AdTech AdTalk

Jana Meron, a sell-side consultant at Lioness Strategies with a rich background at Google and CBS, discusses the intricate landscape of ad tech. She shares insights from her time at Google and the complexities of header bidding. The conversation includes a provocative take on advertisers, the impact of influencers, and the often obscure world of fees in the industry. Finally, Jana emphasizes the importance of trust and integrity when hiring sales talent, cautioning against short-term decisions that could undermine long-lasting relationships.

Featuring a special surprise appearance by Sincera founder Mike O'Sullivan. The boys talk markets, markups, and potential regulation.

0:00 Intro, "Yield" by Ari Paparo, and Gareth's Dramatic Morning6:00 Special Guest Reveal: Justin Wohl of Aditude17:00 Open Path Deep Dive29:00 ID-Bridging and Trust Issues in the Ad Tech Ecosystem39:00 Gareth Breaks Down the Latest Jounce Report42:00 Contextualization: Application or Infrastructure?55:00 Vibe Coding and Justin's Pod Feedback

0:00 Intro, Gareth's Viral Tweet, and "Jeans Parties"5:00 Prebid Server, Snowflake, and Modularization10:00 Gareth's Fundraising and Pitch Updates18:00 Publishers and Their 1P Data26:50 "Post-Taxonomy World"35:00 Open Web vs the Big Guys42:00 Viewability's Advantages and Disadvantages45:00 Quality Companies Hate Pubs?48:00 Resellers: What to Look Out For

Logs don't lie: Adam and Gareth talk middlemen, markets, and clarity.0:00 – Intro1:40 – The Möbius Strip of Adtech4:30 – Dynamic Rev Shares18:00 – Publishers, Buyers & Hidden Fees36:00 – Why Log Files Matter50:00 – Throttling Mysteries

01:00 – What Is AI, Really? Data, Predictions & Modeling04:40 – OpenAI, Feedback Loops, and Magic Tricks09:10 – Comprehension vs Prediction in LLMs12:30 – Profitability in AI: OpenAI's Next Business Model17:00 – AdTech’s Infrastructure Problem22:42 – Micropayments & Pubs27:00 – On-Prem vs. Cloud vs. Bare Metal43:00 – Data Access, DSPs, and Log Transparency46:00 – Should Google Be Broken Up Like Standard Oil?50:30 – Data Markets, Commoditization & Panel Power

In this 4th of July edition of AdTech Ad Talk, Adam and Gareth go deep on everything from privacy theater to clickbait economics.

This week we get into sell-side decisioning: how it works, why it matters, and where it’s headed. We also dig into why Chalice isn’t a DSP, RMN value, and Gamera's upcoming seed round.

Hosted by two ad industry renegades, this is where the buy side and sell side drop the jargon and get real.Come with what you always wanted to know about the other side, stay to see what happens when innovators come together.

This week we talk modular mayhem, from throttling issues to the benefits of containerized RTB. Plus: unpacking a fresh scandal, and a temp check on Cannes.