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AdTech AdTalk · September 4 · 1 hr 3 min

They Didn't Win Sh_t

Adam Heimlich and Gareth Glaser return for an action-packed episode following a chaotic 36 hours of breaking ad tech news. Adam kicks off the show by calling out Hightouch's recent case study against LiveRamp, explaining why claiming higher match rates than Google for CRM email uploads is fundamentally flawed and missing LiveRamp's true purpose as a modular identity translation layer. The hosts also examine Publicis' acquisition of LiveRamp alongside Epsilon and Conversant, building a fully integrated holding company tech stack while stealing the massive Pepsi account from Omnicom.The conversation pivots to a fiery breakdown of the Google antitrust ruling. Adam and Gareth dismantle the public misconception that Google "won" anything, detailing how Google's defense was laughed out of court by an 80-year-old judge and how Google launched Buyer Direct at 10% out of desperation. They analyze why a structural breakup failed, comparing the DOJ's potential behavioral remedies to the historic 2001 Microsoft Windows settlement. They also expose how Google Campaign Manager and Meta rely on probabilistic "modeled conversions" on iOS to trick automated AI budget allocators into handing them unearned attribution credit.To wrap up, Adam and Gareth break down the FTC's lawsuit against Amazon Sponsored Ads for artificially inflating winning bids in private second-price auctions, and recount how Meta's "Jedi Blue" deal with Google crippled mobile Prebid adoption. Finally, the hosts outline a joint plan to build guaranteed direct sales rules directly into Prebid, creating a open-source alternative to Google Buyer Direct.KEY TOPICSIdentity Translation vs. CRM Match Rates: Adam roasts Hightouch's case study against LiveRamp, explaining that uploading CRM lists directly to walled gardens requires no middleman, while LiveRamp's real value lies in modular identity handoffs above platforms.Publicis, LiveRamp, and the Pepsi Account Stunner: The hosts analyze why Publicis acquired LiveRamp to protect its per-advertiser modeling pipeline, while celebrating Publicis snatching the global Pepsi account from Omnicom.Google Antitrust Reality & "Modeled Conversion" Scams: Adam and Gareth explain that Google lost its antitrust trial badly, while exposing how Google and Meta use probabilistic "modeled conversions" to manufacture fake attribution credit on iOS devices.FTC Suing Amazon Over Second-Price Auction Gaming: The hosts break down the FTC's fraud lawsuit against Amazon Sponsored Ads for placing phantom second-price bids against buyers to artificially inflate final auction prices.Building a Prebid Direct Sales Competitor to Google: Gareth and Adam map out how priority direct-serving logic can be built into Prebid in weeks, giving publishers and buyers a way to execute guaranteed deals outside GAM.00:00 Grease Opening & Show Intro01:55 Hightouch vs. LiveRamp: The Flawed Case Study03:50 Publicis Acquiring LiveRamp & The End-to-End Stack09:22 Publicis Wins Pepsi Account from Omnicom12:23 Google Antitrust Ruling: "They Didn't Win Sh_t"17:00 Why Divestiture Failed & The Microsoft Remedy Model22:58 Google Campaign Manager & Fake "Modeled Conversions"28:06 Incrementality Modeling & Chalice Seed Controls31:00 B2B Programmatic & The Challenge of Tech Buying40:10 FTC Sues Amazon Sponsored Ads for Auction Gaming50:44 Meta, Jedi Blue & The Collapse of Mobile Prebid58:03 Building Guaranteed Direct Sales into Prebid

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Adam Heimlich and Gareth Glaser return for an action-packed episode following a chaotic 36 hours of breaking ad tech news. Adam kicks off the show by calling out Hightouch's recent case study against LiveRamp, explaining why claiming higher match rates than Google for CRM email uploads is fundamentally flawed and missing LiveRamp's true purpose as a modular identity translation layer. The hosts also examine Publicis' acquisition of LiveRamp alongside Epsilon and Conversant, building a fully integrated holding company tech stack while stealing the massive Pepsi account from Omnicom.The conversation pivots to a fiery breakdown of the Google antitrust ruling. Adam and Gareth dismantle the public misconception that Google "won" anything, detailing how Google's defense was laughed out of court by an 80-year-old judge and how Google launched Buyer Direct at 10% out of desperation. They analyze why a structural breakup failed, comparing the DOJ's potential behavioral remedies to the historic 2001 Microsoft Windows settlement. They also expose how Google Campaign Manager and Meta rely on probabilistic "modeled conversions" on iOS to trick automated AI budget allocators into handing them unearned attribution credit.To wrap up, Adam and Gareth break down the FTC's lawsuit against Amazon Sponsored Ads for artificially inflating winning bids in private second-price auctions, and recount how Meta's "Jedi Blue" deal with Google crippled mobile Prebid adoption. Finally, the hosts outline a joint plan to build guaranteed direct sales rules directly into Prebid, creating a open-source alternative to Google Buyer Direct.KEY TOPICSIdentity Translation vs. CRM Match Rates: Adam roasts Hightouch's case study against LiveRamp, explaining that uploading CRM lists directly to walled gardens requires no middleman, while LiveRamp's real value lies in modular identity handoffs above platforms.Publicis, LiveRamp, and the Pepsi Account Stunner: The hosts analyze why Publicis acquired LiveRamp to protect its per-advertiser modeling pipeline, while celebrating Publicis snatching the global Pepsi account from Omnicom.Google Antitrust Reality & "Modeled Conversion" Scams: Adam and Gareth explain that Google lost its antitrust trial badly, while exposing how Google and Meta use probabilistic "modeled conversions" to manufacture fake attribution credit on iOS devices.FTC Suing Amazon Over Second-Price Auction Gaming: The hosts break down the FTC's fraud lawsuit against Amazon Sponsored Ads for placing phantom second-price bids against buyers to artificially inflate final auction prices.Building a Prebid Direct Sales Competitor to Google: Gareth and Adam map out how priority direct-serving logic can be built into Prebid in weeks, giving publishers and buyers a way to execute guaranteed deals outside GAM.00:00 Grease Opening & Show Intro01:55 Hightouch vs. LiveRamp: The Flawed Case Study03:50 Publicis Acquiring LiveRamp & The End-to-End Stack09:22 Publicis Wins Pepsi Account from Omnicom12:23 Google Antitrust Ruling: "They Didn't Win Sh_t"17:00 Why Divestiture Failed & The Microsoft Remedy Model22:58 Google Campaign Manager & Fake "Modeled Conversions"28:06 Incrementality Modeling & Chalice Seed Controls31:00 B2B Programmatic & The Challenge of Tech Buying40:10 FTC Sues Amazon Sponsored Ads for Auction Gaming50:44 Meta, Jedi Blue & The Collapse of Mobile Prebid58:03 Building Guaranteed Direct Sales into Prebid

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