In this engaging discussion, Joe Hirsch, CEO of Swivel and former leader at SpringServe, shares his extensive ad tech journey. He highlights the shift from affiliate marketing to AI-driven ad optimization. Joe explains how Swivel aims to automate tedious tasks, enhancing operational efficiency. He emphasizes AI's role in ad operations, not as a replacement for humans, but as a tool to augment decision-making. He discusses the evolving landscape of AdOps and the growing necessity of precision to avoid costly mistakes—all while embracing new technologies.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Early Affiliate Hustle To Ad Serving
Joe Hirsch started in affiliate marketing as a teen and built networks around niche sites like video games and wrestling.
He grew those projects through college, sold them, and then co-founded SpringServe to solve video ad serving gaps.
question_answer ANECDOTE
From SpringServe Ops To Swivel
At SpringServe Joe ran operations and collected exhaustive change logs that revealed repetitive workflows across clients.
Those operational insights led him to found Swivel to address scaling problems in ad ops.
insights INSIGHT
Scaling Problem Is Human Labor
The ad server itself isn't broken; the problem is the business model that scales headcount with spend.
Repetitive manual tasks force organizations to hire more ad ops people as budgets grow.
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Joe Hirsch the CEO of Swivel and former CEO of SpringServe, shares his journey through the ad tech industry, discussing his experiences with affiliate marketing, ad serving, and the evolution of ad operations. He emphasizes the importance of operational efficiency and the role of AI in optimizing ad campaigns, while also addressing the future of AdOps and the integration of technology in the advertising space.
Takeaways
Joe Hirsch has a long history in ad tech, starting from affiliate marketing.
He co-founded multiple companies, including Spring Serve, which was acquired by Magnite.
Swivel aims to automate repetitive tasks in ad operations to improve efficiency.
The ad server business model requires scaling operations without increasing labor costs.
Swivel integrates AI to replicate and scale human decision-making in ad operations.
AI is not meant to replace humans but to augment their capabilities.
The future of AdOps will see agents as primary users of ad platforms.
Precision in ad operations is crucial to avoid costly mistakes.
AdOps professionals should embrace AI technologies to enhance their skills.
The ad tech industry is evolving rapidly, with AI playing a significant role.
The Refresh News: September 15:Google’s AdTech Filing, Magnite’s AI Bet, and YouTube’s NFL Debut
This episode of The Refresh covers three major stories shaping advertising this week: Google’s eyebrow-raising statements in its AdTech antitrust remedies filing, Magnite’s acquisition of creative production platform Streamer AI, and YouTube’s first-ever exclusive NFL broadcast. Host Kate breaks down the implications of each development for advertisers, publishers, and platforms in the evolving digital ecosystem.
Google’s court filing revealed open web display ads purchased through AdWords dropped to 11% in January 2025, down from 40% in 2019, sparking concerns over the open web’s decline.
Google defended itself by attributing ad spend shifts to CTV and retail media, while critics highlighted its dominance in directing referral traffic through AI-driven search changes.
Magnite announced the acquisition of Streamer AI to help small and mid-sized businesses overcome creative production hurdles in connected TV advertising.
The CTV market is expanding rapidly, with Nielsen reporting 75% of TV viewing is ad-supported and eMarketer projecting $33B in CTV ad spend for 2025, though measurement challenges remain.
YouTube’s first free exclusive NFL broadcast drew 17.3M viewers globally, surpassing Amazon’s 2024 averages but raising questions about sustaining viewership once games move behind a paywall.
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