Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi sit down with Matthew Drengler, Head of Partnerships at Podscribe, to unpack the messy reality of podcast measurement. They explore attribution, incrementality, the shift from audio to video, social clips, HLS, and why advertisers still need reliable performance data.
The conversation then turns to the changing ad tech landscape, including the open web, Nielsen’s acquisition of DoubleVerify, measurement industry pressure, The Trade Desk’s earnings, PubMatic, Viant, and advertising to AI agents.

Takeaways:

Chapters:
00:00 Welcome and Episode Introduction
02:04 Marketecture Live Chicago
03:08 Meet Matthew Drengler, Head of Partnerships at Podscribe
04:43 What Podscribe Does
05:45 Why Podcasts Are Moving to Video
07:56 The Growing Podcast Platform Problem
08:32 Apple HLS and the Future of Video Podcast Measurement
09:58 What Actually Counts as a Podcast?
11:41 Should Social Clips Be Part of Podcast Ad Packages?
13:15 Why Social Podcast Clips Are Hard to Measure
15:07 How Podcast Attribution and Incrementality Work
18:02 Should Podcasts Be Treated Like Influencer Marketing?
20:27 Why Better Measurement Unlocks Advertising Budgets
20:47 Networks, Independent Podcasts and Performance
22:17 AI-Powered Podcast Ad Verification
23:55 Spotify's Podcast Ad Skip Discussion
26:07 Ad Tech News Begins
26:51 Is the Open Web Dying?
34:38 Phia and the Cookie-Stuffing Controversy
37:36 Nielsen Acquires DoubleVerify
40:19 Independence and Trust in Measurement
43:40 Comscore and the Measurement Market Shakeup
45:45 Viant's Measurement Layoffs and AI Push
46:33 The Trade Desk Earnings Breakdown
50:03 PubMatic's Growth and Agentic Opportunity
51:26 Viant, CTV and the MySpace Question
54:00 Perplexity, Mobian and Ads Targeted to AI Agents
55:47 Closing With Matthew Drengler

Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Matt Drengler

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Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi are joined by Nikhil Lai, Principal Analyst at Forrester, to discuss the evolution of performance marketing, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), connected TV, incrementality, AI-powered advertising, and the future of marketing measurement. They also examine the latest ad tech news, including ChatGPT advertising, Walmart's acquisition of Vibe, AppLovin, retail media, and Q2 earnings across the digital advertising industry.

Takeaways

• Why Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is fundamentally different from SEO and how brands should prepare.
• How marketers are redefining performance measurement with blended ROAS and incrementality.
• The opportunities and challenges of Performance TV, connected TV, and AI-driven advertising.
• What ChatGPT, AI agents, and creative automation mean for the future of marketing.
• Key insights from the latest ad tech acquisitions, earnings, and industry trends.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Summer Catch-Up
01:24 Phishing Scam Warning for Advertising Professionals
03:42 Introducing Guest Nikhil Lai, Principal Analyst at Forrester
04:01 Nikhil Lai's Career Journey
05:22 Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) vs SEO
09:01 The Evolution of Performance Marketing
11:09 Measuring Brand Advertising Effectiveness
12:57 Incrementality and Modern Attribution
14:28 AppLovin and Performance Advertising
15:46 Performance TV and Connected TV
18:38 Walmart Acquires Vibe and Pinterest's TV Strategy
21:26 Is There an AppLovin for the Open Web?
22:17 The Future of Marketing Automation and Creative
23:59 Weekly Ad Tech News Begins
24:38 BMW, Spider-Man, and In-Car Advertising
30:31 Agentic Advertising and AI Search
34:32 ChatGPT Advertising and Brand Agents
40:02 Ad Tech Earnings Highlights
45:18 Is MySpace Making a Comeback?
46:50 Meta and LiveRamp Partnership
47:58 Closing Remarks

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Nikhil Lai

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Ben Edelman, independent consultant and longtime ad fraud investigator, joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to discuss the Phia affiliate controversy, the evolution of ad fraud, AppLovin's install practices, and what marketers should know about trust and attribution. They also cover Meta and Microsoft earnings, Google's Buyer Direct, creator marketing trends, FreeWheel's latest CTV update, and more.

Takeaways:

- Ben Edelman explains how affiliate fraud has evolved and why it remains a major issue.

- A deep dive into the Phia browser extension controversy and affiliate attribution.

- Lessons from the Blinkx adware scandal and AppLovin's forced install investigation.

- Ari and Eric discuss Meta and Microsoft earnings, Google's Buyer Direct, and the future of creator marketing.

- The latest updates from FreeWheel, Amazon, X, and the broader ad tech industry.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:12 Podcast updates and industry news preview

02:19 Meet Ben Edelman

03:20 The Blinkx adware investigation

10:04 How Ben investigates ad fraud

13:28 The Phia affiliate controversy explained

19:02 Can affiliate marketing be trusted?

23:50 AppLovin's install practices

27:37 Where to follow Ben Edelman

27:51 Meta and Microsoft earnings

33:37 Amazon becomes the largest Fortune 500 company

36:06 Google's Buyer Direct and antitrust concerns

40:14 The rise of micro and nano creators

42:44 AI-generated content in programmatic advertising

43:59 FreeWheel's new CTV reporting capabilities

45:08 X and the WFA legal settlement

46:25 Final thoughts

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Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi welcome Olivia Kory, Chief Marketing Strategy Officer at Haus, to unpack one of advertising's biggest questions: do ads actually work? Olivia explains the critical difference between attribution and incrementality, shares why AppLovin has become a standout performance channel. She discusses the future of media measurement, AI-driven optimization, and agentic media buying. The episode also covers Google's latest earnings, AI search trends, OpenAI's advertising ambitions, and the challenges of measuring podcast advertising.

Takeaways:

• Olivia explains why incrementality measures causation while attribution measures correlation.
• AppLovin delivers strong short-term performance, particularly for lower-cost, impulse purchases.
• Incrementality testing is becoming essential for validating ad platform performance.
• AI is reshaping media measurement, budget allocation, and campaign optimization.
• The hosts discuss Google's AI investments, OpenAI's potential ad network, and why podcast measurement still needs major improvements.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction & Olivia Kory Returns
05:47 Attribution vs. Incrementality Explained
07:48 Do AppLovin Ads Really Work?
10:53 Which Products Perform Best on AppLovin?
12:30 Affiliate Marketing & Incrementality Challenges
16:04 CAPI vs. Pixels: The Future of Measurement
20:13 AppsFlyer, Attribution & Daily Optimization
23:30 AI-Powered Budget Allocation & Agentic Media Buying
28:48 Google's Earnings & AI Growth
32:36 AI Search and Google's Changing SERP
34:30 Is OpenAI Building an Ad Network?
41:51 Business Insider's FAST Channel Launch
43:50 Why Podcast Measurement Is Still Broken
49:16 Should Olivia Start Her Own Podcast?
50:19 Closing Remarks

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Olivia Kory

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AppsFlyer President and General Manager Brian Quinn joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to discuss the company’s $1 billion funding round backed by Google, Meta, Unity, and Moloco. They explore independent measurement, mobile commerce, CTV attribution, and the future of AI advertising.

Takeaways:

- AppsFlyer’s strategic investors hold minority, non-controlling stakes, allowing the company to remain independent.

- Google, Meta, Unity, and Moloco rely on independent measurement signals to improve advertising optimization.

- E-commerce and retail are among AppsFlyer’s fastest-growing categories.

- Connecting CTV, web, and app activity is essential for measuring the complete customer journey.

- Last-click attribution remains vulnerable to manipulation and affiliate fraud.

- AI advertising growth will depend on proving incremental returns for marketers.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction with Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi

01:09 Marketecture’s new MADDB MCP server

04:14 Brian Quinn joins the conversation

04:45 What is AppsFlyer?

05:39 Inside AppsFlyer’s $1 billion funding round

06:41 Why AppsFlyer selected strategic investors

07:19 Protecting independent measurement

08:34 Why Google and Meta invested

09:49 AppsFlyer as an optimization signal

11:28 How the unusual funding round came together

12:31 Strategic investors versus private equity

13:20 Competing with Adjust while partnering with AppLovin

15:56 Mobile advertising beyond gaming

17:35 Growth in retail and e-commerce apps

19:25 Connecting CTV, web, and mobile measurement

23:52 Ad tech news of the week

25:19 Fia and the affiliate attribution controversy

27:35 The problems with last-click attribution

31:13 Can AI advertising meet its revenue forecasts?

35:01 Questions around IP-based CTV targeting

37:03 Open-web ad supply falls sharply

38:35 The Trade Desk expands its leadership team

40:20 PubMatic exits the wrapper-management business

41:28 Closing thoughts

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What happens when AI agents become media buyers and shopping assistants?

Ari Paparo sits down with Abhay Singhal, Co-Founder and CEO of InMobi Advertising, to discuss the future of agentic advertising, AI-powered commerce, and conversational ad experiences, and how InMobi is preparing for a world where AI makes purchasing decisions.

They also explore Glance's expansion to Samsung TVs, InMobi's acquisition of MobileAction, and how traditional ad tech workflows are being reimagined through AI.

Takeaways:

- Why AI agents will fundamentally change digital advertising

- How InMobi's Agentic Selling Platform works

- The future of conversational advertising

- Glance's expansion to Samsung TVs and AI-powered shopping

- How AI is reshaping the customer journey

- Why advertisers need to move closer to the point of transaction

- What the MobileAction acquisition means for app marketers

- How conversational CTV ads are improving engagement

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:07 InMobi's Agentic Advertising vision

01:58 Inside the Agentic Selling Platform

03:01 Why advertising is moving closer to conversion

04:27 AI agents, DSPs & the future of media buying

06:34 Glance explained

08:13 Samsung TV partnership

09:38 Measuring AI-powered commerce

11:07 Why InMobi acquired MobileAction

12:58 Conversational AI ads on Connected TV

15:36 Lightning Round

16:01 Closing

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Alex Kantrowitz, Founder of Big Technology, joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to discuss how OpenAI, Google, Meta, Anthropic, Amazon, and other tech leaders are transforming digital advertising. They also dive into AI-powered media buying, agentic commerce, Criteo acquisition rumors, Cloudflare's monetization strategy, and the future of ad tech.

Takeaways:
- Why OpenAI is rapidly building an advertising business.
- How Meta, Google, and Anthropic are approaching AI differently.
- The future of AI-powered advertising and agentic commerce.
- Why Criteo could become an attractive acquisition target.
- How Cloudflare is changing publisher monetization with AI payments.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction & Marketecture Live Chicago
01:55 Meet Alex Kantrowitz
05:20 OpenAI's Advertising Strategy
12:07 Why Anthropic Is Avoiding Ads
14:45 Meta's AI and Advertising Future
17:45 Snap's Business Challenges
18:55 Pinterest's Advertising Opportunity
21:54 Amazon's Sports & AI Strategy
24:15 AppLovin's Rise in Mobile Advertising
25:15 Criteo Acquisition Rumors
30:57 AI Negotiating Media Deals (ADCP)
33:05 Cloudflare's AI Monetization Gateway
36:40 Warner Bros. Discovery's AI Ad Tech
38:40 WPP's AI Consulting Expansion
42:25 Leadership Changes at IAS
44:20 Final Thoughts

Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Alex Kantrowitz

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Ari Paparo speaks with Grant Gudgel, Chief Marketing Officer at Locala, about adaptive advertising, AI-powered planning, location intelligence, omnichannel marketing, privacy, and how brands can improve campaign performance through localized insights.

Takeaways

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:21 Grant Gudgel joins Locala as CMO
00:37 What Locala does and its evolution
01:30 Planning platform vs. traditional DSPs
02:15 How brands optimize campaigns market by market
03:37 Measuring campaign performance and learnings
03:52 AI's role in campaign planning
05:42 Solving complex retail and QSR marketing challenges
07:08 What adaptive advertising means
08:07 Location intelligence beyond retail
09:30 Competitive analysis with location data
09:58 Omnichannel planning with DOOH and CTV
10:22 Privacy and location data
11:05 Locala's goals at Cannes
11:35 Competitive advantages and growth challenges
12:21 Lightning round: Why Locala is a narwhal

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Ari Paparo sits down with Todd Parsons, President of Performance Media and Chief Product Officer at Criteo, to discuss the launch of Criteo GO, an AI-powered performance platform that unifies cross-channel advertising across the open web, Meta, TikTok, and OpenAI. They explore AI-driven campaign automation, commerce data, retail media, agentic AI, GEO, and what the future of digital advertising looks like.

Takeaways

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Todd Parsons and Criteo
00:50 What is Criteo GO?
02:05 Who is Criteo GO built for?
03:12 Cross-channel performance marketing explained
04:00 Commerce data and retail media strategy
06:00 Measuring real performance outcomes
09:20 How AI powers Criteo GO
11:45 Agentic AI and the future of media buying
13:05 Self-service advertising and SMB growth
15:38 Lightning round: competition, roadmap, and GEO
18:08 Closing thoughts

Guests: Ari Paparo, Todd Parsons

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Ari Paparo talks with Jennifer Quigley-Jones of PMG, about the ins and outs of working with creators.

Takeaways

Chapters
00:00 Welcome Back From Cannes
02:55 Meet Jennifer Quigley-Jones, VP of Strategy & Innovation at PMG
04:39 Building Digital Voices and Selling to PMG
08:53 How Brands Approach Creator Marketing
11:54 Using Data and AI to Find the Right Creators
14:38 Why Authentic Content Beats Scripts
18:38 Creator Ads, Media Strategy, and Platform APIs
22:46 Creators Beyond Social Media
29:16 The Future of AI and Creator Marketing
32:06 Advertising News: OpenAI, Comcast, Meta & More

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