Breaking Through The Mayhem

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Sep 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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September 1, 2026Episode 6527 min

Risa Teksten on Operating at the Speed of Sports Media

Risa Teksten, Managing Director, Commercial Operations & Growth, joins the conversation for a candid look at the career path, instincts, and operating mindset she brings to NASCAR. From the power of live sports and fan storytelling to sponsorship, audience growth, and the partnerships shaping the fan experience, Risa shares what has stood out from inside one of the most distinctive properties in sports media. It is a conversation about the person behind the role and the perspective she brings to an evolving commercial ecosystem.

August 17, 2026Episode 6425 min

Marybeth McGaugh on Staying Close to the Work as an Adtech Leader

Index Exchange Chief Customer Officer Marybeth McGaugh joins the conversation on building a career across adtech without losing touch with the work or the people doing it. She shares her player coach approach to leadership, why honesty and authenticity matter as responsibilities grow, and how her experience across the buy side and sell side shapes the way she operates at Index Exchange. Highlights: • The player coach mindset behind Marybeth’s leadership style • Staying connected to clients and teams as responsibilities scale • Building trust across every level of an adtech organization • Leading with honesty instead of adopting an executive persona • Bringing buy side experience into her role at Index Exchange • Why reinvention has been a constant throughout her adtech career

July 5, 2026Episode 6341 min

Scott Bishoff on Building Better Marketers for the AI Era

Ben Lambert sits down with entertainment marketing veteran Scott Bishoff to explore what decades across agencies, brands, publishers, and entertainment have taught him about media, leadership, and where AI fits into the future of marketing. Scott shares why curiosity remains the industry's most valuable skill, how automation should free people to think-not replace strategic thinking-and why entertainment marketers face unique challenges in a world where culture, content, and consumer behavior evolve faster than ever. Highlights Why curiosity-not technical skills-is the trait every great marketer needs How AI should automate execution while elevating strategy and storytelling What agency, client, and sales roles each teach about building better marketers Why entertainment marketing demands different measurement than other industries Scott's prediction for how content consumption will radically change over the next decade

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

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