AdTech is shifting faster than ever – privacy, AI, and platform fragmentation are rewriting the rules in real time. My focus? Cutting through the noise to make sense of it all, independent, unapologetic, pragmatic, and solution-oriented.
With over a decade in programmatic and digital media — and Ex’s from every corner of the ecosystem (Big Tech, agency holding companies, Fortune 500 brand) — I’ve seen the game from all sides.
Now I do things my way. No titles. No KPIs. No decks.
Just research, writing, frameworks and a relentless curiosity to figure out where this industry is really going.
Think of it as my self-directed PhD in AdTech: one post, one article, one rabbit hole at a time.
- VIBR8: The Most Privacy-Invasive Ad-Tech Tool Never Built (Yet) in
Marketing Insider on
07/31/2025
It scores ad creative for tone and aesthetic, and matches it to current mood states. Euphoric? Let's sell you a trip to Ibiza before it fades.
- When AI Killed Humble in
Marketing Insider on
07/17/2025
Everyone has an opinion -- and the ones speaking out do it with absolute confidence and certainty.
- Welcome To The Barbie World: Why Real Still Matters In Advertising in
Marketing Insider on
07/10/2025
What if the more brands pretend, the less consumers believe? Real is messy. It doesn't always scale, but real connects.
- 'Link In Comments': How Algorithms Are Reshaping Human Behavior (And Not for the Better) in
Marketing Insider on
07/01/2025
Supposedly, adding a link directly into your post will tank your reach. So what do we do? Bury the actual content we want people to read somewhere less visible -- just to appease the algorithm.
- We Track Every Signal --- Except the One That Says 'Please Stop' in
Marketing Insider on
06/26/2025
If you step outside the industry echo chamber for even a moment, you'll notice something: People have been trying to avoid advertising for decades.
- The Real Debate Behind The Open Web Vs. Walled Gardens in
Marketing Insider on
06/19/2025
While people consume content fluidly across formats, ad budgets don't flow nearly as freely, but remain disproportionately concentrated in walled gardens.
- Apple's Privacy Play: Moat, Marketing, Or Moral Baseline? in
Marketing Insider on
06/12/2025
If Apple used privacy to differentiate itself from surveillance-heavy rivals, good. Let's compete on who can be less creepy and more transparent.
- Digital Divorce: One Web For Humans, One For Bots in
Marketing Insider on
05/29/2025
Let humans have their own web. Let bots optimize each other into oblivion.
- Why AI's Persuasive Power Isn't Coming -- It's Already Here in
Marketing Insider on
05/22/2025
AI powers our search engines, shopping feeds and social scrolls. And the more it anticipates our needs, the more we let it steer.
- You Reap What You Fund: Advertising's Moral Debt in
Marketing Insider on
05/15/2025
We've normalized the absurd: Platforms profiting from chaos while offering brand safety as a premium feature.
- 'Link In Comments': How Algorithms Are Reshaping Human Behavior (And Not for the Better)
by
Shirley Marschall
(Marketing Insider on
07/01/2025)
Thanks Tim! Very good point that ignoring the algo is a loooong way to go... personally I'll be happy to follow those moving through the algo creatively. If LI lets me find them!
- YouTube's Evolution: From Reach To Rule
by
Luke Bristow
(Marketing Insider on
05/12/2025)
Love this and agree with every single word!
- Micro-Mistakes, Major Mess: When Algorithms Misread Attention
by
Shirley Marschall
(Marketing Insider on
05/08/2025)
You're of course right, Ed. This was more of a personal rant and frustration as a user... I know there's no easy fix but I do believe the algos are a reason for people going "social light". Maybe someone will come up with a creative AI (of course AI...) solution for a fix as I'm not sure the human oversight will be scalable.
- Data's Identity Crisis: How Ad Tech Lost The Plot
by
Shirley Marschall
(Marketing Insider on
04/10/2025)
Thank you, really appreciate your kind words! Yes, it's scary how easily we forget the most important thing - humans/customers...
- Targeting AIs And Filtering Invalid Human Traffic
by
Joe Mandese
(Media 3.0 on
04/11/2025)
Fascinating read! I predicted a two folded future - AI and human targted digital ads. You can find my article heret: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/404600/ad-tech-is-optimizing-for-people-but-whos-actu.html - would love to hear your thoughts!
- Ad Tech Is Optimizing For People -- But Who's Actually Seeing The Ads?
by
Shirley Marschall
(Marketing Insider on
03/27/2025)
We’re still in the early days of AI and even more so when it comes to AI-filtered recommendations and advertising. You’re absolutely right that things are far from ideal right now. But to be fair, digital advertising has always been shaped by gatekeepers: search algorithms, social feeds, and now AI-powered assistants, predictive models, curated experiences, you name it. The crucial part, the human part, is keeping us in the loop. Because if we want people to feel seen, understood, and inspired, we can’t hand everything over to machines. It’s worrying how fast the focus is shifting to AI...and how easily we forget ourselves in the process.