Dirk R.

We’re continuing our NXTGO2THING podcast series with a very special discussion At Partners Palooza in Chicago, Tiffany Rivera had the chance to sit down with our CEO and founder, James O'Brien, to reflect on a remarkable milestone — 30 years of GO2 Partners. As the founder, Jim shares what this journey has meant to him personally, what stands out most over the last three decades, and what it reveals about a company that not only reaches 30 years but continues to grow and evolve. What makes GO2 truly unique is that we’ve built this together. As an ESOP, every employee-owner has a voice in shaping our future, and that shared purpose lies at the core of everything we do. This conversation serves as a powerful reminder that great companies aren’t built solely on strategy — they’re built on people, trust, and a long-term commitment to doing things the right way. 🎧 Be sure to follow along as we keep sharing more conversations from the voices that make GO2 what it is today. #NXTGO2THING #GO2Partners #Leadership #ESOP #CompanyCulture #Podcast

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Enterprises must protect their brand voice while leveraging AI, especially as marketing teams are looking to leverage generative AI to meet the rising demand for content. I recently joined TalkMarTech for a conversation on how brands can protect their unique voice while leveraging AI. Tune in to learn how https://lnkd.in/e5UJMN5K 

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Legacy doesn’t protect you on Amazon... strategy does. When a 100+ year-old apparel brand was losing control of their catalog, we stepped in to rebuild their equity from the ground up. The result? 150% MoM growth and 91% rogue ASINs removed. This is what happens when you combine experience with the right technology. 👉 Read how we did it 👇

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Highlights of 7 High-Impact Partner AI Use Cases via Impartner Software and connect with global channel partner leaders Joe Wang Curtis Brinkerhoff Trevor Burnett View the 64-second Video News Story below and on ChannelPartner.TV the largest video AI news network. Take these actions before doing anything in AI: AI investors, startups, M&A, investment bankers, legal advisors if you need a second or third vendor independent opinion, I can help with expert level opinion or qualitative research. This includes compliance with the new Colorado AI Law. Developing or using AI without a “fire code” approach to business integration and a real “user user cases” approach to user adoption will fail. Here are areas of my AI business expertise: - Build an AI “fire code” standards-first cybersecurity approach - Identify AI "User" Use Cases  - Create and manage an AI Strategic Framework - Build an AI Corporate University - Courses/Curriculum - Accelerate AI Thought Leadership - Integrate Change Management of AI - AI Industry Disruption - Review and develop compliance for new AI laws - Address Leadership Concerns - Audit the AI solution - Focus on "Hallucination" Risks  - Drive AI Transformation & Adoption - Evaluate Chatbot prompt programming and conversations I am an expert in AI business strategy to get you on the path to fewer failures and more successful business uses. DM today to get started. Thomas Cross - Strategic Artificial Intelligence Advisory Member for University of Colorado Colorado Springs Executive Education Program and author on AI. DM to get started today. More on AI services at https://aiuserforum.com/ including my third book on AI called MindMeld ebook reviewed at the "best business book on AI." #AI #CEO #CFO

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What did Facebook, Google, and Microsoft really want from my startup and how did that lead to launching Anura? I tell the full story (and how we beat top fraud solutions head-to-head) in this podcast: https://bit.ly/45fct9B #Anura #AdFraud #StartupStory #Entrepreneurship #Marketing #Podcast #dailypost #anuratalks

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A few more thoughts from yours truly on another AI-focused talk from Industrial Marketing Summit earlier this week by John Greely at Navu.

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I just tuned into the latest "Good Company" podcast episode, and it’s a conversation between two titans of industry: Michael Kassan (Founder and CEO, 3C Ventures) and Jordan Zimmerman (Founder and Chairman, Zimmerman Advertising). A couple of things really stuck with me: 🔎 Jordan’s story of turning rejection into billions in billings and pioneering brandtailing is a reminder that outcomes matter more than accolades. His focus on AI-powered innovation shows how he’s still pushing the industry forward. 🔎 Michael shared what he learned from his mentor, the late great Dennis Holt — the importance of relationships and resilience — lessons that clearly shaped his own path and the way he approaches business today. It’s a masterclass in grit, growth, and reinvention. Highly recommend giving it a listen. 🎧 https://lnkd.in/gfrFp69 p.s. It's surprising that they only recently met, considering their position in our industry. #podcast #3CV #3CVentures #GoodCompany #leadership #media #marketing #advertising #localmedia

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A must read for all in the retail media space. Molly Hjelm and Kiri Masters drilling into merchant trade vs. national awareness budgeting, incremental reach/measurement, tech stack, and more. Thanks for sharing! #commercemedia #retailmedia #rmn

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Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) is expanding its managed-service offerings to help more brands tap into premium programmatic media — including audio, CTV, and dynamic display. These new capabilities are built for midsize CPG teams that may lack dedicated programmatic resources, making it easier to activate purchase-based audiences across streaming and display environments. By offering turnkey support and advanced retail media measurement (like iROAS and household penetration), KPM is removing friction and helping brands focus on growth. It’s a strong example of how KPM is activating in service of its partners — delivering innovation, performance, and relevancy at scale in a rapidly evolving media landscape. Amazing work Shannon Brungs Hartmann, Kaitlyn Weber, and so many others at KPM!

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Big Growth Ahead! New to The Street Covers Newsmax at Maxim 🚀✨ Newsmax Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: NMAX) CEO Christopher Ruddy shares insights on the company’s growth strategy and market opportunities at Maxim, highlighting what’s next for the media powerhouse. 📰📊 💬 What are your thoughts on Newsmax’s expansion plans? Share below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 👉🏻 Follow New to The Street for full coverage and updates on Newsmax and major moves in the media industry. #newsmax #NMAX #chrisruddy #medianews #growthstrategy #innovation #businessnews #business #news #newtothestreet

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Addi wouldn’t look the way it does today without early trials & honest feedback. People sat through demos, tested early versions of the tool, and shared what made sense (and what didn’t). That input really helped shaped the direction of the experience we are creating. This is one of the things I love about the Kansas City community, and the broader network around our Addi team- people's generosity to share time and perspective. We highlighted a few of them here, but there were many others who helped move this forward early on: https://lnkd.in/gwQjfE_w Erin Christensen / KC Tech Council Blish Mize Connor / BLISHFUL THINKING LLC Michael Hiatt / Steel City Media Rachel Asaro, PCM, CDMP / i.c.stars |* Kansas City Dr. Michelle Robin & Bayleigh Soza / Your Wellness Connection & Small Changes Big Shifts

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There is a case for some vertical RMNs winning. Not all, but some. And, I think this is a good thing for the still young retail media & marketplaces eco-system. Let me make the case for five networks I think are going to WIN...and not just survive....over the next few years. a) HOME DEPOT. A shopper on homedepot.com searching "Milwaukee M18 circular saw" is not browsing. They are BUYING. Purchase intent on these networks runs above 85%. Home Depot sells to the guy who already knows which drill he wants and needs it by Thursday. That's a different audience. There is value there. We are seeing it for our clients. I am biased here in ATL but I believe. b) ULTA BEAUTY. 40 million Ultamate Rewards members. Near-perfect closed-loop attribution because loyalty captures almost every transaction. No noise from people buying diapers and dog food in the same cart. The cleanest beauty purchase graph outside of brand DTC. c) CHEWY. 75% of Chewy revenue runs through Autoship. Not browsing. Not comparing. SUBSCRIBED. And the audience data including breed, age, weight, vet-diet status doesn't exist anywhere else with the same quality. Not in any DSP in the same way. It lives at Chewy and nowhere else nearly as perfectly. d) BEST BUY. Best Buy's media network sits on top of one of the most valuable first-party data assets in advertising. And the funnel doesn't stop at awareness. The attribution story here is cleaner than almost anything else in your plan. e) COSTCO. $250 average basket size. Members who pay $65/year just to shop there. A renewal rate above 90%. That's not a customer. That's a committed relationship. Costco's ad network is nascent...but the audience is extraordinary and the product is getting better all the time (you can see it in their earnings). Household income over-indexes massively. These are people who buy in bulk because they CAN, not because they have to. And here's the kicker...Costco members trust the shelf. If your brand is IN Costco, the member assumes it passed a test. These networks aren't selling reach. They know that deep down. Yes, they have relative reach. Meaning, its meaningful reach for that vertical but no, its not Amazon level reach. They sell SIGNAL. A shopper who has self-identified, is already in category, and is already in purchase mode. That's not the same product Amazon is selling. It shouldn't be competing for the same budget line. The brands that figure this out in the next 18 months, that vertical-specific intent + first-party loyalty data is worth a premium over cheap impressions at scale are going to look really smart. The ones still consolidating into three auctions are going to wonder why their CPMs keep going up. I get it, its a lot of labor and work, but the value is there. Budget diversification in retail media isn't a hedge. It's a thesis.

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Elizabeth Marsten & Jack Johnston shared powerful insights Cleveland Research Company Annual eCommerce Summit this year on why the future of commerce is being shaped by social, measurement, and omnichannel strategies. That perspective and the proof that Tinuiti is uniquely positioned to help brands achieve both velocity and efficiency, was front and center. The key takeaways are clear: Social Commerce is Now Central to Retail Media: Social platforms aren’t just for awareness anymore. TikTok, Meta, and Pinterest are now key performance drivers, fueling growth not just for DTC but across Amazon, Walmart, and Target. The real opportunity is building strategies that serve both, not treating them as competitors. Measurement is Revealing Hidden Impact: Traditional attribution has been selling social short. New tools like Amazon Attribution, GeoMMM, and TikTok Geo Lift tests show that social often drives 2–3x the impact once lag and halo effects are factored in. Brands need always-on incrementality testing to truly understand where growth is coming from. Prime Day Reinforced Social-First Strategies: Discounts alone no longer win the day. Brands that leaned into UGC, short-form video, and influencer activations saw outsized success. Social-first creative is now essential for maximizing major retail events. Big thanks to Ross Walthall, CFA & the Cleveland Research Company for hosting the conversations around shaping the future of commerce hand and giving Tinuiti a chance to share how we are helping brands grow smarter, faster, and more efficiently.

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Retail media teams are doing more with less. More platforms, more data, more complexity, and rarely more headcount. Signal to Scale is built for the leaders figuring out how to change that. One day in Chicago with the people, perspectives, and product announcements shaping what comes next. Sessions cover agentic AI, full-funnel strategy, measurement, and the AI infrastructure behind it all. And everyone in the room is a brand or agency leader who's serious about what's next. I'm looking forward to joining Kiri Masters and Lee Dunbar for the opening keynote on how AI-enabled shopping is reshaping the economics of retail media, sitting down with Lars Djuvik, Colleen Cigliano, and Kris McDermott to get practical on AI infrastructure, and closing out the day with @Matt Yu to share what we've been building here at Xnurta. Swipe to see what a day at Signal to Scale looks like. ➡️ Save your spot: https://okt.to/WYp3o7

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Excited to partner with PayPal Ads as a certified measurement partner! Through our Brand and Outcomes measurement solutions, DISQO helps advertisers understand impact across the full funnel. From Resonance, measuring awareness, favorability, and intent, to Reaction, validating lower-funnel outcomes with trusted third-party methodology, this partnership brings clarity where it matters most. Together with PayPal Ads, we’re giving brands an independent source of truth to understand performance, connect brand impact to outcomes, and invest with confidence. #MeasurementUnlocked #BrandAndOutcomes #CommerceMedia #PayPalAds #DISQO

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Proud moment for our work at HarrisX. Today, the FCC took landmark action to restore competition in the digital media ecosystem, helping save news publishers from tens of billions in annual losses due to the persistent misapplication of “brand safety” concerns and protocols. Over the last two years, HarrisX and Stagwell have collaborated with leading news publishers around the world to build the ‘Future of News Initiative’—the leading forum for addressing the misapplication of “brand safety” and its negative impact on professional journalism, which is essential to democracy. The misconception that audiences cannot differentiate between content and ads has led to undue caution about placement next to articles on difficult or controversial topics, and real monetary damage. Our diligent research demonstrated that this belief could not be further from the truth. To validate why brand safety concerns should not apply to quality journalism, we created a novel research experiment at scale and conducted over 100,000 interviews globally, including in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, and APAC. The result: proof to help rebalance and redirect an industry that negatively affects 40-60% of news publisher inventory, impacting between $12-18 billion annually for an already struggling news sector. HarrisX welcomes the FCC's decision today: https://lnkd.in/eKW9KgWB For anyone interested in the full body of work surrounding the Future of News Initiative, visit: https://lnkd.in/grAsMwr4 And congratulations again to Team HarrisX for another example of industry defining work.

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Thank you to the editors of Time Iconic for the feature and the story of how we create value through partnerships and use storytelling to make an impact in the video game community. It truly takes a village and I am humbled everyday by the incredible people and the marketing team at Xsolla who are relentlessly focused on building all the things for video games. Thanks for sharing our story of the new brand launch and the future we are building. Great articles are included in this edition featuring Rina Onur Sirinoglu and Daniel C. who are helping to shape the industry for mobile and indie games. Check them out. #humbled #gamesmarketing #marketing #Storytelling #VideoGames #GameDev

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