The Ad Project, Powered by Podean

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The Ad Project is your ultimate guide to conquering the world of digital advertising and retail media. While we specialize in unravelling the complexities of Amazon advertising, we explore the entire retail media landscape, providing you with comprehensive insights that empower you to excel in the rapidly evolving e-commerce industry.

Our expert guests bring a wealth of knowledge to the table, ensuring you're equipped with the latest strategies and tactics to thrive in the highly competitive digital marketing space. What sets us apart is our holistic approach, offering a deep dive into Amazon advertising while also exploring the broader retail media ecosystem and offering practical, actionable advice that you can implement immediately to improve your strategy.

Whether you're a seasoned advertiser or just getting started, The Ad Project is your trusted resource for staying ahead of the game, driving results, and achieving success across multiple platforms.

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20 episodes
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S2 · E180
April 27 · 25 min
Expanding the Map: Amerge Joins the Podean Family
Joe Shelerud welcomes Will Fisher, CCO and co-founder of Amerge, fresh off the announcement that Amerge is joining Podean, the same group that acquired Ad Advance just weeks earlier. In this episode, Joe and Will pull back the curtain on what it really takes to build a world-class Amazon agency, and what joining a global group means for their teams, clients, and the future of retail media. Key Takeaways: The Amerge origin story — Three ex-Amazon employees (spread across London, Bratislava, and beyond) who saw a gap. Tech-first DNA — Both Amerge and Ad Advance independently built proprietary technology before scaling their agencies. Cracking international markets — How Amerge expanded from the EU into the US by finding local leaders with boots-on-the-ground expertise. Non-endemic advertising as a DSP differentiator — Why working with non-endemic brands pushed Amerge to develop some of the most sophisticated DSP setups in the industry. Culture as a deal-breaker — Will and Joe both share how cultural alignment outweighed deal structure in their decisions to join Podean. Podean's emerging global model — With Ad Advance (North America), Amerge (EU/UK), Commerce Canal (retail analytics), and now eight combined founders, what the group is building is something the industry hasn't seen before. Advice for agency founders — Understand your clients' gaps before you go looking for partners, and never underestimate the importance of values fit. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E179
April 15 · 27 min
The AI Arms Race: Real Tools, Real Use Cases & What's Actually Working Right Now
Joe Shelerud, CEO of Ad Advance, sits down with Ryan Craver, Chief Strategy Officer of Podean, for a candid, fast-moving conversation on what's actually happening in AI right now — and what it means for agencies and marketers. Key Takeaways: The pace is the story. From ChatGPT's launch in November 2022 to Claude Sonnet 4.6, OpenClaw, and Perplexity Computer all dropping within weeks of each other — the speed of innovation has fundamentally changed how teams need to operate. Agent orchestration is here. OpenClaw, Claude Cowork, and Perplexity Computer each offer different on-ramps to agentic workflows. Ryan and Joe break down what each one actually does and who each is best suited for. Real wins are happening. Tasks that once took an hour are taking five minutes. Recurring research, competitive intelligence, and internal reporting are being automated — right now, not someday. Input quality is everything. Weak prompts and poor context yield weak outputs. Building out skills, brand guidelines, and knowledge bases inside your AI stack is what separates teams getting real value from those just dabbling. Don't get locked in. Both hosts agree: building around one model ecosystem is risky. The future is model-agnostic routing — pick the best tool for each task, not just the most familiar one. Models will become commodities. The real value is shifting to the platforms, orchestration layers, and workflows built on top — the "picks and shovels" play of the AI gold rush. A great listen for agency leaders, marketers, and anyone trying to cut through AI hype and find what's actually worth their time.
S2 · E178
April 3 · 28 min
Building Culture That Actually Works: Agency Growth, Acquisitions & What's Next
Joe Shelerud is joined by Mark Power, co-founder and Chief Engagement Officer at Podean — the global commerce agency that recently acquired Ad Advance — for a candid conversation about building agencies from the ground up and why culture is the most underrated competitive advantage. Key Takeaways: Mark's 30-year journey from B2B email marketing in London → content marketing → IPG → founding Podean with co-founder Travis Johnson Why Amazon is more than a sales channel — and the gap Podean was built to fill "Positive Energy" as a cultural umbrella — how Podean distilled its values into something every team member, across every acquired company, can rally behind The real markers of cultural health — including why the first 3–4 weeks of a new hire tells you everything Remote culture done right — what actually works when your team is virtual and global Transparency = Trust — why sharing the bad news openly builds more loyalty than a polished internal comms strategy ever will Navigating acquisitions — how Podean is integrating Ad Advance and Commerce Canal without an "our way or the highway" mindset What's coming next — a new show hosted by Mark Power and Podean co-founder Ryan Craver, going beyond advertising into broader commerce and industry trends If you're building a team, scaling an agency, or navigating a merger, this episode is packed with practical wisdom from two founders who've lived it.
S2 · E177
March 26 · 24 min
Turning Upper Funnel Strategy into Measurable Growth
If you've ever struggled to justify brand spend to a CMO or CEO — this episode is for you. Joe Shelerud is joined by Tony Miller, Director of Programmatic Strategy at Ad Advance (now powered by Podean), to break down one of their most powerful tools: Customer Avatar. Instead of relying on assumptions about who your customers are, Customer Avatar reverse-engineers your actual best buyers using Amazon's purchase data — and builds targeted, scalable audiences from there. Key takeaways: Why upper funnel advertising has historically felt like guesswork — and how to fix it How Customer Avatar is built from real purchase behavior, not assumptions The Venn diagram approach to layering audiences for precision targeting How to measure upper funnel success beyond ROAS (the metrics that actually tell the story) How Amazon Marketing Cloud unlocks path-to-conversion data to tie brand spend to revenue Real-world results: campaigns driving 68x ROAS, 81% new-to-brand customers, and page views as low as $0.11 Plus: big news — The Ad Project is now powered by Podean, a global agency that expands the team's ability to support clients across creative, international markets, and more. Next episode: Co-founder of Podean, Mark Power, joins the pod.
S2 · E176
January 29 · 25 min· Video
Unlocking the Power of Open Internet: Amazon DSP’s Evolution in Streaming Media Buying
In Episode 176, Maarja Hewitt and Tony Miller, Ad Advance's Director Programmatic Strategy, discuss Amazon DSP’s shift to the Open Internet with new partnerships from Roku, Disney, Netflix, and Spotify. Key takeaways include: One-Stop Shop: Amazon DSP expands to offer video and audio ads across the Open Internet. Unified Media: Solves fragmentation by offering better frequency control and measurement. New Opportunities: Roku, Disney, and Netflix partnerships unlock unique reach and global scaling. Audio Expansion: Platforms like Spotify and SiriusXM bring addressable, programmatic audio to DSP. 2026 Outlook: A reset in media planning with unified reach and outcome-based strategies. Tony also shares his thoughts on how brands can adapt to this new DSP landscape. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E175
Dec 5, 2025 · 27 min· Video
Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2025 Results: Shopper Trends & AI’s Impact
Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 delivered big numbers, but not in the way many brands expected. In Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2025 Results: Shopper Trends & AI’s Impact, host Maarja Hewitt is joined by Ad Advance VP of Operations, Erik Swenson, to break down how the holiday shopping season really played out. They look at traffic, conversion, and sales trends, why the events felt softer even as total volume grew, and how an elongated deal season changed shopper behavior. They also dig into the growing role of AI in holiday shopping, from Amazon’s Rufus price tracking and deal guidance to third party AI shopping assistants that help consumers compare products and marketplaces in seconds. Key takeaways: Traffic was up, but conversions spread across more days instead of spiking on two events Early deal cycles and “holiday all season” messaging softened the traditional Black Friday and Cyber Monday peaks AI made shoppers more price aware, more informed, and more comparison driven Brands that ramped budgets early, refreshed creatives, and coordinated off Amazon channels saw stronger results 2026 will reward earlier planning, stronger first party audiences, and clear value messaging A focused, practical breakdown for ecommerce and retail media teams planning their next Q4. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E174
Nov 17, 2025 · 18 min· Video
Inside Amazon Ads unBoxed: AI-Driven DSP, AMC, and the Future of Retail Media
Recorded live at Amazon Ads unBoxed, Joe Shelerud talks with Meredith Goldman, Director of Media Enablement at Amazon Ads, about the newest innovations across DSP, AMC, AI-driven creative, and audience expansion. They explore how Creative Agent and Ads Agent are lowering barriers for advertisers, how advertisers can use AI without replacing human expertise, and how AMC is becoming the central hub for measurement and optimization across the full funnel. Key Takeaways: How Amazon is using AI to democratize advanced advertising tools Creative Agent’s role in scaling personalized, high-performing creative Ads Agent’s natural-language recommendations for audience and campaign optimization Why Deal Builder will accelerate access to premium supply How AMC connects signals across sponsored ads and DSP for deeper measurement Why human strategy + AI execution creates the strongest results What these updates mean for brands planning 2025–2026 retail media strategies 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E173
Oct 24, 2025 · 25 min· Video
Part 2: AI Advertising Revolution: How ChatGPT Could Redefine Retail Media
In Episode 173 of The Ad Project, Joe Shelerud continues the AI conversation with Ad Advance Software Engineer Roger Branham — expanding on how OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol could transform not just shopping, but advertising itself. They unpack: How ChatGPT and Gemini could evolve into major ad platforms What happens when generative AI gains deep insight into user behavior The tension between monetization and user trust The future of pay-per-conversion models and hyper-personalized creative How these shifts could impact Amazon’s dominance in retail media As AI transitions from tool to “agent,” Joe and Roger explore what the next era of digital advertising might look like — and how brands can prepare for it. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E172
Oct 10, 2025 · 25 min· Video
Part 1: AI and the Future of Online Shopping
In this episode of The Ad Project, Joe Shelerud talks with Ad Advance Developer Roger Branham about how AI is disrupting eCommerce. They explore: ChatGPT’s new instant checkout and what it means for sellers How the OpenAI x Stripe commerce protocol could reshape online transactions Why Walmart might adopt AI faster than Amazon How data ownership, ads, and trust evolve in an AI-driven world What smaller sellers should do to stay ahead of the next wave of online shopping This is a forward-looking, technical, and strategic discussion that every brand should hear as AI becomes part of the customer journey. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E171
Oct 2, 2025 · 18 min· Video
Adobe Express x Amazon Ads Integration: Faster, Compliant Creative at Scale
Live from Amazon Accelerate, Joe and Adobe’s David Devisser unpack the new Adobe Express integration with Amazon Ads. You will see how to discover policy-ready templates, connect your Creative Asset Library, run real-time checks, and export to the right specs in one flow. Key takeaways You can start from Amazon Ads templates inside Express, then customize quickly. Real-time policy checks and safe-zone guidance catch issues before export. Export automates spec fitting for video, including bitrate and frame rate, then saves back to your library. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E170
Sep 17, 2025 · 21 min
Unlocking Amazon Ads’ Creative Studio: AI-Powered Ad Creation
Episode 170 of The Ad Project was recorded at Amazon Live Studios in New York City, where Joe Shelerud sat down with Destaney Wishon (BTR Media) and Jennyfer Guone (Amazon Ads) to discuss the launch of Creative Studio, announced at Amazon Accelerate. What you’ll learn in this episode: How Creative Studio streamlines ad creation from concept to final video or image asset. Why AI + Amazon retail insights help brands produce more authentic, relevant creatives. Practical use cases for small businesses, mid-market brands, agencies, and enterprises. How advertisers can accelerate speed-to-market, scale creative production, and unlock personalization. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E169
Sep 12, 2025 · 18 min· Video
AMC, Audiences, and Analytics with Destaney Wishon
In this special episode, recorded live at Amazon Live’s NYC studios, Joe Shelerud sits down with Destaney Wishon of BTR Media to explore: The rapid evolution of the Amazon Ads ecosystem How AMC unlocks new insights like path to purchase and ad type overlap Why audience targeting + analytics are reshaping strategy Practical ways brands can prioritize AMC without feeling overwhelmed Destaney is the CEO of btr media - check her LinkedIn for updates, new features, and helpful videos! 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E168
Sep 3, 2025 · 26 min· Video
When Algorithms Take the Wheel: Amazon Ads Match Type Shifts in 2025
In this episode of The Ad Project, Joe and Maarja discuss the latest Amazon Ads algorithm changes shaking up Sponsored Products Key takeaways: Auto campaigns now account for nearly 40% of impressions, with broad match also climbing. Exact match still drives the highest conversion rates (>20%), but its share is shrinking. CPCs are rising on broad (+20% YoY) while auto remains cheapest. Amazon is weighting “Loose Match” and “Substitutes” more heavily within auto targeting. Advertisers should balance discovery and efficiency: run auto/broad with strong negatives, harvest winners into exact/phrase, and monitor impression share shifts. Adapt your strategy now—the balance between efficiency engines (exact) and discovery engines (auto/broad) is the new reality of Amazon Ads. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E167
Aug 22, 2025 · 23 min· Video
7 Things Every Brand Should Do Before Q4 Hits
The holiday season keeps starting earlier and stretching longer. That means brands can’t just focus on Black Friday and Cyber Monday anymore — they need a strategy that carries through continuous deal weeks. In this episode of The Ad Project, Joe Shelerud and Maarja Hewitt walk through a 7-step Q4 checklist: Budget pacing across a longer season Inventory planning and forecasting Creative testing with urgency messaging Strengthening full-funnel advertising Monitoring competitors and share of voice Expanding beyond Amazon to Walmart & Target Measuring and adapting with AMC 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E166
Aug 5, 2025 · 25 min· Video
Amazon DSP 101: What Brands Need to Know to Get Started
DSP can feel like a big leap—but it’s becoming a must-have for growth-oriented brands. In this episode, Maarja Hewitt welcomes Tony Miller, Director of Programmatic Strategy at Ad Advance, to break down what Amazon DSP actually is and how it works. You’ll learn: 🔑 Key Takeaways: What makes DSP different from Sponsored Ads Key benefits like audience targeting and creative flexibility When a brand is ready to layer on DSP Real success stories and recent updates (like AI tools and Disney/Roku inventory) How DSP ties in with Amazon Marketing Cloud for better attribution Whether you're DSP-curious or ready to scale, this episode lays the foundation. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E165
Jul 25, 2025 · 24 min· Video
The Rise of AI: How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Retail Media and Amazon Advertising
AI is changing advertising—and fast. In this episode, Joe and Maarja break down how AI is impacting the world of Amazon and retail media, from generative creative tools to AI-driven customer journeys and predictive campaign optimization. They explore what’s real, what’s hype, and what it all means for brands and marketers. 🔑 Key Takeaways: Amazon’s creative tools and generative AI are speeding up campaign execution and testing. Conversational AI is changing how consumers shop, moving discovery beyond traditional search. AI is pushing retailers toward campaign automation, shifting human focus to strategy. Traffic is dropping from search engines, but AI is boosting high-intent site visits. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E164
Jul 18, 2025 · 26 min· Video
How to Choose the Right KPIs for Your Amazon Advertising Strategy
In episode 164 of The Ad Project, Joe Shelerud (CEO) and Matt Wiklund (CTO) break down how to select the right KPIs for your Amazon advertising strategy—whether you’re selling high-ticket one-time purchases or repeat-consumable goods. They explore how ROAS, TACoS, new-to-brand metrics, and customer acquisition costs should flex based on your brand’s goals and product lifecycle. 🔑 Key Takeaways: ROAS isn’t always the north star—context is key. TACoS is your go-to for measuring incrementality. New-to-brand ROAS and CAC matter more for consumables and repeat-purchase brands. Use LTV analysis to identify your highest-impact gateway products. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E163
Jul 8, 2025 · 25 min· Video
AMC 101: Simplifying Amazon Marketing Cloud for Brands
In this episode of The Ad Project Podcast, Joe Shelerud and Maarja Hewitt break down Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) in the simplest terms yet. AMC has become a buzzword in the advertising world — but what is it really, and why should brands care? Joe and Maarja cover everything from what a "data clean room" actually means, to how AMC allows advertisers to unify data across Sponsored Ads, DSP, and even Streaming TV. 🔑 Key Takeaways: AMC offers a full-funnel view beyond last-click attribution. New tools and AI make AMC more accessible than ever. Brands can justify upper-funnel spend with detailed customer journey data. Audience creation within AMC allows for more refined targeting and strategy. Whether you're brand new to AMC or looking to refine your data strategy, this episode is your go-to primer. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E162
Jun 30, 2025 · 23 min
Retail Media’s Gold Rush: Booming, Breaking, and What Comes Next
Retail media is having a moment — and facing major growing pains. Joe and Maarja dive into why so many retailers are launching networks, how fragmentation is creating operational headaches, and what advertisers should focus on now. From privacy shifts and first-party data goldmines to the need for standardization and consolidation, they share actionable insights on navigating this evolving space. Learn how to prioritize, test, and measure smarter as retail media matures. 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.
S2 · E161
Jun 16, 2025 · 22 min
Prime Day 2025: What 4 Days of Deals Means for Amazon Advertisers
Prime Day 2025 is going from 2 to 4 days—and advertisers need to be ready. In this episode, Joe Shelerud and Maarja Hewitt break down what this longer event means for budget pacing, conversion trends, and media planning. They explore performance data from past Prime Days, how the extended format could shift buyer behavior, and what strategies will help brands win this year. 🔑 Key Takeaways include: Budget pacing strategies across four days How deal participation impacts conversion and ROAS Why Day 1 will likely still dominate in traffic Post-Prime Day opportunities for retargeting and LTV gains 👉 Follow, subscribe, and connect with us on LinkedIn and at adadvance.com to catch future episodes.

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