Marketecture: Get Smart. Fast.
Episode 127: Mark Grether on What PayPal Ads Is Building
Release Date: June 13, 2025

Introduction

In Episode 127 of the Marketecture Podcast, hosts Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi engage in an insightful conversation with Dr. Mark Grether, the General Manager of PayPal Ads. Building on Mark's previous appearance where he discussed Uber Ads, this episode delves into the evolution of PayPal Ads, the strategic initiatives driving its growth, and the broader implications for the advertising and marketing industries. Additionally, the hosts cover a range of pertinent industry news, including developments in AI, shifts in leadership at major holding companies, and notable legal actions affecting the ad tech landscape.

Interview with Dr. Mark Grether, GM of PayPal Ads

Transition from Uber Ads to PayPal Ads

Ari Paparo (00:00):

"Mark was on the podcast about a year ago when he was the head of Uber ads. So we're going to ask him about that change and what's going on at PayPal and a lot of other really interesting stuff."

Dr. Mark Grether joins the conversation to shed light on his transition from leading Uber Ads to spearheading PayPal Ads. Having joined PayPal a year ago, Mark provides a comprehensive overview of PayPal's multifaceted business and the strategic direction of its advertising division.

Overview of PayPal's Business Units

Dr. Mark Grether (02:27):

"PayPal is PayPal itself. We all use PayPal to make online transactions. Venmo is also a part of the PayPal organization... We also have Honey, our browser extension, which helps people to save money as they shop online."

Mark outlines the primary components of PayPal’s ecosystem:

• PayPal: Facilitates online transactions, widely recognized globally.
• Venmo: A social platform enabling peer-to-peer transactions and sharing user activities.
• Honey: A browser extension designed to help users save money through discounts and deals while shopping online.

With operations in over 200 markets, PayPal boasts access to 30 million merchants and serves 400 million consumers, accounting for 25% of global commerce. This extensive reach provides a robust foundation for PayPal Ads to leverage vast amounts of transaction and intent data.

PayPal Ads’ Unique Selling Proposition: Transaction and Intent Data

Dr. Mark Grether (04:41):

"The starting point of the PayPal advertising business is the transaction data... We're using that, the transaction data to have a really, really deep and rich understanding for consumers what they purchase online and offline."

PayPal Ads differentiates itself by harnessing both transaction data from PayPal and Venmo, and intent data from Honey. This combination offers a 360-degree view of consumer behavior, capturing not only what consumers purchase but also where, when, and how they make these purchases.

Mark emphasizes the advantage of this data-driven approach over traditional retail media:

"The big difference between PayPal and the retailer is a retailer who's very deep, but it's very narrow versus we are sitting horizontally across all the merchants... That's very attractive for advertisers who typically sell their products not only on one single merchant website."

This horizontal integration across multiple merchants allows advertisers to assess and optimize market share and incrementality across diverse platforms, addressing key metrics that CFOs and marketing teams are keen to understand.

Advertising Products Offered by PayPal Ads

Ari Paparo (07:38):

"What products can an advertiser currently buy from you guys?"

Dr. Mark Grether (07:38):

"There are basically two main products. The first one is they can run advertising campaigns on our own properties... Secondly, we launched recently what we call offsite ads, meaning they can also leverage our transaction data in the form of PMPs and PGs offline programmatically with our SSP partners."

PayPal Ads offers two primary advertising solutions:

1. On-Platform Advertising: Advertisers can run campaigns directly on PayPal, Venmo, and Honey, tapping into the active user base of these platforms.
2. Offsite Advertising: Utilizing PayPal’s rich transaction and intent data, advertisers can programmatically target audiences across the open web through Private Marketplaces (PMPs) and Programmatic Guaranteed (PG) deals with Supply-Side Platform (SSP) partners.

Mark highlights the flexibility and depth of targeting available:

"Absolutely, you can do that."

This granular targeting allows advertisers to reach specific consumer segments based on recent purchasing behavior, interests, and transactional patterns.

Geographic Scope and Future Plans

Dr. Mark Grether (11:48):

"We have the US right now live, we have the UK and Germany and those are the three markets that we focused on first."

Initially focusing on the US, UK, and Germany, PayPal Ads plans to expand its geographic footprint beyond these markets. Mark teases upcoming announcements related to AI and commerce media, signaling innovative directions for the platform.

Consumer Behavior Insights from Venmo

Dr. Mark Grether (13:10):

"One thing that people use quite often is pizza... it's a lot about beauty... Lipstick, stuff like that together to let's say a Sephora."

Venmo’s social aspect provides unique insights into consumer behavior beyond mere transactions. Commonly used emojis and transaction notes reveal interests and social interactions, such as frequent purchases of pizza or beauty products. This "shadow commerce" aspect enables advertisers to understand social purchasing dynamics and tailor their campaigns accordingly.

Commerce Media vs. Retail Media

Dr. Mark Grether (15:44):

"If you want to say commerce media, I think that's a broader term... I think commerce media is a little bit closer to what we are doing."

The discussion culminates in defining PayPal Ads’ positioning within the industry:

"Commerce media is a broader term... it is the power of the transaction data across all merchants."

Mark advocates for the term "commerce media" to encompass the wide-ranging data and cross-merchant insights that PayPal Ads leverages, distinguishing it from the more narrow focus of traditional retail media.

Industry News Segment

Following the in-depth discussion with Dr. Mark Grether, Ari and Eric transition to a series of news updates affecting the advertising and marketing landscape.

Leadership Changes at WPP

Eric (17:35):

"Mark Reed is going to be stepping down from WPP as CEO after a big rebrand."

WPP’s CEO, Mark Reed, announces his departure following a significant rebranding and restructuring effort. Potential successors discussed include Brian Lesser, Emily Del Greco, and David Kenny, highlighting internal promotions and external candidates from firms like Nielsen.

WPP vs. Publicis: Traffic Quality Dispute

Ari Paparo (21:07):

"WPP issued an advisory to its clients... They called out the Conversant SSP owned by Publicis as having a lot of low-quality traffic."

WPP has publicly criticized Publicis-owned Conversant SSP for high multi-frequency fraud (MFA) rates and low viewability metrics. This unprecedented move underscores increasing tensions and competition between major holding companies in the ad tech space.

AI Developments and Legal Challenges

1. Publishers and AI Traffic Declines

   Eric (24:06):

   "The Journal had an article titled 'Publishers are getting crushed by Google's new AI tools'... The Atlantic CEO...operate under the assumption that you will get zero traffic from Google."

   AI tools developed by tech giants like Google are significantly impacting publisher traffic, prompting industry leaders to reassess their reliance on traditional referral sources.

2. Disney and NBCU Sue Midjourney

   Ari Paparo (26:09):

   "Disney and NBCU are suing Midjourney over copyright infringement."

   Major entertainment companies are taking legal action against AI firms like Midjourney for unauthorized use of copyrighted material, sparking debates over intellectual property rights in the age of generative AI.

3. Meta’s Investment in Scale AI

   Eric (28:52):

   "Meta is investing $14 billion into Scale AI and hiring the CEO."

   Meta’s significant investment in Scale AI, a data labeling company, aims to bolster its AI capabilities by leveraging a vast workforce for training chatbots and enhancing conversational interfaces.

4. Amazon's AI Ad Generator for Sellers

   Eric (32:19):

   "Amazon launched their own AI ad generator for all of their sellers."

   Amazon introduces an AI-driven tool enabling sellers to create automated, data-driven ads, streamlining the advertising process and enhancing seller capabilities.

5. DoorDash Acquires Symbiosis for Ad Tech

   Ari Paparo (33:19):

   "DoorDash acquired Symbiosis for $175 million to help retail media networks extend onto social and search."

   DoorDash’s acquisition of Symbiosis signifies a strategic move to enhance its retail media offerings, enabling better integration of audience data across multiple platforms.

Meta's Tracking via Meta Pixels on Android

Ari Paparo (35:08):

"Meta could track every single Meta pixel in a browser on Android devices, bypassing third-party tracking restrictions."

Meta has implemented a workaround on Android devices that allows it to monitor Facebook pixels across browsers, raising significant privacy concerns and potential regulatory scrutiny.

TikTok’s 10 Days of Announcements

Eric (36:57):

"TTD 10 days of announcements... They announced a deal desk, some new data, some TV stuff."

TikTok’s 10 Days of Announcements feature a series of product updates and partnerships aimed at enhancing their advertising platform, including improved deal management and enhanced reporting tools.

Google Offers Buyouts in Search and Ads

Eric (38:40):

"Google is offering voluntary buyouts to employees in search and ads... The division encompasses 20,000 people."

In response to evolving business needs and the integration of AI technologies, Google is initiating voluntary buyouts within its search and ads divisions to streamline operations and enhance efficiency.

Conclusion

Episode 127 of the Marketecture Podcast provides a comprehensive exploration of PayPal Ads' strategic initiatives under the leadership of Dr. Mark Grether. By leveraging extensive transaction and intent data, PayPal Ads positions itself as a formidable player in the commerce media landscape, offering advertisers unparalleled insights and targeting capabilities across a broad spectrum of merchants.

The subsequent news segment underscores the dynamic and often contentious nature of the ad tech industry, highlighting significant leadership changes, legal battles, and rapid advancements in AI-driven advertising technologies. As the industry continues to evolve, episodes like this offer invaluable perspectives for professionals seeking to navigate the complexities of modern marketing and advertising.

Notable Quotes:

• Dr. Mark Grether (04:41):

  "The starting point of the PayPal advertising business is the transaction data... We're using that, the transaction data to have a really, really deep and rich understanding for consumers what they purchase online and offline."

• Dr. Mark Grether (15:44):

  "If you want to say commerce media, I think that's a broader term... it is the power of the transaction data across all merchants."

• Ari Paparo (26:59):

  "The lawyers love to love to write and they called it like a serial plagiarist or something along those lines."

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