The Complete Feed

Mick Rigby founded Yodel Mobile before Apple launched the App Store. Nearly two decades later, he joins Signal & Noise to explain why installs are not growth—and why the real battle begins after download. We discuss retention, lifetime value, AI-driven discovery, privacy, the evolution of app marketing, and what nineteen years in mobile have taught him about building apps people choose, keep, and use.

As AI reshapes personalization and customer engagement, consent can no longer live in a static compliance system. This article explores why permission is becoming the critical layer that determines whether customer data can be used responsibly—and how brands can build trusted, AI-ready customer intelligence.

Marketing technology and advertising are converging faster than ever. Anna Mourão, Global Marketing Technology and Customer Data leader with experience through four FORTUNE 500 companies , joins Signal & Noise to discuss how global brands activate first-party data, partner with media teams, navigate the evolving CDP landscape, and prepare for an AI-driven future. It's a candid, brand-side perspective on customer data, enterprise AI, and why the traditional MarTech stack is be

Advertising has never had more data, but less certainty. In this episode of Signal & Noise, Joanna Drews, Co-Founder & CEO of HyphaMetrics, joins Brett House and Rio Longacre to explore why traditional attribution is breaking down, what MMM still misses, and how AI, panels, and cross platform measurement are reshaping the future of advertising. Better decisions in the AI era start with better measurement.

Artificial intelligence isn’t just changing how marketers work—it’s redefining the profession itself. As AI automates execution, a new role is emerging: the Marketing Engineer. This article explores why marketing is becoming an engineering discipline, how AI is reshaping marketing organizations, and why the future belongs to those who can design intelligent systems where humans and AI work together to create customer value.

What does Alexander Hamilton have to do with modern leadership? More than you might think. Drawing inspiration from the first U.S. Treasury Secretary, Quinn Harrington explores why the greatest leaders don’t just solve problems—they build systems that outlast them. It’s a thoughtful reflection on legacy, leadership, and designing organizations that thrive long after you’ve stepped away.

Mobile advertising has become one of digital marketing’s biggest innovation engines, but its future may be defined less by targeting and more by creative. Alex Merutka, Founder & CEO of CRAFTSMAN+, joins Signal & Noise to share lessons from helping build AppLovin, why he left before its IPO to launch his own company, and how AI, playable ads, and creative intelligence are reshaping performance marketing.

What happens when AI stops assisting marketers—and starts becoming the marketing team? Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Uplane CEO Julius Körfgen to explore the rise of autonomous marketing. From AI-powered strategy and creative to media buying and optimization, they discuss why the future belongs to end-to-end AI systems, how marketing teams will evolve, and why human creativity will matter more than ever.

Databricks’ CustomerLake is more than another CDP. It signals a shift from data gravity to decision gravity, as data clouds evolve from passive systems of record into platforms that interpret customer context, choose actions, and execute them. The CDP may not disappear, but it is increasingly being absorbed into the enterprise data and AI foundation.

We're entering an economy where expertise may matter more than information. In this episode of Signal & Noise, Krish Raja and Quadran CEO Dan Pratl explore how AI could help people preserve, verify, and monetize their judgment—and what that means for careers, organizations, and the future of knowledge work.

AI won’t kill music—it will redefine it. As AI-generated artists and labels emerge, the competitive advantage shifts from creating songs to orchestrating stories, communities, and cultural moments. Algorithms can optimize for engagement, but they can’t replace human judgment, taste, or restraint. The future belongs to creative directors who know when to embrace AI—and when to say no before every idea becomes the musical equivalent of a Salt & Vinegar donut.

As AI becomes a bigger part of everyday life, the conversation is shifting from what the technology can do to how it will change the way we live and work. In this episode of Signal &Noise, Rio Longacre and Brett House sit down with Adaly AI Founder & CEO Kyle Csik to explore enterprise AI, data infrastructure, human judgment, and the opportunities and challenges that come with an increasingly AI-driven world.

Gaming isn't just entertainment anymore—it's become the blueprint for modern consumer technology. In this episode of Signal & Noise, Phylicia Koh, General Partner at Play Ventures, explains how gaming principles are reshaping everything from productivity apps to advertising. We explore AI-driven creative production, the rise of "playable apps," agentic advertising, and why the next trillion-dollar opportunity may be a trusted AI agent representing consumers.

What if the best way to future-proof your career isn't learning another AI tool—but learning to think like a hacker? Executive Voice Krish Raja sits down with technology executive and startup operator Alanna Laforet to explore career reinvention, curiosity, AI, and why adaptability is becoming every professional's greatest advantage. From startup failures to portfolio careers, this conversation offers practical advice for staying resilient in a rapidly changing world.

For decades, CRM served as the enterprise system of record. But in the age of AI, real-time customer intelligence, and cloud-native platforms, that role is shifting to the data cloud. This article explores why organizations are rethinking customer data architecture, how platforms like Snowflake and Databricks are becoming the new center of gravity, and why real-time data and identity remain essential to delivering exceptional customer experiences.

What happens when AI transforms an entire city? In this episode of Signal & Noise, Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Denver's Chief AI & Information Officer, Suma Nallapati, to explore how AI is improving citizen services, strengthening public trust, and reshaping government. From Denver's AI assistant Sunny to responsible governance and the future of smart cities, this conversation reveals how AI can serve people—not just businesses.

A chef, a po' boy, and one unexpected ingredient become a lesson in strategy. In this guest essay, Quinn Harrington explores why great work fails when it's created for the wrong audience. From Beat Bobby Flay to a career-defining branding mistake, she argues that success isn't just about craft—it's about context. The best competitors don't simply express themselves; they understand the people making the decision.

Every AI breakthrough starts with something less glamorous than the latest model: clean, trustworthy data. In this episode of Signal & Noise, Hyatt's Jer Tippets joins Brett House and Rio Longacre to explain why data quality, governance, identity, and privacy are the real foundation of AI. From customer identity and CDPs to personalization and digital measurement, this conversation explores what brands need to get right before AI can truly deliver.

For years, digital advertising has optimized for cheaper impressions, stronger identity signals, and higher ROAS—but what if it's been overlooking the quality of the media itself? In this episode of Signal & Noise, Rio Longacre and Brett House are joined by Erez Levin, Founder of Emmett Advisory, to explore why media quality may be the industry's missing performance signal. They discuss attention, CTV, attribution, AI, and why marketers must rethink what truly drives advertis

As enterprises race to deploy AI, many are discovering that the biggest challenge isn’t choosing the right model—it’s building a trusted, consented, real-time data foundation. In this article, we explore why data quality, identity, and consent are becoming the true competitive advantage in enterprise AI, and how companies like Tealium are helping organizations prepare for this next era of intelligent, customer-centric experiences.

The future of digital advertising may have just taken a major step forward. Following Boostr and Vox Media’s landmark agentic media buy using AdCP, Patrick O’Leary joins Signal & Noise to explain how AI agents negotiated a real media transaction, what humans still controlled, and why this could reshape buying, selling, and the economics of digital advertising. If you want to understand where agentic trading is headed, this conversation is essential.

Attribution was supposed to make marketing measurable. Instead, privacy changes, signal loss, and walled gardens have made it harder than ever to know what's actually driving results. In this episode of Signal & Noise, Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Brian Quinn, President & GM of AppsFlyer, to explore the future of attribution, fraud, clean rooms, AI, and why the industry's most trusted metrics may deserve a second look.

Agentic trading is no longer a future concept—it has already begun. As AI agents start negotiating media transactions directly, the real question isn't whether RTB disappears, but how much of advertising shifts to a new hybrid model. What happens to DSPs, SSPs, agencies, and publishers when machines can negotiate outcomes? A look at the economics, incentives, and future of programmatic advertising.

Colorado has become ground zero in the debate over how to regulate AI without slowing innovation. In this episode of Signal & Noise, Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Srinivas "Chinnu" Parinandi of the University of Colorado Boulder to explore AI regulation, privacy laws, technology policy, and data centers. The conversation examines how today's policy decisions could shape America's competitiveness, innovation, and the future of AI.