The Ad Podcast

Latest Episodes:

⁠Rhonda Swan⁠ - Founder and CEO - ⁠Unstoppable Branding Agency⁠ (UBA) Jul 11, 2026

Show notes

Rhonda Swan is a global brand strategist, public relations executive, best-selling author, and the Founder and CEO of the Unstoppable Branding Agency (UBA).
The Corporate Shift to Digital Pioneer
Rhonda began her career in corporate America, holding an MBA and working as a high-level marketing executive for a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company (GSK), where she managed massive multi-quarter advertising budgets. Driven by a desire to prioritize family and lifestyle freedom over traditional corporate life, she made the bold choice to leave her corporate job in the mid-2000s. She quickly built a digital marketing infrastructure, famously becoming one of the early female entrepreneurs to scale an online business to over 7 figures using automated sales funnels.
The Unstoppable Legacy & Media Footprint
The Agency: Alongside her husband, Brian Swan, she founded the Unstoppable Branding Agency.

Cannes 2026: Pre-Click Shortlist Domination, Moving Past Traditional Search Links | Sangeeta Prasad, Slalom, Chief Marketing Officer Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

Many corporate marketing groups experience declining conversion rates because they rely on traditional outbound click paths that fail to hook modern enterprise buyers utilizing automated research engines.

Sangeeta Prasad, Chief Marketing Officer at Slalom, breaks down how to construct high-performance go-to-market pipelines by aligning brand trust directly with the compressed consumer buying journey.

She shares her operational playbook for securing early space on tight customer shortlists, activating internal data teams as trusted category experts, and deploying competitive regional pilot campaigns to accelerate organizational change management and tool adoption.

Key tactical themes covered:

Restructuring campaign messaging to support the buying committee's need for safe choices.

Positioning authority assets for analyst recommendations before standard search link traffic declines.

Transforming employee advocacy channels by training in-house staff to serve as deep category educators.

Unifying technology systems with deep operational changes to satisfy corporate efficiency directives.

Utilizing internal market rivalries to drive swift cross-functional change management.

Sangeeta Prasad is the Chief Marketing Officer at Slalom, directing global positioning strategy and integrated systems integrator partner frameworks for dominant corporate clients.

Connect with our guest:

Follow Sangeeta Prasad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sangeetaprasad/

Explore Slalom: https://www.slalom.com/

Automate Performance Paid Social with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-paid-social-media-ads-outcomes/

Connect with Host Dylan Conroy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanconroy/

Cannes 2026: Post-Cookie Attribution Frameworks & Marketing Mix Modeling | Luke Smith, Croud, Founder & Global CEO Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

How do modern enterprise organizations scale global marketing initiatives across dozens of distinct geographic regions without inflating fixed payroll overhead?

Dylan Conroy sits down with Luke Smith, Global CEO of Croud, to break down the architectural evolution of modern digital media models and the transition from linear service agencies to tech-enabled delivery platforms.

The conversation covers several key tactical areas:

Decentralizing agency fixed-cost structures via custom operational software solutions (Croud OS).

Bridging the operational gap between social-first creative production and paid media performance distribution.

Establishing reliable corporate metrics and economic modeling accountability frameworks for creator spending.

Engineering custom programmatic solutions to overcome cookie deprecation and data signal loss.

Sustaining deep local market cultural value across 120 target regions simultaneously.

Luke Smith is the Global CEO and Founder of Croud, a leading tech-enabled digital media agency operating out of London, New York, Atlanta, and Dubai, servicing over 120 markets globally through a specialized network of over 2,000 marketing professionals.

Connect with the Guest & Partners:

Follow Luke Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukesmithcroud/

Explore Croud: https://croud.com/

Optimize Your Paid Media with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-paid-social-media-ads-outcomes/

Follow Host Dylan Conroy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanconroy/

Cannes 2026: Restructuring Identity Graphs for Agentic Advertising and AI Purchases | Mathieu Roche, ID5, Co-founder & CEO Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

Many corporate marketing strategies face dropping conversion tracking metrics because they rely on closed ad-tech vendors that introduce platform bias into campaign attribution.

Mathieu Roche, co-founder and CEO of ID5, breaks down how to construct neutral identity infrastructure to protect cross-channel addressability and secure reliable measurement.

He shares his operational playbook for navigating the shift toward agentic advertising, altering data graphs to track automated consumer assistants, and using internal team hackathons to automate routine sales and CRM processes.

Key tactical themes covered:

Building neutral identity channels to protect unbiased attribution tracking.

Modifying data graphs to track verified virtual agents across the purchase funnel.

Shifting identity tech priorities from baseline audience targeting to outcome measurement.

Linking automated AI transactions directly back to programmatic ad investments.

Utilizing structured team sprints to automate routine operational follow-up tasks.

Mathieu Roche is the co-founder and CEO of ID5, directing un-siloed identity architecture and multi-platform validation systems for leading digital publishers.

Connect with our guest:

Follow Mathieu Roche on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathieuroche/

Explore ID5 Solutions: http://id5.io

Optimize Performance Advertising with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-paid-social-media-ads-outcomes/

Connect with Host Dylan Conroy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanconroy/

⁠Kerry Sykes⁠ - Founder and CEO - ⁠BAYE London Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

Kerry Sykes is a fashion designer, entrepreneur, and the Founder and CEO of BAYE London, an eco-luxury swimwear and resortwear brand.
The Vision & Genesis
Born in South Africa, Kerry built her deep technical design expertise working in London's premier lingerie and swimwear space. Her career has been uniquely shaped by global travel and a personal passion for coastal culture. After decades of experiencing the frustration of poorly fitting swimwear—and navigating her own personal battles with body image—Kerry launched BAYE London to challenge the traditional boundaries of the industry. The brand's name is an acronym for "Be All You Envision," reflecting a foundational ethos centered around female empowerment, self-love, and radical body positivity.
Design & Technical Execution

Cannes 2026: Build a Proprietary AI Agency Brain to Optimize Campaign Strategy | Anthony Romano, Laughlin Constable, Chief Executive Officer Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

Many corporate marketing strategies face dropping conversion rates because they rely entirely on open-source software, generating overlapping briefs that wash out into an uninspired middle ground.

Anthony Romano, CEO at Laughlin Constable, breaks down how to construct internal AI operating systems to organize team expertise into permanent, collaborative knowledge blocks.

He shares his operational playbook for preparing brand datasets to handle autonomous machine-to-machine shopping, building layer-free full-service agency architectures, and using specialized data libraries to ensure briefs start at an advanced 80% baseline.

Key tactical themes covered:

Building internal AI operating networks to protect corporate data and campaign uniqueness.

Modifying commodity product datasets to remain visible inside automated retail filters.

Unifying design strategy and programmatic media planning under layer-free structures.

Addressing modern team alignment drops caused by fast vertical department silos.

Restructuring massive digital operations into agile mini-agency models to optimize performance.

Anthony Romano is the Chief Executive Officer at Laughlin Constable, leading layer-free full-service media platforms and proprietary AI software design for dominant consumer brands.

Connect & Secure Your Strategy Edge:

Follow Anthony Romano on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aromano/

Explore Laughlin Constable Solutions: https://www.laughlin.com/

Automate Omnichannel Performance Capital with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-paid-social-media-ads-outcomes/

Connect with Host Dylan Conroy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanconroy/

⁠Armin Molavi⁠ - Chief Marketing Officer - ⁠Instructure Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

Armin Molavi is a seasoned global brand architect, enterprise marketing executive, and the Chief Marketing Officer at Instructure, the edtech giant behind Canvas by Instructure (the world's leading learning management platform).
With over 20 years of experience leading massive brand transformations, Armin specializes in taking complex, legacy organizations and modernizing their market narrative. Before stepping into the edtech space at Instructure, he built a powerhouse career on both the agency and corporate brand sides. Notably, he served as the Global Head of Media and Marketing Operations at Hilton, where he managed their international agency ecosystem, drove massive digital efficiency, and helped steer the hospitality giant through an era of aggressive digital transformation.

⁠Christian Brown⁠ - Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer - ⁠Glewee Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

Christian Brown is an American tech entrepreneur, marketing executive, and creator economy strategist based in the New York area. He is best known as the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Glewee, an all-in-one influencer marketing platform that automates and scales how brands, agencies, and creators collaborate. Recognized by Forbes on their 30 Under 30 list for Marketing & Advertising, Brown is a prominent voice in the martech space, specializing in Gen Z consumer behavior, data attribution in influencer networks, and creator monetization.
Early Life and Education
Brown’s path to tech entrepreneurship began with an early immersion into social media and brand dynamics. He attended DePaul University in Chicago, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication.

Cannes 2026: Scale Full-Funnel Ad Campaigns Using Reddit Advertising Infrastructure | Jim Squires, Reddit, Chief Marketing Officer Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

Many corporate marketing groups see dropping conversion rates because they place ad budgets across saturated, untrusted feeds that fail to engage the modern consumer.

Jim Squires, Chief Marketing Officer at Reddit, details how to build high-performance, full-funnel ad campaigns by placing creative assets inside active, human-curated community networks.

He shares his operational playbook for using advanced data intelligence layers to track competitor landscape shifts, managing public brand critique confidently, and designing brand-true ad creative that lowers down-funnel acquisition friction.

Key discussion topics include:

Moving past static awareness ads to implement full-funnel performance tracking systems.

Capturing high-intent purchase decisions within interest-driven consumer forums.

Processing unstructured text assets using centralized community data platforms.

Managing brand safety risks by keeping ad creative consistent with your corporate identity.

Integrating unfiltered public feedback into ad designs to build consumer trust.

Jim Squires is the Chief Marketing Officer at Reddit, directing programmatic ad infrastructure, community insight design, and dataset distribution pipelines for global enterprise brands.

Connect & Scale Your Reddit Performance Capital:

Follow Jim Squires on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcsquires/

Explore Reddit for Business: https://www.redditforbusiness.com/

Performance Marketing Channels with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-paid-social-media-ads-outcomes/

Connect with Host Dylan Conroy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanconroy/

Cannes 2026: OpenAI vs. Anthropic: AI Branding and Trust Positioning | Mark Figliulo, FIG, Creative Chairman Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

Many enterprise brand strategies face dropping engagement rates because their visual messages are broken apart and altered across highly fragmented media channels.

Mark Figliulo, founder and Creative Chairman at FIG, breaks down how to build high-performance creative databases to analyze visual, textual, and musical components across millions of assets.

He shares his operational framework for navigating the branding battles between leading AI platforms, unifying creative execution with programmatic media planning networks, and sourcing custom data foundations to prevent repetitive campaign insights during client pitches.

Key tactical themes covered:

Tracking and correcting layout alterations across fragmented vertical environments.

Tagging design assets with unique IDs to track performance across distribution pipelines.

Aligning creative agency design directly with programmatic media network buying.

Analyzing the long-term corporate value of humor, transparency, and moral foundations.

Mixing automated workflows with custom data pools to avoid repetitive strategy layouts.

Mark Figliulo is the founder and Creative Chairman at FIG, directing creative data tracking and asset architecture pipelines for premier consumer accounts.

Connect & Protect Your Creative Assets:

Follow Mark Figliulo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-figliulo-2817b19/

Explore FIG: https://www.figagency.com/

Automate Performance Marketing Budgets with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-paid-social-media-ads-outcomes/

Connect with Host Dylan Conroy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanconroy/