media channels, but also, you know, like, here’s what we’re doing, foundational like that owned media, you know. And then here’s what you know earned media is doing that they’re really pushing out. And here’s their focus. Christian Klepp  00:31 The fundamentals of effective B2B Marketing have not changed, but in 2026 many brands are losing sight of them as platforms become more crowded and ad costs continue to rise, organizations are increasingly over investing in paid media while under investing in the strategic groundwork that makes paid campaigns perform. This imbalance leads to wasted spend mixed messages and weaker results, just as audiences are becoming more selective. So how can B2B Marketers leverage paid media to drive more efficient, sustainable growth? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers in the Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today, I’ll be talking to Andrea Ness, who will be answering this question. She’s the head of media at DDM Marketing and Communications, where she helps drive digital marketing initiatives for B2B organizations, tune in to find out more about what this B2B Marketers Mission is. Andrea Ness, welcome to the show. Andrea Ness  01:29 Very good to be here. Christian Klepp  01:30 Really good to have you on. I mean, you know, we’ve, we’ve had such a great free interview conversation where we, we laughed so much about all these random topics, and that was already, like, very telling of, like, what’s to come. But I’m, I’m really looking forward to this conversation. It’s, it’s a very pertinent one. I think it’s something that B2B marketing teams really need to be paying attention to as they move forward. At the time of this recording, at the beginning of 2026 All right, so let’s, let’s jump right in and start the interview. So, Andrea, like for you’re on a mission, I would say, to help B2B companies deliver high impact marketing campaigns that drive measurable results. For this conversation, I’d like to zero in on the topic of how rethinking the role of paid media can drive more efficient, sustainable growth. So I’d like to kick off the conversation with two questions, and I’m happy to repeat them, right? So question number one, why do you think paid media should function as an extension of brand trust, rather than the centerpiece of a marketing strategy? And the follow up question is, where do you see many B2B Marketing Teams struggle. Andrea Ness  02:44 All right, I will start with round one, but with the first one, usually, when someone hears media campaign, they go straight to, like the media teams and like going to tactics where, like, where we really want to back up and just say, you know, paid media works as it to amplify the message that you’re trying to put out there, not to create the message. So if you don’t have that, those strong messaging and those components in place, or what we like to say at your house in order, you know, like we’re not going to be the best at creating the message, but only taking really resonating messaging and putting it out to the world. So it we call paid media more like a distribution engine. And it’s not the message itself, you know, and it’s also, you know, to really, really underline brand narrative is, if their your brand narrative isn’t strong, your paid media just amplifies people to get confused. One of the things that we like to talk about with clients is that audiences see 1000s of messages every day, you know. So like, even if we might be in the right channels, you know, with everyone else, if it doesn’t resonate, if it doesn’t align, you know, if it doesn’t connect and strong, then they’re just trying to pass it by with hundreds and 1000s of others. So really, really, what is that message component? What are you trying to tell them? When are you trying to tell them that? And then we just use paid media, the tactics for paid media, just to make sure that we’re amplifying that message to the right people. So that’s with your first question, what your second one was, Christian Klepp  04:14 Where do you see a lot of based on based on that, like, where do you see a lot of B2B marketing teams struggle? Andrea Ness  04:20 So one of the things we keep on we keep on hearing over and over again, because again, you know, I know clients like, really like, their focus on revenue. They’re focused on the end goal. But you know, when we hear a lot of times, when we hear like we need, you know, consistently, more leads, more conversions, more revenue. We got to go straight to the end when what we’re thinking about like, and what we have to bring clients back to is like, what is that customer journey? And, you know, like for us to be able to move them through the funnel, we can’t just go straight to the end and asking them to do something when they don’t even have that trust, or they’re not even, you know, in the consideration journey yet. You know, so with with B2B, especially like consumers, sometimes it’s a quicker side cycle. But with B2B, you know that your cycles are could be like six to 18 months, even longer. So if you’re not talking to them throughout each of the journey and building that trust along the way, you know we’re going to be losing them if you go straight to like, you know, do this and, you know, give us your contact information. We learned, especially now, especially with new generations of people. They don’t like always. Like filling out forms. They like to do their own research in many different ways. And if you’re not there in each of those moments as they’re like, going through and building that trust, wherever they’re going to get those information points, you know, just going out and saying, like, do this now. Deadline approaching, you know, like you’re gonna they’re not going to be ready to do the end the end goal. So, Christian Klepp  05:43 Absolutely, absolutely, yeah, Andrea Ness  05:45 Another thing that we notice is more like the fragmented, like the messaging so, and it’s just, you know, we that’s why we really, really hone in on integrated marketing. Because it really is, if we’re ready, if we have our key messages in place. It’s not just what the ads should say. It’s in every form of their communications. And sometimes people don’t think that way, because businesses are in their different teams. They have their sales team, they’re their PR team and communications team, you know, they have, you know, their web team. They have, you know, like all these other teams. But when, when we are ready to say these are going to be our key messages we’re going to hit out there. We have to make sure that all of these teams are aligned and the messaging resonates. So no matter where your audience goes to or where they go out to seek information, you don’t want to lose them by like they seen an ad with this message, but then they don’t. They go to your website and they don’t see it anymore, or even their organic channels, if you’re not talking about even those, those points in there, you know. And we also like, even, like, make sure clients know of like, even, like, public relations teams and whatnot. Like, you know, is it in your boiler plates anymore? Is there ways that we could integrate it in some of your content marketing, or your or the articles that you’re putting out there, or the thought leadership, you know, articles that your, leadership team is putting out there. So really, is taking those, like the key components, and what you have those down, and what you want your elevator pitch to be known for, and making sure every channel, especially sales teams too, like they’re the ones that are on the ground, they’re the ones that are, you know, talking to them when they’re in consideration, almost out of consideration. Are they saying the same points that we are trying to say up front and as your leadership, you know, team also, if they’re doing speaking points, having those one on one conversations, you know, are they also bringing down those team messages so everyone can get, you know, the same type of elevator pitch when they’re when they see it. Christian Klepp  07:36 Absolutely, absolutely, it’s, it’s amazing to me that, like, You know, you see this across the board, how the messaging tends to be inconsistent across the different channels. I don’t know where that that somehow got lost in translation, that like, okay, for each channel the message should be, should be different and, and that’s, you know, like, to your point, like, nothing could be further from the truth. Andrea Ness  08:00 Yeah, and it’s yeah, and sometimes it’s, you know, sometimes there are going to be other messages, like, you know, take organic social, for instance. It’s doing multiple jobs. It’s not just selling. It is, you know, bringing the culture component. It’s probably also talking to it, you know, possible future employees. And so it is doing, like, other themes in general. But if there is a sales point when, you know, and what we’ve learned is that when people hit consideration stages, they’re not ready to fill out a form right yet. They’re not ready to even call you on the phone, but they will connect with your socials to see, you know, like, so like, just as like, more reminders, but so if you’re not also seeing some of those marketing messages in there as well, you know, like, you’re gonna, you know, you’re going to lose them, and they’re just going to have that connection. And we always like to say is, like, when we put ads out in market again, very rarely are they going to resonate. The first thing they’re going to take that college, and especially for B2B, it’s different for retail, you know, the big sales, but for B2B, like, the expectation is they see your ad resonate. It might be something, oh, when I’m out of work, maybe I’ll go, you know, look into this. But you know, is that message really, really saying what you wanted to say and when they want to organically come back and find you later, wherever they go to to find is that going to be connecting, or is it going to be a completely different scenario where they can’t even get to where you want them to go to? You know, the follow the journey? Christian Klepp  09:19 No, absolutely. Thanks for sharing that. I did have two follow up questions for you based on everything that you’ve said in the past couple of minutes. So the first one is like, I mean, I’ve been, I’ve been marketing for a little bit, like, especially B2B marketing, and I’m sure it’s the same with you, but marketing has become so much more complex than when we started out, like, just from your perspective and your experience, especially in the paid media landscape, like, how has technology impacted the way that teams go about dealing with paid media? Maybe talk about the advantages and also how it’s been a little bit detrimental to them as well? Andrea Ness  10:02 Yeah, I would, I would say that just the many different options and how audiences are so different, and how like, from where we I learned how to, you know, how to connect with people is completely different from how, like, the New Age is connecting where, you know, they are really like, you know, like a lot of people like, they less phone calls, you know, less email addresses they have. They really, really learn from technology. They really learn from video like, video learning is a really key adapter to that, you know, also reaching out, even through like, you know, like DM’s (Direct Messages) of social media, those quick interactions where they’re not ready. You know, when, like, we’re like, on the B2B side. We’re always used to, like, lead forms, going to the website, doing that. And sometimes they just don’t want to leave the environments that they’re in. And if you’re not allowing them to learn from the environments that they’re in, too, as well, you know, then, then we’re going to be losing out. And a lot of times, too, when they’re ready for they want to know a quick answer, you know, with, like, with chatGPT, with everything else, they can get those answers fast. So if you’re not there and present and responding in an efficient manner, like, then you’re going to lose them, because there’s going to be another competitor that does have, like, the, you know, the the chat on their website, that they think they can get a quick answer, where they don’t feel comfortable calling on a phone and knowing when you call on the phone, you’re going to have to be a waiting period to talk to someone, and you might not get a human so it’s just everyone has, like, their own ways of connecting, you know, and to get information and to make sure that you are available in those information cycles, rather than just, like, let’s just take them to a form, and then maybe a day later, we’ll have someone follow up with them. So you just want to make sure that you’re present in the moments where they’re ready to make those choices. Christian Klepp  11:44 You know, it’s funny that you mentioned that, because I had this experience yesterday when I was trying to call a client, and then I heard this voice after it rang like, three times, and I thought, okay, it’s going to be the client. And so I started talking, and then I realized, like, oh, this person is not available at the moment, if you leave your name and tell me what this call is about, I can see if this person’s available. I’m like, Oh, okay. AI (Artificial Intelligence), right. So I’d have to, I had to tell, I have to tell the AI, okay, this is my name and this is the reason why I’m calling. And it says, It pauses for two seconds and says, Thank you. I will try to connect you. And then there’s this little like medley playing in the background, and then says, person is not available, please leave a message. I’m like, wow, that was a lot of like, hoops to jump through. Right? Like, Andrea Ness  12:30 yes, exactly. Christian Klepp  12:31 But to your point, right, to your point, it’s a lot of, it’s a lot of like, waiting and, you know, Andrea Ness  12:37 and I would say too, like, even, like, you know, from moving to, you know, making a phone call, knowing that you’re going to get, you know, a customer service level, but then to get a real answer, you might have to ask for a manager and go up to that level. Back in the day, you know, I would, I would tell people, you know, because I have really, you know, experience on the social media side. I’m like, you know, what? If you go straight to the social media inboxes, you’re going to get a quicker, faster response from a different limb, because that’s managed by PR teams and communications channels, and they have to be really, really but what they can respond to like is, you know, going to be at that already a tier two or tier three level. So it really is. Everything’s changing all the time, and you just want to make sure that you know when they’re ready when they ask your question. If you’re not there to answer that question, then someone else is going to answer that question for you. Christian Klepp  13:24 Yeah, yeah, that’s absolutely right. All right. So that was my first question. The second question, which you kind of already brought up, but because teams are dealing with this all the time, and I love that you brought it up, how do you deal with pushback? And when I mean, when I say push back, it’s like, how do you deal with senior management and B2B organizations, of which there are many that are going to look at your media campaign and your outreach campaign and say, Okay, well, Andrea, that’s all nice and good. But like, you know, how do we get to revenue quickly? What’s the ROI on this? Like, we need leads. We don’t need them. We, you know, we don’t need engagement. We don’t need engagement and sharing. We need leads. Like, you know, how do you deal with that kind of pushback, and how do you get them to understand that this takes time. Andrea Ness  14:12 It is, yeah, it really is an educational moment, because our clients are experts at their fields in what they do, you know? And so we really do also want to come in as coming in as a partner, that we also want to showcase our marketing expertise. And like you, do this really well. And while you do you know your job really well. Let us go in and also give you some information agitation of why, why if we go straight to, straight to the call to action, why that you know, is going to be less resonant than if we come in and say, You know what, let’s talk we know they’re going to they start here in the research phase building awareness, and now it’s time to build trust and consideration and answering you know exactly when they’re when they’re in that consideration phase. What are the key points that you need to tell them there, and why you need to message them differently, and why sometimes it’s. Not good to go straight to the call to action, because when they see that, then they’re going to be more likely to be like, you’re bombarding me. I’m not ready for the sales thing. I just want information. So it’s just like, how do we stay safe, top of mind, and especially in that consideration cycle, which is the longest cycle, it really is building trust. So like, how do you also offer information that’s what’s in there for them, not what’s in it for our clients to be like, You know what? You really care about me, and you’re not you’re not like, begging for me to contact you right away, but you’re giving me something, information that’s very like, that I need in the moment, that’s helping with with my job, that’s helping me with doing this stuff. So then when I do need you, you know, maybe like in that cycle period, I’m going to think of you first, because you were there, providing that information and showcasing the expertise, and I saw you at that event, you know. And just like you’re you’re building up those points to build that trust. So when they are ready to receive you in their moment, you know that you’re be one of the ones that they call so it really is trying to really think of that journey, and every journey is different per client, but to really look at, like, here’s the communications channels that are happening, both paid, but also, you know, like, you know, like, on the ground and, you know, organic and everything else. And like, how do we also make sure that we’re moving them along in a way, that they’re ready for it. Christian Klepp  16:24 Yeah, yeah, you’ve laid that out beautifully. That tells me that you’ve dealt with this situation many times before. Andrea Ness  16:29 We do it all the time. And you know, we really want to be stewards of our clients money, so we know, like, you’re going to give us the same amount of money to go into market here, or maybe getting the house in order, getting our messaging like, maybe, how do we resonate? How do we give them information? That’s what’s in it for them. And then we go into market and spend the same amount of money that we would be right away, and the results are just even better, because we’re talking to people that are not just early, but they’re already thinking about you because we made them think about you. Christian Klepp  17:01 Yeah, absolutely. I’ll move us along to the next question about key pitfalls that marketing teams should avoid, and what should they be doing instead? Andrea Ness  17:09 Okay, so there’s going to be, like, a few of them. One of the ones is, sort of, you know, what we what we just mentioned this too, is, like, the going into doing a marketing campaign without that strategic position that you have before you get started. So, you know, wanting to make sure that you have clear market positioning, you have really good messaging frame rooms, frameworks that you know that this is how you should be talking about them here. And sometimes it’s going to be messaging, you know, differently based on different audiences for a whole unique, you know, types of instances, but you’re not just focusing on, Oh, these are these ads. Are really pretty let’s get them out there. But do they resonate? Do they connect? You know, like, are they going to make people stop and look and listen, you know, rather than just pass by because they’re seeing 1000s of other ads as well. So, like, really thinking about that. Another thing is, what we know we talked about before is this, like the over reliance on paid media. You know, we’re treating ads as the primary growth lever, and then that is our answer, no matter what we have, you know, like, what, what the house looks like, what the you know, what the levers that we have are in place, but just so instead what we want to use it as just to amplify the really strong messaging that we all believe in, and we know it’s going to work, and we know we see it, you know, tested and working, and then to be able to get that out there, and then also just, you know, the pitfall number three would be, like, more like measuring only on short term metrics. So, like, we’re only focused on the leads, you know, like, that is our answer, and that’s only what we care about. We’re reporting on where there is so much that gets them through each of those ones. Like, how much engagement, how much audience growth did we have throughout? Where are they at in the funnel, where they were, you know, during the baseline, you know, match it served we saw them, you know. So just really looking at, like, the different ways that we know that they’re in the funnel, they’re listening, they’re understanding, Christian Klepp  19:03 Yeah, no, absolutely, yeah. There we go, man. Like, you know, we’re only focusing on leads. That’s all, that’s all I want to hear. That’s all I want to hear. Andrea Ness  19:11 We know, we know our clients have a bottom line and, you know, and it’s like their jobs on the line, and this is what their focus is on, doing it too. But if we don’t have that upfront cycle, moving that journey, knowing, especially if we know their cycle of, like, 18 months, you know, to get them to the leads, we should be talking, you know, to them a year, you know, to get them through. And then just really focus on, Christian Klepp  19:35 Well, it’s a process too, isn’t it? And I think you brought this up earlier in the conversation, that especially in B2B, we’re looking at a buying committee of anywhere between six to 10 people. This isn’t somebody that makes a decision on impulse, like, you go into a supermarket and oh gosh, like, look at that deal. Let me pull up my credit card. And people on B2B just don’t make decisions that way, right? In fact, I’m. In fact, I think to your earlier point, they do a lot of their own research. They probably talk to industry peers. They look online to see like, what other people are saying, what, or even like what they’re going to find if they do a Google search, or, these days, an AI search, right? And they’re not going to like immediately say, Well, let me get a hold of one of your sales people, and let’s jump on a call. I mean, that’s probably the last thing that they want to do. Andrea Ness  20:25 Yeah, yeah, if they have all those other areas where they can research and how other people are communicating them as well. So yeah, sales people right now are, like, one of the last ones. But we and we know there’s that, like, if they get to a meeting, they’re more likely to diverse if they get to, you know, once they get there, but you got to make sure that they get there. And that’s like, the hardest part is to get them in the room and to talk to them, because we know the sales people are great at what they do a lot of times, you know, like even talking to clients too. Like they forget to even, like to have conversations with their sales people, because they just want over here. But I’m like, sometimes your sales people are like, they know the frequently asked questions. They know what people are dealing with to get to sell. And then if you could take what you’re learning from there, you know, and the questions that they’re asking in other channels that, like, could be part of your messaging and how you answer that you know. And now maybe you need a frequently asked question thing on your website when you know they can get those answers quickly rather than making a phone call because they’re not ready to so Christian Klepp  21:23 That’s it. That’s an FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) page or an FAQ section, right? Or perhaps even multiple FAQ sections, right, depending on how how diverse the portfolio is. Andrea Ness  21:34 Correct. Christian Klepp  21:35 Okay, you talked about this earlier, but I, you know, I’ve, we’ve got to go back to it and unpack it a little bit, because, again, the hint is in the name, like, the foundation is key, right? The foundation is very important. So talk to us about how strong foundational messaging improves performance across every channel. And I think a lot of people underestimate how important that is, Andrea Ness  21:59 yeah, and it really is because, you know, like, you’re probably not a siloed company that does the only thing that and no other people do it. So it really is, not only are your competitors out there and then you’re also, like, having to fight the 1000s of other brands that are talking to the same audiences for different reasons, but really, what, what does make you need you know, like, what you know like, and it’s, it’s a good exercise to do it. But like, based on you know, you and your competitor, what? Why do they sway towards you? Like, how? And then, what are those key messages that you really, really want to put out there that, like, so, so they, so they already know that. But like, really learning, like, what are your needs? What are your key messages for the time? And that can change. So like, based on specific focus parts that you really like your industry really wants a focus part focus on. But like, even if you’re looking at and saying, You know what, this department can really use more revenue right now. So let’s then take this quarter and focus on, like, these, these departments, and that’s going to be our key messages. But now we have to make sure everyone’s talking these teams mess the same ones and not ones that they were talking about six months ago. So it really is like, what are we trying to tell them? What makes us unique, how and now that we have our needs, how are you going to creatively say that in a way that’s going to resonate with people, that will make them stop and look and, you know, spend more time on your site, spend more time on the ad and just, you know, so just in those ways, like, what makes you different? But then also, how are you showing those differences in a creative way that’s trying to make it stand out? Christian Klepp  23:30 And I think that, in itself, is quite the exercise, isn’t it? I mean, like, you know, you could probably speak from experience, because a lot of companies like have this misconception about what their uniqueness actually is. And you know, where I’m going with this, right? Like, they start, they start either defaulting to features or our uniqueness is our people, you know, they start, like, throwing in, like, generic answers like that, right? When, when they actually, like, I won’t say, fail to see it from this perspective. But they, what they sometimes don’t understand is that the uniqueness lies in your ability, in your ability to solve the customer’s problems and challenges. Like, how you know, how are you uniquely equipped to deal with that. Christian Klepp  23:57 And with your audiences. Like, how different maybe your audiences are, and you have a few different groups of audiences, and then when you’re looking at them, you know that, like, maybe key message one and two really hits home here, but not really over here in this audience. So now we need to, like, shift our focus. And for these audiences, we need to really hone in on different ways. We just say this, you know, these key messages, Christian Klepp  23:58 Yep, for sure. Andrea, I hate to do this, but like this is, this is totally gonna sound like marketing one on one. But let’s, let’s clear the air on this, because I know there’s a lot of there’s probably some marketers out there that that are ashamed to admit they don’t know the difference. But just run it past us one more time. The difference between owned, earned and paid media, please. Andrea Ness  23:58 So I like to refer, yeah. So, you know, I back in my last agency, I was over like I was the activation that director, which was overseen, owned and paid, and previous experience and PR too. So what’s nice about me as media director for my agency is I do see that fuller picture, and we are the first. And even though everyone’s just like, why aren’t you taking. Why aren’t you taking clients money, when I’m like, No, if we own media, is like the foundational house. So think of all your communication channels that that you build, so like your website, organic channels would be, you know, also, you know, helping with owned all your communication materials, your sales materials, everything like that, where you’re just like those, those communication materials that are going out in the world and that they’re seeing, that the client owns and and can update and then earn media is like if you work with a communications team internally, or if you work with a PR team, but really trying to get those messages out there. Earn is sort of not free, but, you know, you ask that you pay PR people, but it’s a when you’re you’re really trying to do like press events, or your put press releases out there in hopes that the TV channels and the newspapers and whatnot will pick up your story. You don’t have a full you can’t tell them exactly what to put in the query, but they might pull quotes from your spokesperson. And so you’re going to try to get out in the news media and doing it that way. So it’s sort of like if you have big events, if you have, like, big mergers and acquisitions, you know you want to work with, like getting those out and getting the paid media. Because what people look, the consumers look and you know, and you know, like B2B audiences too. They read the news. They trust the news. And if it comes from there is, you know, like you feel like you’re, you know, like they’re like, Okay, not only do I have trust in this company, but do. I’m breeding to from news outlets that I trust are also validating. And then paid is where, where we come in, where it’s just like, how do we like, make sure we are targeting your audiences and putting it to the right people in paid spaces. Some of our paid media doesn’t look like paid media, so we have a big thing with content marketing, you know, where we are writing articles, we are writing, you know, interviews, and you are showing up on TV and in in those third party areas where what I like about content marketing is, we get to write the full story so you have and it looks and feels like it’s part of the the publishing company. It is approved by, you know, like USA Today, and, you know, those type of networks, but, but you did that full space where you get to write, write it. So, yeah. Christian Klepp  24:34 Yep, yep, that’s right, that’s right. Okay, so you know, in our previous conversation, you mentioned something along the lines of aligning paid campaigns with earned, owned and social media assets, reduces the friction customer journey and increases recall when audiences are ready to convert. I know that was a lot of marketing speak, but please, please elaborate on that.   Andrea Ness  25:01 And it just goes, it goes back to the point is, you know, even though we’re ready to go to a paid campaign, like, what we keep on, like, wanting to make sure that people usually don’t convert on the first ad exposure that they see. So you really, really do want to make sure that there are so many other ways that they can get to that information. Advertising helps. But, you know, like, like, if you look at you know what your journey is, and really, it’s a great exercise, if you don’t have a customer journey, like, laid out on paper and really, and looking at that, not just for paid media channels, but also, you know, like, here’s what we’re doing, foundational, like, that owned media, you know, and then here’s what you know earned media is doing that, they’re really pushing out. And here’s their focus. But like, you know, people can see an ad, and again, they might not be ready to click on an ad for a variety of reasons, but they know, you know what, I’m gonna go Google them later and get back to it when I have time, or in that moment. Because, again, especially if they’re on platform, seeing an ad, you know, they a lot of they don’t want to just hop off to every click available, you know, to them. They want to stay on the platform. So, you know. So they see an ad, they might Google, you know, the company later, you know. And then organically, they’re going to probably get to your homepage. But if the homepage doesn’t have anything to do with what you just told them, you know, then we’re going to lose them, you know. So they’re going to visit website. Then they might go on LinkedIn, and they might read a thought leadership article from, you know, one of the executives. But if they’re also not talking about that, you know, we’re losing them. But if we are, we know if that’s one of our key message points, and that’s a focus of what that thought leadership piece is, because we know we’re going to be including these key messages. Then it resonates, and then it brings them back over to the website. To be like, oh, you know what? I saw that ad, and now I see, you know, the President talking about this. And it does meet, sensing it from a person point of view, you know, so reading thought leadership, they’re checking LinkedIn even, you know, we always have people review their organic channels, like, even, like, is it something that we should be changing your cover photos on that resonates, you know? Is it something where you already have your organic strategy, but we’re having this marketing campaign over here? Can we make sure we integrate, you know, a couple posts a week, also to include, you know, some of the marketing messages to make sure that we’re hitting this audience as well, you know? And then you’re talking to peers. So if you have their sales people on the ground, if you have your executive leadership team visiting things, are they also, like, told, like, you know, here’s some key points that make sure that you’re you’re also including in your conversations, you know, just so like, at the end of the day that they’re like, Okay, you know, if someone says they elevator pitch for your for your company, like it, it’s more resonate if, if you know that they’re hearing it from different angles, it becomes, it becomes your, your pitch. Christian Klepp  30:50 Fantastic. Thanks for clearing the air on that one. Like, because, because, again, you know, these are, these are some terms that I’ve seen people just throw around loosely. And I’m like, I always keep asking myself, like, do you guys actually even know what the difference is, right? And it’s important, Andrea Ness  31:06 Yeah, and a lot of people don’t think to, because, again, they might be different departments of the client, but they might not think to bring people in the room. But if we’re going in a campaign, and it’s best to have, like, everything work together, to even know from from a marketing side of you, what the PR strategy is, because what? What, what we if we know you’re having a big PR event, why not let that, let that sort and then we will start marketing right after, like, building on that momentum and making sure we’re assisting and aligning with that. Christian Klepp  31:33 Yeah, no, that’s it. That’s it. All right, buckle up, because this, this question, is going to be pretty meat. This one’s pretty meaty. All right, so let’s talk about you’ve brought it up already, but like you know something that B2B marketing teams should focus on, such as long lasting assets. And when I say long lasting assets, we’re talking about websites like you said earlier, executive visibility and thought leadership. So two questions here. So why do you think these often outperform short term paid campaigns? And how can marketers leverage these assets to maximize paid media ROI? Andrea Ness  32:11 Yes, so paid media is, you know, we’re not always in market, you know. So, like, you know, we’re either on or we’re off. But what, what’s nice about those, those other assets are that they they can live on. So if you’re looking at SEO, for instance, if you have, you know, long form videos and testimonials available, available on your website, you know those type of things are going to be so much more like, not more important, but like, really important, where then like, what we like to do too, especially if you have, like, your content marketing strategy, or if we see videos that are really, really performing well organically, or, like, how, how can then we repurpose that for ads like, you know, like clips of the testimonial that that we see, but really is you want stuff to live longer, you know? And what one of the things we like to do with content marketing strategies, where we might pay and work with a Direct Publisher like USA today to have that article in, but what’s best is also to repurpose that article and make it live on your website as well, because it will keep on also driving traffic to your website. The SEO is, you know, great, you’re putting your key points in, but USA might, you know, eventually take that off your page where it doesn’t live there anymore, but you just want to make sure that these things live here, and it drives, you know, to those type of assets. So anything that you can think about search, you know, like anything with YouTube and video showing up, it will always show up on Google searches, you know, and everything like that that will be able to live on. Christian Klepp  33:38 It sounds almost like you’re saying, like, try to get more juice out of the squeeze, right? Andrea Ness  33:42 Yeah, yeah. We learned too, yep. So we go, if you have, like, like, let’s say clients have blog pages, you know, one of the first things that we like to look at too, is what blogs are resonating and hitting home. And like, you know, you’ll see, like, there’s some that are just high up there. And then what you want to do is be like, Why is this resonating? Does this focus on the key message we need to it to, what can we then? How can we repurpose that into different assets? So we would take content marketing articles or blogs that we see that are really like, good and we like, you know, what we got to do a video of this, we have to go in and do like, you know, like, take these points and put them in snippets and do an ad campaign based on those. Christian Klepp  34:19 Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely, absolutely, oh boy. We’re, we’re, we’re approaching the love it or hate it territory. And you know what I’m talking about, right? Andrea Ness  34:30 Yeah. Christian Klepp  34:30 Metrics, metrics, metrics, metrics, and we can go down a really, really deep rabbit hole with this one, but let’s keep it like top level, right? But based on everything that we’ve been talking about right in this conversation. What are some of the key metrics that you would say B2B marketing teams, you guys should be paying attention to these. Andrea Ness  34:48 Yes, anything where we can integrate within a CMS (Content Management System) and not just looked at the end goal, but what we’re doing is like, like, what are the metrics of their life, of awareness? You know? What are those? Metrics, and people might just think of impressions, you know, but there’s also many different ways too. It’s just like, if you do a survey, like a baseline survey, prior to going into market and getting the lay of the land, and seeing how people feel about your brand, seeing people of what they know about, like, what you need them to know about, and then you go into market. And then after, like, with an eight to 12 months later, you go and then you re test that same survey, and you see how you move the needle. So then it turns just from measuring impressions, you know, for an awareness, but like, you’re really like, not only do we, you know, we hit them, but they’re also listening and understanding. And here’s the data that proves that. So things like that time on site, knowing that, that they’re reading, that they’re really looking into it, they’re not just a click, you know, and you got the website click Content downloads if they’re really looking at those things that are like, what’s in it for them, not what’s in it for us. And then return visitors, are they coming back? You know? Like, because usually, like, if it’s they’re in consideration phases, they’re not going to make the choice right off the date, but if they return. And then other things that we’re looking for in that is like, like Brand Lift, ad lift is that, if we are making a difference where, like, doing like lift studies, where you put you, you serve the content, and then you see, like, if for people who didn’t see this content, like, are they resonating less or more? And so then you’re really knowing that they’re really the people that are seeing your content, are actually paying attention and listening. So therefore we’re moving so definitely different from just like CTR (Click-Through Rate) and leads, and that felt like, like in every stage, like, what makes them trust you more? What makes them consider you more? How are they like going deeper in those funnels? Christian Klepp  36:48 And it’s very interesting that you didn’t say lead conversion, right? And it’s great how you laid that all out and explained it that look back to what you were saying at the beginning of this conversation, that it’s not just about the lead conversion, especially in such a complex ecosystem, you need to talk about building that trust, getting them a little bit closer to well, understanding what it is you do, and making them ultimately choose you over who else is out there in the market, right? So it’s a there’s, um, there’s so many, like nuances, but also complexities involved in that process. Yeah. Andrea Ness  37:25 And we know that when we hit them with those, when we are ready to hit them with those, now it’s time to take a Nash. And we know if they did those other steps first, that conversion rate is much higher than if we try to just make them convert the first time around, Christian Klepp  37:40 absolutely, absolutely, all right. Andrea, get up on your soapbox for this next one. What is a status quo in your area of expertise that you passionately disagree with and why? Andrea Ness  37:56 I would say the biggest misconception I see is treating paid media as a primary growth engine, rather than the amplifier. I think it goes back to that. I think right when they say, Okay, we got a budget for paid media, let’s go or don’t, see results, you know, rather than looking at it as just like, we know exactly what like we need to say. We just want to we want an outreach to say it. And because once they hear this, and once they know this, and once they trust us, like it’s doing. So like, really looking at that, like paint media is not the solver and the creator of that, but it’s just amplifying that. Christian Klepp  38:30 So, yeah, it’s a component. It’s important, but it’s a component. It’s one component in the overall, in the overall ecosystem, and it’s one piece of the puzzle. I mean, like, you know, throw in whatever metaphors you want, right? Absolutely. Andrea Ness  38:46 Yeah, one of the things you just say, it’s just like paid media, it just, it doesn’t, it’s not going to fix a wheat strategy. It just exposes it faster. You know, it really is, you know, if you don’t have that ready to go, then we’re just promoting that. You don’t have it to everywhere else. Christian Klepp  39:02 Yeah, and that’s putting it bluntly, right? Yeah, it’s, it’s almost like building a house, and you have a, you know, you have a weak foundation, and then you start, like, coming up with these, you know, putting on, on these fancy roof tiles. And then you have all this expensive, like looking like, like window frames and then just all collapses, right? Fantastic. Andrea, thank you so much for coming on. This is such a this was such a great conversation. And thanks for sharing your experience and expertise with the listeners. Quick introduction to yourself and how folks out there can get in touch with you. Andrea Ness  39:40 Yes, Andrea Ness, I am the Media Director over at DDM Marketing and Communications, been doing agency life for a little over 25 years. What’s the best part that I feel like I’m strong in is because I pretty much like touched every every department of the agency. So you know, from the creative side. To the account side, you know, over to the, you know, public relations and whatnot. So I really do get that full funnel approach. So, you know, it is a little bit different than other like, maybe media directors out there. We’re just like, we will take your money, let us, like, go and show you some conversions. But it really is like, we want to make sure that we are stewards of of your dollars, and we want to make sure that what we put out there is going to be successful. So, you know, so really focusing on that overall integrated strategy, DDM offers all the components that, you know, one of the reasons why I strongly wanted to work with DDM for for quite a while, is because we are a big team. We have all the departments, and we are able to just, you know, be able to shoot the ideas out there. But when we’re in, when media is in the room too, we are. We would be the first one to be like, You know what? Let’s focus on building that house first, and then come to us in a little bit when you guys had it ready. And then we’ll, we’ll push media. So, yeah, Christian Klepp  40:51 absolutely, absolutely, a true renaissance woman in every, every regard. But once again. Andrea, thank you so much for coming on the show. Take care, stay safe and talk to you soon. Andrea Ness  41:03 All right. Thank you. Christian Klepp  41:04 Bye for now.

In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Lacie Thompson, an experienced agency leader, affiliate and partner marketing expert, and former operator at brands like Expedia and Blue Nile. After successfully scaling and exiting her agency, Lacie is now building Media Pack—an AI-powered platform designed to modernize and streamline how brands buy media.The conversation explores Lacie's journey across brand-side, agency, and startup environments, highlighting how real-world frustrations led her to build solutions rooted in efficiency and transparency. From the broken workflows of flat-fee media buying to the lack of standardization across the industry, she unpacks the core problems that still slow teams down—and how AI is now making it possible to rethink the entire system.Beyond product and tech, the episode dives into the mindset behind building and scaling—from making decisions beyond data, to taking risks before feeling “ready,” to focusing on what truly creates differentiation. It's a grounded and insightful look at what it takes to build in today's AI-driven landscape while staying anchored in real customer needs.

Jenny Bristow, CEO & Founder of Hedy & Hopp, is joined by Miranda Ochsner, Director of Paid Media to discuss the evolving landscape of YouTube as a critical platform for healthcare paid media. They highlight YouTube's significant reach and unique advantages compared to other streaming and social platforms. With over 75% of the US population consuming YouTube content, it is the most-watched streaming platform on TV (surpassing even Netflix!) — making it a powerful platform for healthcare marketers.Episode NotesStrategic Advantages for Healthcare MarketersPatient Education & Discovery: Patients often use YouTube to research symptoms and self-diagnose before consulting a professional. Video content helps simplify complex medical topics and introduces expertise earlier in the patient journey.Targeting and Measurement: The platform combines the broad reach of traditional TV with the granular targeting and measurement capabilities of digital media. Content Versatility: YouTube can effectively host various video formats, including repurposed Facebook ads or traditional 30-second TV spots.Retargeting Capabilities: YouTube allows for "in-platform" retargeting that enables healthcare marketers to deliver content, such as a multi-part educational series, to the target audience. Paid and Organic Synergy: Paid media on YouTube can expand an organization's reach to new audiences, while organic content builds long-term engagement.Connect with Jenny:Email: jenny@hedyandhopp.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennybristow/Connect with Miranda:Email: miranda.ochsner@hedyandhopp.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirandamochsner/ If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love to hear your feedback! Please consider leaving us a review on your preferred listening platform and sharing it with others.

How do you convince 400+ employees in a global financial technology firm to become active brand advocates on LinkedIn?In this episode, we are joined by Lauren Harbury, Head of Social and Paid Media at Broadridge. With over a decade of experience at Fortune 500 brands like Wells Fargo, Lauren is a master at navigating the complexities of social strategy within highly regulated environments.Lauren breaks down the exact tactics used to scale Broadridge's employee advocacy program in a highly regulated environment, proving that success comes from meeting people where they are. You'll hear how President Chris Perry's active use of LinkedIn became a shining beacon for the entire organization, setting the tone from the top and even sparking a friendly competitive spirit via the company leaderboard. Lauren shares how her team built trust with compliance by positioning advocacy as a controlled, supported framework rather than a risk, and by implementing a three-fold enablement strategy: company-wide onboarding, targeted team training, and responsive ad hoc support. The episode explores the transition from a “glitchy” legacy tool to a high-impact platform, how to turn salespeople into your most active advocates by directly connecting posts to client conversations and closed deals, and why organic company pages are increasingly losing reach to individual employee profiles.Whether you're launching in a regulated sector or trying to reignite a stagnant program, this episode gives you the data-backed ammunition to prove ROI, win internal buy-in, and scale advocacy from social activity to measurable business impact.Resources:Want to know how your employee advocacy strategy really stacks up? Grab your FREE Employee Advocacy Health Check and see how you compare against your competitors.Book a call to discover how employee advocacy can benefit your team.Ready to elevate your employee advocacy? Get a free copy of Bradley Keenan's essential book, ‘Employee Advocacy: 101 Cheat Codes' for deeper insights and actionable strategies.​Download the 2026 Employee Advocacy Benchmark Report.Subscribe to The Employee Advocacy & Influence Podcast for more expert insights into employee influence!

If you are treating programmatic like paid search, you are likely measuring it wrong and leaving growth on the table. In this episode, Evan, Cardinal's VP of Paid Media, and Lisa Fisher, Cardinal's Associate Media Director specializing in programmatic, break down what healthcare marketers actually need to understand about programmatic today. They unpack when it works, when it does not, and how to approach it without wasting budget. With deep experience managing multi-channel media strategies for healthcare brands, they share what separates inflated impression reports from real incremental growth. You will learn: • When to use programmatic after search hits saturation • How to measure success beyond last click attribution • What HIPAA, pixels, and BAAs mean for your strategy • How upper funnel investment lowers incremental CPA If you want a smarter, more scalable approach to patient acquisition beyond search, this is the episode to queue up next. RELATED RESOURCES The Search Plateau Problem: Why Healthcare Providers Need Incrementality Testing - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-incrementality-testing/ When & How to Expand Your Healthcare Media Mix - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/expanding-channel-media-mix-strategy/ Privacy First: Marketing Technologies That Prioritize HIPAA Compliance  - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/hipaa-compliant-martech/ How to Reach Niche Audiences with 3P Data  - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/reach-niche-audiences-3p-data/

DTC and eCommerce brands are facing rising ad costs, climbing CAC, and tighter margins in 2026. If your growth strategy still depends on cheaper paid media, it is time to adjust.In this episode of Bottom Line, Cody sits down with Chris Hall, founder of Ecomm Cowboy and former Shopify operator, to break down the new DTC operating system for profitable growth.He shares three strategic shifts brands must make as paid media gets more expensive:• Generate more organic and low cost traffic• Increase LTV through smarter product development• Cut overhead and operate leanIf you run a Shopify brand or lead an eCommerce marketing team, this episode is a practical blueprint for navigating rising ad costs and building sustainable growth.Subscribe for more conversations on DTC strategy, eCommerce marketing, paid media, and LTV optimization.

Kyle White is the CEO & Founder of Refinery, an AI-powered affiliate technology solution. He brings a rare blend of experience across affiliate management (Overstock, Uber), product development, and data-driven experimentation. He previously built tools at Impact, led global affiliate/ambassador programs at Uber, and now focuses on making affiliate programs smarter, more automated, and more profitable using AI.In this conversation, Kyle breaks down how AI is transforming affiliate marketing, how brands can adopt product‑led growth principles, and why relevancy—not payouts—is the strongest signal in partner matchmaking. He shares lessons from scaling Uber's Ambassador Program from a 7% to an 80% activation rate, what most brands get wrong about affiliate recruitment, and how to design tests that actually produce meaningful insights.The episode also covers trends shaping the future: the threat of AI search bypassing the affiliate channel, the rise of pay‑per‑performance TV & audio partners, and why the next era will require filtering through more noise to find true value. Kyle also shares personal stories—building a company with a newborn, being featured in South Park, speaking Russian from missionary service in the Baltics, and his love of film photography.

In this episode, I sit down with Doug Bell — Fractional CMO, former leader at Automation Anywhere, LeanData, and Searchmetrics, top‑40 Substack writer, and co-host of Cannonball GTM — to unpack why modern go‑to‑market playbooks are breaking… and what the next generation of GTM looks like in an AI‑driven world.We go deep into the new patterns shaping high‑growth companies — and the uncomfortable truths most teams don't want to face.

Join host Molly Baker for a thoughtful conversation exploring the evolving realities of paid media in a performance-driven world. From the rise of converged media to the tension between brand and performance, this episode unpacks what it really takes to drive meaningful growth today. Our guest shares insights on incrementally, forward-looking measurement, and why transparency matters more than ever in modern media partnerships. Whether you are refining your media strategy, navigating tighter budgets, or rethinking how brand and performance work together, this conversation delivers clear, practical insight for what's next in paid media.

In dieser Episode ist SEO-Legende Andre Alpar zu Gast, um über den nächsten großen Paradigmenwechsel im Marketing zu sprechen: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). AI-Systeme wie ChatGPT und Googles AI Overviews verändern radikal, wie Konsumenten recherchieren und Kaufentscheidungen treffen. Andre erklärt, wie Marken in KI-Antworten als "Citation" oder "Mention" sichtbar bleiben, warum klassische SEO-Tricks und Performance-Metriken hier nicht mehr greifen und wie man den Erfolg künftig messbar macht. Außerdem wird es hitzig: Erik und Andre wetten um eine Kiste Dom Pérignon, ob es in der KI-Suche in zwei Jahren überhaupt noch organische Ergebnisse für Kaufentscheidungen geben wird! Der Marketing Transformation Podcast wird produziert von TLDR Studios.

This episode explores the future of search and digital discoverability with an experienced SEO executive and growth advisor who has worked with high-growth marketplaces and SaaS companies. The conversation unpacks how the mechanics of online discovery are being reshaped by AI, shifting user behavior, and the declining reliability of traditional traffic channels. Together, we examine why visibility is no longer just a marketing function but a product and experience challenge — where trust, intent, and usefulness determine whether users discover and choose a product. The discussion also covers how teams should rethink SEO from a tactical ranking exercise into a strategic growth capability, what durable acquisition looks like today, and how organizations can adapt their playbooks to stay relevant as search continues to evolve.

"I kinda told myself I need to take a step back from e-commerce. When I took a step back, e-commerce said no and put me back in."Amer Grozdanic burned out running paid media for brands. The results were good — but never good enough. So he walked away, rebuilt his agency around what he could actually control, and landed clients like MVMT Watches and Billie Eilish without spending a dollar on ads. Today, Praella works with brands up to $400M in revenue, and Amer's seen the same blind spots in almost every store.We dig into the Shopify features most merchants ignore (B2B, Markets, Flows, Collective), why BattlBox's Whatnot channel converts 10X better than TikTok Shop, and the one question you should ask any agency before signing a retainer.SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurtCleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.comZipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURTLINKSWatch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/J3QTUEVulFcPraella: praella.comAmer on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amergrozdanicWhatnot: whatnot.comBattlBox: battlbox.comShoplift (A/B testing): shoplift.comIntelligems (A/B testing): intelligems.ioShopify Collective: shopify.com/collectiveShopify B2B: shopify.com/plus/b2bShopify Flow: shopify.com/flowWORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/applySee Our Resultsethercycle.com/workFree Newsletterkurtelster.comThe Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

Wade Tonkin is the Director of Global Affiliate Marketing at Fanatics, Inc., where he oversees one of the largest and most complex affiliate programs in the world. With over 20 years of experience in performance marketing, he has played a key role in shaping Fanatics' global partner ecosystem, driving growth through content creators, media publishers, loyalty partners, and innovative performance channels.This episode dives deep into the evolution of affiliate marketing at massive scale. The conversation spans growth levers beyond the traditional affiliate playbook—ranging from content partnerships, media integrations, sports‑driven real‑time demand, coupon ecosystem shifts, loyalty dynamics, influencer performance trends, incrementality measurement, BNPL behavioral changes, AI's emerging role in affiliate operations, transparency challenges with subnetworks, and experiments in compensation modeling. It also includes personal touches: international travel, hiking adventures, and the guest's surprising hobby as a certified bourbon steward.

In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange is joined by Cormac Jonas, CEO and Founder of The Jonas Agency, for a deep dive into what's actually broken in modern performance marketing. With years of experience across affiliate, paid media, and creator-led growth, Cormac brings a sharp perspective on why so many brands are optimizing campaigns while ignoring the bigger problem: flawed measurement.The conversation unpacks how misattribution, last-click bias, and platform incentives distort ROI, using the recent Honey browser extension controversy as a real-world example of how value gets misassigned across channels. They explore why TikTok and YouTube reshaped high-intent demand, how AI, CTV, and programmatic traffic are inflating “performance” metrics, and why owning an audience now matters more than owning traffic. This episode is a candid look at where affiliate and performance marketing are heading — and what brands need to fix before scaling spend.

In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Guillaume Cabane, Founder of HyperGrowth Partners and one of the earliest leaders to shape modern B2B SaaS growth.Guillaume breaks down why most companies struggle to scale—not because they lack tools or talent, but because they're unwilling to embrace the speed, risk, and failure real growth requires. The conversation unpacks what actually defines a growth team, why experimentation must move faster than polish, and how founders often sabotage growth by demanding results without accepting uncertainty.They also explore where AI is genuinely creating leverage in B2B today, why SDRs haven't been fully replaced, and how trust, culture, and incentives shape whether growth teams succeed or stall.This episode is a practical, no-fluff look at what it really takes to build growth systems that scale in B2B SaaS.

Richard McGirr breaks down a detailed case study of a sponsored Best Ever webinar and how paid media can be used to responsibly scale capital raising. He explains why cold traffic struggles in high-trust investments, how sponsored webinars function as “rented” warm audiences, and why education-first positioning is critical when asking for six-figure commitments. Richard walks through the structure of the webinar, why capital protection and income resonated with investors, and how private real estate credit compares to equity in volatile markets. He also outlines his post-webinar follow-up systems, including rapid sales SLAs, email drips, and how long-tail conversions ultimately drive ROI from paid placements. Visit ⁠www.tribevestisc.com⁠ for more info. Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to quo.com/BESTEVER  Join us at Best Ever Conference 2026! Find more info at: https://www.besteverconference.com/  Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It's free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠www.bestevercommunity.com⁠⁠ Podcast production done by⁠ ⁠Outlier Audio⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Always Be Testing, Tye DeGrange sits down with Ziggy Kopetti, a veteran affiliate marketing operator and platform founder who has spent years working inside the mechanics of performance marketing—from attribution and partner incentives to how networks and platforms actually make money.The conversation explores how affiliate programs really scale, where brands commonly misjudge incentives, and why many performance issues are self-inflicted by poor structure rather than bad partners. Ziggy breaks down the economic realities behind affiliate platforms, how creators and publishers think about risk and reward, and why transparency and alignment matter more than tooling alone. The episode also touches on where affiliate marketing is headed, what brands misunderstand about creator partnerships, and how short-term optimization often creates long-term trust problems.

In this emergency episode of Always Be Testing, I'm joined by Ben Edelman—an economist, lawyer, and one of the most respected affiliate fraud investigators in the industry. Ben has spent over two decades uncovering adware abuse, browser extension misconduct, and attribution fraud, working with merchants, networks, and publishers to protect the integrity of affiliate marketing.We break down what actually happened with the Honey browser extension, why multiple affiliate networks removed it, and why this case is fundamentally different from past controversies. Ben explains how affiliate attribution is supposed to work, how “stand down” rules came to exist, and how Honey allegedly bypassed those rules by intentionally concealing violations from testers and networks. We also discuss the real impact on content publishers, review sites, and the broader ecosystem—and why concealment, not just rule-breaking, changes the legal and ethical stakes. This episode is a deep, technical, but essential conversation for anyone who cares about transparency, trust, and accountability in partner marketing.

How To Build Trust FAST With Content This one hit different… Fonzi came in hot with a question that had my brain on fire: How fast can we build trust with content? At first, I thought I had the answer. But wait ‘til you hear where this convo went… We broke down something we see ALL the time: people chasing views... but losing trust. We asked stuff like: What's content really supposed to do? Why are some videos getting tons of views but zero results for their businesses? And can a stranger trust you just from ONE piece of content? You might think it's all about going viral... But there's something way more powerful happening under the surface. We're sharing behind-the-scenes stuff we've never talked about before, like how we helped a creator with 20 million downloads and some things we implemented with their team to move the needle forward… fast! Don't miss this. It might change how you create content forever. P.S. Want help with your content strategy for 2026? Go to www.bizbros.co/monetize and let's plan it together. Chapters: 00:00 - Intro: Fonzie Takes Over the Episode 00:43 - Raw and Fresh Thoughts Incoming 02:00 - What Is the Role of Content? 03:15 - The 6 Levers of Content Creation 04:30 - Views vs. Trust: What's the Goal? 05:24 - Your Content Should Answer Questions 06:08 - The Frictionless Sale 07:04 - When Viral Content Backfires 08:01 - Why Going Viral Isn't Always Good 09:04 - Building Trust with High-Level Clients 10:09 - How Buyers Use Your Content to Decide 11:13 - What Does “Trust” Really Mean? 11:46 - Your Funnel Is a Trust Journey 13:15 - How Fast Can You Build Trust? 13:38 - Certainty + Clarity = Trust 14:40 - Speaking to Problems, Pains, and Desires 15:26 - The Creator Who Built Trust Instantly 16:25 - What Built Instant Trust? 17:28 - Frequency + the Right Message 18:29 - Shifting Beliefs Through Messaging 19:19 - Paid Media vs. Organic Distribution 20:14 - Controlling the Journey With Paid Ads 21:31 - What Organic Creators Do Well 22:33 - Start Conversations to Build Trust 23:30 - How to Control the Trust Funnel Organically 24:02 - Quality Messaging > Fancy Production 25:02 - Why You Don't Need a Big Audience 26:11 - Events Are Still a Superpower 27:02 - What Happens Inside the One-on-One Challenge 28:00 - Stop Chasing Templates—Learn the Principles 29:13 - Who the Challenge Is Best For 30:26 - Final Thoughts + Join Us at PodFest

Send us a textWhat if every dollar spent on ads could be traced to a signed contract, a booked meeting, or a new client? The disconnect between ad spend and revenue isn't a mystery businesses have to live with. This problem, the attribution gap, can be solved through methodical thinking, technical capability, and a willingness to build the infrastructure that connects marketing activities to real business outcomes. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on two concrete case studies using two real companies who faced the maddening reality: their CRM systems and ad platforms weren't talking to each other. Tune in to see how Optidge built the data bridges that transformed guesswork to strategic growth and implemented deliberate optimization tactics across their ad campaigns to drive further success.  An Optidge "Office Hours" Episode:Our Office Hours episodes are your go-to for details, how-to's, and advice on specific marketing topics. Join our fellow Optidge team members, partners, and sometimes even 1:1 teachings from Danny himself, in these shorter, marketing-focused episodes. Get ready to get marketing!Episode Highlights: Marketing attribution requires connecting ad platforms to revenue data, not just lead counts.Building a feedback loop between CRM and advertising platforms transforms how you optimize campaigns.Data silos prevent businesses from understanding which marketing efforts drive actual revenue.Custom attribution pipelines can reveal sales cycles, funnel speed, and high-value customer sources.Fragmented tech stacks create blind spots that make it impossible to track leads to final conversions.Episode Links: OptidgeOptidge Services: Hubspot for Paid MediaPaid Search Association Webinar: Hubspot and Google Ads - Everything You Wanted to KnowThe DM Mentor on InstagramFollow The Digital Marketing Mentor: Website and Blog: thedmmentor.com Instagram: @thedmmentor Linkedin: @thedmmentor YouTube: @thedmmentor Interested in Digital Marketing Services, Careers, or Courses? Check out more from the TDMM Family: Optidge.com - Full Service Digital Marketing Agency specializing in SEO, PPC, Paid Social, and Lead Generation efforts for established B2C and B2B businesses and organizations. ODEOacademy.com - Digital Marketing online education and course platform. ODEO gives you solid digital marketing knowledge to launch/boost your career or understand your business's digital marketing strategy.

Natalia Chappell is the founder of Natalia Chappell & Co, a UK-based consultancy helping luxury and lifestyle brands scale sustainably. Previously, she led marketing for THG's luxury division, working with brands like Coach and Ralph Lauren across price points from hundreds to thousands of pounds.In this episode of DTC Pod, Natalia breaks down what it really takes for US brands to win in the UK—and why so many get it wrong. She shares the full-funnel mistakes she sees premium brands make over and over, why some household US names thrived in Britain while others quietly retreated, and what's actually driving results on Meta right now. She also gets into how to connect with younger consumers who think differently about spending, and why the old playbook of polished content isn't cutting it anymore. Plus, her journey from corporate marketing leader to female founder, and what she wishes more people understood about building a business as a woman.Episode brought to you by StordInteract with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:1. Lessons from high-growth UK e-commerce brands 2. Creating sustainable, holistic marketing strategies3. Using data and analytics to drive channel mix decisions4. Optimizing for paid and organic synergy5. Landing page and website audit best practices6. UGC, influencer, and creator partnership frameworks7. Onboarding and managing creators for conversion and brand fit8. Navigating UK logistics, customs, and local expectations9. How to adapt brand voice and content for UK consumer10. UK cultural moments and how to plan campaigns around them11. Success stories (Drunk Elephant, Ralph Lauren, Coach) and why some US brands flop12. Digital-first approaches to brand building13. Upcoming trends—partnership ads, authentic content, and Gen Z consumers14. Supporting and growing as a female founder in e-commerceTimestamps00:00 Introduction to DTC POD and episode with Natalia Chappell01:18 Natalia's background: fashion, digital marketing, luxury brand experience03:26 Lessons learned building luxury and beauty e-commerce teams05:16 Becoming a female founder and launching Natalia Chappell & Co07:22 The type and scale of brands Natalia's agency works with09:07 Optimizing paid-to-organic mix for sustainable growth12:12 Data, analytics, and the importance of first-party data integrity13:33 Why understanding inventory and offer depth matters before scaling ads16:26 Building a marketing flywheel that feeds itself18:50 Audience segmentation, CRM, and conversion optimization20:08 Attribution modeling and keeping data integrations clean22:29 Organic growth: auditing website, SEO, landing pages, and reviews24:03 Content strategy: authentic UGC, influencers, and the UK market26:58 Equipping creators for conversion, not just reach29:25 Structuring affiliate and creator programs, commissioning vs. flat fees33:01 Logistics: Warehousing, customs, and UK delivery expectations36:54 Adapting voice, copy, and calendar to resonate in the UK38:34 Brand case studies: Drunk Elephant, Coach, Ralph Lauren41:09 Why some US brands struggle in the UK (Forever 21, etc.)44:21 Trends to watch: partnership ads, content authenticity, Gen Z targeting47:25 Where to find and connect with Natalia ChappellShow notes powered by CastmagicPast guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  Additional episodes you might like:• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands-----Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?Check out our newsletter here.Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for ContentFollow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTokNatalia Chappell - Founder of Natalia Chappell & Co.Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

In this episode, I get the chance to sit down with Jen Goodwin, a powerhouse with 17 years of experience driving growth across e-commerce and affiliate marketing. Jen has helped scale some of the biggest brands in the space and played a major role in two successful exits — the acquisition of Coupons.com (Quotient) and Honey's $4B sale to PayPal.She's worked at every level of an organization, mentoring new talent, partnering with the C-suite, and leading teams through transformation and growth. Today, she co-leads Hi Energy Agency, where she helps publishers scale faster through smarter affiliate partnerships and more efficient monetization strategies across major networks.Our conversation digs into what real leadership looks like inside high-growth environments — the tough decisions, the clarity required, the importance of operational discipline, and the mindset shifts that separate good teams from great ones. Jen brings a level of honesty and practical insight that operators will immediately recognize and appreciate.

In this episode of Always Be Testing, I sit down with Howard Schaffer — a 25-year performance marketing leader, former CMO and VP across major wellness, fitness, and tech brands, and now the founder of HOS Performance — for a deep dive into what really holds companies back from scaling. Howard and I unpack why so many teams are still operating on shaky data foundations, from broken UTM structures to inaccurate attribution and reporting gaps, and he shares the exact diagnostic framework he uses when he steps into an organization. We talk about what every new CMO should evaluate in their first 30–60 days, how to assess channel performance without bias, and why disciplined tracking and clean measurement matter far more than adding another fancy analytics tool. We also get into AI's growing role in competitive research and creative iteration, how SEO is evolving, and why creator-led partnerships are becoming more valuable than traditional influencer deals. This conversation is full of practical insights for CMOs, performance marketers, analysts, and founders who want to understand what's slowing down their growth — and how to fix it.

Nicole Dunger, Vice President of Growth, and Ryan Davis, CEO of People First, highlight the value of integrating influencer content into paid media strategies, a practice becoming more common in the political and advocacy space. The use of micro-influencers is key for state and local races, and the paid amplification can promote authentic voices to hard-to-reach voters. Campaigns are planning their influencer strategies earlier in the campaign cycle and effectively using creator content to inform messaging to a broader audience. We talk about: The common practice of commercial brands to use creator content in paid advertising Why micro-influencers with 5,000-50,000 followers are the sweet spot for congressional races Measuring ROI from influencer campaigns Learning to cede creative control to influencers, trusting them to know how best to communicate to their followers  #PeopleFirst #Influencers #InfluencerCampaigns #InfluencerMarketing #PoliticalCampaigns #DigitalCampaigns #VoterOutreach #Election2026  peoplefirst.cc

We talk about our success with IFCA a lot but if you've been around awhile, you'll remember we started with a fitness coaching company called T4E systems. We do the exact same playbook for both companies and it's simple, repeatable, and hasn't burnt us out. I'll share how we were able to take T4E to 150k a month, sell it, and how we are doing the same thing with IFCA hitting 8 million a year for the past 3 years.   Time Stamps:   (0:40) Scaling and Selling T4E Systems (2:12) Please Subscribe and Review (2:45) When We Started T4E Systems (5:04) Easy To Sell, Hard To Fulfill (6:10) The 3 Offer Structure (8:20) The Marketing System (11:04) Paid Media (12:08) Zoom Webinar's ----------

In this raw and revealing episode of PPC Live the podcast, Dale Olorenshaw, Head of Paid Media at StrategiQ, shares a mistake that cost £15,000 and taught him the most valuable lesson of his 15+ year career.Takeaways:In this raw and revealing episode of PPC Live the podcast, Dale Olorenshaw, Head of Paid Media at Strategic IQ, shares a mistake that cost £15,000 and taught him the most valuable lesson of his 15+ year career.Chapters:00:00 Introduction & Meet Dale Olorenshaw02:06 Setting the Stage05:25 The £15,000 Mistake Revealed09:00 The Dreaded Client Email11:39 Immediate Response & Team Support13:43 Rebuilding Trust with the Client15:48 The Growth Team's Role17:11 Crisis Management Advice19:20 Lessons Learned & Changes Made22:04 Key Takeaways from the Story23:13 Common Mistakes Dale Still Sees25:30 SMB-Specific Advice27:47 Why Talking About Mistakes Matters29:31 Building a Mistake-Tolerant Culture31:41 PPC Career as a Movie33:53 Where to Find Dale & Closing35:15 Outro & AnnouncementsFollow Dale Olorenshaw on LinkedInPPC Live The Podcast (formerly PPCChat Roundup) features weekly conversations with paid search experts sharing their experiences, challenges, and triumphs in the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.Upcoming: PPC Live event, February 5th, 2026 at StrategiQ's London offices (where Dragon's Den was filmed!) featuring Google Ads script master Nils Rooijmans.Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠

In this episode, we sit down with Scott Ginsberg — VP of Performance Marketing at Penske Media, the powerhouse behind brands like Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, and Robb Report. With two decades in affiliate and performance marketing (including leadership roles at BrandCycle, CJ, and Yahoo), Scott breaks down how the industry evolved from “coupons and last-click” into one of the most strategic levers in modern growth.We explore how top publishers balance editorial integrity with monetization, the rise of content-commerce, how AI is reshaping traffic and attribution, why brand-publisher relationships win long-term, and the underrated leadership principles that drive great teams.This episode is a masterclass for marketers, operators, and leaders navigating a shifting ecosystem.

The paid search strategies that worked in 2024 are already obsolete. In 2026, your 2025 strategy will no longer work either.Tight keyword segmentation and manual bid management are actively harming performance, whilst AI-driven approaches and first-party data have become the critical differentiators between campaigns that flatline and those that scale.Rebecca Pilkington, our Head of Paid Media, reveals the award-winning strategies that took Aged Care Bathrooms to a £2.4 million run rate in nine months and generated 11,000 leads for DSLD Mortgage in year one — campaigns that earned Exposure Ninja three Global Search Awards in 2025.In this episode, you'll discover:Why first-party data is now your most valuable assetWhen AI features work brilliantly (and when they tank campaigns)How to test AI without destroying core performanceWhy over-segmentation is killing your reachThe multi-channel approach that actually drives results in 2026If you're planning your paid search strategy for 2026, this episode provides your complete roadmap backed by real campaign data.Get the show notes:https://exposureninja.com/podcast/paid-search-strategy-2026/

AI is not just accelerating paid media—it's redefining it. From automating campaign creation to predicting budget allocations and dynamically personalizing creative, AI is forcing media teams to rethink how they build, launch, and measure success. But with so many tools promising “optimization,” what actually delivers? And where does human strategy still matter most?  In this episode we'll tackle the biggest questions marketing teams are asking:  How should we be using AI in paid media today? What metrics actually matter in an AI-augmented landscape? And how do we maintain control, clarity, and creativity when machines are making more decisions?

Zeke Bronfman is the co-founder and CEO of The Absorption Company, a brand pioneering highly bioavailable supplements engineered for optimal nutrient absorption. With a background in health and wellness entrepreneurship—including a previous successful beverage exit—Zeke leads a team on a mission to address a major gap in supplement efficacy by focusing on real, measurable impact for consumers.In this episode of DTC Pod, Zeke details the journey of building The Absorption Company from inception to rapid retail success in outlets like Erewhon. He talks about the science behind absorption, launching with a powerful community-driven strategy, and the importance of brand-led product innovation. Zeke also offers practical advice on supply chain management, leveraging celebrity co-founders, and lessons learned about optimizing e-commerce for long-term growth.Episode brought to you by StordInteract with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:1. The founding story of The Absorption Company2. Why most supplements fail—and how absorption is the next frontier3. Creating a viral pre-launch private Instagram community4. Setting a brand apart with science-backed, lifestyle-driven design5. Early product development and MVP lessons6. Direct-to-consumer subscription as a growth engine7. Amazon, TikTok Shop, and the online channel mix8. The strategic approach to selective retail partnerships9. Managing the supply chain: co-packers, fulfillment, and scaling ops10. How to keep operations simple, resilient, and cost-effective11. Lessons in traffic acquisition: organic, paid, and influencer mix12. Celebrity founder advantages, limits, and effective deployment13. Funding, initial capital requirements, and brand investment14. Biggest founder learnings and operational takeaways15. What's ahead: innovation pipeline and future growthTimestamps00:00 Intro to Zeke Bronfman and The Absorption Company02:44 The absorption problem in supplements04:40 Why bioavailability is the future of wellness supplements06:11 Bringing the brand to life: Team, tech, and community-building07:47 The private Instagram launch strategy and viral pre-sale09:27 The power of exclusivity and early consumer engagement11:12 Product MVP and standout branding decisions13:26 Early sales strategy: DTC, Amazon, retail mix15:04 Why big-box retail isn't always the right move17:57 Scaling DTC: Subscription, platform choices, and LTV19:04 Driving traffic: Paid, organic, influencer, and celebrity co-founder impact20:38 TikTok Shop: Affiliate, Live, and what works (and doesn't)22:36 Capital, startup costs, and launching with impact25:32 Building a scalable supply chain and minimizing complexity27:25 Fulfillment operations and splitting inventory29:00 Entering boutique/strategic retail as a marketing lever30:52 Biggest learnings and missteps scaling Absorption Company33:13 Lessons using celebrity/influencer as a brand amplifier36:10 What's next: Upcoming innovations and business growth36:50 Where to follow Absorption CompanyShow notes powered by CastmagicPast guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  Additional episodes you might like:• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands-----Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?Check out our newsletter here.Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for ContentFollow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTokEzekiel Bronfman - Co-Founder and CEO of The Absorption CompanyBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

Finally, some insights brand builders and performance marketers can agree on.We gathered CAOs in finance, food, jobs, and boots to share everything they've learned as they've scaled podcasting to enviable levels–and whether you're brand or performance, you'll benefit from their wealth of experienceOn The Media Roundtable, we have one of our favorite conversations from the 2025 CAO Summit. Conor Doyle (President, Oxford Road) moderated ”No More Maybes: Scaling Podcast Performance with Precision,” where he gathered some of the sharpest CAOs who have scaled podcasts and agreed to share their secrets. Conor sat down with:• Gladwell Mwangi (Director of Paid Media, Whole Foods)• Kezia Koo (Former Sr. Director, Global Growth & Performance Marketing, Indeed),• Megan Smith (Director, Media Strategy, Tecovas), and• Nick Fairbairn (Vice President, Growth Marketing, Chime)These audio evangelists candidly shared how they grew podcasts with confidence and their hard-won lessons from the journey.They're talking: Measurement Quality, Podcasts Play Nice, Thoughtful Success, and more. Let's dig in.“ Every single time we ratchet up the quality of our measurement, it's telling us time and time again, that podcast is efficient, it's driving revenue and bringing customers in.”– Kezia Koo (Former Sr. Director, Global Growth & Performance Marketing, Indeed)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Send us a textBefore he was building ad campaigns, Jack Hepp was building houses. Now he runs Industrious Marketing, helping local businesses grow through hands-on paid media advertising strategy. In this episode, Jack shares how getting fired early shaped his marketing career, discusses the mentors who sharpened his skills, and why clear pricing and clean strategy always win over smoke and mirrors, specifically in regard to local businesses and Google Local Services ads (LSAs). Episode Highlights: Jack Hepp's background in construction and mentorship shaped his approach to marketing, emphasizing responsibility, adaptability, and long-term thinking in paid media strategies.  He advocates for a “listen first” approach in client interactions, and stresses the importance of honest, constructive feedback. Jack discusses the value of Local Service Ads (LSAs) for certain industries, but warns they should be complemented with traditional campaigns for consistent lead generation. He prefers transparent, tiered pricing models based on ad spend, and emphasizes that clear scope, reporting, and communication are essential for building trust and setting expectations with clients. Episode Links: Jack Hepp on LinkedInIndustrious MarketingFollow The Digital Marketing Mentor: Website and Blog: thedmmentor.com Instagram: @thedmmentor Linkedin: @thedmmentor YouTube: @thedmmentor Interested in Digital Marketing Services, Careers, or Courses? Check out more from the TDMM Family: Optidge.com - Full Service Digital Marketing Agency specializing in SEO, PPC, Paid Social, and Lead Generation efforts for established B2C and B2B businesses and organizations. ODEOacademy.com - Digital Marketing online education and course platform. ODEO gives you solid digital marketing knowledge to launch/boost your career or understand your business's digital marketing strategy.

Eddie Yoon, Sr Director, Paid Media at NP Digital, shows how CMOs can spin up a full creative campaign in ~30 minutes using AI. He breaks down a rapid “three-tab” workflow—Meta Ad Library for competitive research, GPT for strategy and prompts, and an image generator (Reeve) for instant mood boards—then extends it into testing (Trial Reels, TikTok hooks), product R&D, and agentic pipelines. We also riff on why the next decade could normalize solo billionaire founders, how Netflix foreshadowed AI-driven content, and what real-time, stylized, monetizable media will look like.Timestamps1:07 Meet Eddie Yoon—NP Digital, paid social × creative × AI background.1:49 “AI is redefining growth”: blistering company speed and scale.2:16 The solo-founder era & agentic executive teams.4:39 Enterprise example: HubSpot's leadership going all-in on AI.5:29 Founder example: Tyler at Beehive—shipping fast by listening + acting.6:30 Design & media: Netflix's early AI play; House of Cards data story.11:29 The 30-minute campaign challenge—Eddie's live plan.12:53 The three tabs: Meta Ad Library → GPT prompts → Reeve mockups.14:37 Copy/paste every active ad into GPT; ask for strategy synthesis.16:06 Five “board-level” ideas; forcing a single high-acceptance pitch.17:56 Image prompt for “Comfort 2.0” (eco-luxury, performance lifestyle).20:27 Prompting hack: “200+ IQ” to push for originality (avoid clichés).21:06 Locking on Comfort 2.0—“performance tech meets everyday life.”23:06 Iterating the mood board; feeding outputs back into GPT.23:30 If the client has the shoe already: do it all in AI (no photoshoot).24:39 Rapid tests: ethnicity, angle, color; Instagram Trial Reels.26:03 Beyond ads: full-funnel → product design & R&D with agents.27:24 100-page competitor deep dives from public signals.28:26 Scoring system (cutoff 85; 95+ are “winners”) to prioritize assets.30:13 Spinning GPT outputs into 10 TikTok hooks for creators/founders.31:32 Domain-tuned agents that deliver 90%-ready work.33:13 What's next: automatic video analysis and creative fixes.34:13 Next 12 months: IP-driven brands, real-time stylized video, avatars.35:43 Meta: capturing AI audio; partner via your agent in the future.36:12 Why solo $1B is realistic (and $100M solos even more so).Tools & Technologies Mentioned (with quick notes)Meta Ad Library — Public index of active FB/IG ads; great for competitive creative research.GPT — Used to analyze competitor ads, generate board-level strategies, image prompts, TikTok hooks, and run scoring frameworks.Reeve — Static image generator (Midjourney-like) for fast mood boards and spec creative.Midjourney — Alternative image generation tool for photorealistic concepts.VO3 — Motion/video generation tool referenced for animated concepts.Instagram Trial Reels — Organic test surface to gauge hooks/creatives with cold audiences before spend.TikTok — Distribution + hook testing via short scripts for creators/founders.Semrush — Search/keyword intel to complement social competitive analysis.SocialPeta — Creative/spend intelligence (legacy use; less relied upon now).AI Avatars & Agentic Flows — Persona-based creators and multi-agent pipelines to speed research, ideation, testing, and post-mortems.Subscribe at⁠ thisnewway.com⁠ to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.

Paid ads are expensive and crowded.The brands that stand out today know how to blend organic marketing, referrals, and authentic word-of-mouth… online and offline.In this episode, Neil Twa sits down with Ashley Stanford, digital strategist and co-founder of Ice Cream Social, to unpack how entrepreneurs can lower acquisition costs, create authentic content, and turn every customer into an influencer. Ashley also shares her own journey of building a flexible business while raising kids, and why “freedom” has always been her core driver. In This Episode, We Cover:✅ How to combine paid media with organic growth channels✅ The role of authentic UGC and influencer partnerships✅ Offline referrals and why every customer can be an influencer✅ How Ice Cream Social helps brands activate word-of-mouth online✅ Ashley's journey to balancing business, family, and freedom

Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Account Management. Today, we're thrilled to be joined by Scott Lester, Senior Manager of Digital & E-commerce at eos: the brand behind the beloved Evolution of Smooth products, from body lotions and lip balms to shaving creams. We first connected with Scott at eTail East, where he spoke on marketplace optimization and strategy. His insights really stood out, and we're excited to dive deeper into those ideas with him today. Tune in to find out more! KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Scott discuss: Scott Lester's Nontraditional Career Path: Scott shares how he went from a Spanish literature degree and pharmaceutical sales to a thriving career in ecommerce, emphasizing the value of curiosity and adaptability. Translating Brand Ethos Across Channels: The eos team maintains consistency in their brand voice across digital marketplaces, retail media, and in-store experiences. Marketplace Growth Framework: Scott walks through eos's approach to marketplace growth by breaking it into four stages: market anticipation, leveraging reviews, discover & rank, and platform optimization. Nimbleness in Product Innovation: Insights on how eos uses social and market trends (such as their "Flavor Lab" launches inspired by viral secret menu hacks) to quickly develop and release new products, benefiting from the agility that comes with being a relatively small company. The Power of Customer Reviews: Discussion on how reviews are being repurposed into user-generated content and ad creative, and why customer sentiment is now essential, especially with the rise of AI such as Amazon's Rufus and Walmart's Sparky. Shifting Optimization Strategies: The evolution from keyword-stuffing to a more nuanced approach focused on consumer language, mobile relevance, and content that appeals both to customers and marketplace algorithms. Paid vs. Organic in Digital Shelf Strategy: Scott explains balancing organic and paid tactics, and why he no longer believes in strict “upper/mid/lower-funnel” strategies. Instead, eos seeks to create memorable, shareable moments across multiple touchpoints. The Rise of AMC and Measurement: How Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) has moved from “nice to have” to essential for tracking incremental impact and optimizing media spend effectively. AI: Both Exciting and Alarming: Scott offers candid thoughts on the double-edged sword of AI in ecommerce, from helping with data analysis to concerns over generative imagery and deepfakes.