The Incremental Marketer

Inside Amazon's Growth Engine | Shawn Evans, Sales & Business Development, Slingwave

What does it really take to drive growth in today’s fragmented advertising landscape? In this episode of The Incremental Marketer, Paul Boruta sits down with Sean Evans, a revenue and partnerships leader with experience at Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, and beyond. Sean brings an inside look at how the ad tech and retail media ecosystems have evolved - and what brands, agencies, and SaaS companies need to understand as they navigate the next phase of growth. Sean shares insights on: - The evolution of Amazon Ads and the broader retail media ecosystem - Why Amazon Marketing Cloud is still underutilized by many brands and agencies - The growing need for cross-channel measurement across Amazon, Walmart, Google, Meta, and beyond - How brands should think about DSP, sponsored ads, incrementality, and budget allocation - The role of strategic partnerships in scaling revenue and expanding platform adoption - Why SaaS and ad tech companies need to stay focused as they grow from SMB to mid-market and enterprise From Amazon’s partner ecosystem to the future of retail media, Sean breaks down where the market is heading, where marketers are still struggling, and how better measurement can help teams make smarter decisions with their next marketing dollar. If you’re trying to better understand Amazon, retail media, partnerships, or how to turn fragmented data into smarter marketing decisions, then this episode is for you. CHAPTERS 00:00 Navigating the Ad Tech Landscape 02:47 Building Partnerships at Amazon 05:53 The Evolution of Amazon's Advertising Strategy 08:58 Understanding Amazon Marketing Cloud 11:56 Leveraging First-Party Data 14:38 DSP vs. Sponsored Ads 17:36 The Future of Retail Media 20:44 Cross-Channel Measurement Challenges 23:48 Advice for SaaS Companies 26:36 Final Thoughts and Future Outlook CONTACT SHAWN https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnevans/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnevans/]

The Hidden Cost of Siloed Marketing | Paul Boruta, Founder & CEO, Slingwave

What if your marketing problem isn’t a channel problem - but a coordination problem? In this episode of The Incremental Marketer, Paul Boruta continues our educational series with a look at one of the biggest - and often most invisible - sources of marketing inefficiency: siloed decision-making. When teams, channels, platforms, and measurement systems are all optimizing toward their own KPIs, the business as a whole can become less efficient - even when each individual team appears to be performing well. In this episode, Paul breaks down four hidden costs of siloed marketing: 1. Budget duplication How brands end up paying multiple times to reach or influence the same customer. 2. Measurement fragmentation Why every platform can appear to be “working” while the business struggles to understand what’s truly incremental. 3. Creative and message inconsistency How disconnected teams can create a fragmented customer experience across channels. 4. Timing and sequencing conflicts Why even strong campaigns can lose efficiency when planning, activation, and feedback are not aligned. The key takeaway: don’t confuse channel optimization with business optimization. The next big marketing opportunity may not be another channel, platform, or dashboard. It may be getting the whole system to work together. If your team struggles to connect planning, measurement, and growth decisions, this episode is for you. CHAPTERS 00:00 The Hidden Cost of Siloed Marketing 03:03 Understanding Coordination Problems in Marketing 05:00 Identifying Hidden Costs in Marketing 06:27 The Impact of Measurement Fragmentation 09:19 Creative and Messaging Inconsistencies 11:21 Timing Conflicts and Their Consequences 14:03 The Role of the Modern CMO 16:45 The Path to Better Coordination 18:36 Conclusion: The Importance of Coordination CONTACT PAUL linkedin.com/in/boruta/ [http://linkedin.com/in/boruta/] slingwave.com [http://slingwave.com] 🔥 ABOUT THE CHANNEL Join Slingwave Founder & CEO Paul Boruta as he sits down with top marketing leaders to uncover the strategies, experiments, and data-driven moves that actually drive growth. No fluff. No vanity metrics. Just real, actionable insights to help you optimize, scale, and win. If you geek out on analytics, love testing what really works, and want to stay ahead of the latest marketing trends, this show is for you. 👉 Ways to connect & explore: * 🎥 Prefer video? Watch full episodes on YOUTUBE. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeKIqTJmrdOxHQ7zm65gVpxU5KYtoyZXQ] * 🤝 Want to talk marketing analytics? https://slingwave.com/REQUEST A DEMO. [https://slingwave.com/demo] * 🔗 Stay in the loop and follow Slingwave on LINKEDIN. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/slingwave] * 💬 CONTACT PAUL [https://www.linkedin.com/in/boruta] 🎙️ Smarter marketing starts here →slingwave.com [http://slingwave.com]

The New CMO Mandate| Robin Zucker, Co-Founder & CMO, Renovar AI

In this episode of The Incremental Marketer, we sit down with Robin Zucker - Co-Founder & CMO of Renovar AI - to unpack what AI really means for marketing leaders today. This isn’t a conversation about hype or shiny tools. It’s about what’s actually changing inside organizations - and what it takes to keep up. Robin shares a candid view from working with boards, CEOs, and private equity-backed companies navigating AI, growth pressure, and transformation in real time. We cover: - Why “AI-ifying” your business doesn’t work without strong operational foundations - How boards are redefining marketing success around incremental impact - The shift from SEO to AI-driven discoverability - and what that means for your brand - Why traffic may be going down - but engagement and intent are going up - The rise of the fractional CMO and why speed + pattern recognition matter more than ever - What a successful CMO looks like in 2026 One of the biggest takeaways: Doing nothing with AI is a decision—and it’s the wrong one. But success with AI isn’t about chasing new tools. It’s about fixing your data, aligning your operations, and building the foundation to actually scale. If you’re a marketing leader, founder, or operator trying to make sense of this shift - this episode will give you a clear, grounded perspective on what to do next. CHAPTERS 00:00 Navigating the AI Landscape 04:15 The Evolving Role of Marketing in Boardrooms 08:42 Fractional CMOs: A New Approach to Marketing Leadership 14:01 AI's Impact on Business Operations 20:53 Discoverability in the Age of AI 24:13 The Future of the CMO Role 30:42 The Importance of AI in Marketing Strategy CONTACT ROBIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinzucker/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinzucker/] https://robinzucker.com/ [https://robinzucker.com/] 🔥 ABOUT THE CHANNEL Join Slingwave Founder & CEO Paul Boruta as he sits down with top marketing leaders to uncover the strategies, experiments, and data-driven moves that actually drive growth. No fluff. No vanity metrics. Just real, actionable insights to help you optimize, scale, and win. If you geek out on analytics, love testing what really works, and want to stay ahead of the latest marketing trends, this show is for you. 👉 Ways to connect & explore: * 🎥 Prefer video? Watch full episodes on YOUTUBE. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeKIqTJmrdOxHQ7zm65gVpxU5KYtoyZXQ] * 🤝 Want to talk marketing analytics? https://slingwave.com/REQUEST A DEMO. [https://slingwave.com/demo] * 🔗 Stay in the loop and follow Slingwave on LINKEDIN. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/slingwave] * 💬 CONTACT PAUL [https://www.linkedin.com/in/boruta] 🎙️ Smarter marketing starts here →slingwave.com [http://slingwave.com]

Incrementality Is Capital Allocation | Paul Boruta, Founder & CEO, Slingwave

Most marketers think incrementality is something you measure. The best marketers know it’s how you run your business. In this episode of The Incremental Marketer, Paul Boruta breaks down why incrementality isn’t just a tactic - it’s a capital allocation system that should shape every marketing decision you make. Because the real question isn’t “what performed?” It’s: what actually drove new growth? In this episode, you’ll learn: • Why most companies misallocate 10–30% of their marketing budget • The difference between capturing demand vs. creating it • Why attribution (especially last-click) leads to bad decisions • The concept of the Marketing Optimization Stack • How incrementality exists across every layer—not just channels • What happens when marketing starts speaking the language of finance • How to build a system that continuously improves ROI over time Incrementality isn’t about proving marketing works. It’s about making marketing work better. If you want to move from optimizing dashboards to allocating capital - and unlock real, incremental growth - this episode is for you. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Incrementality 02:04 Understanding Incrementality 04:30 The Misallocation of Marketing Spend 06:55 The Shift from Tactic to System 13:06 Building a Foundational Model 18:15 Conclusion and Key Takeaways CONTACT PAUL linkedin.com/in/boruta/ [http://linkedin.com/in/boruta/] slingwave.com [http://slingwave.com] 🔥 ABOUT THE CHANNEL Join Slingwave Founder & CEO Paul Boruta as he sits down with top marketing leaders to uncover the strategies, experiments, and data-driven moves that actually drive growth. No fluff. No vanity metrics. Just real, actionable insights to help you optimize, scale, and win. If you geek out on analytics, love testing what really works, and want to stay ahead of the latest marketing trends, this show is for you. 👉 Ways to connect & explore: * 🎥 Prefer video? Watch full episodes on YOUTUBE. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeKIqTJmrdOxHQ7zm65gVpxU5KYtoyZXQ] * 🤝 Want to talk marketing analytics? https://slingwave.com/REQUEST A DEMO. [https://slingwave.com/demo] * 🔗 Stay in the loop and follow Slingwave on LINKEDIN. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/slingwave] * 💬 CONTACT PAUL [https://www.linkedin.com/in/boruta] 🎙️ Smarter marketing starts here →slingwave.com [http://slingwave.com]

Engineering as the New Growth Lever | Piotr Motykiewicz, Fractional CTO & AI Operations, Slingwave

Most marketers are still making decisions based on data that… frankly, can’t be trusted. Every platform grades its own homework. And with more channels than ever - Amazon, Meta, Google, TikTok - it’s never been harder to understand what’s actually driving revenue. But what if you could change that? In this episode of The Incremental Marketer, I sit down with Slingwave’s Lead Engineer, Piotr Motykiewicz, to break down how we’re tackling one of the biggest problems in marketing measurement - and what we’ve just launched to solve it. We get into: * Why traditional measurement is broken * How AI and agent-based systems are changing what’s possible * And how Slingwave is delivering incrementality insights in days, not months If you’ve ever questioned your attribution, your budget allocation, or what’s really working in your media mix -  this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. CHAPTERS 00:00 The Evolution of Machine Learning and AI 02:03 Piotr's Journey in Tech and Engineering 04:01 Changing Roles in Engineering Leadership 05:15 Cultural Shifts in Engineering Practices 07:54 The Intersection of Business and Technology 09:57 Building a Modern Engineering Culture 12:17 Challenges in Marketing Measurement 14:45 Unified Architecture for Marketing Solutions 18:12 The Promise of Incrementality in Marketing 22:47 The Future of AI in Marketing CONTACT PIOTR https://www.linkedin.com/in/piotr-motykiewicz-48597519/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/piotr-motykiewicz-48597519/] 🔥 ABOUT THE CHANNEL Join Slingwave Founder & CEO Paul Boruta as he sits down with top marketing leaders to uncover the strategies, experiments, and data-driven moves that actually drive growth. No fluff. No vanity metrics. Just real, actionable insights to help you optimize, scale, and win. If you geek out on analytics, love testing what really works, and want to stay ahead of the latest marketing trends, this show is for you. 👉 Ways to connect & explore: * 🎥 Prefer video? Watch full episodes on YOUTUBE. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeKIqTJmrdOxHQ7zm65gVpxU5KYtoyZXQ] * 🤝 Want to talk marketing analytics? https://slingwave.com/REQUEST A DEMO. [https://slingwave.com/demo] * 🔗 Stay in the loop and follow Slingwave on LINKEDIN. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/slingwave] * 💬 CONTACT PAUL [https://www.linkedin.com/in/boruta] 🎙️ Smarter marketing starts here →slingwave.com [http://slingwave.com]