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This episode is brought to you by the Build, a new podcast from the guys behind Sincera, Michael Sullivan and Ian Myers. They built their company by figuring out clever solutions to a few important ad tech problems in our industry. That's exactly what the show is all about. Mike and Ian interview some of the smartest tech minds in the biz to hear about how they identified opportunities, solved those hardest challenges, and grew their business in the process. Listen to the Build with Michael Sullivan wherever you get your podcasts. This is adtech God and this is a commercial message. Meet Freewheel Buyer Cloud. Not just another dsp, but a fully integrated TV and video buying platform built with intelligence at its core. It's designed to help you plan, activate and optimize smarter so you can build your own innovation on top of it. Learn more and connect with the Freewheel Buyer cloud team@freewheel.com ATG Again, connect with the team@freewheel.Com ATG welcome to the AdTech Godpod, your window into the world of advertising technology and the people behind it. I'm your host, Ad Tech God. Welcome to the ADTech Godpod, where we speak to the agency leaders of our industry. Today's guest is David Nirenberg, SVP Digital at Intermedia Advertising. He's worked at companies like Rain, the growth agency. He's consulted and consulted for companies like Edelman and many, many more. David is very well versed in the industry. He is an Ad Exchanger Award winner. He's very vocal on social media. I'm a huge fan of his work. I'm a huge fan of his posts too, so I'm happy to have him with me today. David, thanks for joining.
B
This is what heaven looks like. Damn. I was expecting this.
A
It's amazing. Yeah, you were expecting a little bit more like Golden Gates, but it turns out it's just a door.
B
Hey, I'll. I'll take it if it means I get to t talk to B at that God. I'll sit in the desert and talk to you. How's it going, my man?
A
Good man. Thank you for joining me. Thanks for. Yeah, thanks for just being so supportive and thanks for joining me on the show today, man. I'm looking forward to just chatting and hearing your perspective that I hear often, but never onetoone like this. So thanks for being on now.
B
This is a dream come true. Longtime listener, first time was caller, so I'm excited. I've been wanting to do this with you for a while now and really, this is another check on the bucket list. I guess you could say let's do it.
A
I want to ask you, David, you've, I think we first I would say message each other, had conversations when you were at Rain, but I would love for you to kind of take us back to how you got into the industry and what led you to being the SVP of Digital Intermedia today.
B
Yeah, so I think like many people in this industry I kind of just fell into it because I had no clue what else I wanted to do. College was fun, but it was also a six year journey in undergrad, switching majors three times. Eventually I landed on a corporate communications major and as part of the graduation requirement I had to get an internship. So I, I got an internship at Gameloft which is a relatively well known mobile gaming publisher. I was part of the team that helped roll out their initial Programmatic product. So that was really my first experience with Programmatic and it was a good learning experience because you really got to see things from the publisher side and how the so called the sausage was made. And then after the internship they hired me and I was one of their first campaign managers. And after that I started working at multiple ad tech companies, went to the holding company side at Dentsu, had my own data engineering consultancy for four years where I went out on my own and really got to understand how you know how to run a business, what goes into running a successful business, how to build, build a name properly market products and speak to customers and really understand that you need to, what problems are you solving for them and how to address their pain points. And that was just the overall great experience for four years and but ended up, ended up burning out a little bit and going back into the 9 to 5 world. Took a job with Rain, the growth agency where I was to help build out their CTV product and really got deep into the CTV space and fell in love with it over the course of three years and most recently over the past year I've been at Intermedia, which is a 50 year old TV performance agency and they brought me in to really build up their digital practice and get them, get them sophisticated and really be a player in the CTV space. And I'm excited to say that it's been a really good year and really excited to see where things go.
A
You obviously have a great background and I know this because I've, I've seen your posts and we've, we've had conversations online, offline through, you know, no camera on Google Meets, but you have a perspective because you're actually one of the people out there. That speaks up and speaks out about things that are both good and bad about digital advertising. Overall, you've done so in a very polite and respectful way. But to not just go with the flow, can I ask you, like, where did you discover this, this feeling of like something is broken or something is not right, I need to call it out. Where do you discover that and why do you feel the need to be vocal about it overall?
B
Yeah, absolutely. Great question. So after my Gameloft experience, I worked at a number of managed service attack type vendors and it was there that I really saw the economics of the industry and how the money was truly being made and some of the practices that I just wasn't very proud of having to do. And it was, it was there that I also realized that these practices were not just unique or exclusive to the companies that I worked at. They were pretty prevalent and common across the board because in order for the spice to keep moving, right, the spice must pump. Those practices were kind of built into the system and it wasn't a system that I wanted to be a part of. Right. So for me, I kind of faced this decision where do I want to just accept things the way they are and collect a paycheck, just go about my day, or do I want to actually say something and be part of the solution versus being part of the problem?
A
I think a lot of people are complacent with it, David. Like, I do think that some people are just like, okay, it just is what it is and me bringing it up is probably, or maybe just, I don't feel like bringing it up. I'm just going to keep going and I think being able to call it out is better for the industry overall. I think it's the right thing to do.
B
I agree. I also empathize with their positions. You know, they have families a lot of the time speaking up with me losing their job and jeopardizing their career. So I've actually been lucky in being able to carve out my own path and kind of take this unorthodox path where the, the entities and the companies that I worked with and for, they supported my thought, leadership and my opinion and perspective versus trying to muzzle me largely. And this has really been over the past five, six years. So I've been really lucky in just having the right situation around me to be able to speak up. So I, I do have to say that, sure, there's plenty of people out there who want to say something, who want to put their thoughts out, but just, just can't and, and I understand. So given the position I'm in, I feel like I, I, it's even more important that I speak up and get my opinion out.
A
Where do you think the biggest challenge is as it relates to that? Like is it inventory quality, is it targeting, is it data, is it a combination of all? Is it a lack of technology and the ability to do things accurately or as accurately as maybe it's portrayed or it just is what it is and usually I post a meme that just says it is what it is type of situation.
B
I think it's the incentives that this industry runs on and the fact that we've kind of dug ourselves into a hole where these business practices and the rationality of our industry, it needs to keep going for the lights to stay on. And I think that's the biggest challenge. I think digital introduced a lot of bad practices and bad thinking that has been just so ingrained into our day to day that the chart a better course would almost mean paring everything down and starting from scratch.
A
When you look at your like overall background, working at Rain and now moving into Intermedia, you moved into what was a traditional kind of linear performance agency. How has your background, your knowledge, your experience helped build, I guess the digital unit of this agency and what was eye opening to you in terms of what they were aware of and what they weren't and vice versa?
B
Oh, I credit my exposure to linear with a lot of the reason for why I have the perspective that I have. You really get to see the true art and, and science aspect of advertising within the linear space. When you're planning a linear campaign, you have to decide which shows you're going to advertise on, what networks you're going to be on. And that largely is guided by deep research and from companies like Comscore and Nielsen. There's really a thought pattern and logic to why money gets spent in the way it does in linear. It's not just, you know, let's follow the audience wherever they go. And the core strategy within a programmatic campaign is okay, which audience segment are we going to select? That just sounds nice to us, but we really have no idea how it's built, how often it's refreshed, how valid it is. When it comes to linear, everything has to be backed up by real data and research to validate why the money is going to where it's going and just the way linear is bought and optimized. And you have to be constantly on top of things. You have to be in communication with publishers really working your relationships. I really got so much appreciation for that work and to me at least it's, it's, it's harder and more complicated and more data driven in many ways than the work we do on the programmatic side. So yeah, linear really. One just gave me a real appreciation for just how things were done on the traditionally. And just because, you know, something's digital and new and shiny doesn't mean that it's better or the right way to do it. Right. We've done things for a reason for many years now on the traditional side. And you know, some things should be improved on or, or optimized, but there's many fundamentals and principles that still very much apply to digital. Just like they did that just like they applied traditional channels. I think to be the best marketer you could possibly be, you need to have an appreciation for those things.
A
This is at Tech God. And this is a commercial message. If you're at Possible this week, look up. Seriously. Heli D is flying full motion digital billboards over Miami, turning real world attention into measurable media with blue byte retargeting. See who's taking over the sky and get the full breakdown@heli-d.com possible again go to heli-d.com possible David, I'd love to ask you one particular question. So a lot of people and we've seen the banter on X Twitter, we've seen the banter on LinkedIn. A lot of people are kind of leading into ADCP and agentic and all that saying that the programmatic pipes are old. I had someone reference it as, you know, Blockbuster and Netflix and Blockbuster is trying to power Netflix when it should not be that way. Where do you think or where do you stand on that? And the new, I guess programmatic or future pipes look like when it comes to Gentic and at CP and other protocols.
B
My answer to that is I still haven't seen enough that actually works and is valid and is real to be able to give you a true answer and form a perspective and opinion on that. I've been attending the AI working groups and various marketer get togethers and the common theme that I hear behind the scenes is that you don't believe, don't believe everything that's being put out in the trades.
A
Yeah, it's funny you say that because so I know that there has been some research that's been released, there's been some press releases that have put in market. There's obviously a very strong push behind it across the board from various people, companies, builders in the space. But I agree, I have not seen any solid porting statistics, numbers and a volume that would matter that I feel like this is a real tangible solution in market. I feel like great. You run 20, 30, 50,000. That's great. Congratulations. Can you power billions? I'm not sure we're even close to that.
B
You know, when I was at Gentsu, I was a founding member of one the innovation councils that, that were built out to cover emerging tech trends. But primarily my scope was the Blockchain Innovation Council and you know, I was all in. So excited as many people were back then during the blockchain phase I, I had to analyze and audit many different companies that claim to use blockchain as part of their product that were built around blockchain and not one of those companies still exists.
A
So it feels like flash all over again. Feels like Flash. I don't know. Can I call it I don't know.
B
Feels like Flash. It's just I, I, I'm much more conservative. Yeah, much more conservative when it comes to hype cycles. When it comes to technology these days, just experience has taught me that.
A
Yeah.
B
So I'm just, I'm still in a very much. Let's wait and see. And it's still too early for me to have an opinion or perspective on this.
A
I know enough to know that there's for any solution to be rolled out, it needs to be scalable and it needs to be tested at scale. And although something works at a minimal budget, that's great. So does a flat tire. But if you're going 80, it's shredding and you're crashing into the center divider. So like the thought here is I think we're still very early on at cp. I think we're very early on that entire push. But there is potential. I just don't see it happening in the, in the short term. A little pivot for us. We're in, in. You and I are, are pretty outspoken about the, the good, the bad and the ugly. But I'd love to hear from you. The good. Like, where are you seeing things heading in the future and what are you really positive about for the remainder of the year?
B
Yeah, no, as far as the good goes, I'm just getting more and more pleasantly surprised by how many sophisticated, smart, passionate marketers I, I'm meeting these days. I feel like over the past four or five years, there's definitely been a development in terms of the level of sophistication and creativity that's been happening especially in the, in the programmatic, on the buy side. And there's just more and more people being vocal and speaking out and putting out their opinions and perspectives. And there we're really entering this era almost, I'd like to say, of where there's a much more freer flow of ideas. Whereas in the past everyone was so guarded about what they were doing and what they were seeing, even though everyone was largely doing and seeing the same exact thing. And there's actually value in validating that we're all seeing the same as guy exact thing, might I say. So to me, that's, that's the good right now there's just a lot of passionate nerds out there that it's a growing contingent of nerds.
A
It's funny, I talk to friends outside of the industry and I try to explain what we do and I realize just how nerdy we are in comparison to other industries because they're like, wait.
B
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
A
I support it. I support it all the way. So another thing that I'd love to learn from you, David, is you have kind of grown in your career really quickly. You have a lot of experience, but you've really kind of moved up and become a very well known name in the industry. Very respected, very outspoken. Do you have award winning on your title anywhere? Do you ever say like, hi, I'm David, award winning David. But how did you do that?
B
It was, it was a decision I was wrestling with for a while, but now, yes, on my LinkedIn bio it does say David is an award winning media executive.
A
That's amazing. How did that happen? What did you do for yourself in order to do that? And what do you suggest for other people who have not been as vocal and out there as you on how to kind of improve the perception and market of themselves, but then also, you know, be heard and listened to in, in the industry overall?
B
Yeah. So like at the end of the day, what drives me and what I'm most passionate about is I want to change this. I want to be a part of changing this industry for the better. Right. I want to be a part of that. And to do that, I recognize that good work that is truly innovative and makes a difference and drives change, needs to be out there and spoken about and advertised. Right. And I'm not talking about a case study that drove a high CTR that probably was all largely bots. Right. The awards that I've won, I'm really proud to say this, are all around various technical, technological implementations and innovations on the buy side and target them in a way that's completely different from the status quo. Also, being in the CTV space and of course experiencing many of the transparency issues, one of my pulpits has been, you know, pushing for greater transparency and show level data. Right. LINEAR has always been bought at the show level. You go after specific shows. CTV should have that same level of transparency and I think, and I would argue needs to have that same level of transparency if we ever, if we are ever to reach the full potential of ctv. Because to reach that full potential, you need to be able to optimize it as granularly as possible. And if you're not getting that crucial show level data point, your optimization options are actually fairly limited. So for me it all goes back to I don't want to just be loud and out there for the sake of being loud and out there. I want to make sure if I'm putting something out, it drives value and gets people to think differently, but also shows people that there's a better and different way to do things than just what we have all been brought up on doing. Which I believe many of those practices aren't good for our clients, aren't good for us, and aren't good for greater society.
A
Why do you think some of those signals don't come through? So is it like intentional obfuscation? Is it invalid traffic? Is it people manipulating the system for their own, I guess, financial gain? But why is it sometimes those signals don't come through? Or is just the system, the technology behind it, incapable of passing all those signals?
B
Now, now the. The real answer is it's because of a 30 year old law called the BPPA that was created in response to a politician having his Blockbuster video subscriptions leaked. From what I understand, there were some naughty, naughty videos in those subscriptions. So it's antiquated law that was built, not even built for digital, that has been retroactively applied to our situation. And the lack of clarification updates that law is the on paper reason for why many publishers don't share back that data. Because the law would argue that it is a privacy violation because it could potentially be used to identify who the person is. The reality of the of the matter is yes, there's legal considerations, but also I think a lot of publishers are afraid of media buyers cherry picking certain content and buying, only wanting to buy that and then limiting and handicapping their own yield optimization strategies on the adopt side of things. So being able to not give people the option of buying into certain shows just makes their lives easier in the short term. But I believe it handicaps them in the long term because again, media buyers will be able to spend more budget when they are, when they're able to optimize and drive performance. And see, you can see that CTV actually does drive results.
A
I mean you would think that if you had whatever a, a streaming app and you had two or three big shows, but then you have a really big long tail of not so popular shows. Like I kind of understand why a publisher would say let's just even out the playing field because the total number of opportunities for those three hit shows is not as large as the long tail of a thousand shows. But at the same time you would also think that you could drive a significantly higher CPM if you were to highlight that particular show and that it would somewhat offset that. You know, average CPM across the whole network versus really high CPMs here because it's hot and it's the top show versus like you know what, I think it would be fair priced CPMs for that long tail, right?
B
Linear has always functioned on basic supply and demand economics, right? So like CTV can and should function the same way. If you want one show with limited impressions, then you got to pay the price, right? For those limited impressions you got to pay the value based on demand. But ultimately I also think that the media buyer that only wants one show because they recognize that show name is a silly media buyer because they need to maximize reach, right? And long tail shows, people still watch long tail shows. Audiences watch long tail shows. Now if you're able to tie outcomes to specific shows. Now the algo actually knows which shows they're truly watching. Guarantee they're not just going to watch that 1:10 pole show, they're going to be watching other shows that are more long tail. But people love what they love, right? And you got to let the algo go find that. And the only way you can find that is if you're getting the transparency necessary to do that.
A
How do you keep so up to date on everything? Are you learning mostly just your day to day work? People that you network with, do you read and something in particular that helps you keep up to date. But I'd love to learn how, how you keep up with everything because I'm trying to now that I would say I'm on the other side of not working hands on keyboard in the industry but doing this. And I find it very difficult to keep up with everything that's happening 247 now.
B
Yeah, so I make sure every morning, right when I'm drinking my coffee and coming, coming to life. I'll scan Ad Week, Ad Exchanger and Digiday. So I'll get the daily round of news there. And of course, you know, I wake up early every Friday with, with the, with Ari and Eric and the latest market show episode. So that's a must listen. So. And then of course, I'm very lucky to be surrounded by a lot of friends, people who I'm lucky to be able to call friends in this industry. And naturally we're all nerds and we love talking about it. So I'm constantly, you know, we're constantly sharing, sharing articles, sharing thoughts, sharing ideas and, and just jamming out on them. Maybe it's sad, but I think I'm lucky to be just surrounded by an industry that I'm super passionate about and people who I genuinely love.
A
I'm with you. Awesome. David, thank you so much for joining me. This was a long time coming, so thanks again for being my guest.
B
Thank you. Atg. It was an honor.
A
Thank you. 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 ad tech. 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.
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Host: AdTechGod
Guest: David Nyurenberg, SVP Digital at InterMedia Advertising
In this episode, AdTechGod sits down with David Nyurenberg, a widely respected and outspoken SVP of Digital at InterMedia Advertising. Together, they unpack the core problems with the current programmatic advertising ecosystem and why the industry is ripe for a reset. Nyurenberg openly reflects on his unconventional path in ad tech, offers candid insights on "broken" industry incentives, discusses the value of linear TV experience, and shares what makes him optimistic (and wary) about ad tech’s future.
[02:31–04:49]
Memorable Quote:
“I kind of just fell into [ad tech] because I had no clue what else I wanted to do.”—David Nyurenberg [02:45]
[04:49–07:54]
Notable Exchange:
"For me, I kind of faced this decision: do I want to just accept things the way they are, or do I want to actually say something and be part of the solution versus being part of the problem?" —David Nyurenberg [06:07]
[07:54–08:58]
"I think digital introduced a lot of bad practices...so ingrained...to chart a better course would almost mean paring everything down and starting from scratch." —David Nyurenberg [08:18]
[08:58–11:33]
“Just because something’s digital and new and shiny doesn’t mean that it’s better or the right way to do it.” —David Nyurenberg [10:41]
[12:37–14:55]
"It feels like Flash all over again...I’m much more conservative when it comes to hype cycles and technology these days, just experience has taught me that." —David Nyurenberg [14:34]
[15:41–16:47]
"There’s just a lot of passionate nerds out there and it’s a growing contingent." —David Nyurenberg [16:32]
[17:25–19:56]
“I want to change this industry for the better...I want to make sure if I’m putting something out, it drives value and gets people to think differently, but also shows people there’s a better and different way than just what we have all been brought up doing.” —David Nyurenberg [19:17]
[19:56–23:39]
“[Lack of transparency] handicaps them in the long term because...media buyers will be able to spend more budget when they’re able to optimize and drive performance.” —David Nyurenberg [21:33]
[24:05–24:57]
“Maybe it’s sad, but I think I’m lucky to be just surrounded by an industry that I’m super passionate about and people who I genuinely love.” —David Nyurenberg [24:57]
On Industry Incentives:
"The incentives that this industry runs on...we’ve kind of dug ourselves into a hole where these business practices and the rationality...needs to keep going for the lights to stay on." —David Nyurenberg [08:18]
On Transparency Push:
"CTV should have [show-level] transparency and...needs to if we’re ever to reach the full potential of CTV. Because to reach that...you need to be granular." —David Nyurenberg [19:11]
On Hype Cycles:
"It feels like Flash all over again...I’m much more conservative when it comes to hype cycles." —David Nyurenberg [14:34]
On Community:
"There’s just a lot of passionate nerds out there..." —David Nyurenberg [16:32]
The episode is frank, conversational, and approachable—a blend of podcast banter, inside industry knowledge, and pointed critiques. David’s language is direct but constructive, with a recurring focus on improving the industry, amplifying the voices of the "passionate nerds," and reminding listeners why thinking critically (and out loud) matters.
David Nyurenberg advocates for genuine change in programmatic advertising, arguing that new tech alone won’t solve the industry’s root incentive problems. The best hope is found in technical diligence, transparency, and fostering a smarter, more outspoken community—while remaining skeptical of unproven hype. Both the industry and its professionals, he suggests, need to combine the rigor of linear TV with the innovation of digital for a healthier future.
For more episodes and insight, visit adtechgod.com/adtechgod-pod.