Allison Schiff, Author at Chief Marketer

The FTC’s New Consumer Protection Chief Plans To Be Objective About Targeted Advertising

Back in 2022, the term “surveillance advertising” became common parlance at the Federal Trade Commission. But you won’t catch any of the current commissioners or key staff invoking that term anymore. Using pejorative labels, like “surveillance advertising,” for example, “does nothing to help us understand the practice,” said Christopher Mufarrige, the newly appointed director of […]

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AI

Meet The AI Startup Founded By Ad Tech Vets That Wants To Replace Ads With ‘Adaptive Experiences’

It’s like that line from “The Godfather: Part III”: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” OG ad tech entrepreneurs just can’t seem to stay away from ad tech. Case in point: Firsthand, a startup that describes itself as an “AI-powered brand agent platform,” which was launched last year by […]

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AdExchanger Talks

Straight Talk With Mediaocean CEO Bill Wise

In 2017, Mediaocean CEO Bill Wise predicted the demise of supply-side platforms. The category survived, but he’s sticking to his theory that pureplay SSPs are a thing of the past. Plus: An update on Mediaocean’s $550 million Innovid acquisition and Wise’s counterpoint to recent criticisms of The Trade Desk.

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AdExchanger Talks

AI Isn’t Something To Fear – Or Rush Into

AI isn’t something a marketer “does.” It’s not a singular action or task, and there is no AI easy button. And so AI researcher and consultant Cecilia Dones tries to “get underneath” the reasons behind why marketers want to integrate AI into their businesses.

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AdExchanger Talks

‘Real-Time Creativity,’ With Brandtech CEO David Jones

To say that David Jones, CEO and founder of The Brandtech Group, is bullish on generative AI would be an understatement. “Every single facet of marketing can be done better, faster and cheaper using technology and AI,” Jones says. “I’d rather have a fast, efficient machine than a slow, grumpy creative with a big ego.”

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AdExchanger Talks

Bob Lord Is A Holdco Skeptic

Bob Lord is back in Agency Land and he’s in the mood to poke a few bears. “Bigger is not always better,” he says on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks, referencing the megamerger between Omnicom and IPG. It’s an interesting perspective for someone who worked at an agency holding company for more than a […]

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AdExchanger Talks

Rob Wilk Is All Charged Up About Yahoo’s O&O

Microsoft ad sales vet Rob Wilk joined Yahoo last year to lead revenue for the company’s advertising business with one main goal in mind: to evangelize Yahoo’s owned-and-operated properties. Most advertisers just aren’t aware of the inventory Yahoo has to offer – and that’s on Yahoo.

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AI

A Peek Behind The Curtain At Perplexity’s Nascent But Growing Ads Business

Around 15 years ago, Taz Patel was slinging pop-under ads at Interclick before it was acquired by Yahoo. Now he’s head of advertising at Perplexity, the generative AI startup – valued at $9 billion – that’s angling to disrupt the search engine market and drink Google’s milkshake. It’s a very different vibe. “The thesis is […]

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The Big Story

Tariff Chaos And Yet More Ad Tech M&A

Tariffs are taking effect in the US, and advertisers are shook. Our special guest, Madison and Wall’s Brian Wieser, weighs in on the “blindingly obvious” consequences of implementing tariffs, including supply-chain disruptions that lead to a pullback in ad spend. You can’t promote what you can’t produce. Plus: the rationale behind Publicis’ acquisition of Lotame.

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AdExchanger Talks

Teads On The Brain

Now that Teads and Outbrain are one, the vision, explained CEO David Kostman when the deal was first announced, is to become an “end-to-end, full-funnel platform for the open internet.” But what does that mean in plain English?

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