AdTechGod Pod

Shawn Lim, founder of Human Algorithm, is dedicated to empowering marginalized voices through purpose-driven media. He shares his journey from journalism to content creation, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and vulnerability in personal branding. Shawn discusses the delicate balance of sharing personal experiences while avoiding oversharing and trauma dumping. He also highlights the evolving creator economy, particularly the rising significance of podcasts as a storytelling platform, fueled by his motivation to support future generations.

Live from MAU Las Vegas and sponsored by InMobi, this episode features a dynamic conversation about mobile performance marketing. Hosted by Kunal Nagpal, the discussion includes insights from Zach Gryphon (WaveMaker) and Maulana Moore (AppsFlyer). Together, they explore measurement frameworks, attribution challenges, AI in marketing, fraud detection, and the strategic importance of mobile apps as a growth channel and not just a companion tool. They stress the need for collaboration across brands, agencies, and MMPs, especially as privacy regulations, consumer behavior, and tech platforms continue to shift. The theme? It takes a village to win in modern performance marketing. Key Timestamps: 00:00–01:39 – Introductions: Roles at WaveMaker and AppsFlyer, and why performance marketing matters more than ever 02:33 – “Spy skills” icebreaker (time travel via Motown and home DIY skills) 04:55 – The modern measurement landscape: slow, medium, and fast decision frameworks 06:42 – Why internal data silos and misaligned incentives remain a challenge 09:00 – The role of education in promoting smarter attribution models like incrementality 10:22 – Privacy vs. personalization: Navigating a chaotic regulatory environment 13:00 – Cookies, SKAdNetwork, and why Apple’s and Google’s shifting strategies matter 17:20 – Regional differences in mobile maturity (APAC vs. North America) 20:10 – Why mobile apps are now key growth engines, not just support tools 21:30 – Full-funnel performance thinking and aligning KPIs with LTV 23:13 – The misunderstood role of MMPs in identifying fraud and optimizing outcomes 25:30 – Real-world uses of AI: From predictive analytics to creative optimization 29:13 – A philosophical take: Moving beyond spreadsheets and embracing AI architecture 32:49 – What marketers should expect from their agency, MMP, and DSP partners 36:30 – Why a true “village” mindset beats a collection of siloed experts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 News, 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

Yen Nguyen, SVP Head of Curation at Consumable, shares her unexpected journey into audio curation and its pivotal role in ad tech. She discusses how curation bridges traditional and programmatic buying, enhancing effectiveness. The conversation explores the untapped potential of digital audio and the rising spending in this space. Yen emphasizes the emotional power of audio ads and advocates for education to shift budgets. With exciting innovations on the horizon, she believes the future of advertising lies in streamlined solutions for buyers.

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