Signal & Noise

Most companies don’t fail at strategy. They fail at execution=.In this episode of Signal & Noise, Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Tom Amies-Cull—a seasoned operator who has spent two decades inside the most complex, high-pressure agency environments, including senior leadership roles across IPG, Dentsu, and Kinesso.This isn’t a conversation about AdTech plumbing.It’s about something far more fundamental—and far more broken:How organizations actually work.Or more accurately… why they often don’t.Drawing from years inside the machine, Tom unpacks the uncomfortable truth behind transformation in large, matrixed organizations:It’s not a strategy problem. It’s a coordination problem. It’s a leadership problem. It’s an operating model problem.As he puts it: “Transformation usually fails not because companies lack strategy, but because they can’t convert intent into coordinated behavior.”This is a candid, sometimes blunt breakdown of what actually gets in the way of change:Why most “transformations” are just reorgs in disguiseHow internal politics quietly kill executionThe real reason employees aren’t change-resistant—they’re resistant to bad changeWhy strategy decks and org charts are not operating modelsHow unclear decision rights create organizational paralysisThe hidden role of middle management as the “connective tissue” of executionWhy leadership teams say they want accountability—but often avoid it in practiceThere’s a lot of industry noise right now about agencies evolving into platforms, operating systems, and AI-powered machines.Tom brings this conversation back to reality:Most organizations are further away than they think.Not because the vision is wrong—but because the underlying systems (people, incentives, culture, decision-making) aren’t built to support it.The result?Pockets of excellence… held together by heroic effort, not scalable design.Everyone is talking about AI.But Tom reframes it:AI isn’t a technology problem.It’s an operating model and leadership problem.AI can accelerate planning, production, and activation—but it cannot fix:Fragmented P&LsMisaligned incentivesPoor leadership behaviorsBroken decision-making structuresIf those don’t change, AI just makes dysfunction happen faster.We also explore why indie agencies and PE-backed firms may have an edge right now:Less structural debtFaster decision-makingClearer accountabilityStronger focus on value creationWhile legacy holdcos wrestle with complexity, challengers are moving faster—and with purpose.This episode is about closing the gap between:What companies say they are…and what they are actually capable of doing.Because in today’s environment, speed matters.Clarity matters.Execution matters most.Agency transformationOperating models and org designLeadership in complex organizationsAI’s real impact on the industryThe future of holding companies…this is a must-listen.📩 Connect with Tom:Find him on LinkedIn or through his advisory work (linked in show notes)🎧 Follow Signal & Noise:Subscribe for more unfiltered conversations with operators shaping the future of media, advertising, and AI.

This compilation episode captures the final day of POSSIBLE 2026 in Miami — where the tone shifts from hype to clarity. Filmed entirely on-site, these conversations reflect what leaders actually think after three days of meetings, launches, and late-night debates.The signal coming out of Day 3 is clear: The industry is moving from tools → systems, from workflows → agents, and from execution → orchestration. This is where AI stops being a feature — and starts becoming infrastructure.Who’s Featured:- Mano Pillai — Co-CEO & Co-Founder, HyperMindZ: Why AI needs a control layer to manage autonomous systems at scale.- Anthony Dominguez — Senior Director, Multichannel Marketing, Orange142: The reality of multichannel execution and why coordination is still broken.- Ian Maier — GM, AdTech, Hightouch: How the composable CDP model is reshaping activation and challenging legacy stacks.- Laura Foster — SVP, Marketing, GumGum: Moving beyond targeting to moment + mindset as the real driver of performance.- Michael Akkerman — Chief Business Officer, Digital Turbine: The untapped opportunity in in-app media and the importance of relevance.- Luc Benyon — Marketing Director at Adsquare: How platform dynamics and buyer behavior are shifting in a fragmented ecosystem.- Sebastian Pinzon — Data & AdTech Strategist: Why interoperability and data infrastructure are becoming non-negotiable.- Joanna Drews — Co-Founder and CEO at HyphaMetrics: Bridging strategy and execution in a rapidly changing landscape.- Joshua John — Head of DSP Strategy, at Yahoo!: The future of DSPs in an agentic, automated workflow world.- Crystal Wallace — COO at Omnicom's Kinesso: The gap between transformation strategy and real execution.- Adam Woods — Chief Product Officer, Incubeta: Rebuilding the agency model around AI-native operating systems.Key Themes* Agentic AI and autonomous media execution* Control layers, governance, and orchestration* The collapse of legacy AdTech workflows* From point solutions → integrated systems* Why timing, context, and signals matter more than everFinal Thought: Day 3 wasn’t about what’s possible. It was about what’s already happening —and how fast the rest of the industry needs to catch up.

Recorded live from the MadConnect Mansion in Miami, this special Signal & Noise episode captures Day 1 of Possible 2026—bringing together some of the sharpest operators across advertising, media, data, and AI.Across a full day of rapid-fire interviews, Rio Longacre, Brett House, and Krish Raja sat down with industry leaders to unpack what’s actually happening beneath the surface of the hype cycle.Dave Rosner — On the untapped power of publisher data and the buy-side blind spotPete Blackshaw — On brand trust in an AI-driven discovery landscapePatrick Duggan — On AI monetization and the race to profitabilityErez Levin — On ad quality, attention, and the race to the bottomAubriana Alvarez Lopez — On orchestration, AI, and fixing the adtech operating modelNathan Lindberg — On gaming, creators, and the next media frontierMK Marsden — On AI’s impact on sales and the future of the revenue engineSarah Caputo — On CTV monetization, frequency, and the viewer experienceFrom AI-driven operating models and monetization strategies to CTV fragmentation, ad quality, and the rise of new creator ecosystems—Day 1 of Possible made one thing clear:The industry isn’t lacking innovation—it’s struggling to operationalize it.This compilation brings together the sharpest insights, debates, and moments from the floor.👉 Want the full conversations?Each interview is available individually on our YouTube channel.Possible is one of the fastest-growing gatherings in media, marketing, and technology—bringing together brands, platforms, agencies, and innovators to define what’s next. Day 1 set the tone: AI is here, but execution is the real battleground.More from Day 2 coming soon.

Everyone agrees first-party data matters. So why is almost none of it actually showing up in media?In this episode of Signal & Noise, Rio Longacre and Brett House sit down with Rob McLaughlin, Founder & CEO of AUDIENCES, to unpack one of the biggest disconnects in modern marketing: the gap between data strategy and data activation.Despite years of investment in CDPs, clean rooms, cloud migrations, and identity graphs, less than 3% of media spend is actually informed by first-party data. That’s not a tooling problem. It’s a model problem.Rob breaks down why the industry has been stuck—and what needs to change:Why first-party data is widely understood… but rarely usedWhere activation actually breaks (hint: it’s not just tech)How data movement, cost, and org friction quietly kill executionWhy brands are still paying a “tax” to use their own dataAnd why the future isn’t more platforms—it’s less movement, more signalMarketers didn’t fail to invest. They failed to connect.Most brands now have:Cloud infrastructureMassive first-party datasetsSophisticated media partnersBut the “last mile”—getting that data into live campaigns—is still fragmented, expensive, and slow. The result? Campaigns ship without it. Rob’s thesis is simple—but disruptive: Stop moving data. Start moving signals.AUDIENCES flips the model:Keep data inside the brand’s cloudActivate directly from the sourceEliminate onboarding, duplication, and unnecessary costThis isn’t just cleaner architecture—it changes:Privacy dynamics (no data copying)Cost structure (no per-record tax)Speed of activation (real-time, not batch)Forget the buzzwords. This is where it works:Suppression → Stop wasting spend on existing customersSeed audiences → Outperform platform-native targetingLookalikes → Scale what actually drives valueRetail media & supply-side data → Unlock real reachAnd yes—brands are still getting retargeted with products they already bought.This episode goes beyond tactics into structure:Why the future agency looks more like an operating system than a service layerWhy identity + infrastructure is becoming the real differentiatorHow the balance of power is shifting back toward data ownersAnd why agencies without deep data integration risk becoming assemblers—not operators“CDPs are irrelevant in a cloud-native world.”“There should not be a tax on activating your own data.”“The problem isn’t that brands lack data—it’s that they can’t use it.”CMOs and Heads of Media trying to unlock real performance from 1P dataData & platform leaders stuck between cloud investment and activation realityAgency leaders navigating the shift from services → infrastructureAnyone tired of hearing “first-party data is the future” without seeing resultsExplore AUDIENCES: https://weareaudiences.comConnect with Rob McLaughlin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robanalytics/If you’re building at the intersection of data, media, and AI—this is your playbook.Subscribe to Signal & Noise on:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube🔍 What You’ll Learn⚡ The Big Idea: The Last Mile Is Broken🧠 A Different Model: Signals, Not Datasets🚀 Where First-Party Data Actually Wins🏗️ What This Means for Agencies & HoldCos💥 Hot Takes from Rob🎯 Who This Episode Is For🔗 Learn More🔊 Listen & Subscribe

Most B2B companies don’t fail because the product is bad.They fail because the system around it is broken.In this episode of Signal & Noise, we sit down with Marc Sabatini, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at HighSignals, to break down what Brett has been calling the GTM Slop Problem—and why so many launches stall before the market even has a chance to decide.Marc has spent 30+ years operating at the intersection of product, sales, marketing, and customer success—the exact place where strategy either turns into revenue… or quietly falls apart. This is not a theory episode.This is how go-to-market actually works—or doesn’t—in the real world.1. Why GTM breaks before the market even decidesThe biggest failure point isn’t competition.It’s internal:Misaligned teamsFuzzy narrativeNo shared systemNo clear ICPAs Marc puts it: “It’s not just slop from inexperience. It’s slop from lack of coordination.” 2. The Six Dimensions of GTM (and where they fall apart)We walk through the six dimensions every company thinks they have dialed in:Narrative (not messaging—commercial logic)ICP & targeting (focus vs. “sell to everyone”)Competitive readinessOffer & proofField enablementActivation & measurementThe takeaway:Most companies don’t have weak pieces.They have weak connections between the pieces.3. Problem Market Fit vs. Product Market Fit vs. Platform Market FitOne of the most important frameworks in the episode:Problem Market Fit → You can sell, but it’s messyProduct Market Fit → You can scalePlatform Market Fit → You can compoundMost companies get stuck in the first phase—generating revenue without ever building a system that scales.4. Why “great products win” is a mythThe uncomfortable truth:The best product rarely wins.The best go-to-market does.Even strong products fail when:Narrative is unclearProof is weakSales is improvisingCustomer success is disconnectedOr simply:Too much activity. Not enough coherence.5. Partner-Based Buying is changing everythingBuyers aren’t buying alone anymore.Agencies, SIs, cloud partners, and ecosystems are now:Influencing decisionsValidating vendorsActing as gatekeepersWhich means:You’re not just selling to the end buyer.You’re selling to the entire buying system.And that changes your proof stack completely.6. Why most companies fail entering the US marketMarc breaks down a common pattern:Too broad ICPWeak local proofMisread buyer expectationsActivity without tractionThe result:Burned time, burned budget, and burned field trust.7. The real job of GTM: building a system, not running campaignsThis is the core idea of the episode:GTM is not marketing.GTM is not sales.GTM is not a launch plan.It’s a connected commercial system.And when that system breaks:Messaging gets blamedSales gets blamedProduct gets blamedBut the real issue is lack of alignment and orchestration.There’s more product being built right now than ever before.AI has lowered the barrier to creation.But it hasn’t solved:PositioningDifferentiationCommercial executionIf anything, it’s made the problem worse.More products.More noise.More GTM slop.Founders trying to turn product into revenueCROs, CMOs, and GTM leaders fixing broken systemsAnyone launching B2B SaaS or AI productsOperators tired of “more activity” being the answerIf there’s one idea to walk away with, it’s this:A launch is not ready just because the product is ready.It’s ready when the system around it is coherent.Most companies never get there.

Careers in AdTech don’t follow a straight line. They follow the market.In this episode of Signal & Noise, we sit down with Evgeny Popov, a global media operator whose career cuts across publishers, agencies, AdTech platforms, and now television data—from News Corp to Lotame, Verve, and today at Samba.This isn’t just a career story.It’s a map of how the industry actually works.Because Evgeny has seen every layer of the ecosystem up close—how publishers monetize, how agencies operate, how data platforms scale, and how companies position themselves for exits. And now he’s sitting at the center of the next major shift:the transformation of television into a data-driven, measurable, and programmable channel.1. From engineer to global AdTech operatorEvgeny didn’t start in media—he started in engineering. That technical foundation became a career advantage as the industry shifted toward data, automation, and programmatic systems. 2. Building a career across every layer of the ecosystemPublishers → agencies → DSPs → data platforms → CTVThis wasn’t random. It created a rare, full-stack perspective on how media actually functions—and where the leverage sits.3. What actually drives successful exits in AdTechEvgeny has been part of multiple acquisitions. The takeaway:It’s not just about product. It’s about timing, signal, and positioning within the market.4. Why relationships matter more than people admitIn an industry that constantly reinvents itself, networks compound.Or as Evgeny puts it: “I collect good humans.” 5. Inside Samba and the rise of ACR dataWe break down how Automated Content Recognition (ACR) actually works—and why it’s becoming one of the most important data signals in the CTV ecosystem:What’s actually being watched (not just served)Cross-platform viewership across streaming, linear, and gamingA deterministic layer in an increasingly fragmented landscape6. The real state of CTV (beyond the hype)CTV is growing fast—but measurement is still broken.Fragmentation, inconsistent currencies, and platform silos are holding the market back.7. Television is becoming a data problemNot a media problem.Not a creative problem.A data + identity + measurement problem.And whoever solves that layer controls the future of TV advertising.We’ve spent the last decade talking about:ProgrammaticIdentityData platformsBut television is where all of it converges.And for the first time, we’re seeing:Deterministic signals (ACR)Cross-platform measurementReal competition for the “currency” layerThis isn’t just the evolution of TV.It’s the reconstruction of the largest media channel in the world.AdTech operators thinking about where the market is headingAnyone working in CTV, streaming, or measurementEarly-career folks trying to understand how to actually build a career in this industryPeople who want the real version of how this ecosystem works—not the slideware versionIf you strip everything else away, this episode comes down to one idea:The people who win in this industry aren’t the ones who stay in one lane.They’re the ones who understand how the entire system connects.Evgeny is one of those people.

The CDP isn’t dead—but it’s definitely not what it used to be.In this episode, Rio Longacre and Brett House sit down with Dale Renner, CEO of Redpoint Global—and one of the earliest architects of the space—to revisit the rise, fragmentation, and uncertain future of the CDP.From helping shape the first-ever CDP deal to navigating today’s fractured landscape, Dale unpacks what actually happened—and where things went sideways .They get into:Why the category splintered across identity, segmentation, and activationThe real tension between marketing, IT, and data ownership—and why most CDPs failed to bridge itHow “everyone became a CDP,” turning the category into a mile-wide, inch-deep messWhy many companies ended up with multiple CDPs—and still didn’t solve the problemThe hidden truth: without high-quality data and identity, personalization is just noiseAnd most importantly—what comes next.As AI reshapes the stack, Dale makes a clear bet:The future isn’t vendor-built platforms or pre-packaged agents.It’s data readiness, composable architectures, and company-owned agentic layers—built on top of systems that can actually handle identity, scale, and complexity.Because in the end, this was never about CDPs. It was always about the data.

Lucas Longacre officially joins Signal & Noise—and in his debut episode as an Executive Voices contributor, he starts exactly where great product work begins: in the mess.In this conversation, Lucas sits down with Zach Grumet—product leader, operator, and one of the key figures behind Lucas’s own transition into product—to unpack what it actually means to “structure the ambiguity.”This isn’t a conversation about frameworks or buzzwords. It’s about the real work:Why product managers don’t “ship features”—they own the messHow unclear problems, bad communication, and organizational friction kill good productsThe difference between product managers and actual product leadersWhy most teams solution too early—and miss the problem entirelyAnd how AI is quietly rewriting the rules of product development in real timeAlong the way, they get into the uncomfortable truths: failed decisions, broken processes, internal chaos—and why those moments are where real product thinking is forged.From reducing onboarding friction to predicting parking enforcement patterns (yes, really), Zach brings battle-tested lessons from FinTech, HealthTech, and SaaS—while Lucas connects it to a new reality where prototyping happens in hours, not quarters.But beneath it all is a bigger question: If AI accelerates everything… what actually matters more?This episode is about clarity in a world that’s only getting noisier. And it’s just the beginning.

What if dashboards are dying—and analytics is about to feel more human? In this episode of Signal & Noise, hosts Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Adam Greco, one of the most influential voices in digital and product analytics, to unpack a provocative idea: Vibe Analytics.Adam—former Omniture and Amplitude leader and current Product Evangelist at Hightouch—argues that the future of analytics won’t be defined by dashboards, SQL queries, or rigid reporting tools. Instead, it will be driven by natural language, AI-powered interfaces, and warehouse-native architectures that let teams ask questions the way humans think.Together, we explore:- What “Vibe Analytics” actually means—and why it’s more than a buzzwordWhether traditional analytics platforms like Adobe, Amplitude, and Tableau are at risk- How AI and conversational UX could democratize analytics (and de-specialize it)- What this shift means for analysts, marketers, CMOs, and data teams- Why warehouse-native stacks built on Snowflake and Databricks are foundational to what comes next- We also dig into real-world implications for measurement, attribution, personalization, and data collaboration—and debate whether this moment represents evolution… or extinction… for legacy analytics tech.If you work in analytics, marketing, product, or data—and you’ve ever felt constrained by dashboards—this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. Enjoy!

In this episode of Signal & Noise, Rio and Brett sit down with Crystal Santos Wallace — enterprise operator, data leader, and longtime architect of modern marketing infrastructure across global holdcos — for a candid conversation about what AI is actually doing inside agencies.Crystal has worked across the major networks and now operates at the intersection of data, identity, and transformation at Omnicom and Acxiom. She’s seen data evolve from passive record-keeping to operational truth — and now into fuel for agentic systems.Her thesis is simple but sharp: AI doesn’t fix broken data. It makes broken data louder.What We CoverFrom Platformization to Agentic Workflows:For the last decade, marketing technology has centered on “monolithic SaaS” platforms promising integration and control. Crystal argues we’re entering a new phase — not the death of platforms, but their transformation. The future isn’t fewer systems; it’s orchestrated systems, powered by agents and governed by design.Governance Is Not Optional:As AI accelerates, governance becomes existential. From model access and data leakage risks to inappropriate automated outputs, Crystal makes the case that compliance, security, and policy must evolve alongside innovation — not trail behind it. Human-in-the-loop isn’t a philosophical preference; it’s a risk mitigation strategy.Synthetic Audiences & Continuous Learning:We explore the rise of synthetic focus groups, digital twins, and always-on modeling. Used correctly, these tools compress the research cycle and create test-and-learn loops at scale. Used carelessly, they amplify bias. The difference? Data quality and disciplined inputs.The Changing Commercial Model:As AI reshapes workflows, the traditional FTE model inside agencies comes under pressure. Crystal speculates about usage-based, tokenized, and outcome-oriented commercial structures — and why the winners will balance technical literacy with strategic altitude.The Future CMO:Tomorrow’s CMO isn’t just a brand steward. They’re an orchestrator of systems, a translator between data science and business strategy, and a leader who understands enough about AI to direct it — without being consumed by it.This is a conversation about scale, identity, governance, and the pace of change. It’s also a reminder that technology doesn’t absolve us of responsibility. It magnifies it.If you’re navigating AI transformation inside an agency, a brand, or a data organization — this one’s for you.🎙️ Subscribe to Signal & Noise wherever you listen.

The marketing industry spends more than $4,000 per U.S. household every year.Analysts estimate that 20–30% of that spend may be lost to waste, inefficiency, and outright fraud — tens of billions of dollars annually.So here’s the uncomfortable question:If everyone knows the plumbing is broken… Why does the system keep running?In this episode of Signal & Noise, Rio Longacre and Brett House sit down with Sarah Caputo & David Nyurenberg to unpack what rarely gets said out loud: the persistence of media waste isn’t just a technology problem — it’s an incentive problem.From opaque take rates and arbitrage models to CTV supply path manipulation, from procurement-driven CPM pressure to vanity metrics masquerading as performance — this conversation pulls back the curtain on how the ecosystem actually works.Sarah and David bring firsthand experience from agencies, holding companies, publishers, and the brand side. They share real stories of:Arbitrage margins north of 80%Inventory labeled one way and delivered anotherContract loopholes that block transparencyThe career risk of asking the wrong questionsAnd the quiet pressure to “not rock the boat”The uncomfortable truth? Silence is often rewarded. Transparency can be punished. But it doesn’t have to be this way.We dig into what brands can do right now — from contractual protections and audit rights to internal capability building — to regain leverage and reduce exposure to hidden inefficiencies.If you work in AdTech, MarTech, CTV, programmatic, or media buying, this episode will feel very familiar.If you’re on the brand side, it may change how you think about your next RFP.Read the companion article:👉 https://www.signalandnoise.ai/post/the-cost-of-keeping-quietSubscribe for more candid, operator-level conversations about advertising, media, technology, and the incentives shaping what’s next.No hype. No spin. Just signal.

GTM is not messaging. It’s the operating system that turns value into adoption.GTM is the promise you make to the market. Customer experience is the proof the customer lives with.When GTM and CX are disconnected, you get three predictable failures:Story drift: sales sells one thing, onboarding delivers another, CS explains the gapAdoption drag: the product may be good, but the experience doesn’t get users to value fast enoughTrust decay: customers don’t renew based on features, they renew based on the outcomes they felt.

The Customer Data Platform, or CDP, was supposed to be marketing’s system of record. Instead, it’s become one of the most fragmented—and misunderstood—categories in the stack.In this episode of Signal & Noise, hosts Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Matthew Niederberger, Founder of MarTech Therapy, for a candid, practitioner-level conversation about where the CDP market actually stands today—and where it’s headed next.Matthew brings 20+ years of hands-on MarTech experience and a global perspective from working directly with brands across Europe and beyond. Together, the group unpacks why so many CDP initiatives stall, why buyers remain confused despite a decade of “category maturity,” and why analyst frameworks like the Gartner Magic Quadrant are becoming increasingly misaligned with how marketing technology is really bought and used.This isn’t a vendor ranking episode. It’s a reality check.Topics include:Why the CDP category feels both overcrowded and incompletePlatform CDPs vs. composable stacks—and where agentic AI actually fitsThe hidden costs of monolithic ecosystems and switching frictionWhy “data quality” still matters more than architecture diagramsHow regional maturity (especially in Europe) changes buying behaviorWhat marketers should actually trust when evaluating CDP optionsWhether “CDP” survives as a standalone category—or dissolves into something else entirelyIf you’re a CMO, CIO, MarTech leader, or practitioner navigating CDP decisions in 2025, this episode will help you separate signal from noise—and avoid buying technology that looks great on a quadrant but fails in the real world.👉 Subscribe to Signal & Noise on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts for weekly, no-BS conversations on data, tech, and AI—and what actually matters next.