Data-Driven Thinking Archives

Is Your Data Gen AI-Ready? Here Are 3 Steps For Shaking Up Your Data Strategy

It’s tempting to think AI models can hack their way to the best solution possible, no matter how basic the input we give. But feeding clean first-party data to AI models is an absolute prerequisite to ensuring that the output is on-brand and accurate. And there is little value in generating five times more content […]

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Data-Driven Thinking

Less Is More: Why Excluding Audiences Leads To Stronger Campaigns

Advertisers and their agency partners are well-versed in assembling audiences based on who they want to reach. Yet effective audience composition isn’t simply about deciding who is ideal; it’s also about determining who should be excluded. Audience suppression is a superpower that many advertisers don’t realize they have. When used effectively, it can be the […]

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Data-Driven Thinking

The AI Tradeoff: How Marketers Can Balance Efficiency And Authenticity

It started with a backlash. Mango’s AI-driven campaign, featuring hyper-realistic AI models that didn’t exist, sparked online outrage. Comments like “False advertising!” flooded social media. Consumers felt deceived, and Mango’s attempt to save time and money came at the expense of something far more valuable: trust. Meanwhile, Dove was making waves for the opposite reason. […]

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Data-Driven Thinking

Avoiding CCPA Privacy Pitfalls: Lessons From The Honda Settlement Order

We all know it is difficult for participants in digital advertising to enter into contracts with every company to which they disclose personal information. However, difficulty is no longer an acceptable excuse, especially after the California Privacy Protection Agency’s recent enforcement action against American Honda Motor Co. That case highlights a critical compliance reminder for […]

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Data-Driven Thinking

Google’s Fingerprinting Update Might Trigger The Next Battle For Digital Privacy

In much the same way as Google decided not to kill off third-party cookies in Chrome, the company’s recent announcement of a more relaxed stance on fingerprinting has certainly raised some eyebrows. With the ad policy update, which came into force in February, Google has adopted a more lenient approach to how advertisers, vendors and […]

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Data-Driven Thinking

Championing Change: How Women In Ad Tech Can Advocate For Equality Year-Round

When Women’s History Month rolls around each March, awareness is raised to recognize women’s contributions and advocacy for gender equality. In case you missed it on your calendar, International Women’s Day was March 8, and this year’s theme was “Accelerate Action.” Considering the threat to women’s rights in the United States, the time to take […]

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Data-Driven Thinking

Principal Media Has Potential, But Only With Strong Quality Controls

Over the last few months, the subject of principal media (PM), or principal-based buying, has entered the ad tech zeitgeist. Principal media is the process where media agencies purchase media in advance, in bulk, and then resell it to their clients, often at a price that is higher than they paid but lower than what […]

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Data-Driven Thinking

To Compete With Walled Gardens, The Open Web Needs More Collaboration

It’s obvious that publishers and advertisers have a lot to offer each other. And yet, based on the way advertisers have dealt with publishers over the years, you’d think they were sworn enemies. This is far from how things play out with major walled gardens like Meta and Google. There, ingenuity and openness prevail. The […]

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Data-Driven Thinking

Advertising’s ID-Less Future Depends On More Than DSP Adoption

Because DSPs manage programmatic ad spend, they can be seen as gatekeepers wielding influence over industry standards. DSPs select inventory to bid on, interpret SSP signals and prioritize bids based on historical performance and preferences. However, advertisers, agencies, media owners and technology providers also influence the rapidly evolving programmatic ecosystem. Advertisers and agencies set budgets, […]

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Data-Driven Thinking

American By Birth, European By Data Privacy Standards

As an American ad tech CEO working for a UK-founded company, I’ve heard countless stories from peers about the challenges of cracking the European market. But is the way we approach data-driven advertising in the US really better for anyone? There’s plenty about my hometown of Baltimore that I hold dear: “Hairspray,” “The Wire” and […]

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