AdTechGod Pod

Ria Madrid, Vice President of Advertising at WURL and former XUMO executive, shares her inspiring journey into advertising technology. She discusses the rising importance of performance marketing in connected TV (CTV) and how AI is shaping the industry. Ria emphasizes the necessity of strong teamwork and innovation, while also highlighting challenges female leaders face in ad tech. She advocates for authenticity and relationship-building as keys to success in this evolving landscape.

In this episode of The Refresh, Kait from Marketecture breaks down the top stories shaking up the advertising world. The focus is on the evolving nature of the TV upfronts, with a spotlight on how platforms are embracing ad tech to meet buyer demands. The Trade Desk makes headlines with the launch of OpenSincera, and Microsoft officially closes Xandr to make way for a more conversational future in media buying. We Cover TV upfronts are shifting focus from showbiz glitz to tech-driven capabilities like programmatic and AI-powered campaigns. Flexibility is a new must-have: Netflix and Disney introduced ad tech that lowers entry barriers and enables agile buying. AI made a splash with creative automation, emotional scene alignment, and smarter ad insertion across major platforms. The Trade Desk’s OpenSincera launches as a free API, offering real-time, transparent data on ad impressions and media quality. Microsoft sunsets Xandr to focus on a Copilot-powered, chatbot-style ad buying interface, signaling a move away from traditional DSP models. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this discussion, Bill Condon, former VP of Enterprise Sales at Xumo, shares his wealth of experience in the advertising and media industry. He delves into the explosive growth of FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming Television) and its impact on content accessibility. Bill highlights how streaming is reshaping consumer habits and becoming a major player for advertisers, especially with live sports. He emphasizes the evolving economic models in digital advertising and the wealth of opportunities for innovation as the industry continues to mature.

Christian Muche, CEO of Beyond Ordinary, shares insights from the Possible event in Miami, which aims to redefine traditional conferences by enhancing networking and fostering creativity among senior decision-makers. He discusses the role of AI in shaping conversations without dominating them, and highlights a curated speaker lineup that brings fresh perspectives. The chat also touches on emerging trends in advertising, like shoppable video and innovative content strategies, ensuring a vibrant future for media and engagement.

Bob Regular, CEO and founder of InfoLinks, brings three decades of digital media experience to the table. He shares insights on the rapidly evolving ad tech landscape, the importance of developing direct publisher relationships, and the need for transparency in advertising. Bob discusses how AI and connected TV are transforming creative processes and workflows. He also highlights the challenges publishers face in monetization and the decline of ad arbitrage, all while navigating the chaos and excitement of entrepreneurship in this ever-changing industry.

AI and earnings took center stage this week. Perplexity’s building a browser, OpenAI wants to be your shopping assistant, and Big Tech dropped their Q1 numbers. We cover: Perplexity builds a browser – CEO Aravind Srinivas explains how Comet aims to work at the operating system level, enabling actions like scraping pages, taking actions on your behalf, and improving ad targeting with granular user data. Hardware partnerships fuel expansion – Perplexity will be pre-installed on new Motorola Razrs and is in talks with Samsung. This move mirrors Google’s own bundling tactics… just as Google faces antitrust heat. OpenAI launches shoppable search – You can now shop directly within ChatGPT results, with comparisons, recommendations, and product discovery baked into the interface. Shopify integration is rumored, but no ads—for now. The web is changing – In this new model, websites aren’t for browsing. They’re for bots to scrape, analyze, and feed insights back to the user in one seamless chat interface. Apple earnings – $95.4B in revenue, beating expectations. Hardware ticked up slightly, but services brought in $26.65B, growing 11.65% YoY. Meta earnings – $42.3B revenue (+16%), driven by ads. Ad impressions rose 5%, pricing jumped 10%. Meta boosted AI capex projections to $64–$72B. Alphabet earnings – $90.2B in revenue (+12%), strong performance in search. YouTube ads slightly missed projections. Tariff pressures are hitting Google Shopping spend. Amazon earnings – $29.3B in ad revenue, right on target, but a gloomy Q2 forecast due to tariffs and consumer uncertainty dragged stock down 4%. Microsoft earnings – $70B revenue (+13%), thanks to resilient software and cloud services. Hardware may take a hit, but they’re better positioned than most to handle turbulence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the AdTechGod Pod, Yen Nguyen, the SVP Head of Curation at Consumable, shares her journey on focusing in on curation. She discusses the evolution of curation in the ad tech space, particularly in audio advertising, and highlights the untapped potential of digital audio. Yen emphasizes the importance of bridging the gap between traditional audio and programmatic buying, and how curation plays a crucial role in enhancing targeting and effectiveness in advertising. She also touches on future trends in ad tech, including the impact of AI and the need for innovation to create more efficient solutions for buyers.Takeaways Curation is a growing focus in the advertising industry. Yen's journey into curation was accidental but impactful. The audio advertising space has significant untapped potential. Curation is not just about supply; it's about expertise. Digital audio spending is on the rise but still underutilized. Education is key to shifting budgets towards audio advertising. Curation can bridge the gap in fragmented ad tech solutions. Innovations in AI and digital out-of-home are exciting trends. The emotional impact of audio ads can rival that of video. The future of advertising lies in making the buyer's job easier. Chapters00:00 Introduction to Curation and Yen Nguyen01:01 Yen's Journey in Curation05:11 Curation's Evolution in AdTech10:50 The Future of Audio Advertising15:50 Bridging the Gap in Audio Advertising19:06 The Role of Curation in AdTech25:29 Innovations in AdTech and Future Trends Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the going gets tough, Big Tech finds a way to shift the blame. This week’s news? Google quietly backs out of cookie deprecation, fights for control in court, and Apple slowly makes its ad empire move.In todays news we cover: Google waves the white flag on cookies — After five years of chaos, Google scraps its opt-out prompt. The Privacy Sandbox isn’t officially dead, but it's definitely on life support. What we learned — We gave Google too much power. We waited too long to call BS. But it did push the industry to build something better—and AI might be the next frontier. Search monopoly trial kicks off — DOJ proposes radical remedies: selling Chrome, banning default deals, even forcing Google to license its search data. Google’s own proposals? Pretty weak. Apple Ads rises quietly — With hardware revenue stalling, Apple is rebranding its ad business and prepping for a bigger move. Think: proprietary data, closed-loop measurement, and Taboola partnerships. A new reality — Google’s cookie exit may change nothing and everything. And Apple might be the next walled garden advertisers can’t ignore. In closing: RIP to your cookie POV decks. You deserved better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danilo Tauro, Managing Partner at Aperium Ventures, brings a wealth of experience from Procter & Gamble, Amazon Ads, and Uber Eats Advertising. He shares his unexpected journey from engineering to ad tech, driven by his passion for technology. Danilo discusses the evolving landscape of the ad tech industry, spotlighting growth areas like CTV and retail media. He highlights the pivotal role of AI in streamlining workflows and enhancing engagement, while also emphasizing transparency in the programmatic supply chain and the importance of solving brand-specific problems for startups.

They say everyone gets their day in court. For Big Tech, it’s looking more like a reckoning. Kait from the Refresh reports on this weeks news. This Week’s Breakdown: Meta on trial — Zuck, Sandberg, and Mosseri take the stand as the FTC argues Meta bought Instagram to “neutralize” a competitor. Old emails. Big receipts. Google found guilty — A federal judge rules Google’s ad tech stack (DFP + AdX) violated antitrust laws. Remedy phase is next… and yes, Chrome’s on the table. The stakes? Massive. Think forced divestitures, self-preferencing bans, and a playbook rewrite for AdTech. History rhymes — This is the biggest antitrust heat since Microsoft in ’98. But the market’s bigger, the stakes are higher, and the FTC isn’t backing down. Future watch — If Google and Meta are Act I, who's Act II? OpenAI? Apple? The next decade’s already heating up. Kait’s closing note? “Get a good lawyer.” (T. Swift said it best.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices