Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (2:12)

Yeah, it's funny, I go up to people and I say hi to them at events and I walk away and I'm like, I would just realize they

Sponsor Advertisement Voice (2:17)

have no idea who I am.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (2:19)

But don't worry, they'll message me later.

Lauren Douglas (2:21)

No, I like it that way.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (2:24)

I wanted to ask you, you started Reverb, you have a fantastic marketing background. Just looking at the companies you worked at Teeds and Channel Factory. But I wanted maybe if you could take it back to how you got into marketing, and then we'll move into what you're doing at Reverb, and then we'll chat briefly about the content creation piece, because we know how much work that is, and people don't seem to realize that.

Lauren Douglas (2:49)

Yeah, so I started in marketing on the brand side. I was at Citibank on the card side. And that's kind of where I cut my teeth and learned how. What is marketing even. It was in 2007, 8. And back then I worked on emerging channels, which was email and on and digital, because we were. We were mailing like a billion dollars a year in direct mail. And so our email budgets and like that. Those are all of our emerging channels. So I got to work on the emerging channels, which was digital, which was fun. Um, and then after that, I moved into the B2B space and was, you know, just do, like, kind of learning things. Like, as I would go, like, I'd pick up pr, I'd pick up events, I'd pick up whatever. And you kind of just like, as you do, you grow your toolkit as you go throughout. And that's what I did. And, you know, ended up in ad tech, which, like, what little girl says, like, I want to work in ad tech. None of them, but you just end up where you end up. So. So, yeah, so that's kind of my marketing background. And. And being at big companies, I realized that, like, when I was doing Marketing on the B2B side, I was like, why do we make it so bad? Like, why do we make it so hard and complicated? And we assume that B2B buyers are so rational and they're so smart and they care so much about features. And we can skip the whole top of the funnel because they're already at the bottom of the funnel. So all they need, like, why my product's better than the next person. And I just fundamentally disagreed with that and was like, let's make this better. Let's make it more interesting. Let's make it more fun.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (4:22)

Totally. And I think the interesting part is, especially in the ad tech space, they think that everyone is either not technical at all, meaning let's use as many buzzwords as we possibly can and that creates interest, or it is so darn technical that you have no idea what they're talking about. Or at least a majority of people don't know what they're talking about. And, like, finding that middle ground is tough.

Lauren Douglas (4:47)

And even if they know what you're talking about, everybody needs context. Like, you have to enter into A conversation, somebody has to walk you into it. And so there's like, I've watched videos or I've listened to podcasts before where someone just immediately dives into the fact because, like, this person's person is an expert. Let's go deep, deep, deep. And it's like, step 100 steps back and start with some context.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (5:10)

Having worked at, like, teed's Channel Factory, you've worked on the brand side. What kind of drove you to getting to Reverf? Why did you found that? What's different about it?

Lauren Douglas (5:19)

I guess, yeah, actually, I lost a job in, I guess it was like 2023, 2024, and I was just like, I don't know what to do with my life. It was one of those dark night of the soul moments where you're just like, you know, anytime you get made redundant or, like, lose a gig, you're kind of like, oh, shoot, is it me? Am I not good enough? And you kind of go through that shame spiral, which I did and then started. You know, I had friends who were like, do you want to consult? Do you like, why don't you start running this? Why don't you run this? And I just started consulting and one thing led to another, and I had a really good friend of mine who I was consulting for TripAdvisor at the time, and she was like, nobody is doing what you're doing. You are very differentiated. She said, I've worked with a lot of agencies, I've worked with a lot of marketers, and nobody's tying all the pieces together of, like, how PR works with social, how social works with your blog, how that, all of that kind of works together and ticks and ties. And so she was like, you should really. She really pushed me and was like, you should consider doing this as a business because this is a lot of value and you would help other people. And I was like, okay, I guess. And so there you go. That was two years ago.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (6:31)

A question for you. When it comes to, I guess, the clients that you work with today, you and I both create content. You have your own pod. You create video content for socials. I see you on TikTok. I think that's where maybe you have the largest following. Also LinkedIn. It's tough, like, and it's a lot harder than most people think. And we were chatting about this prior, about the. The organization and the planning. What's your perspective on, I guess, content creation moving into 2026 and where do you think things are going?

Lauren Douglas (7:00)

Yeah, I think I have A we and we could jam on this for a while. I think 2026 and Bey going to be the year where people stop start realizing that having a personal brand matters and having a point of view matters. You can't just rely anymore on like your company's LinkedIn or your corporate team comms. Like you kind of have to if you want, especially in the sales ecosystem. If you want to have a sales team that is getting in the door and getting the right meetings and closing the right business, you have to enable them to create content, to have a point of view, to have a voice. And so I think that that is like one of my major predictions for this year is that, you know, on the consumer side, brands are already starting to realize this. If you look at brands like Ulta Beauty, they're using their employees as ambassadors and they have these creator programs for them and it does a lot of good. It creates a lot of like goodwill amongst the employees. But also then obviously it's very authentic. And I think that B2B is going to start doing the same thing because like, people are going to realize that like having a brand, having a POV really does matter and it, and it drives impact. But yeah, it's really hard.

Sponsor Advertisement Voice (8:13)

I have created the most advanced AI soldier. The wait is over. Tron Ares now streaming on Disney plus. We are looking for something, something you've discovered. Give me something to believe in and some of us will stop at nothing to get it ready. The countdown is complete.

Sponsor Representative (Audiohook) (8:34)

There's no going back.

Sponsor Advertisement Voice (8:36)

Dark directive is clear. Hang on. Tron Aries now streaming on Disney plus rated PG13.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (8:43)

It is hard and I think there, there's so many aspects to it and, and I love that we're kind of chatting about this because I don't think people recognize the challenges with a constant flow of fresh and interesting content.

Lauren Douglas (8:58)

Yeah.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (8:59)

And one thing that I go through and phases that I go through are moments of silence.

Lauren Douglas (9:05)

Yeah.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (9:05)

And those moments of silence are like, God, I have no idea what I want to post about all of these topics for me or there's nothing hot happening that's controversial enough to like, you know, spark engagement. And it's almost like a creative block and that aspect of it. It's almost like you need to go for a walk and like reset to be able to come up with good content. That being said, where do you find the biggest challenge with, I guess coming up with your material and your content as you post?

Lauren Douglas (9:35)

Yeah, I mean, I get stuck too. And then also I have this thing because I also Post a bit about, you know, spirituality and sort of growth and like, being a human being. And so sometimes I'll like, go to post something about maybe meditating or about, you know, taking that walk. And then I'm like, wait, am I just, like, doing this because I'm feeling the need to fuel the ecosystem of content, or am I, do you know what I mean? Like, maybe I don't need to post about my meditation because so there's like this. It's like I get stuck too. And then you're like, am I, am I in a. Am I in a writer's block or that I need to get out of, or do I just need to be a little bit quiet right now?

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (10:22)

It's funny. So from my view, I think you're not in a writer's block, and I think those pieces of content are interesting. So I started, and I remember one time Erico messaged me on Twitter and he goes, my God, do you ever stop talking about ad tech? And I'm like, no, lol, it's not going to stop. What are you doing on Christmas Day? What ads are serving? And I never stop. But that was, that was intentional. Like, that was 100% intentional. My goal was dominate every feed when it comes to this topic. And everything out of my mouth, everything out of my fingers, every post, every tweet would be related to this topic. But as the following grew and I, I would say, like, reached that saturation of the ad tech following, right? At some point you cap out. It's like, okay, I got 5, 10, 15, 20,000. Okay, now what? It becomes the opportunity to start capturing other kind of audiences. And that's why guests start to change, conversations start to change, news that I push changes because, okay, now I've, I've, I've dominated the ad tech space. Everybody's familiar with the brand. How do I get brands involved? How do I get agencies involved? How do I get hands on keyboard adopts involved? How do I get them familiar with my work so that I can build this audience bigger and bigger? And that becomes more and more attractive to everybody. Partners, sponsors, et cetera.

Lauren Douglas (11:46)

I think, though, the important thing is that you started in this realm and you were a subject matter expert in it. And like, people started to trust you and you were consistent and like, grew, grew, grew over time. It's like, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, where. And then you. And then other things open up other possibilities. Oh, this is something that people are really interested in hearing about. Or this is, I Didn't know. Have any idea I was going to go down this pathway. But I think, like, what's hard about content creation is, like, you, you have to start somewhere and you don't see results for a really long time. So I think people get frustrated because it's like, I was listening to Stephen Bartlett. He was talking. I don't know if you know who he is. Is the diary of a CEO guy.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (12:29)

No, I don't.

Lauren Douglas (12:31)

He. He's like one of the biggest podcasters in the world. He was one of Time 100's top creatives or creators. I mean, and one of the things that he says is, like, what he's learned is that embarrassment is the price of entry and most people aren't willing to pay it. And I think that's really true. It's like embarrassing embarrassment and consistency. Like showing up when no one's watching, doing things when no one's paying attention, when nobody knows who you are. And, like, just continuing to show up, show up, show up. And like, continuing to talk, as you said. Like, everything you talked about was, was this and everything you said. And, and what was that? Like five years, you know, and so like, now you. Now you can pivot because you did all of that work.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (13:09)

And it was three years. So it was three years with not one penny.

Lauren Douglas (13:16)

Yes.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (13:17)

It was three years of just me and my thumbs. And it was a labor of love. It was kind of like how I vented, it was how I shared my opinions. It was, I'm just gonna have fun with this. And what I realized was that commitment to just being the most active I could possibly be at any time of day. And people used to ask me, do you ever sleep? It doesn't matter where you are, whether you're in London, New York, Louisiana, or Hawaii. Like, it's in the middle of the night.

Lauren Douglas (13:47)

Yeah.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (13:47)

And you're responding. And I'm like, yeah, I don't sleep. I'm constantly on this thing.

Lauren Douglas (13:52)

Yeah, you have to be a little bit of an Internet gremlin, too.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (13:55)

Oh, yeah, I know. For sure. I mean, it was. Yeah, I was getting out of hand. I've slowed it down now for a better life and quality of life. But, you know, I'm still pretty active very early in the morning. And then, like, right before I go to bed, I post something too, just to keep it going. Question for you, though. There's. There are influencers in the space that are focused on, like, volume in terms of, like, maybe that was my initial approach, was constant and consistent content. There are Those who are really focused on quality. Do you find finding that balance between, I guess, you know, frequency and volume versus quality is hard?

Lauren Douglas (14:33)

It is a good question. No, it's a good question that it's like whatever is most natural to you. You know, it's the same thing with, like, you were interested in ad tech, so started posting about it, ad tech. Because that's what you care about. Like, what is interesting to you. Like, you know, it's the same thing with. How often do you want to post? How often do you want to make content? The weird thing is that, like, a lot of times I'll put a lot of effort into something that I think is high quality and I'll be like, this is going to crush. And then it's flops completely. And then I'll like be walking down the street and. And film something and it all of a sudden, you know, goes crazy. So it's like, it's really hard to gauge I think too, like, what is going to resonate with people and what's not. So I guess the answer to quality over quantity is like, I don't know. I think it's just consistency is probably the best bet.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (15:20)

Yeah, I think I. I think, I bet at one point I posted and I post so much. But I know that I go through a lot of, A lot of things I talk to you about, even just in like DMS or messaging or even now on the pod is the time frame that you have to capture someone's attention when you post is like seconds. And that's a good thing and a bad thing. It's a good thing because if your post really sucks, like, don't overthink. It's. It's done anyway. Like, nobody's going to look back at your post. Four minutes. It's going to be like, oh, that was horrible. No, it's already gone in their feed. The bad thing is that sometimes they're really good. And you know that all the time and effort you put into it is done. Like it's over and you got to move on. So it's kind of like the satisfaction of performance.

Lauren Douglas (16:08)

Yeah, but then, then I'll just repost it or I'll try a different tactic or I'll pick a different snippet or clip or something. I think, I think you're right. It's like you get that two seconds. So one of the things is like, what is the. I always think about what is the value that I'm giving someone? Someone is giving me their time and their eyeballs. And what am I giving them in return? And if I'm starting out with something that doesn't matter to them or in video, I see a lot of people put like pre, pre roll or pre, like assets, like their brand logos and things before, like for two seconds before they even start the video, I'm like, you've already lost the person because you're not, you're not giving them enough value in the two seconds that you've had their attention for. And so they've, they've SW past you. So I guess I'm just like, give. Always be thinking about, like, what value can I give them? And, and how can I make that as quick as possible so that they understand the value? And then a lot of times if I think it's good and I think there's a really valuable POV in there, I'll just retry it. I'll try a different snippet, I'll try a different section. I'll change the headline. I'll, you know, I just keep trying. And it's like throwing spaghetti at the wall and, and then sometimes it sticks

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (17:20)

totally from where you sit, from reverb and the clients that you work with. Where do you think things are heading in 2026? Like, what direction is, I guess the advertising? I don't want to just dig into ad tech because you're more than that. Like in the advertising. How brands are looking at spending.

Lauren Douglas (17:37)

Yeah.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (17:37)

You know, maybe where the money might flow. Is it creation, is it tv, et cetera?

Lauren Douglas (17:41)

Yeah, it's interesting. I don't, I think people are really confused right now, and I don't think they know how and where to spend their budget. And so in an. And an effort to be rigorous about it, it's like, let's just cut budgets or let's cut this or we don't know if it's working, so let's, let's pull it back. And I think that the brands that are going to win and like, especially on the, like, B2B side, the brands that are going to like, make a splash are the ones that are putting their foot on the gas pedal right now, because I think there's a lot of, there's a lot you can do. I think there's an opening, like where other people are closing. It's. You could, you could open and go forward. I think that people are starting to realize, which is our game, which is great. People are starting to realize that, like having a pov, having a personal brand, having a podcast, creating content, creating assets like that that stuff is. Is working better for them than really stodgy, sort of like, perfected, very clean. Kind of the ad tech marketing of 2014. I think people are seeing that that's, like, not working as well. I think it's good. I think that's great. You know, more personality is better.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (18:56)

Yeah, I think. I think a big part for, you know, what makes architecture so interesting. And this is a. I don't want this to be a sales pitch, but, like, whatever. My podcast, I'll do whatever I want is the fact that, like, we are all really quirky. Like, if. If you look at Aries personality, Jeremy's personality, my personality, everybody on the team, we all have a personality. And if there's one thing that I push for internally, outside of just like, hey, your opinion really matters. It's just, be yourself. Like, I don't care. Like, if you. If you like something weird, cool, dude, like, go for it. Like, nobody's gonna judge you because you collect those little monster guys or whatever they're called. Whatever the kids. Like, no, like, totally you. You wanna. What do they call the Labus? Yeah, like, nobody's gonna judge you if you love Labubus and you're wearing a booboo shirt on recording. Like, be yourself. Like, we're all very normal, but we have this fake. We have a very fake business Persona, right? And.

Lauren Douglas (19:59)

Well, and that's where I think a lot of people get it wrong with. With creating content, with making podcasts. I see a lot of bad stuff out there because I think people are trying to be too corporate and too. And they get, like, almost scared of their guests, and they're afraid to, like, you know, push back or ask hard questions or whatever. And so, like, you know, I think, like, where you can lean in, as you said, to your personality, lean into who you are. I always tell my clients, like, what are things that people come to you for advice about? What are the things you talk about at happy hour? What are the things you do on the weekend when no one's watching? Like, maybe it is collecting Labu boos or building Lego sets or whatever, but, like, take all of the weird bits of you and, like, put it together and that's you. And don't be this corporate business you and then this, like, fun, personal you. Like your be you completely.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (20:47)

I think that's why the content creation aspect has grown so much. And it's not just. I think it's relatively newer in our industry, but, like, fintech, it's been going on for a while. Like, there's a lot of really great influencers. They've built massive companies from behind. Just poking fun of an industry that's relatively boring. Like finance.

Lauren Douglas (21:08)

Yeah.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (21:08)

And then you look at ad tech. It's very similar. Right. It's not. It's not. Sorry. But, like, it's boring. Like, the tech is not the most exciting thing ever. We serve ads. Nobody really cares.

Lauren Douglas (21:17)

Yeah.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (21:18)

As long as it's being delivered. And we can somehow tell what happened after somebody spent a dollar, did they get a dollar? Did they lose the doll? Like, we're good to go.

Lauren Douglas (21:25)

Yeah.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (21:25)

And I think it just, it created this opportunity for people to realize, like, hey, lighten up. Like, be yourself. We're already fun when we all go out, but we don't have to be so buttoned up on social. Like, we can be ourselves and show our personality.

Lauren Douglas (21:38)

I agree. I just don't think people have gotten that yet, that message. Like, I still see a lot of very stoddy, very corporate, very tight, very. Well, people really care about the differentiation between our CTV platform. And I'm like, they definitely don't.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (21:52)

Yeah. Yeah. We didn't even know you were in CTV until this. Until this recording.

Lauren Douglas (21:57)

Nobody cares. Just be you. Like what makes you interesting.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (22:01)

It's amazing. I love this. I almost feel like we're going to use this as a clip. So I think content creation is big. Is there anything else where you feel companies could do better in making themselves stand out in a market where. Or an industry in particular that all kind of sounds like they have the same product?

Lauren Douglas (22:17)

Yes, I do. I think there is this. This core that sits at the base of every single human being and every single company. And I think sometimes what happens is we're not willing to look at the core. Okay, who are we as a company and an organization? What do we actually do for people? What stories do we have? What's the lore inside of our company that has survived for 10 years? Or what are the client stories that, like, we tell time and time again? Like, what are the. What's that core that exists within the company and then build your personality and your corporate POV and voice based on that? I think what happens is a lot of times people are like, oh, well, we do all the same things as our competitors, so we'll just make a website that says all the things that we do. But, like, marketing fundamentals, like, you don't say all the things that you do. You. You know what I mean? You evoke feelings in people. And I think that's sometimes where B2B gets it flipped. And then I think it's the same thing with humans and your, and your team. Especially if you're leading in a sales organization. It's like, okay, like how do you enable your people to be amplifiers? How do you enable them to be on stages, to be moderating panels, to be writing blogs if they're interested in doing it, to be posting? How do you sort of enable them? And I think that is a place where people have not quite gotten that yet, but I think that they're starting to and are going to move into that realm.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (23:44)

There's companies in the space that I think have fantastic products and maybe, just maybe their marketing efforts don't need to be as cutting edge because you know, they have the market captured in my opinion. Right. Like there's ad serving solutions in the market. There are DSPs in the market where they can stay buttoned up because they own a majority of the market. I think it's the other ones that need to be active in my personal view.

Lauren Douglas (24:10)

The underdogs.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (24:11)

The underdogs. The underdogs need to be more unhinged completely. They need to be more active. They need to be more punching up with everything that they do. It's okay. Like I think there's. Even though he's. I wouldn't say he's an underdog but I would definitely say he is a smaller player. Right. That gets. When I look at like someone like Brian o' Kelly in the space. Right, Fine. He's successful. He had a, whatever billion dollar exit. He's got money, he's got whatever. That's fantastic. But Scope three would not be known if it wasn't for his activity on social for sure. And he is everywhere. Like he is on every pod. He's doing selfie videos, he's posting controversial stuff. He's calling out the biggest players in the industry. Whether you agree or you don't, the guy is a fantastic marketer.

Lauren Douglas (24:57)

100 love him or hate him too.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (24:59)

Like, like love him or hate him.

Lauren Douglas (25:00)

Some of what why he's popular is just because people are like hate watching. But it's like great. You're still watching, you're still engaging. He's a great case study for how a founder CEO can leverage their own personal brand to build the corporate brand. And by the way, that doesn't cost a lot of money.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (25:20)

No, no, not at all. When, when you look at 2025 and the biggest changes from where you sit, you, you obviously worked at brand innovators, you worked at a few others over the last three or four years. Where do you find, I guess AI's impact on content creation playing a bigger role? Is it going to be good, bad, fake? What do you think?

Lauren Douglas (25:46)

I do think there's going to be much more human irl. I think what you guys are doing with experience as an event is like people want. People are hungry for human to human. I think in the content creation game, people are hungry for faces. The highest performing posts on LinkedIn in general are selfies. And I don't think it's because everyone wants to see your face. I think it's because it reinforces that humanity. And we get so lost in the polished corporate nonsense on LinkedIn. And so I think that, that the human and the IRL and the like, that is going to be even more. It's already becoming really important. I think it's going to become even more important.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (26:26)

Amazing. Last question before we wrap it up. Why do you love marketing so much?

Lauren Douglas (26:30)

I love marketing because I love the idea that you can. I believe every single person has a story to tell. And I think that if you aren't telling your story, it's likely because you're afraid to tell your story or you're afraid of being seen. And I think that marketing is. And I think that's the same for a brand as well as a human. And so I think that like, marketing is this opportunity to like, to be excited, to be passionate, to show who you are, to show what your product does and to be really authentic. I think a lot of times we get it wrong, but when it, when we get it right, it's. It's fun and it's light and, and creative.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (27:10)

Lauren, I feel like we should have done this like a year ago, maybe longer.

Lauren Douglas (27:13)

Well, here we are. We did it now. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (27:17)

Thank you for being my guest today and good luck to you and Reverf. I hope you guys have a.

Lauren Douglas (27:21)

Thank you.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (27:22)

Stellar 2026.

Lauren Douglas (27:23)

Your lips to God's ears.

Host (AdTech Godpod Host) (27:25)

Amazing. Take care.

AdTech Godpod Host (Ad Tech God) (27:29)

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the AdTech Godpod, a podcast for the people about the people. Stay connected with me for more insights, trends and interviews in the realm of adtech. Don't miss out on the latest updates. So follow me on X Instagram and connect with me on LinkedIn. Don't forget ATG Slack community has insights, networking opportunities and jobs. Keep the conversation going and stay at the forefront of adtech innovation.