Marketecture: Get Smart. Fast.

Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi sit down with Carlo Palomino, President of OpenFortune, to explore how the company transformed fortune cookies into a powerful advertising channel. Carlo shares how OpenFortune built its global distribution network, drives brand engagement through creative campaigns, and partners with brands and creators like MrBeast. Plus, in The Refresh, Ari and Eric discuss Meta's earnings and new ad formats, Apple's privacy restrictions, Salesforce's acquisition of Braze, Kevel's $52 million funding round, Netflix's advertising challenges, and the expansion of ChatGPT ads.

Takeaways

- OpenFortune is transforming fortune cookies into an advertising channel that connects brands with consumers through memorable real-world experiences.

- Meta's strong advertising growth and new premium ad formats highlight its expanding opportunities for brand advertisers.

- Apple's WebKit privacy restrictions raise new challenges for identity resolution and cross-site tracking.

- Salesforce's acquisition of Braze and Kevel's $52 million funding round reflect continued investment in MarTech and commerce media.

- Netflix's advertising challenges highlight the importance of balancing premium brand campaigns with performance marketing.

- OpenFortune's distribution network, QR code engagement, and partnerships with Gary Vee and MrBeast demonstrate the potential of experiential advertising.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:05 Meta Earnings, AI Growth, and New Ad Formats
08:43 Meta Muse and AI Productivity
10:09 Apple's Privacy Restrictions and Identity Resolution
13:02 Salesforce Acquires Braze
16:30 Kevel's $52 Million Funding Round
19:10 Netflix's Advertising Growth Challenges
22:26 Netflix's Measurement Tools and DSP Integration
23:03 ChatGPT Ads Expansion and AI-Powered Creative
25:55 Publicis and LiveRamp Acquisition Update
27:13 Meet Carlo Palomino, President of OpenFortune
28:19 Turning Fortune Cookies into Advertising Experiences
29:22 How Branded Fortune Cookie Ads Work
31:39 Building OpenFortune's Distribution Network
33:25 Global Reach and Advertising Inventory
34:21 Gary Vee's Investment and Campaign Results
35:22 Creative Fortune Cookie Advertising Campaigns
36:42 Measuring QR Code Engagement and Brand Lift
38:26 OpenFortune's Expansion and Fortune Tacos
41:29 MrBeast Partnership and Collectible Fortune Cookies
42:51 Closing Remarks

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Carlo Palomino

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Recorded at Marketecture Live Chicago, Will Hoyt of Blis, part of T-Mobile Advertising Solutions, sits down with Danielle Mathews, Senior Director of Integrated Marketing at Pura, to explore how mobile data, first-party insights, and omnichannel advertising are transforming retail marketing.

Danielle shares how Pura evolved from a direct-to-consumer brand into an omnichannel business, using behavioral targeting, connected TV, retail media, and data partnerships to discover new audiences and drive incremental growth. They also discuss measurement, data clean rooms, AI, and why brand identity and platform-specific content will be essential for marketing success in 2027.

Takeaways

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Marketecture Live Chicago
00:54 Meet Blis and T-Mobile Advertising Solutions
02:05 How Pura Uses Smart Technology and Customer Data
03:19 Pura's Evolution From DTC to Omnichannel Retail
04:51 Consumer Behavior and Audience Segmentation
06:12 Using Mobile Data to Drive Target Store Traffic
07:56 Connecting Mobile Data With CTV Advertising
08:23 Combining First-Party and Third-Party Data
10:33 Improving CPG Audience Targeting and Measurement
11:21 Data Clean Rooms, Identity Resolution, and Incrementality
13:09 Marketing Trends and Opportunities for 2027
14:42 Brand Storytelling and Platform-Specific Content
15:40 Measuring Marketing Impact and Final Takeaways

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Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi welcome Scott Messer, founder of Messer Media and co-founder of AdTech Therapy, to discuss the challenges facing digital publishers as AI reshapes advertising and the open web. They explore declining publisher traffic, AI content licensing, Google's antitrust ruling, and how agentic advertising could transform direct media buying by reducing programmatic fees. The conversation also covers Apple's Safari privacy changes, Prebid's potential role in a unified auction, OpenAI's advertising strategy, the future of agentic commerce, and emerging retail media partnerships involving Uber, TripleLift, and Instacart.

Takeaways:

Chapters:
00:29 Introduction to Scott Messer and Ad Tech Therapy
01:08 Upcoming Ad Tech Events and Apparium Summit
02:16 Scott Messer on Fixing Broken Ad Tech Operations
05:23 Declining Open Web Traffic and Publisher Challenges
06:37 Building Publisher Loyalty and Protecting Content from AI
08:03 AI Bots, Content Licensing and Publisher Compensation
13:12 Advertising to AI and the Future of Sponsored Content
17:08 The Ethics of Advertising to AI Agents
18:37 Google's Antitrust Ruling and Prebid's Future
22:49 How Publishers Can Benefit from Agentic Advertising
25:11 Reducing Programmatic Fees Through Agentic Direct Buying
28:29 Prebid Summit and Ad Tech M&A Outlook
30:01 Apple's Safari Privacy Changes and Publisher Revenue
33:43 Character.AI and the Risks of AI Advertising Inventory
37:49 OpenAI's Advertising Strategy and Behavioral Targeting
41:24 Google's Search Scraping Defense and Data Co-op
45:06 Retailers Blocking AI Shopping Agents
47:00 Agentic Commerce and AI-Powered Product Discovery
49:04 Uber, TripleLift and the Future of Retail Media
51:31 Will Retail Media Become Programmatic?
52:04 Closing Remarks

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Scott Messer

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Live from Amazon unBoxed in San Francisco, Marketecture host Ari Paparo sits down with Claire Magruder, Director of GO Studio, Global Overview, and Santosh Gunaseelan, Director, Amazon Ads, Creative Intelligence & Optimization, Amazon, to explore how AI-powered creative tools are making streaming TV advertising more accessible. They discuss Amazon's Creative Agent, the importance of human creativity and brand guidelines, and how Traditional Medicinals used AI-generated video ads to drive new-to-brand purchases, improve efficiency, and expand its advertising reach.

Takeaways

Chapters
00:00 Introduction: Live from Amazon unBoxed
00:50 Meet Global Overview and Amazon Ads
01:52Traditional Medicinals' Streaming TV Opportunity
02:59 Why AI-Generated Ads Need Creative Intelligence
04:09 Creating Video Ads with Amazon's Creative Agent
05:12 Brand Guidelines and Creative Performance
07:05 Human Judgment in AI-Powered Advertising
08:57 How AI Helps Agencies Scale Creative Production
09:28 Adapting Creative Across Advertising Formats
10:34 Reducing Video Production Costs
11:30 Traditional Medicinals' Campaign Results
11:59 The Future of AI-Powered Streaming TV Ads
13:18 Closing: The Marketecture Animal Question

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Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi recap Advertising Week and break down the biggest developments shaping ad tech. From Apple's Safari tracking restrictions and Walmart's expanding retail media ambitions to agentic AI in TV buying, OpenWeb's financial troubles, Zeta's acquisitions, and the future of Paramount's ad tech strategy, they explore what these shifts mean for advertisers, publishers, and the broader programmatic ecosystem.

Takeaways

• Advertising Week illuminates the growing influence of agentic AI, CTV, and sell-side decisioning.
• Apple's Safari tracking restrictions raise new challenges for identity providers and advertisers.
• Walmart expands its retail media and CTV ambitions through Vibe and Yahoo DSP.
• Dentsu, NBCUniversal, and FreeWheel explore agentic AI for TV buying optimization.
• OpenWeb's financial struggles highlight challenges facing the open web.
• Zeta's acquisitions strengthen its AI search and first-party data capabilities.
• Paramount's media consolidation raises questions about its future ad tech strategy.
• PubX expands into agentic advertising through its acquisition of Compliant.

Chapters
00:29 - Introduction and Advertising Week Recap
02:29 - Mediaocean AI Fund and Ad Tech Industry Events
04:07 - LiveRamp Demo Day and Agentic AI Innovation
06:14 - Advertising Week Trends: CTV, Open Web, and Agentic Commerce
07:52 - Sell-Side Decisioning and the Future of DSPs
09:33 - Apple's Safari Tracking Restrictions and Identity Challenges
12:28 - Walmart's Retail Media Expansion and Yahoo DSP Partnership
16:04 - Dentsu, NBCUniversal, and Agentic AI TV Buying
20:16 - OpenWeb's Financial Troubles and Publisher Monetization
24:01 - Zeta's Acquisitions of Senso and Digital Audience
26:23 - Paramount, WBD, and the Future of Ad Tech Infrastructure
30:36 - PubX's Agentic Advertising Strategy and Compliant Acquisition
32:07 - Final Thoughts and Closing

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi

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Adam Epstein, CEO of Gigi, joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to explore the rise of agentic commerce and what AI agents like Meta’s Muse could mean for shopping, advertising, and consumer behavior. They discuss Amazon’s decision to restrict third-party AI agents, the role of advertising revenue in protecting commerce ecosystems, opportunities in travel and retail, and whether consumers will trust AI to make purchases on their behalf.

Plus, Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi break down The Trade Desk’s Safari ad-serving issue, Amazon unBoxed announcements, AI assistants, and the growing battle for consumer AI adoption.

Takeaways

• AI agents are shifting from answering questions to taking actions for consumers.
• Consumer trust and permissions will be critical to agentic commerce adoption.
• Amazon has strong incentives to protect its shopping experience and advertising revenue from third-party AI agents.
• Travel could become a major use case for AI-powered transactions and bookings.
• Meta’s ecosystem could give Muse a powerful path to adoption, particularly for commerce and small businesses.

Chapters
00:00 Amazon unBoxed and conference highlights
03:02 Meta Muse and real-world AI agent use cases
06:37 The Trade Desk blocked from serving ads on Safari
11:37 Amazon’s AI-powered advertising updates
12:38 Branded Conversations and conversational commerce
15:14 Delta enters the travel media network space
17:19 OpenAI, LiveRamp and AI advertising
19:00 The battle for consumer AI assistants
20:45 Meta expands Muse for SMBs and enterprise
23:11 Anthropic, AI economics and the future of adtech
26:15 Adam Epstein joins the podcast
26:49 Amazon unBoxed and Sponsored Reviews
30:00 Is agentic commerce really the future?
31:00 What makes an effective AI agent?
33:30 Will mainstream consumers adopt AI agents?
36:06 Why AI agents still struggle with everyday tasks
38:00 Why Amazon is blocking third-party AI agents
42:46 Instacart, AI agents and grocery commerce
44:18 Why travel could be transformed by agentic commerce
45:21 How brands could compete inside AI agents
48:12 Testing Muse in real-world situations
51:35 Meta, Shopify and the future of agentic commerce
53:39 Closing thoughts

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Adam Epstein

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Ari Paparo sits down with Ryan Walker, Senior Director of Commerce at PMG, at Amazon unBoxed to explore how PMG helped IQBAR expand its full-funnel marketing strategy. Ryan explains how Amazon Marketing Cloud, audience segmentation, CTV, video, and AI-powered campaign tools helped the brand reach new shoppers, improve acquisition, and connect advertising performance to long-term customer value.

Takeaways

• Full-funnel marketing goes beyond conversion: PMG builds messaging around each stage of the customer journey, from discovery to purchase.
• New customer acquisition required a targeting shift: Amazon Marketing Cloud helped PMG identify that IQBAR was repeatedly reaching existing audiences and needed to expand to new shoppers.
• CTV helped expand reach: Live sports and other CTV inventory helped IQBAR acquire new customers while measuring profitability against expected lifetime value.
• Closed-loop measurement connects media to sales: Amazon allowed PMG to connect upper-funnel video and display exposure with actual purchases.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction: Ari Paparo and Ryan Walker
00:38 Full-Funnel Marketing at Amazon unBoxed
01:17 How PMG and IQBAR Use Amazon Marketing Cloud
02:54 Reaching Customers Across the Purchase Journey
03:22 Identifying IQBAR’s Growth Plateau
04:39 Shifting Targeting Toward New Customers
05:34 Tailoring Creative and Messaging
06:03 Performance Plus and Brand Plus
06:33 Expanding Across CTV and Video
07:11 Using Live Sports to Reach New Audiences
08:29 Amazon’s Closed-Loop Measurement Advantage
09:46 What’s Next for Full-Funnel Advertising
10:51 If PMG Commerce Were an Animal

Guests: Ari Paparo

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Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi recap Marketecture Live Chicago before sharing a live conversation with Steven Galanis, Co-Founder & CEO of Cameo, and Johnny Hilbrant, Creator of PE Guy. They explore how Cameo is expanding beyond personalized videos into brand partnerships, how creators are building diversified revenue streams, and why platforms like LinkedIn are becoming valuable channels for creator content. Ari and Eric also break down Meta’s Muse AI agent, recent ad tech M&A, Scope3’s rebrand, and the rise of new commerce media networks.

Takeaways:

• Cameo is expanding its role in brand and creator partnerships.
• Creators are diversifying revenue beyond traditional sponsored posts.
• LinkedIn is becoming a stronger distribution channel for creator content.
• AI agents could reshape how consumers discover and buy products.
• Commerce media is expanding into finance, restaurants, and other industries.

Chapters:
00:00 Marketecture Live Chicago Recap
01:53 How LLMs Source Brand Information
02:59 What Marketers Were Talking About in Chicago
05:49 Steven Galanis on Cameo’s Growth
07:35 Cameo for Business and Brand Endorsements
12:04 The Rise of Micro-Influencers
13:44 Is Everyone an Influencer Now?
17:10 How Creators Diversify Their Revenue
19:12 The Future of Creator Platforms
20:40 Jonny Hilbrant, Creator of PE Guy, Joins
22:29 How PE Guy Was Created
25:15 Creator Platforms and Distribution
28:06 Why PE Guy Is Working on LinkedIn
30:18 Building Long-Term Brand Partnerships
33:02 Do Creators Still Need Agents?
35:25 Meta’s Muse AI Agent
45:00 Infillion Acquires Foursquare
47:33 Taboola Acquires Dianomi
49:08 Scope3 Rebrands
52:46 Citi Launches a Commerce Media Network
55:33 McDonald’s Launches Its Media Network
57:40 Closing Thoughts

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Steven Galanis, Johnny Hilbrant

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Corey Ferengul, Managing Partner at Aperiam, joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to explore the rise of Unified Media Platforms (UMPs), a new category of AI-powered tools designed to manage media buying, optimization, creative, and budgets across multiple advertising platforms. Plus, Ari and Eric break down Google’s latest ad tech remedies, AI-driven ad spend growth, Mediaocean’s new AI venture initiative, and other major industry moves.

Takeaways

• Unified Media Platforms use AI to manage campaigns across multiple advertising platforms from one interface.
• UMPs can continuously adjust budgets, analyze performance, and adapt creative with less manual work.
• Vendors are differentiating through customer segments and capabilities such as creative, data, and optimization.
• Google’s remedies could give publishers more flexibility to move away from Google Ad Manager while retaining access to AdX demand.
• AI-powered advertising tools are contributing to increased ad spend, particularly across major platforms.

Chapters
01:11 Welcome to Marketecture Podcast
02:18 Marketecture Live Chicago and Madjobs.ai
05:23 Corey Ferengul Joins the Podcast
05:49 The Rise of Unified Media Platforms
07:46 What Makes UMPs Different?
08:58 Companies Building Unified Media Platforms
11:33 Who Are UMPs Built For?
13:34 How Major Platforms Could Respond
15:56 Can UMPs Become Sustainable Businesses?
17:59 How UMPs Could Reshape Agencies and Ad Tech
20:38 Where to Find Aperiam’s UMP Market Map
22:18 The Refresh
23:01 Google’s Ad Tech Remedies Explained
29:56 Ad Tech M&A and DoubleVerify
32:02 AI Is Driving Ad Spend Growth
34:20 Mediaocean Launches AI Ventures
37:31 Adam Soroka Becomes CEO of PebblePost
40:31 33Across Becomes Wealthstage
42:49 FLAM and Profound Raise New Funding
45:17 OpenAI and Sponsored Agents
46:10 Closing Thoughts and Marketecture Live Chicago

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Corey Ferengul

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Life360 CMO Mike Zeman joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to unpack what CMOs really want from advertising partners, why relationships and business outcomes matter more than buzzwords, and how Life360 balances brand building, performance marketing, and incrementality.

Then, Ari and Eric break down the latest ad tech news, including The Trade Desk’s layoffs, Amazon and OpenAI’s ChatGPT ads partnership, emerging privacy concerns, AI personal assistants, and advertising auction lawsuits.

Takeaways:

• Sell business outcomes, not buzzwords: CMOs want solutions tied to revenue, profitability, and company value.
• Start small and prove value: Mike recommends pilots that demonstrate measurable results before scaling.
• Incrementality matters: Life360 uses marketing mix modeling and long-term customer value to evaluate marketing effectiveness.
• Creative needs to break through: Life360 embraces bold advertising designed to make audiences laugh or cry rather than blend in.
• Ad tech keeps shifting: Ari and Eric discuss The Trade Desk, ChatGPT ads, privacy risks, AI assistants, and auction practices.

Chapters:
01:24 Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi Open the Show
03:39 Meet Mike Zeman, CMO of Life360
04:06 Lessons From Both Sides of Marketing
04:57 Why Relationships Still Matter
06:06 What CMOs Really Want From Vendors
07:13 How Ad Tech Vendors Can Differentiate
07:53 Start With a Pilot, Then Scale
08:11 Inside Life360’s Marketing Strategy
09:21 CTV as a Performance Channel
09:41 Measuring Long-Term Customer Value
10:15 Why Incrementality Matters
10:52 Building Life360’s Advertising Business
11:09 Life360’s Location Data Advantage
11:30 The Nativo Acquisition
12:07 Proving Footfall and Winning New Business
14:46 Building Life360 as an Advertising Brand
16:40 Why Life360 Embraces Bold Creative
19:19 The Refresh: Ad Tech News
19:31 The Trade Desk Layoffs
24:17 The Trade Desk and the S&P 500
27:09 Amazon, OpenAI and ChatGPT Ads
30:08 The Future of ChatGPT Advertising
31:20 LG and Smart TV Privacy Concerns
33:53 U.S. Military Disables Mobile Ad Trackers
35:20 AI Personal Assistants and Privacy
37:07 AI Bots Meet Restaurant Reservations
38:39 Meta and Second-Price Auction Lawsuit
40:25 Closing Thoughts

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Mike Zeman

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