Breaking Through The Mayhem

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Mar 2026

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About the show

Marketing in a time of constantly shifting risk and opportunity. Industry leaders from brands, agencies, publishers and partners discuss the challenges and possibilities emerging from the ever-shifting media landscape, with regard to brand safety and purpose, real-time marketing, influencers, cancel culture, data privacy, technology and more.

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60 recent

March 3, 2026Episode 6232 min

Brittany Clauss on Scaling Brand Loyalty at United Airlines

In this conversation, Brittany Clauss, Director, Brand Marketing & Media Strategy, United Airlines, shares how she balances brand building with revenue accountability inside one of the world’s most complex enterprises. From agency roots to leading media strategy within corporate communications, she unpacks how United connects long term platform thinking with performance goals, navigates volatility at the speed of PR, and uses innovation like contextual media and AI to drive loyalty, not just awareness. A candid look at how a global brand builds advocates, not just impressions. Highlights: Sales overnight and brand over time applied to modern media mix decisions Turning a competitive loyalty push into a brand story, not just a CTA Building brand love in a volatile category without abandoning long term strategy Integrating paid media with corporate comms to move at the pace of headlines AI driven contextual activation without sacrificing brand fundamentals Retail media, co-brand complexity, and connecting fragmented media ecosystems

February 19, 2026Episode 6121 min

Susu Grace on Turning Client Experiences Into Real Business Impact

Adam Katz sits down with Susu Grace, Co-Founder and Head of Experience Partnerships, for a candid conversation on how Givsly builds emotion driven experiences that strengthen partnerships and unlock measurable growth. From redirecting sales and marketing budgets into community impact to designing events people actually remember, Susu shares why values and revenue move together in today’s media ecosystem. Highlights:  Emotion-driven experiential accelerates follow up and deal velocity more than traditional hospitality Sales and marketing budgets can fund measurable community impact without being boxed into CSR Inclusive event design increases partner engagement and long term relationship equity Shared values create stronger industry networks than transactional client entertainment Clear boundaries and faster decision making sharpen startup execution and leadership

February 17, 2026Episode 6016 min

Ziggy Prieto on Why Frequency Wins in a Fragmented Media Landscape

In a candid conversation with a longtime industry peer, SVP Group Media Director at Mediahub Worldwide Ziggy Prieto shares how he navigates multi vertical portfolios, challenges every buy, and keeps teams focused on what actually drives impact. From persona driven audience thinking to closed loop measurement and a blunt take on frequency, this is how Ziggy evaluates partners, platforms, and performance in today’s media ecosystem. Highlights: Why frequency over frequency is still the most honest lever in driving attention How challenger brands pressure test media plans across vertical learnings Using persona modeling to sharpen audience strategy before the buy What sellers miss when they pitch tech instead of client business outcomes The operator mindset behind closed loop measurement and real accountability

February 11, 2026Episode 5922 min

Paige Walker on Building Cultural Intelligence Inside The Hershey Company

Adam Katz sits down with Paige Walker, Manager, Cultural Intelligence and Trends at The Hershey Company, for a candid conversation about her path from journalism to leading social listening and cultural intelligence inside a global CPG organization. Paige shares how her role evolved from consumer relations to becoming the in-house SME for social intelligence, how she partners with brand and insights teams, and what it looks like to build influence in a niche discipline inside a large enterprise. This episode offers an inside look at how cultural intelligence functions within a major brand, and how Paige operates within the broader media and marketing ecosystem.

February 4, 2026Episode 5823 min

Domenic Venuto on Building the AI-Native Agency from the Inside Out

Adam sits down with Domenic Venuto, Chief Product and Data Officer at Horizon Media, to unpack how a career across agencies, publishers, ad tech, and finance shaped his approach to product, data, and transformation. Domenic explains why Horizon’s independent culture and human-first leadership pulled him back to agency life—and how the Blu Platform is using AI to democratize data, accelerate strategy, and deepen client partnerships beyond media execution. Highlights: How “quarter turns” across the industry built a full-stack leadership perspective Why Horizon’s independence enables faster, more personal client relationships Blu Platform decoded: AI-native data, identity, and strategy in one ecosystem How AI shifts agencies from media delivery to business problem-solving The leadership principle of “be interested and be interesting.”

January 29, 2026Episode 5723 min

Christina Goswiller on Social’s Seat at the Table

A candid conversation with Christina Goswiller, Head of Social Transformation at Digitas, on how social earned a seat at the table, how she navigates that role, and what it looks like inside real agency environments today. Highlights: How Christina’s career path shaped how she operates today Why social earned more influence inside agencies over time What surprised Adam about her background and mindset

January 12, 2026Episode 5634 min

Michele Donati on Why Open Beats Closed in Modern Media Planning

A conversation with Michele Donati, EVP, Chief of Futures of Horizon, on why Horizon is betting on an open ecosystem—Horizon OS and its labs—to bring best-in-class partners together, accelerate innovation, and drive smarter media investment across the full planning-to-optimization workflow. Highlights: Horizon OS decoded: why “open beats closed” for speed, flexibility, and partner-powered innovation How Horizon Futures maps 65+ subcultures into actionable brand and audience strategy The new live-event playbook: real-time hype → social reverb → cultural afterglow Where LLMs actually change insight workflows (without replacing the human layer) Why labs matter: de-risked experimentation for clients who want innovation without chaos

January 7, 2026Episode 5514 min

Elijah Harris on Media Investment Strategy and Growth Levers

Adam sits down with Elijah Harris, EVP Investment Strategy at Omnicom Media, to unpack how senior investment leaders actually think—how long-tail partner ecosystems get built, what keeps investment moving despite shifting industry narratives, and why multicultural audiences remain one of the most resilient growth engines even as public ESG and DEI messaging evolves. It’s also a rare chance to get to know Elijah beyond the title, with real perspective on leadership, career longevity, and the passions that shape how he operates in media. Highlights: The DEI headlines shifted, but the budgets didn’t Why multicultural media is still one of the most resilient growth plays The inside view of how investment leaders decide what gets funded The difference between public posture and real media spend How relationships and narrative shape modern media investment

December 22, 2025Episode 5412 min

Nancy Grey of IRIS.TV on Why Context Wins CTV

CTV performs best when ads align with the moment, not just the screen. As content intelligence and AI mature, contextual precision becomes the real growth lever. This episode unpacks how deeper content signals, better measurement, and scene-level alignment are shaping the future of CTV. Key takeaways: Why contextual relevance outperforms blunt reach How IRIS.TV’s content ID scales CTV intelligence What scene-level targeting unlocks for brands Where live sports and real-time CTV are headed How AI strengthens human-led strategy Recorded live at ADWeek with Adam Katz and Nancy Grey.

December 16, 2025Episode 5317 min

How Media Leaders Create Real Advantage in an AI Era

As AI accelerates change across advertising, true advantage comes from clarity, creativity, and outcome-driven decision-making. This conversation explores how modern media leaders are redefining value, empowering teams, and using technology to elevate—not replace—human strategy. Featuring insights from Jacob Davis, Global Head of Media at Crossmedia, a respected leader shaping the future of independent media, in conversation with host Adam Katz. Key takeaways: Why value is shifting from time spent to outcomes delivered How AI should remove friction, not replace thinking What smarter partnerships unlock beyond platform defaults Why human creativity remains the ultimate differentiator How trust and clarity lead to better media performance