Last week, I attended Marketecture’s live event in New York City and left with insights that are already shaping how we advise our clients. What struck me most was the palpable shift in how the industry is thinking about advertising effectiveness.
The Outcomes Revolution
Kudos to the Marketecture team for centering the entire conference around outcomes. Speakers like Ari Paparo pushed us to confront a fundamental question: what actually drives revenue for both sides of the advertising industry? The answer requires us to challenge some deeply held assumptions about measurement and attribution.
Rethinking the Funnel
One of the most compelling discussions centered on B2B programmatic advertising in the open web. What I heard from practitioners at companies like Bombora and The Trade Desk was eye-opening: brands are increasingly moving away from obsessive last-click optimization, pivoting instead toward upper and mid-funnel strategies.
Why? Because chasing last-click attribution has caused many marketers to completely miss the consideration phase—arguably the most critical stage of the buyer journey. Being seen as relevant throughout the customer journey matters more than we’ve given it credit for.
When Entertainment Meets Commerce
EA’s discussion about the intersection of entertainment, gaming, and impact on sales was fascinating. When a game featuring skateboarding became popular, physical skateboard sales surged, search terms spiked, and brand searches increased. This is the kind of halo effect that brands are looking for. How do we impact consumer behavior across the funnel through an impactful and targeted activation?
AI and the Future of Ad Tech
One of the more forward-looking and entertaining discussions of the day was with LUMA Partners founder and CEO Terry Kawaja, where Terry pontificated about the impact of AI on the digital advertising ecosystem. LUMA will be revealing its AI Lumascape next week, and I’m sure it will be a coveted chart for many companies looking to be validated in this fast-growing space and a reference for those looking to make sense of it.
What This Means for Our Clients
These trends reinforce why integrated communications matters more than ever. At Kite Hill, we’re helping clients navigate the shift from last-click obsession to sophisticated mid-funnel strategies that build real consideration and brand relevance.
We’re exploring innovative approaches that amplify earned media through smart paid strategies and building holistic measurement frameworks that work across fragmented platforms. As ad tech’s role in driving measurable outcomes becomes more critical, brands need partners who can navigate this landscape strategically, connecting paid, earned, and owned media in ways that reflect how audiences actually engage with brands.
– Gina Preoteasa, EVP