Turning Customer Data Into Emotional Connection (with Nick Riebel)

Everyone wants to build a billion-dollar brand, but few understand the marketing strategy necessary to get there. Jean Freeman, however, has built her agency around helping ambitious brands make that leap. In this episode, Jean—Principal + CEO of Zambezi—joins host Noor Naseer to discuss why growth requires more than just putting more money behind what already works, and why creative, media, and long-term brand investment become increasingly important as a business scales. They also explore Jean's "ideas over inventory" philosophy, the role AI should play in advertising, and why influencer marketing is becoming an increasingly important part of the growth equation.

For years, market research and advertising operated in separate worlds. But as media grows more fragmented and marketers face greater pressure to prove every dollar, those worlds are beginning to merge. On this episode of AdTech Unfiltered, Noor Naseer talks with Laura Manning, SVP of Measurement at Cint, about how advertising research is evolving. They explore how consumer insights can inform campaigns while they are still live, why first-party research can be more valuable than modeled assumptions, what AI and synthetic data mean for the future of measurement, and why the post-campaign report may finally be on its way out.

The relationship between brands and agencies is being rewritten. On this episode of AdTech Unfiltered, host Noor Naseer sits down with W. Joe DeMiero, Chief Client and Business Officer at Havas, to share what he's learned about the brand-agency relationship from working on both sides.   Drawing on his experience as a two-time agency CEO as well as a former CMO, Joe shares why today's marketing leaders are increasingly accountable for business outcomes, how AI and technology should support (but not dictate) strategy, and why the future belongs to agencies that prioritize trust, collaboration, and adaptability over the traditional model.  

Media quality has become one of advertising's biggest competitive advantages—but most brands are still measuring it the wrong way. In this episode of AdTech Unfiltered, Sara Maskivish, SVP of Market Enablement - Verification at Protected by Mediaocean, breaks down why the industry is moving beyond traditional brand safety and toward brand suitability. She explains how AI is reshaping verification, why made-for-advertising sites remain a growing challenge, how contextual signals are redefining media quality, and where advertisers continue to leave money on the table. This conversation offers a practical look at where verification is headed next.

Laurie Lam, Chief Brand Officer at e.l.f. Beauty, joins AdTech Unfiltered to unpack what it takes to build one of the world's most culturally relevant brands. From pioneering platforms before they're mainstream to forging unexpected partnerships and embracing community feedback in real time, Laurie shares how e.l.f. stays ahead. She also explores the evolving role of SEO in an AI-driven world, why bold experimentation beats playing it safe, and what marketers should do today to remain relevant as consumer behavior continues to shift.

What does growth marketing look like at one of the world's most iconic brands? In this episode, Ashley Travis, Head of Growth Marketing at Pizza Hut, shares the strategies shaping the QSR giant's future. Together with host Noor Naseer, Ashley covers loyalty, martech, CRM, digital experiences, and the challenge of competing in a crowded category. She also shares lessons from her past life at Starbucks, explains why nostalgia is a competitive advantage, and reveals the metrics her team focuses on to drive sustainable growth.

Media is being rebuilt from the ground up. In this episode of Adtech Unfiltered, Axios media correspondent and CNN media analyst Sara Fischer joins Noor Naseer to unpack how AI, consolidation, creator-led businesses, and shifting consumer behavior are reshaping media. They discuss why audience attention is more fragmented than ever, what publishers are getting right (and wrong), how AI is changing the economics of journalism, and why trusted brands still matter. It's an inside look at the trends shaping the future of media, advertising, and the business models that will determine who thrives next.

On this episode of Adtech Unfiltered, host Noor Naseer sits down with Frank-Lamont Wade, Director of Performance Marketing at the University of Phoenix, to discuss what it takes to run a high-performing, accountable performance marketing operation.   Frank shares insights on balancing lead quality with volume, navigating long customer acquisition timelines, refining measurement and attribution models, and building collaborative testing cultures across media channels. The conversation also explores the critical thinking skills modern performance marketers need to thrive in an increasingly complex advertising environment. Frank draws on years of experience in higher education, but the strategies and insights he shares apply across industries and verticals.

In this episode of Adtech Unfiltered, Nick Riebel, former VP of Digital Marketing at Eos Fitness, joins host Noor Naseer to unpack what it really takes to connect with today's audiences. He explores how marketers can leverage CDPs, audience insights, and paid media to create emotionally resonant brand experiences. From decoding platform-specific strategies to embracing AI and experimentation, Nick offers candid insights into navigating a rapidly evolving media landscape and finding the "secret sauce" that drives growth.

In this episode, former Discover media and audience strategy leader Clare Liston joins host Noor Naseer to break down how top marketers actually evaluate adtech and martech partners.   From avoiding "shiny object" syndrome to pressure-testing vendors with direct questions, Clare shares a practical framework for choosing tech that drives real business outcomes. She unpacks why most adoption is reactive, how to think about ROI within working media, why human credibility matters more than jargon, and more.