John has spent his career studying how people actually think, and his conclusion is uncomfortable for anyone who believes their marketing decisions are more rational than they are. In this episode, John explores how synthetic users built from cognitive science principles can fill the massive research gap that most teams quietly ignore, and why removing the human interviewer from the room might be the fastest way to finally hear the truth.More
Tag Archives: machine learning
209: Maria Solodilova: Why Adtech is really a marketplace with its own economics
Maria takes us on a guided tour across the adtech landscape from a bird’s-eye view, describing a real-time marketplace where mobile ad mediation converts app usage into revenue through auctions that price every impression. She explains how supply-side work at Yango Ads centers on SDK integration, auction behavior, and performance tradeoffs that directly shape earnings once systems operate in production.More
203: Jordan Resnick: How to distinguish fake traffic from real machine customers
Distinguishing fake traffic from real machine customers requires reading behavior. Jordan shows how AI-driven bots now scroll, click, and submit forms while inflating dashboards with activity that never converts. The signal lives in speed, sequencing, and follow-through. Teams that act protect the conversion point, block synthetic demand early, and report only after traffic earns trust.More
181: Alison Albeck Lindland: Climb the AI literacy pyramid and stand out as a customer‑first marketer
Alison believes marketing careers thrive when you stay close to the people who buy from you, and at Movable Ink she has built that into the culture with a customer strategy team, advisory boards, and events that create real connections customers carry into new roles. More
178: Guta Tolmasquim: Connecting brand to revenue with attribution algorithms that reflect brand complexity
Brand measurement often feels like a polite performance nobody fully believes, and Guta learned this firsthand moving from performance marketing spreadsheets to startup rebrands that showed clear sales bumps everyone could feel. When she built Purple Metrics, she refused to pretend algorithms could explain everything, designing tools that encourage gradual shifts over sudden upheaval.More
158: Jeff Lee: How Calm’s Billion customer message machine unites martech and engineering
Jeff built a billion-message marketing machine at Calm with three people. But it was a journey. Push notifications sparked a three-year battle until a new CPO, unburdened by notification trauma, green-lit the project in six weeks. It was a four-year battle for ML recommendations but the data tells an unexpected story. Jeff also shares tactics for winning over the most skeptical product and engineering teams. It starts with operational empathy by taking a stab at a working prototype of your idea but also recognizing that product and martech decisions often stem from personal bias that requires champions who have experienced positive outcomes.More
128: Vish Gupta: Why simplification should come before automation if you want to avoid a Frankenstack
We touch on the pitfalls of Frankenstein stacks and the perks of self-service martech. Vish explains why martech isn’t just for engineers and highlights the efficiency of customized Asana intake forms. We also tackle the dangers of over-specialization for senior leaders. Additionally, we explore the intersection of martech and large language models (LLMs), providing insights on how to stay ahead in the evolving landscape.More
116: Kevin Hu: How data observability and anomaly detection can enhance MOps
Dr. Kevin Hu gives us a masterclass on everything data. Data analysis, data storytelling, data quality, data observability and data anomaly detection. We unpack the importance of balancing data perfection with actually doing the work of activating that data. He highlights data observability and anomaly detection as a key to preempting errors, ensuring data integrity for a seamless user experience. More
104: Paul Wilson: The Butterfly effect of martech pros and why they will bring a new hope for AI
This episode was a hyperdrive journey through the galaxy of martech, peering into the future and illuminating the path for marketers to balance the Force of technological advancement with the art of human creativity. We delved into marketing operations, where professionals are like astute navigators of starships, steering through the complex cosmos of data management and AI integration.More
103: Britney Muller: Deciphering the alien nature and the ethical complexities of LLMs
Britney offers a comprehensive view of the intersection of marketing and LLMs, blending technical know-how with ethical mindfulness and human-centric approaches. Her perspectives encourage professionals in the field to not only embrace AI for its efficiencies but to also understand and address its complexities, ensuring its development and application are both responsible and inclusive.More