#259 Paid Ads | In this episode, Dave is joined by Pranav Piyush, founder and CEO of Paramark, a platform helping B2B marketers run real experiments to measure ad performance. Pranav brings a sharp point of view on attribution, channel performance, and how to actually prove what’s working across your paid media mix.
Dave and Pranav cover:
- Real-world results from 7 B2B ad campaigns, including branded search, YouTube, billboards, and Performance Max
- Why most marketers are misusing the word “test” and how to run true experiments with lift, control, and causality
- How even small teams can apply experiment design (on a $10K budget or less) to make smarter spend decisions
Whether you're managing a big budget or just getting started with paid campaigns, this episode will help you think more critically, and confidently, about where and how to invest in B2B marketing.
Timestamps
- (00:00) - – Intro
- (03:08) - – Why Paramark pulled real data from 7 B2B ad campaigns
- (05:38) - – Attribution vs. experimentation: what most marketers get wrong
- (09:08) - – Correlation vs. causation explained (with a LinkedIn example)
- (11:53) - – How to run a real test (hint: you need a control)
- (13:08) - – Branded search test results: $1M+ saved, no performance loss
- (18:08) - – Why strong SEO makes or breaks branded search tests
- (19:08) - – Billboard test: how one brand proved real lift with out-of-home
- (22:38) - – What “digital out-of-home” looks like in B2B
- (24:08) - – YouTube ad tests: one big win, one big flop
- (28:19) - – How to run tests with small budgets ($500–$10K)
- (32:49) - – Connected TV (CTV) test results from a Series F SaaS brand
- (34:49) - – What happens when a multichannel test works—but isn’t efficient
- (36:49) - – Paramark’s Exit Five sponsorship test (real numbers shared)
- (40:19) - – Why content needs to drive short-term lift, not just long-term “brand”
- (43:19) - – How Pranav used LinkedIn to drive inbound from day one
- (45:19) - – Your attribution model is lying, give your audience more credit
- (46:49) - – When 7 ad tests fail in a row…and the 8th one works
- (48:19) - – Performance Max test: why it worked for one brand
- (50:19) - – How long to run a test? Use data, not gut
- (52:19) - – Bonus: Pranav’s hiring playbook for his first marketing leader
- (56:19) - – Wrap up and final takeaways
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The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)