Marketecture: Get Smart. Fast.

Hosted by Ari Paparo

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Jun 2026

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About the show

The Marketecture Podcast is hosted by industry experts Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi. Every Friday they publish an interview with an important thinker in the advertising and marketing industries, and cover that week's most important news. Every Monday there's an in-depth vendor interview where you learn about interesting companies. https://www.marketecture.tv

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June 15, 202615 min

Walmart Connect's Ryan Mayward on Their Big CTV Move: Yahoo, Magnite and Vizio Explained

Ryan Mayward, SVP and GM of Walmart Connect, joins Ari Paparo to discuss Walmart's new partnership with Yahoo and Magnite, the role of Vizio in Walmart's CTV strategy, retail media measurement, incrementality, and the future of in-store advertising. Learn how Walmart is making its audience data more accessible while focusing on outcomes and advertiser flexibility. Takeaways Walmart Connect integrated its audience and measurement capabilities with Magnite, enabling Yahoo DSP advertisers to activate campaigns on Vizio inventory. The partnership aims to make Walmart data more accessible while maintaining control over audience targeting and measurement. Walmart plans to expand access to additional DSPs and buying paths over time. Vizio OS has become a major growth driver, powering a significant share of smart TVs sold in the U.S. Walmart Connect is focused on outcomes-based advertising, including customer acquisition, sales lift, and incremental return on ad spend (iROAS). Walmart is expanding in-store media opportunities through digital screens and retail media innovations. Chapters00:00 Introduction & Walmart Connect Overview00:36 Walmart, Yahoo, Magnite & Vizio Partnership Explained03:34 Why Walmart Chose a Sell-Side Integration Strategy04:25 Future DSP Expansion Plans05:42 The Evolution of Connected TV Advertising06:50 Outcomes-Based Measurement & Walmart DSP08:56 Incrementality and iROAS in Retail Media10:24 Measuring Online vs. In-Store Sales Impact11:32 Walmart's In-Store Media & Digital Screen Strategy13:28 Walmart Connect's Biggest Advantage13:54 Walmart Connect's Biggest Challenge14:20 Lightning Round: If Walmart Connect Were an Animal15:17 Closing Remarks Guests: Ari Paparo, Ryan Mayward Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 12, 202658 min

Episode 177: Scott Ensign of Butler/Till on Innovation at Indy Agencies

Scott Ensign, Chief Strategy Officer at Butler/Till, joins Ari Paparo to discuss the advantages of being a 100% employee-owned agency, the rise of agentic AI in media buying, AdCP adoption, and the future of pharmaceutical advertising. Learn how Butler/Till is leveraging AI-powered workflows, healthcare expertise, mobile gaming inventory, and programmatic innovation to drive growth in a rapidly evolving media landscape. Takeaways Butler/Till operates as a 100% employee-owned ESOP, giving employees ownership stakes and allowing the agency to remain independent and agile. The agency is a women-owned and women-led business, with roughly two-thirds of employees being women. Thanks to its status as an independent agency, Butler/Till can operate with agility, making faster decisions and investing strategically without outside shareholder pressure. Butler/Till takes a product-focused approach, building technology and solutions around client needs rather than creating products solely for commercialization. Pharmaceutical advertising is shifting away from broad-reach TV campaigns toward addressable, data-driven digital media channels. Even if pharmaceutical advertising regulations change, opportunities will remain through disease-state education and targeted healthcare professional outreach. Mobile gaming remains an undervalued advertising channel, particularly for reaching healthcare professionals during everyday moments. Butler/Till participated in one of the industry's earliest agentic AI-powered media transactions using AdCP technology. Agentic AI can automate traditionally manual workflows such as RFPs, publisher negotiations, and media planning. The agency views AI primarily as a tool for accelerating work and solving talent shortages rather than replacing employees. Chapters00:00 Introduction to Scott Ensign and Butler/Till00:41 What makes Butler/Till unique as an employee-owned agency01:24 The history behind Butler/Till's ESOP structure02:25 Independent agencies vs. holding companies03:47 Product development and technology investments at Butler/Till04:33 Why Butler/Till hired a Chief Product Officer05:08 How clients approach AI and workflow innovation06:33 The changing landscape of pharmaceutical advertising08:31 Regulatory concerns and the future of pharma marketing10:44 Reaching healthcare professionals in the digital age12:15 Why mobile gaming is an overlooked advertising opportunity14:19 Butler/Till's early agentic AI and AdCP media transaction16:25 How buyer and seller AI agents could negotiate media deals19:28 Why pharma is a strong fit for agentic media buying21:24 Expanding AdCP into audio and offline media channels23:01 AI, efficiency, and the future of agency work23:57 Butler/Till's growth, hiring plans, and closing thoughts Guests: Ari Paparo, Scott Ensign Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 8, 202618 min

Damian Garbaccio and Doug Campbell on Affinity's Outcomes Marketing Council

Ari Paparo sits down with Damian Garbaccio, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Affinity Solutions, and Doug Campbell, Chief Strategy Officer at DoubleVerify, to discuss why 91% of marketers distrust platform-reported results, the rise of outcome-based measurement, the role of verified purchase data, AI-driven optimization, media waste, and the future of advertising accountability. Takeaways 91% of marketers distrust platform-reported results, signaling a major measurement credibility gap. Brands want to optimize toward real purchase outcomes, but technical and organizational barriers remain. Verified transaction data and independent measurement are becoming essential for improving accountability. Reducing delays and complexity between purchase data and optimization systems can improve campaign performance. AI can enhance marketing outcomes, but its effectiveness depends on the quality of the data it receives. CMOs face growing pressure to prove measurable business results and justify marketing investments. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Affinity Solutions Outcome Marketing Council 00:29 Why the council was created and its mission 01:34 The new report: Measurement's Tipping Point 02:28 Challenges connecting ad exposure to purchase behavior 03:06 Key survey findings and marketer sentiment 03:19 Why 91% of marketers distrust platform-reported results 05:31 Why marketers still rely on proxy metrics 07:10 The value of real purchase and transaction data 08:21 Barriers preventing outcome-based optimization 09:17 Platform measurement challenges and attribution overlap 09:38 Speed, data paths, and optimization challenges 10:53 The importance of third-party measurement 11:10 How much waste exists in media measurement? 13:04 Best practices for verified outcomes and optimization 14:20 How far the industry has progressed in recent years 14:44 AI, data quality, and marketing performance 16:45 Advice for CMOs navigating measurement uncertainty 17:43 Organizational change and financial accountability 18:30 Why the opportunity for innovation remains strong Guests: Ari Paparo, Damian Garbaccio, Doug Campbell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 5, 202653 min

Episode 176: Alex Chatfield on How Influencers are Leveraging Data Technology

Alex Chatfield, Co-Founder and President of Endorsable, joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to discuss how data technology is transforming influencer and celebrity marketing. Drawing on his ad tech background from AppNexus, Alex explains how brands can move beyond traditional influencer metrics by leveraging fandom intelligence, audience data, and identity signals to build more effective endorsement partnerships. The conversation explores the growing intersection of influencer marketing, audience ownership, first-party data, programmatic advertising, and measurement. Takeaways Most creators and athletes don't truly own their audience data. Ticketing platforms, merch providers, social networks, and link-in-bio tools often control valuable fan information. Organic social reach continues to decline. Brands increasingly need paid amplification beyond social platforms to effectively reach a creator's fan base. Measurement remains a major challenge in influencer marketing. Many partnerships are still structured around content deliverables rather than business outcomes or audience performance metrics. Social platforms have an opportunity to improve influencer measurement. Platforms like Meta and YouTube could make campaign reporting more transparent and actionable for brands. Alex credits his AppNexus experience for shaping his entrepreneurial journey. His current business combines expertise in programmatic advertising, identity, and data with the entertainment and talent ecosystem. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and podcast preview 01:50 Meet Alex Chatfield and the story behind Endorsable 02:17 What is a "fandom intelligence engine"? 02:55 How Endorsable differs from traditional influencer marketing platforms 04:07 Understanding celebrity fandom and audience profiling 04:47 Why creators and athletes lack ownership of fan data 0 6:27 Lessons from fan databases and audience relationships 06:41 Building a modern fan database through digital platforms 07:44 How link-in-bio platforms generate audience identity signals 08:39 Why audience ownership matters for creators and athletes 09:10 How fandom data changes brand sponsorship negotiations 10:21 Extending influencer campaigns beyond social media 11:14 The impact of declining organic social reach 11:58 How brands and agencies currently discover influencers 13:20 The limitations of platform-native influencer discovery tools 14:06 The influencer negotiation process and talent representation 14:59 Audience data gaps in influencer marketing today 16:38 Why measurement remains difficult in influencer campaigns 17:36 Can Meta, YouTube, and social platforms solve measurement? 18:37 Lessons from AppNexus and becoming an entrepreneur 20:08 Bridging ad tech and Hollywood 20:50 Why talent should demand access to audience data 21:06 The significance of Ticketmaster data access for artists 21:32 Closing thoughts and where to learn more about Endorsable Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Alex Chatfield Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 1, 202617 min

Deterministic? Prove It.

In this Marketecture Live session, Keith Petri, SVP of Data, Identity, and Supply at Viant, and Sam Khoury of Marketecture Media discuss deterministic identity, supply path optimization (SPO), contextual targeting, attribution, and the challenges of measuring true advertising effectiveness in CTV. Learn why advertisers need proof, not promises, to maximize performance and incrementality. Takeaways - Deterministic Identity Requires Proof - Publisher Login Data Isn't Fully Available to Buyers - IP Addresses Are an Imperfect Identity Signal - Too Many Supply Chain Intermediaries Create Problems - Supply Path Optimization Is About Quality, Not Just Cost Savings - Identity and Context Must Work Together - Content-Level Context Remains Limited in CTV - Incrementality Is the Ultimate Goal - Identity Resolution Requires a Holistic View - Collaboration Across the Ecosystem Is Critical Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Session Overview 00:27 Why CTV Identity Is More Complicated Than Expected 01:43 The MacKenzie-Childs Case Study: The Ideal CTV Attribution Story 03:03 Why Publisher Data Doesn't Reach Buyers 04:25 What "Deterministic, Prove It" Really Means 05:35 Where Identity Breaks Down in Programmatic Advertising 07:23 The Real Purpose of Supply Path Optimization 09:05 Identity vs. Context: Why Both Matter 10:37 The Contextual Targeting Gap in CTV 11:58 The Measurement and Attribution Unlock 14:15 Advice for Advertisers and Buyers 16:00 Closing Remarks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 29, 202651 min

Episode 175: Tejas Manohar, co-CEO of Hightouch, on the Company's Giant Fundraise, Agentic Ads, and LiveRamp

Tejas Manohar, co-founder and co-CEO of Hightouch, joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to discuss composable CDPs, replacing LiveRamp, enterprise AI workflows, and why marketers still need SaaS in the age of vibe coding. They also cover Meta’s new apps, OpenAI ads, AppLovin’s social ambitions, X’s ad business, and the rise of clipping in political campaigns. Takeaways: - Hightouch is emerging as a strong alternative to LiveRamp for identity onboarding and data activation. - Tejas Manohar explains why composable CDPs and enterprise AI workflows are gaining momentum. - The team discusses agentic AI, OpenAI ads, Meta’s new apps, and the future of marketing automation. - X, AppLovin, and Meta are all evolving their platforms around AI, data, and advertising scale. - Political campaigns are increasingly using clipping and influencer distribution over traditional media. Chapters: 00:00 Intro & Marketecture Live Chicago announcement 01:28 IAB Tech Summit and industry association discussion 02:43 Introducing Hightouch co-founder Tejas Manohar 04:20 What Hightouch actually does 05:22 Composable CDPs explained 07:32 SaaS apocalypse vs enterprise software reality 11:08 Can Hightouch replace LiveRamp? 13:58 Hightouch’s vision for agentic AI marketing 17:09 Why CDPs matter for AI workflows 20:48 Tejas Manohar’s background and Segment experience 23:32 Running Hightouch as co-CEOs 24:37 AppLovin launches social app “Gist” 28:11 Meta launches Reddit-style Forums app 30:41 Meta’s AI consulting and enterprise ambitions 34:42 X ad revenue, xAI, and social graph advantages 37:14 OpenAI ads and “conversational intent” 40:51 The rise of clipping in politics and media 44:28 FTC settlement over “active listening” claims 46:52 All Eyes On raises funding in the CTV space 48:57 Closing thoughts and outro Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Tejas Manohar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 26, 202621 min

How to Reach a Mass Audience When There’s No Mass Media

At Marketecture Live III in New York, James Wilhite, VP of Product, Index Exchange, sat down with Alan Wolk, Co-Founder & Lead Analyst, TVREV, to discuss how advertisers can still reach massive audiences in today’s fragmented media landscape. The conversation explores the evolution of CTV advertising, the rise of contextual targeting, transparency challenges, privacy-safe audience activation, and how Index Exchange is helping brands better understand and curate streaming inventory. Takeaways - Mass audiences still exist, but they’re spread across fragmented platforms. - Contextual targeting is becoming critical for CTV advertising. - Show-level transparency helps buyers understand what they’re purchasing. - Privacy regulations are accelerating interest in contextual solutions. - Curation at the SSP level gives advertisers better inventory visibility. - AI and metadata partnerships are improving scene-level targeting. - Probabilistic targeting helps estimate who is watching in a household. - Contextual advertising reduces brand safety risks in CTV. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the James Wilhite and Alan Wolk 01:00 How media activation has changed from traditional TV to streaming 02:27 Why fragmented audiences are still massive audiences 03:42 The transparency challenges in CTV advertising 05:10 What contextual targeting actually means 06:14 How scene-level and show-level contextual data works 07:13 Why contextual targeting is growing now 07:57 AI and Gracenote’s role in metadata analysis 09:35 How Index Exchange enables contextual targeting in CTV 11:15 Why curation is moving to the SSP layer 12:35 Probabilistic targeting and household viewing data 13:35 How contextual targeting improves brand safety 14:53 The future of contextual targeting in CTV 16:20 Challenges with first-party data quality 17:27 Why privacy concerns differ between web and CTV 18:31 Final thoughts on reaching mass audiences today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 22, 202646 min

Episode 174: Auren Hoffman Wants to Make LiveRamp Great Again

Auren Hoffman, founder of LiveRamp, joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to discuss Publicis’ acquisition of LiveRamp, the company’s biggest missed opportunities, and why connectivity is becoming even more important in the AI era. They also dive into Google I/O, AI-powered search, publisher challenges, product-led companies, and how AI is changing the way operators work. Takeaways LiveRamp’s biggest strength is still its network and connectivity. Auren believes better product execution could unlock much larger growth. AI agents will increase the need for fast data movement across platforms. Product-focused leadership continues to define successful ad tech companies. Google’s AI-first search experience is reshaping web traffic and publishing. AI tools are rapidly changing how executives and teams operate. Chapters 00:00 Publicis acquires LiveRamp 01:14 Auren’s perspective on LiveRamp’s evolution 02:17 The biggest product opportunities ahead 05:35 Middleware, clean rooms, and connectivity 07:20 Pricing and growth challenges 09:13 Why AI changes the value of data infrastructure 12:03 What Publicis could improve 15:37 Product leadership in ad tech 19:45 Trade Desk, UID2, and the competitive landscape 21:13 Google I/O and AI-powered search 26:27 Why AI is changing how operators work 29:28 The changing economics of publishing 34:21 Vox, podcasts, and creator-led media 36:32 Amazon affiliate cuts and publisher impact Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Auren Hoffman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 18, 202622 min

ADCP in Action: Let the AIs Rip with PubMatic & MiQ

In this Marketecture Live session, Harry Tong from PubMatic and Georgie Haig from MiQ demonstrate how ADCP and AI agents can automate campaign setup, audience discovery, supply recommendations, and media activation in seconds instead of days. They also explore how agentic workflows and open standards are shaping the future of programmatic advertising. Takeaways ADCP standardizes communication and workflows across the advertising ecosystem. PubMatic and MiQ demonstrated live AI-powered media buying workflows. Campaign setup times were reduced from days to seconds. MiQ reported up to 98% time savings in campaign setup testing. Human approval and transparency remain central to agentic workflows. Existing RTB infrastructure is being augmented, not replaced. AI agents can automate discovery, setup, optimization, and reporting. Open standards like ADCP help scale agentic advertising collaboration. Buyers gain more visibility into fees and optimization opportunities. Early testing and experimentation create long-term competitive advantages. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to ADCP and Agentic Advertising 01:21 Harry Tong and Georgie Haig Introductions 02:23 What ADCP Actually Means 03:18 Why the Current RTB Ecosystem Needs Improvement 04:21 ADCP vs MCP vs A2A Explained 05:38 How MiQ Is Using ADCP Today 07:18 MiQ’s 98% Campaign Setup Time Savings 08:35 Overview of the Live Demo Workflow 10:18 Connecting Claude to PubMatic’s Agentic OS 11:26 AI-Powered Supply and Product Discovery 13:17 Audience Discovery and Signal Recommendations 14:39 Creating the Media Buy with AI 15:48 Campaign Goes Live Inside PubMatic 16:12 Shrinking Multi-Day Workflows into Seconds 16:49 Future Features and Automated Optimizations 18:39 Biggest Learnings from Testing ADCP 19:28 Will Agentic Advertising Become Mainstream? 20:28 Final Thoughts on the Future of AI in Advertising Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 15, 202651 min

Episode 173: Tony Marlow Talks Innovation in Sports Advertising and Eric Gets into Microdramas

In this episode, Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi take an in-depth look at the evolving landscape of sports advertising, featuring insights from Tony Marlow. The conversation explores the latest innovations in how brands and media companies are approaching sponsorship, fan engagement, and measurement within live sports environments. Marlow addresses current market challenges, including increased audience fragmentation and the complexities brands face in creating meaningful connections both in-stadium and across digital channels. The episode also dives into the impact of data and technology on sports marketing. In the "Refresh" segment, Eric shifts gears to spotlight a rising trend in global entertainment: Chinese microdramas. He breaks down the commercial logic behind ultra-short scripted video, its surging popularity with younger audiences, and why Western media companies are keeping a close eye on this format. The discussion offers context on the opportunities and challenges presented by micro-content ecosystems in a rapidly changing attention economy. Key topics covered include: - How innovations in sports advertising are changing the way marketers connect with fans and measure impact - The increasing role of sponsorship data and analytics in sports media deals - Sports media fragmentation and its effect on brand strategy - The rise of Chinese microdramas and what advertisers can learn from their rapid adoption - Practical recommendations for advertisers navigating new consumer behaviors and digital platforms The Marketecture Podcast, hosted by Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi, delivers expert interviews and analysis every week, drawing on deep knowledge of media, advertising, and ad tech. Stay up to date on the latest trends, strategic insights, and behind-the-scenes perspectives shaping the industry. For the full interview archive and video episodes, visit Marketecture.tv. Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Tony Marlow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices