See What Your Ads SOLD: From Proxy Metrics to Real Outcomes with Attain’s Ben Kartzman

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Oct 31, 2025

In this insightful discussion, Ben Kartzman, the President & COO of Attain, shares his expertise in media and first-party data. He challenges the notion that clicks equate to sales, advocating for real-time purchase data instead. Ben explains how Attain connects ad exposure to actual sales, enabling marketers to optimize campaigns mid-flight. He also highlights successful examples, like Taco Bell’s partnership with Amazon, and elaborates on how to leverage purchase signals for building smarter audiences. A must-listen for data-driven marketers!

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INSIGHT

Measure Sales Not Proxies

Marketers historically optimized proxies like CTR because they were measurable, not because they proved sales occurred.
Attain argues the industry can and should move to measuring real sales outcomes instead of proxies.

ADVICE

Optimize Mid‑Flight With Real‑Time Feeds

Use real-time purchase feeds to optimize campaigns mid-flight rather than waiting for post-hoc reports.
Set optimization windows and act on minute-level signals to reallocate media quickly.

INSIGHT

Permissioned First‑Party Purchase Panel

Attain builds a permissioned first-party dataset by offering consumers a value exchange inside apps to share purchase data.
This panel covers ~10M opted-in consumers and reduces retailer blind spots common in stitched datasets.

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Presented by

The MarTech Matrix — a Blurbs production helping marketers find clarity in the chaos of MarTech. No fluff. Just the truth.

Summary

Marketers have been “data-driven” for years—but mostly by proxies. In this conversation, Attain President & COO Ben Kartzman joins host Sean Simon to show how connecting ad exposure to permissioned, first-party purchase data changes everything: measure real sales, optimize mid-flight, and build smarter audiences with competitive switching insights. If you’ve ever asked, “Did our ads actually sell anything?”—this one’s for you.

Why this matters (fast)

Reality check: Clicks don’t equal customers. Sales do.
New signal: Real-time purchase data sourced from consumers (not retailers) closes the loop.
Actionable now: Move from post-hoc reporting to in-campaign optimization.

Highlights

Outcomes > Proxies — Ben explains how the industry defaulted to what was easy to measure (CTR, impressions) and how Attain puts sales outcomes at the center.
Permissioned scale — Attain’s dataset is built from 10M+ opted-in consumers via a value-exchange in consumer apps (points → cash/gift cards).
CTV that sells — Example: Amazon Prime Live Sports campaigns where Attain ties ad exposure to incremental purchases (e.g., Taco Bell).
Mid-flight wins — Pilot Flying J and Sally Beauty optimized against real buyers during the campaign, unlocking millions in incremental revenue.
Insights that build audiences — Identify likely buyers, basket size, Prime membership, pet ownership, region, and where shoppers switch from/to—then target precisely.
What’s next — The path from real-time attribution to predictive and ultimately agentic media.

Three Big Takeaways

Stop grading on proxies. Measure what your media actually sold.
Optimize while it runs. With real-time purchase data, you don’t have to wait for the post-mortem.
Know the switchers. Competitive switching intel is fuel for smarter conquesting and retention.

Favorite Quotes

“Clicks don’t pay the bills. Sales do.”
“When teams see the live purchase lift, the conversation shifts from measurement to optimization.”
“Our data originates from consumers, so we avoid retailer blind spots like Amazon or Walmart.”

Who should watch

Performance and growth marketers tired of dashboard vanity
Omnichannel & offline-heavy brands wrestling with retail media attribution
Media buyers who want real-time signal to act on, not just report