The restaurant industry was already adopting digital tools before COVID. Mobile ordering, third-party delivery services, and digital loyalty programs were becoming brand differentiators, according to Alicia Kelso, Senior Contributor for Forbes.com where she covers the restaurant industry. But the pandemic accelerated the digitization of the restaurant industry, forcing proprietors to choose between battling for space on delivery aggregation apps or diving head-first into the world of direct to consumer and mobile marketing. Kelso, along with Sam Oches, Editorial Director at Nation’s Restaurant News discuss the prospects of a big industry recovery during the second half of the year, and how AI technology promises to revolutionize kitchens, drive-throughs and even contribute to deciding what people want to eat.

Guests: Alicia Kelso, Sam Oches

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Erin Matts, Global Chief Experience Officer at OPMG (Omnicom Precision Marketing Group), dives into the ongoing industry battles regarding how digital ad targeting will operate thanks to Google and Apple’s recent update to privacy guidelines. Matts believes that media buying agencies shouldn’t be counted out, especially based on their proximity to clients’ businesses and their deep investments in data science.

Guest: Erin Matts

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

The Chief Growth Officer at Triller believes that the future of marketing rests in brands communicating directly with consumers via mobile phones. Meanwhile Bonin talked about why Triller is investing so much in original series as he looks to build what he sees as the ultimate culture-defining video app.

Guest: Bonin Bough

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Gabby Cohen is Head of Brand Marketing at Harry's, the razor and expanding personal care brand that also includes Flamingo, Cat Person and Headquarters product lines. Cohen discusses how CMOs are likely to be looking to tap into pent-up consumer demand this summer as vaccines are distributed more widely - and that marketers have the perfect opportunity to play a role in bringing back branded experiences. Cohen also thinks that the pandemic-driven trend toward self-care will continue as the company looks to build out a portfolio centered on holistic wellness.

Guest: Gabby Cohen

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Bob Lord, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Ecosystems and Blockchain at IBM, discusses how the advertising industry must come to grips with the fact that digital ad targeting as we've known it is vanishing - and why he's actually okay with testing Google's Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) alternative. In the meantime, Lord believes it's imperative for publishers to work together and embrace AI.

Guest: Bob Lord

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

YouTube Ads’ Nicky Rettke, Director of Product Management, discusses how YouTube is working with retailers to develop ads that feature highly personalized lists of products for sale - even as its parent company is leaning away from supporting highly targeted ad messaging across the web. Rettke also shares that the video platform has received a large influx of eCommerce spending during the pandemic.

Guest: Nicky Rettke

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

TIME President, Keith Grossman, broaches how the news industry is being forced to rethink how best to get information out to a public that is divided on politics, as well as public health. Additionally, Cyrus Krohn, Senior Vice President, Business Development at consumer intelligence research platform, CivicScience, shares how his company is helping publishers adjust to being in the first-party data business, while preparing for future privacy regulations.

Guests: Keith Grossman, Cyrus Krohn

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Lisa Valentino, Executive Vice President, Client and Brand Solutions at Disney Advertising Sales, doesn’t think the TV upfront is dead, but Disney - owner of traditional TV networks like ABC and ESPN - is pushing further than ever into programmatic ad selling and data in a way that would have been unimaginable a few years ago. Valentino’s team is borrowing tactics from Hulu, including self-serve ad buying, which she believes will open up the TV business to a much broader array of advertisers. According to Valentino, they’ve seen a thousand new clients come to Disney through programmatic channels.

Guest: Lisa Valentino

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

According to Sandie Hawkins, GM of US Global Business Solutions at TikTok, as ratings for linear TV shows decline, the social video platform is delivering TV-sized audiences "every single day”. We talked to Hawkins about why she thinks that TikTok's reach, coupled with the emotional response so many creator videos generate, should position the company to compete for TV ad budgets soon. Hawkins says the key is getting measurement up to par on TikTok, which has only been actively selling ads for about two years, but is enjoying huge demand increases due to the pandemic.

Guest: Sandie Hawkins

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Pinterest's Chief Revenue Officer, Jon Kaplan, discusses the company's evolution from serving as a platform built mostly for product discovery to becoming a full-fledged shopping vehicle - and how over time that may encroach on Amazon's territory. Kaplan gives insight into interesting and unexpected consumer use cases Pinterest discovered during the Pandemic, and highlights how the company is turning its unique brand of customer intelligence into a product to help marketers get ahead of trends.

Guest: Jon Kaplan

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes