Episode 157: Marketing Ad Tech in 2026 with Paul Knegten

Paul Knegten draws on his experience as a former Beeswax CMO and long-time ad tech marketer to explain what actually works in marketing as the industry heads into 2026. The conversation covers AI hype versus real value, why founder voice matters more than positioning decks, how buyers actually make decisions, and the difference between a marketing problem and a real business problem. Paul also breaks down where ad tech companies lose the plot when talking to brands and agencies, and why relevance beats buzz every time.

Takeaways

• AI does not fix weak positioning and only works when it solves a real customer problem.
• Founder-led communication often outperforms polished brand messaging in ad tech.
• Buyers care more about results than transparency when performance is strong.
• LinkedIn and major industry events remain the two most effective channels to reach decision makers.
• Many companies think they have a marketing issue when they actually have a product-market fit problem.

Chapters

00:09 Intro and guest welcome, Paul Knegten

01:04 Marketecture Live and Startup Showcase

04:05 Paul’s background in ad tech marketing

05:34 State of ad tech and the AI rush

06:39 Consolidation and “quietly winning” ad networks

08:44 Transparency vs performance for buyers

10:11 Founder-led marketing and being the face of the brand

13:13 Avoiding the ad tech echo chamber

15:26 Reaching buyers on LinkedIn and tentpole events

20:15 Brands and agencies vs ad tech priorities

22:06 AI hype and differentiation

24:05 “Marketing problem” vs “problem problem.”

28:39 OpenAI rolls out ads in the free tier

38:58 CTV News, EDO vs iSpot TV lawsuit

47:48 Gamera launch and open-web signals

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