Contextual targeting more important than cookie-based targeting?

Summary

MarTech Podcast ™ // Marketing + Technology = Business Growth
Episode: Contextual Targeting More Important Than Cookie-Based Targeting?
Release Date: July 22, 2025

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Introduction

In the July 22, 2025 episode of the MarTech Podcast™, hosted by Benjamin Shapiro, listeners delve into the evolving landscape of advertising with a focus on AI-powered contextual targeting versus traditional cookie-based targeting. The episode features an insightful conversation with Karel Cooper, the Chief Marketing Officer at GumGum, a company renowned for delivering advertising solutions without relying on personal data.

AI vs. Human-Created Advertising

Karel Cooper opens the discussion by addressing the critical question of whether to invest more in AI-created advertisements or continue relying on human-created media. He states:

"I'm investing more in AI created ads and the reason being is because everyone is being asked to do more with less. And if you're going to scale, if you're going to have speed, you have to use technology because your competitors are using it, others are using it, so on and so forth."
— Karel Cooper [01:58]

Cooper emphasizes that AI allows marketers to scale their efforts efficiently, maintain speed, and stay competitive in a rapidly changing market. However, he also acknowledges the indispensable role of human creativity in the advertising process.

The Essential Human Element

While advocating for AI integration, Cooper underscores the continued necessity of human oversight and creative input:

"I think that the nuance here is it depends who's on your team. Like there's a talent question. If you have a world-class ad designer... everything that they're going to create is like Chef's kiss, wonderful."
— Karel Cooper [02:29]

He explains that while AI can handle the bulk creation and multivariate testing of ads, the human touch remains crucial for refining and polishing content to ensure it resonates authentically with the target audience. This synergy between AI efficiency and human creativity can lead to more effective and aesthetically pleasing advertisements.

Balancing Cost and Quality

Cooper further discusses the balance between cost and quality in advertising strategies:

"Most of us don't have it. But if you're running a giant ad agency and you've got designers sitting around waiting for stuff to do, humans should be creating the stuff. Most of us are making clones off of that, using AI, say, hey, prompt, pretend to be a world-class designer and then giving the concept."
— Karel Cooper [02:29]

He points out that while large agencies might afford to rely predominantly on human designers, smaller companies or those with limited resources benefit significantly from AI's ability to generate diverse ad variations cost-effectively. This approach democratizes high-quality advertising, allowing businesses of all sizes to compete effectively.

Strategic Implementation of AI in Advertising

Cooper advises that businesses should strategically implement AI in their advertising efforts by identifying what types of ads work best and utilizing AI to scale and test these variations. He suggests:

"It's easier to create the multivariate testing. And I think what matters is you don't know what's gonna work. And so investing all of the effort into expensive human resources often doesn't pay off."
— Karel Cooper [02:29]

By leveraging AI for testing and scaling, companies can uncover successful advertising strategies more efficiently than relying solely on human intuition and resources.

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Karel Cooper summarizing the importance of integrating AI into advertising strategies while maintaining a human element to ensure quality and authenticity. He highlights that the future of advertising lies in balancing technological advancements with creative expertise to drive business growth.

Final Thoughts

Benjamin Shapiro concludes the episode by encouraging listeners to stay focused on customer satisfaction as a cornerstone of successful marketing strategies.

"But until next time, my advice is to just focus on on keeping your customers happy."
— Benjamin Shapiro [04:42]

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Key Takeaways:

• AI Integration: Leveraging AI for creating and scaling advertisements can enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
• Human Creativity: Essential for refining and ensuring the quality of advertisements, especially in complex or high-stakes campaigns.
• Cost-Effectiveness: AI offers a cost-effective solution for smaller businesses to compete with larger agencies by enabling multivariate testing and rapid ad generation.
• Strategic Balance: Successful advertising strategies employ a harmonious balance between AI capabilities and human creative input.

Notable Quotes:

• "I'm investing more in AI created ads... if you're going to scale, if you're going to have speed, you have to use technology because your competitors are using it."
  — Karel Cooper [01:58]

• "If you have a world-class ad designer... everything that they're going to create is like Chef's kiss, wonderful."
  — Karel Cooper [02:29]

• "Most of us are making clones off of that, using AI, say, hey, prompt, pretend to be a world-class designer and then giving the concept."
  — Karel Cooper [02:29]

• "But until next time, my advice is to just focus on on keeping your customers happy."
  — Benjamin Shapiro [04:42]

This episode provides valuable insights into the evolving dynamics of marketing technology, emphasizing the pivotal role of AI in transforming advertising strategies while highlighting the enduring importance of human creativity and customer-centric approaches.

Transcript

[Benjamin Shapiro]

The Martech Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iheareverything.com.

[Karel Cooper]

From advertising to software as a service to data across all of our programs and clients, we've seen a 55 to 65% open rate. Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising. Typical lifespan of an article is about 24 to 36 hours. If we're reaching out to the right person with the right message and a clear call to action, then it's just a matter of timing.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast network. In this podcast you'll hear the stories of world class marketers that you technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro.

[Karel Cooper]

I'm Benjamin Shapiro and joining me today is Karel Cooper, who's the chief Marketing officer at Gumgum, which helps deliver advertising without using personal data. And today Karel is going to explain how AI powered contextual targeting can transform your advertising strategy. All right, I want to move on to our lightning round where I'm going to ask you some questions about Martech and contextual advertising, advertising in general. Are you ready?

Does it matter if I'm not ready? I'm here, let's go.

I'm going to ask the questions either way, so maybe I should just say buckle up. All right, let's start off talking a little bit about advertising. Are you investing more in AI created ads or human created media?

I'm investing more in AI created ads and the reason being is because of everyone is being asked to do more with less. And if you're going to scale, if you're going to have speed, you have to use technology because your competitors are using it, others are using it, so on and so forth. Now at the same time, I think there still has to be a human element within anything you create from an AI perspective. So hopefully I didn't dodge your question, but that's my answer.

I think that the nuance here is it depends who's on your team. Like there's a talent question. If you have a world class ad designer and everything that they're going to create is like Chef's kiss, wonderful. This ad just not only does it have the right ethos, the creative is beautiful and you can pump them out. You and do multivariate testing with this ad. Good for you. That sounds expensive. Most of us don't have it. But if you're running a giant ad agency and you've got designers sitting around waiting for stuff to do, humans should be creating the stuff. Most of us are making clones off of that, using AI, say, hey, prompt, pretend to be a world class designer and then giving the concept. And so it's easier to create the multivariate testing. And I think what matters is you don't know what's gonna work. And so investing all of the effort into expensive human resources often doesn't pay off. And so to me, it's figure out what type of ads work and then maybe use the humans for polish. Unless you have the luxury of having wonderful designers with extra bandwidth and time that are already on staff. All right, and that wraps up this episode of the Martech podcast. Thanks to Karel Cooper, the chief marketing officer at Gumgum, for joining us. If you'd like to contact Karel, you could find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on martechpod.com or you can visit his website, which is gumgum.com he also has a podcast called the Minority Report. So if you're interested in hearing Carel's dulcet tones, check out the Minority Report. And if you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or follow us on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed next week. All right, that's it for today. But until next time, my advice is to just focus on on keeping your customers happy.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Thanks for listening to the Martech podcast and I hear everything. Production Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iheareverything.com.