How to be Power Collaborator: An Agency Perspective

Summary

Marketecture Podcast Summary: "How to be a Power Collaborator: An Agency Perspective"

Episode Details

• Title: How to be a Power Collaborator: An Agency Perspective
• Host/Author: Marketecture Media, Inc.
• Release Date: May 19, 2025
• Guests: Lauren Wetzel (CEO of Infosum, acquired by GroupM) and Ji Young Kim (COO of GroupM North America)
• Conference Context: Market Texture Live

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1. Introduction

In this episode of the Marketecture Podcast, hosts Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi delve into the dynamics of agency collaboration within the advertising and marketing industries. The featured conversation between Lauren Wetzel and Ji Young Kim offers insightful perspectives on data collaboration, privacy, performance, and emerging industry trends.

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2. Ji Young Kim’s Professional Background [01:15]

Lauren Wetzel initiates the discussion by highlighting the diversity in agency roles and the significance of understanding each role’s unique contributions. She invites Ji Young Kim to elaborate on her background and her responsibilities as the COO of GroupM North America.

Ji Young Kim shares her proactive approach:

"If I saw something that I could help make better or do it in a better way, I would just do it. I wouldn't ask for permission, I wouldn't ask for credit."
[01:39]

She emphasizes her role in operationalizing GroupM’s vision while managing a large team, focusing on areas where she can make the most impact.

---

3. The Role of Agencies in Data Collaboration [02:23]

Lauren underscores the pivotal role agencies play in data collaboration, especially given their relationships with multiple stakeholders such as publishers, data providers, and brands. She questions Ji Young Kim on the key challenges agencies face in balancing these multifaceted collaborations.

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4. Challenges in Data Collaboration [03:20]

Ji Young Kim identifies the maturation of data practices as a double-edged sword. While data offerings have evolved, the primary challenge remains in effectively communicating the application and incremental benefits of data to clients:

"What do we think it's going to do that is incrementally better than not having a data set."
[03:20]

She emphasizes that the focus should be on how data is utilized to enhance clients' business outcomes rather than just the data itself.

---

5. Balancing Privacy and Performance [04:05 - 05:04]

Lauren raises concerns about the perceived trade-off between privacy and performance in data collaboration, challenging the notion that privacy protections inherently diminish data utility.

Ji Young Kim counters this by highlighting that privacy has actually spurred new commercial models:

"Privacy has created or catalyzed completely new commercial models for media platforms."
[05:04]

She explains that the richness of data signals and the agility in their application are more critical factors than privacy alone in maintaining performance.

---

6. Compliance and Building Trust [06:33 - 07:46]

Lauren emphasizes the industry's struggles with privacy compliance and the critical importance of maintaining trust between brands and consumers. She points out the delicate balance brands must maintain in safeguarding consumer data to preserve trust.

Ji Young Kim responds by discussing GroupM’s stance on data responsibility:

"There are many instances where marketers will get really excited about data sets but not understand how they're going to apply it beyond insights and profiling."
[07:46]

She stresses the importance of using data ethically and effectively to drive meaningful business outcomes, ensuring compliance and trust are upheld.

---

7. Client Success Stories with CPGs [10:08 - 12:37]

When asked about successful client collaborations, Ji Young Kim highlights their work with Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies. She describes two primary categories based on consumer relationships:

1. Non-Captive Consumption Products:

   • Example: Chocolates
   • Focus: Understanding consumption patterns and nurturing loyalty among current buyers versus acquiring new market share.

2. Data-Driven Targeting:

   • Utilization of commerce and purchase data sets to refine targeting strategies and enhance media buying effectiveness.

Lauren adds that advancements in data collaboration technologies have empowered CPGs to leverage diverse data sets for more informed decision-making:

"With technology like this, with multi-party collaboration... there's just so much that they can learn about their client to drive more effective media buying."
[12:37]

---

8. Emerging Trends: AI and Data Modeling [13:35 - 15:38]

Lauren prompts a discussion on emerging trends beyond data collaboration, specifically AI's role in performance enhancement.

Ji Young Kim elaborates on two exciting AI-driven innovations:

1. Automated Optimization:

   • AI streamlines the process of determining the optimal combination of audience, platform, targeting, and creative elements to enhance campaign performance.

2. Predictive Analytics:

   • Leveraging vast amounts of data, AI facilitates forward prediction, allowing for rapid scenario testing and decision-making based on historical data patterns.

She conveys enthusiasm for AI’s potential to unlock new value for clients by enhancing both creativity and operational efficiency.

---

9. Industry Chaos and Leveling the Playing Field [16:08 - 16:58]

Lauren introduces the topic of chaos within the industry, asking Ji Young Kim about the most pressing challenges faced by clients and agencies alike.

Ji Young Kim interprets the current scenario as a “leveling of our playing field,” driven by innovations like AI and evolving metrics:

"A lot of the sacred cows that we held near and dear are kind of going away... certain metrics needing to get closer to business outcomes."
[16:22]

She suggests that this shift necessitates a reevaluation of business strategies, viewing it as an opportunity rather than a setback.

---

10. Future Innovations and Closing Thoughts [17:45 - 18:28]

As the conversation winds down, Lauren reflects on the role of agencies as enablers of collaboration and highlights the need for guidance in navigating new technologies and terminologies.

Ji Young Kim looks forward to future discussions on innovation, emphasizing the importance of applying available market technologies in creative and effective ways:

"We are phenomenal at taking all of the things available in the market and applying it in interesting ways."
[17:50]

The episode concludes with mutual appreciation and anticipation for continued collaboration and innovation in the industry.

---

11. Key Takeaways

• Agencies as Crucial Collaborators: Agencies play a vital role in orchestrating data collaboration among multiple stakeholders, enhancing the effectiveness of marketing strategies.

• Balancing Privacy and Performance: Contrary to popular belief, prioritizing privacy does not necessarily compromise data performance. Rich data signals and agile application are paramount.

• Ethical Data Utilization: Ensuring compliance and maintaining trust are essential when handling consumer data, fostering long-term brand-consumer relationships.

• AI’s Transformative Potential: AI is revolutionizing data modeling and campaign optimization, offering unprecedented opportunities for predictive analytics and automated decision-making.

• Industry Evolution: The advertising landscape is undergoing significant changes, leveling the playing field and necessitating a strategic reassessment of traditional metrics and business models.

---

12. Notable Quotes

• Ji Young Kim on Proactivity:
  "If I saw something that I could help make better or do it in a better way, I would just do it. I wouldn't ask for permission, I wouldn't ask for credit."
  [01:39]

• On Privacy and Data Performance:
  "Privacy has created or catalyzed completely new commercial models for media platforms."
  [05:04]

• On Ethical Data Use:
  "There are many instances where marketers will get really excited about data sets but not understand how they're going to apply it beyond insights and profiling."
  [07:46]

• On AI and Optimization:
  "AI allows us to go the other way and detect kind of the end to end combination that seems to generate the best results."
  [14:19]

• On Industry Shifts:
  "That was not a plug. Yeah. So a lot of the sacred cows that we held near and dear are kind of going away."
  [16:27]

---

13. Conclusion

This episode provides a comprehensive exploration of the evolving role of agencies in data collaboration, the interplay between privacy and performance, and the transformative impact of AI in marketing. Ji Young Kim’s insights as COO of GroupM North America underscore the importance of ethical data practices, innovative utilization of technology, and strategic adaptability in navigating the dynamic landscape of advertising and marketing.

For those seeking to enhance their understanding of effective agency collaboration and data-driven strategies, this conversation offers valuable perspectives and actionable insights.

---

For more detailed discussions and insights, subscribe to the Marketecture Podcast and visit marketecture.tv.

Transcript

[Host]

This podcast is brought to you by audiohook, the leading independent audio dsp. Audiohook has direct publisher integrations into all major podcast and streaming radio platforms, providing 40% more inventory than what could be accessed in omnichannel DSPs. What's more, audiobook has full transcripts on more than 90% of all podcast inventory, enabling advanced contextual targeting and brand suitability. Audio Hook is so confident that in addition to CPM buys, they offer the industry's only pay for performance option where brands can scale audio and podcasting with peace of mind mind knowing they are only paying for outcomes. Visit audiohook.com to learn more. That's audiohook.com this week we have how to Be a Power Collaborator It's a conversation from the Market Texture Live conference between Lauren Wetzel, who is the CEO of Infosum before it was acquired by GroupM, and Ji Young Kim, the COO of GroupM North America. So maybe they had some private conversations about getting together after they talked on stage. Should be an interesting conversation. I hope you enjoy it.

[Lauren Wetzel]

G yes, ma' am. Before we get into the meaty questions, not all agencies are created equal, not all agency roles are created equal. And definitely COO means a lot of different things, whether you're agency, vendor, brand, et cetera. So can you just give us a little bit of your background and what you specifically do as COO of Group M North America?

[Ji Young Kim]

Sure. I like to think of my background as simple as if I saw something that I could help make better or do it in a better way, I would just do it. I wouldn't ask for permission, I wouldn't ask for credit. And that sort of became a career. And I like to think that CEO Group M is very similar to that. It's essentially landing and operationalizing a vision, but at the same time it's a massive group of people involved and I like to focus on the things that I think I can help with.

[Lauren Wetzel]

Love that answer. The reason I wanted agencies to be a little bit more prominent around the topic of data collaboration. Number one, my first role, which when I was at Infosam as CEO, I felt even though our first clients, our pioneering clients, were actually on the sell side and then by nature of products that they launched using data collaboration tech, it brought a lot of brands. I just always felt in my bones that the agencies play a pivotal role because effectively you're working with those multiple parties. You've got trading agreements with the publishers, you have data provider partners, you have the brands that you service every day. And so for you just start out as what are some of the key challenges that you as an agency balancing all of that? Because the name of data collaboration means it has to be more than one. And as it comes together, what are some of the challenges for you?

[Ji Young Kim]

So firstly, I appreciate the love and affection you have for agencies. I know it's not easy, especially for one as big as ours. I think the challenge is, very simply put, data as a practice or data as an offering has matured quite a bit, it's evolved a few times. But what we, what we still have to explain when we are servicing clients is how are we going to use it, the application of it, right. What's in it doesn't matter as much as how we, how we expect to be applying it to our client's business. And most important, what do we think it's going to do that is incrementally better than not having a data set.

[Lauren Wetzel]

Or data strategy that makes sense? And your background? When I spent some time on it, performance has always really been something you're passionate about. And when I think about implementing some of these collaborative technologies such as data clean room, other things, what have been some of the opportunities that you have? It could be into measurement or attribution, because I hear so often, because it's privacy safe, because it's privacy by default, it must not be performant. It's gotta be difficult. It means that you are protecting it in such a way that you can't get deterministic results. And that's just not true. And so that balancing act or the notion of a trade off between privacy and performance isn't true. How do you think about maintaining your mantra of caring about performance for brands in this era of data collaboration?

[Ji Young Kim]

So that notion that privacy safe means it doesn't perform can't possibly be true, because if that were true, media running through walled gardens would not perform. And it's actually the opposite. If anything, privacy has created or catalyzed completely new commercial models for media platforms. So. So the way I think about it is less about whether it's privacy safe or not, but how rich are the signals in the data and how agile is it. So a great example is when you're thinking about ID based data sets, what it does is it captures a moment in time. So for example, my values or for example, whether I'm a parent or kind of my ethnic background, these are things that don't change that much and are a very accurate description of who I am. However, when I say the word in market, it's A very well understood variable. What window of time do you think is acceptable to be in market? And that's what I care about most.

[Lauren Wetzel]

On the topic of privacy, what for you as an agency, obviously I think this entire industry has just gotten. They kind of fell down before we got up around privacy. Like we again, cookies are stale was a joke that I made on Twitter or X or whatever we're calling it earlier because it's such a hype topic around should we ever have been using cookies in the first place to track and to drive data driven advertising? And so knowing that the industry has faltered a bit and knowing how important compliance is to brands, I mean I see Brands, I see CMOs in particular driving this notion of we don't want to hand over our data, our consumer data. That relationship, that trust that we've built is more important than ever. And it takes a really long time to build trust and it takes two seconds of sending it out, centralizing it, leaving it into the hands of someone you don't trust to lose that relationship and that trust that's been built. So what do you at Group M think about in terms of compliance and sort of being on the right side of history as it relates to this privacy first but performance era?

[Ji Young Kim]

That was a lot. I'm going to try to answer that as simply as I can. So first and foremost, Group M, like we have our data assets, but we just don't believe that. Back to my previous point, this idea of an ID associated with lots of different attributes sourced from umpteenth different partners are the way to go. There's a couple of reasons for that, but the main one being what I was saying before, the types of signals that CMOs and marketers are looking for are very much in the now. So are they for the. The best example is is this audience a current customer of mine or are they a prospect and somebody that I can grow market share through? Right. That that is a very time sensitive criteria. Right. And what we are moving towards is moving to models that are much closer to the definitions that a brand cares about. The issue with kind of our old enthusiasm and by the way, I'm not discouraging imagination and ingenuity, to be totally honest. Some of the naughtiest things we've ever done and I came from a mobile background, so I know some of the naughtiest things we've ever done came out of problem solving and ingenuity. Right. That's not the bad part. The bad part is when you take that and you use it well when you kind of like for example acquire or use data in ways that it was never intended or has no value. Right. There are many instances where marketers will get really excited about data sets but not understand how they're going to apply it beyond insights and profiling. So in our world it's really about two things. Models that take into account the most recent set of signals, signals being different from data and the ability to apply it at the. At like at scale. Right. So wall gardens, non walled gardens, offline digital, biddable everywhere. So that's generally.

[Lauren Wetzel]

And based off of that, are there any client examples like what has been successful for you with this one? The approach with leaning on models with. To your point, the approach not just being tied to one particular identity but more looking at signals and things coming together. What are some case studies success stories?

[Ji Young Kim]

Yeah. So without naming specific brands, we are lucky enough to have a lot of CPGs as clients. And CPGs I would say fall into two types of categories or relationship with consumers. One is products where there's no cap consumption can reign supreme. For example, chocolates might fall under that category. Using data sets to understand consumption patterns and consumption potential within by just kind of like nurturing loyalty within current buyers versus trying to gain market share from switchers. Very important. Trying to understand the size of heavy consumers of a category that are movable, that are promiscuous, very important. So that's kind of an area where we're using a lot of different data sets that we would not have been able to access before, such as commerce data sets as well as purchase attributes to kind of refine our targeting.

[Lauren Wetzel]

I didn't realize you were going to use cpg but it's always my greatest example because again we'll use. Because you're not saying a client proud source spring water. You haven't gone to proudsourcespringwater.com anytime soon nor do you have an app that you're building that direct relationship. And oftentimes CPGs get put into the category of people ask me, you don't talk to CPGs ever because they're so data poor. It's like actually I talk to cpgs all the time because with technology like this, with multi party collaboration to what you just said, which is commerce data sets, loyalty data sets, there's just so much that they can learn about their client to drive more effective media buying, which I think is important.

[Ji Young Kim]

And I think you just brought up something or kind of like sparked something in my brain. So the little secret is so we have moved to using cohorts and signals to understand the opportunity. And kind of like there's a perception that that's less precise than ID based targeting. However, practitioners know. How do you guys use IDs? It's a seed, right? So you take a few of them and then you use them as a seed to extrapolate out to the universe. So whether you're going small to bigger through proxies or start big and go down to cohorts, try to imagine. We think we're a little biased, we think our method is better, but that's kind of something that I think we don't talk about very often.

[Lauren Wetzel]

Yeah, get louder. That's a strategy I can apply specifically to take a step back or away from just data collaboration. What are some of the other emerging trends? Checking the bingo box for AI, for example.

[Ji Young Kim]

It never happened.

[Lauren Wetzel]

Never happened. What are some of the other innovations? And it could be related to data collaboration. But things that you're excited about that to your point of constantly looking at performance and the evolution of performance throughout your career as there's always going to be new value you can unlock for clients and that could be evolving over time with new technologies. What's exciting to you?

[Ji Young Kim]

When we look at AI and I think we're just starting, there's a couple of things that have already happened. We've had DCO forever. The idea to personalize and to build relevance through messaging. But the amount of work involved in doing that and to test and learn into the right combination between the audience, the platform, the targeting and then the creative. It has been almost cost prohibitive. AI allows us to go the other way and detect kind of the end to end combination that seems to generate the best results. However that's defined, that's one. The second one is because AI inherently enjoys having a lot of data, which we have in today's world, it's starting to make it easier for us to predict forward. That's the most common use case right now. By looking at historic data. If we were to change a parameter in a product or a campaign or a budget, what would happen? That to me, how quickly that's possible is incredibly exciting.

[Lauren Wetzel]

And we technically got through all of the questions that we had talked about. So I'm gonna throw two at you and I apologize to any group M comms people out there. This whole conference is about chaos. So in the industry today, what do you think is the kind of key intersection of chaos? What are your clients grappling with the most or even internally across the agency? Like what's causing the most chaos for you.

[Ji Young Kim]

I think. I don't know about. I don't know if anything's creating chaos, but I do believe that in our industry, we are seeing kind of the leveling of our playing field. You mentioned AI, but that's an emphasis.

[Lauren Wetzel]

On value, by the way. Level the playing field.

[Ji Young Kim]

I love that.

[Lauren Wetzel]

Yeah, we've never talked about that before.

[Ji Young Kim]

That was not a plug. Yeah. So a lot of the sacred cows that we held near and dear are kind of going away. Right. So the idea of certain metrics needing, for example, medium metrics needing to get closer to business outcomes, that's also happening. So in a way, we're seeing a bit of a need to reevaluate the business we're all in. I don't think that's a bad thing, right?

[Lauren Wetzel]

No, I don't. And I think to the earlier point of thinking of agencies as an enabler of collaboration, like not just thinking of an agency whether they have a data asset or not, by the way, as. Okay, it's just always got to be direct. Data collaboration is about the ability for a brand to be direct. I think a lot of times the brands need some guidance. They need to understand and learn and be educated on new terminologies, whether that's some of the models that are coming out or whether that's things like data clean rooms, which is a term that gets thrown around in a lot of different definitions, which today's session is not on that. If we are here on stage next year, because I think this conference is going to be a massive success. So congrats to the team involved. What are we going to be talking about?

[Ji Young Kim]

We're going to be talking about innovation in application of all these technologies. I appreciate kind of the kindness. I believe agencies like Group M need innovators like Infosum, like all of you in this room. We are not in the business of actually creating assets. That's not something we're good at. What we are phenomenal at is taking all of the things available in the market and applying it in interesting ways. So hopefully that's what we're going to be talking about and you're going to have more innovative toys for me to apply.

[Lauren Wetzel]

Oh, the toys are coming. Thank you so much, Chi.

[Ji Young Kim]

Thank you, Lord.

[Host]

Thank you for listening to the marketecture podcast. New episodes come out every Friday and an insightful vendor interview is published each Monday. You can subscribe to our library of hundreds of executive interviews at marketecture tv. You can also sign up for free for our weekly newsletter with my original strategic insights on the week's news at News Market tv. And if you're feeling social, we operate a vibrant Slack community that you can apply to [e-mail].