Signal & Noise

Signal Break: The Real Take on the LiveRamp Acquisition by Publicis Groupe

The independent infrastructure era may be ending. In this inaugural Signal Break, we unpack one of the most consequential AdTech deals in years: Publicis Groupe [https://www.publicisgroupe.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com] acquiring LiveRamp [https://www.liveramp.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com]. Joined by Bob Walczak and Krish Raja, we break down what this deal really means for identity, clean rooms, publishers, UID2, systems integrators, and the future of the open internet. * Is this the end of “neutral” identity infrastructure? * Are HoldCos becoming walled gardens? * Does agentic AI accelerate consolidation—or make it obsolete? We get into all of it. This is the first official Signal Break: rapid-response episodes covering the biggest shifts happening across AdTech, AI, media, and infrastructure in real time. Enjoy!

The End of Marketing’s Age of Opinion: Greg Stuart on Measurement, Attribution, and Making Marketing More Predictable

What if marketing’s biggest problem isn’t a lack of data… but a lack of discipline? In this episode of Signal & Noise, we sit down with Greg Stuart, CEO of the Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA), for a deep, unfiltered conversation on why marketing still struggles to earn trust—and what it will take to fix it. Greg has spent the last several years rebuilding MMA into a global force focused on one core mission: turning marketing from a field driven by opinions, proxies, and vendor narratives into a real profession grounded in science, evidence, and predictable outcomes.  This conversation is a hard reset. Because despite more dashboards, more tools, and more AI than ever, most marketing organizations still can’t answer the one question that matters: Is this actually making better decisions—and driving real business impact? The “Age of Opinion” is Ending Greg argues that marketing has operated for decades without a codified body of knowledge—unlike finance, medicine, or engineering. And until that changes, trust from the C-suite (and especially the CFO) will remain fragile. Measurement ≠ Better Decisions * Only ~30% of marketers trust their KPIs enough to use them for strategy * Only ~29% can trace decisions back to data * Just ~22% describe their analytics capabilities as robust  The problem isn’t dashboards. It’s decision-making maturity. The Attribution Illusion From last-click to MMM, Greg breaks down why most measurement frameworks still fall short—and why marketing continues to struggle to prove value in financial terms that CFOs actually believe. AI Won’t Save Broken Foundations AI doesn’t create truth—it reflects patterns. If your assumptions, metrics, and operating model are weak, AI will simply scale those weaknesses faster. Why Marketing Lacks Trust (and How to Fix It) * No standardized “science” of marketing * Overreliance on vendors and proxies * Weak linkage to financial outcomes * A discipline still driven too often by narrative over evidence * Marketing’s credibility problem is structural, not cosmetic * Measurement maturity is organizational—not just technological * CFO trust is the ultimate test of marketing effectiveness * AI is a force multiplier—but only if the fundamentals are sound * The future belongs to teams that move from reporting → experimentation → evidence → prediction This isn’t another conversation about dashboards, tools, or tactics. It’s about whether marketing can evolve into something more rigorous, more trusted, and more predictable—or whether it continues to operate as a function driven by opinion, intuition, and fragmented incentives. If you’re a CMO, operator, or builder trying to navigate measurement, attribution, and AI… this episode will challenge how you think about all of it. Watch the full episode and join the conversation. #SignalAndNoise #Marketing #AI #Attribution #Measurement #CMO #AdTech #MarTech 🔑 What We Cover💡 Key Takeaways🎯 Why This Episode Matters

The Sell-Side Strikes Back: Joe Root on AI, the Outcomes Era, and Rebuilding the Ad Stack from the Publisher Up

For the better part of two decades, the buy-side controlled the game. Data. Decisioning. Optimization. Margin. Publishers? Commoditized. Intermediated. Squeezed. But that era may be ending. In this episode, Joe Root (Co-Founder & CEO, Permutive) returns to Signal & Noise with a sharper—and far more disruptive—thesis: AI is shifting the center of gravity of advertising back to the sell-side. We unpack what happens when: * Decisioning moves closer to the data * Signal-rich environments outperform identity graphs * And publishers stop selling impressions… and start selling outcomes Because if the most valuable data lives on the sell-side—and AI can act on it in real time—then the entire AdTech stack gets rewritten. The Death of the “Buy-Side-First” Internet Joe breaks down why the traditional model—where DSPs optimize against thin, degraded signals—is fundamentally broken. By the time an impression reaches the bidstream, most of the signal is already gone. The result? Poor targeting, wasted spend, and a race to the bottom. The Rise of Sell-Side Intelligence Permutive’s approach flips the model: decisioning happens at the edge, inside publisher environments, where the richest behavioral and contextual data actually exists.  This isn’t just better targeting—it’s a different architecture. From Curation to AI-Driven Outcomes What started as curation and probabilistic targeting is evolving into something bigger: → Real-time prediction → Continuous optimization → Outcome-based execution We explore how AI turns fragmented signals into scalable performance—and why this unlocks a new commercial model for publishers.  The “Outcomes Era” Explained Selling impressions is easy. Selling outcomes is hard. Joe explains what actually has to change—technically and commercially—for publishers to move from CPMs to measurable business results.  Agency Business Model Reset As AI erodes the billable-hours model, agencies are being forced into a new role: → Investment managers → Principal traders → Outcome owners We dig into how this shift is reshaping incentives, margins, and how media gets bought. Agentic Trading & the Future of the Market If both buyers and sellers deploy AI agents, what happens next? Do auctions disappear—or get demoted? Does allocation move upstream—before an impression is ever served? And who wins when media becomes negotiated instead of auctioned?  This isn’t a conversation about incremental optimization. It’s about who controls the advertising system in an AI-driven world. Because if Joe is right: * DSP-centric decisioning gets abstracted * SSPs and publishers gain leverage * And the open web—long written off—may have its strongest comeback yet The future of advertising won’t be defined by who buys impressions fastest. It will be defined by who controls signal, decisioning, and outcomes closest to the user. And for the first time in a long time… that might be the sell-side.

Getting Sh*t Done: Tom Amies-Cull on Fixing Broken Agency Operating Models

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 disguise * How internal politics quietly kill execution * The real reason employees aren’t change-resistant—they’re resistant to bad change * Why strategy decks and org charts are not operating models * How unclear decision rights create organizational paralysis * The hidden role of middle management as the “connective tissue” of execution * Why leadership teams say they want accountability—but often avoid it in practice There’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&Ls * Misaligned incentives * Poor leadership behaviors * Broken decision-making structures If 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 debt * Faster decision-making * Clearer accountability * Stronger focus on value creation While 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 transformation * Operating models and org design * Leadership in complex organizations * AI’s real impact on the industry * The 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.

When AI Rewrites Work: Jennifer Borchardt on Jobs, Power, and the Human Cost

What happens when AI stops being a tool—and starts redefining what work actually is? In this episode of Signal & Noise, Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Jennifer Borchardt—UX leader, systems thinker, and newly minted Signal & Noise Executive Voice contributor—to unpack one of the most urgent questions of our time: What does AI mean for jobs, identity, and society itself? Drawing on decades of experience at firms like Sapient, Slalom, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank, Jennifer brings a rare perspective that blends design, behavioral science, and real-world systems thinking. This isn’t a surface-level conversation about productivity gains—it’s a deep dive into the structural shifts already underway. Together, they explore: * Why the labor-based economy may be fundamentally incompatible with AGI * The rise of the “hyphenate worker”—and the slow death of specialization * How AI is unbundling work, eliminating entry-level pathways, and reshaping career trajectories * The uncomfortable truth about who benefits—and who gets left behind * Why most companies are still wildly unprepared, despite the hype * The growing tension between innovation, regulation, and power concentration * And the deeper question few are asking: If work disappears, what happens to meaning, identity, and purpose? Jennifer also reacts to major industry frameworks, including the OpenAI “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age” and the Stanford University AI Index, highlighting the gap between bold policy visions and real-world human impact. This episode is equal parts optimistic and unsettling. Because while AI promises unprecedented productivity and wealth creation, it also forces us to confront a harder reality: Work isn’t just income. It’s identity. And we’re about to rewrite both. 🎙️ About Jennifer Borchardt Jennifer is a UX and digital transformation leader who has spent her career at the intersection of design, technology, and human behavior. She recently joined Signal & Noise as an Executive Voice contributor, where she explores the societal implications of AI and the future of work. 📖 Companion Article Don’t miss Jennifer’s long-form piece on Signal & Noise: “Architecting Resilience in the Intelligence Age” — a deeper exploration of the ideas discussed in this episode. If you’re building, hiring, leading—or just trying to stay relevant—this conversation is required listening. Because AI isn’t just changing how we work. It’s changing why we work.