Couch Confidentials by Martech Therapy

Matthew Niederberger

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MARKETING
UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to Couch Confidential by Martech Therapy, where we unravel the mysteries of marketing technology one session at a time. Join us on the couch as we dive deep into the intricacies of Martech, from common challenges to breakthrough solutions. Whether you’re a seasoned expert or just stepping into the Martech realm, we’ve got the insights you need to thrive. Read more martechtherapy.com

12/15/2025

Tiankai Feng on why your AI strategy is failing (and what to do about it)

Tiankai Feng wrote Humanizing AI Strategy because almost no one else is talking about the human behaviors that determine whether AI implementations succeed or fail. Everyone's focused on architecture and capabilities while ignoring the organizational dysfunction that sinks these projects. We covered his five Cs framework and how it applies differently to AI than data strategy, why competence now means wise delegation rather than just adoption, and what happens when AI only learns from AI-generated output. He also explained why data analysts might end up doing more backend infrastructure work than they expect, and what human habit he'd delete from the codebase if he could. Full writeup and insights here: [blog post link] We're giving away five copies of the book. React to the LinkedIn post to enter. #AI #AIStrategy #DataStrategy #Martech #OrganizationalChange #CustomerDataPlatform #DataAnalytics

41 min
12/02/2025

Aampe & DOJO AI co-founders on agentic AI and the future of marketing work

Paul Meinshausen is CEO and co-founder at Aampe, where he applies cognitive science and statistical methods to consumer technology. Duarte Garrido is co-founder at DOJO AI, an integrated marketing operating system for challenger brands. Both are building products that replace marketing processes with adaptive AI systems, and both are watching teams struggle with the mental shift required to use them effectively. We talked about why rule-based thinking breaks down when you introduce agentic systems, what "data generating processes" means in practice, and why knowing Google Ads inside and out won't matter if AI already knows it better than you do. Paul suggested some new roles worth considering: copy systems designers, agent handlers, context engineers. Duarte made the case that AI creates opportunities to bridge historically siloed functions like marketing and sales, opening up new roles at the intersections. Full writeup and analysis here: https://www.martechtherapy.com/when-ai-replaces-processes-not-people #Martech #AgenticAI #MarketingAutomation #CDP #DataStrategy #MarketingOps #AIinMarketing

39 min
11/20/2025

Why Europe wants its own CDPs - ZEOTAP CEO Elad Simon explains

This episode of Couch Confidentials was pure fun from the moment we hit record. I sat down with Elad Simon, the newly crowned ZEO of Zeotap (yes… that happened in real time), and we covered everything from CDPs and data politics to German basketball and DMEXCO culture shocks. Elad walked me through his winding path from consulting to Google to product startups, before finding his way back into the MarTech world. We also dug into Zeotap’s evolution from a data-first ad-tech player to a privacy-centric CDP that’s carving out real space in Europe and increasingly beyond. Along the way, we got into: • Why German companies love local CDP partners • Why US vendors sometimes misread European expectations • How “audience boosting” became Zeotap’s calling card • The real story behind that LinkedIn rumor about Zeotap being acquired • What AI features are coming down the pipeline in 2026 • And why CDP implementations can feel like holding up a mirror you didn’t ask for This one had the perfect mix of jokes, honesty, and industry insight, a very human chat about a very technical field. If you work with CDPs, care about data sovereignty, or simply enjoy good stories from inside the MarTech bubble, you’ll enjoy this ride. Watch, subscribe, and stick around for the part where we accidentally create a new corporate title.

46 min
11/08/2025

Lessons from two Martech worlds: Asia and Europe through Teik Chua’s eyes

When you move from consulting in Southeast Asia to leading Martech at one of the UK’s largest telcos, you notice things. Not just in how data flows or platforms integrate, but in how people work, collaborate, and make decisions. In this episode, Teik Chua from O2 Virgin Media shares his journey through those worlds, from early CDP adoption in Asia to the challenges of embedding Martech strategy in a legacy enterprise. We spoke about how regional context shapes Martech maturity, why humility helps more than hierarchy, and what still surprises him about the European approach to “data-driven” marketing. A calm, grounded conversation about the real work behind transformation, and how culture quietly defines it all. #martech #cdp #marketingtechnology #customerexperience #digitaltransformation #consulting #southasia #o2virginmedia #acceture #couchconfidentials

40 min
11/07/2025

Governance is everything: Simo Ahava on making GTM a bridge, not a back door

I’ve wanted this conversation for years. Simo Ahava, co-founder of Simmer and partner at 8-bit-sheep, sits down with me to talk about the messy middle where marketing and engineering meet. We get honest about Google Tag Manager as a bridge, not a back door. We talk governance over clever hacks, and why that choice changes how teams work, not just how tags fire. We also get into where AI actually helps, structure, documentation, repetitive tasks, and where it does not, judgment, production code without review, or pretending to understand your data model. And yes, Simo explains why he now prefers to live in BigQuery instead of the GA UI, and how that shifts the work from dashboards to real analysis. If you care about reliability, consent, and outcomes more than chasing three percent more events, you will enjoy this one. Tell me what part you disagree with most, that is where the interesting stuff usually starts. #martech #technicalmarketing #googletagmanager #gtm #serversidetagging #bigquery #governance #privacy #consent #ai #analytics #cdp #ga4 #measurement #tagmanagement #simmer

43 min
11/06/2025

Adtech, AI, and the illusion of speed with Infolinks CEO Bob Regular

If you’ve ever tried to explain adtech to a Martech person, you’ll enjoy this one. I sat down with Bob Regular, CEO of Infolinks Media, who’s been building in this space since before ad servers even existed. We talked about what it was like when every impression had to be served manually, how hype cycles repeat themselves, and why the real progress in AI will take far longer than people think. Bob’s take on the “war on signal,” the unintended damage of privacy regulation, and the slow convergence of adtech and martech was both refreshingly human and brutally clear. For someone who calls himself “Regular,” he’s anything but. 👥 Connect with us on LinkedIn: Bob: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rregular/ Matthew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewniederberger/ 📲 Follow Martech Therapy on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martechtherapy Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/martechtherapy.bsky.social

54 min
11/06/2025

The AdTech Detour with Mike Hauptman (AdLib DSP)

I’ll admit it, I’m a complete novice when it comes to AdTech. So when I sat down with Mike Hauptman, co-founder and CEO of AdLib DSP, I basically showed up with curiosity and a mild sense of panic. Mike walked me through the world of programmatic advertising, data marketplaces, and AI’s growing role in optimizing campaigns — but without the acronyms and the “you should already know this” tone that usually scares people off. We talked about why so many DSPs feel like they require a PhD to operate, how AdLib is trying to make buying media as easy as using Google Ads, and where AI fits into the ad-buying process (hint: it’s not replacing humans just yet). For me, this episode was a rare chance to peek into the machinery that powers the ads behind Martech — and to realize just how closely these two worlds are about to collide. If you’ve ever nodded along in a meeting pretending to understand “programmatic,” this one’s for you.

37 min
10/02/2025 · BONUS

Can an AI marketing OS really think like a CMO?

I sat down with Duarte Garrido and Luke Costly-White to see what DOJO AI calls an “all-in-one AI Marketing Operating System”. Big claims, but then again, these are undoubtedly “big claim” days we are living in, so I wanted to see what that actually looks like in practice. Luke’s story already makes this demo interesting. Luke began as a DOJO power user, then became an angel investor, and now works at the very company he backed (for those who read my piece on reference calls with angel investors: this one isn’t on the sidelines anymore). The demo itself was striking. They chose Lucky Saint, a non-alcoholic beer brand that isn’t even a customer, as the live case. In about 30 minutes, DOJO pulled: * Voice of customer research from Reddit and LinkedIn conversations * Discovery of an emerging behavioral trend: zebra striping (alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, this was new to me) * Sentiment analysis showing Gen Z adoption and TikTok chatter * SEO/AEO gaps where Lucky Saint was absent but competitors like Athletic Brewing were present * A mocked-up campaign image, the classic Lucky Saint can re-imagined with zebra stripes, ready for social or PR angles All of this happened inside DOJO’s platform, without Lucky Saint’s first-party data. The promise is crystal clear → speed, integration, and strategic lift for smaller teams that can’t afford a 50k/month agency retainer. Yes, the product is still young. But the vision of turning marketers back into strategists (not dashboard operators) feels like a future worth watching especially in how it might start to level out the playing field. 👥 Connect with us on LinkedIn: * Duarte: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duartegarrido/ * Luke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukecostleywhite/ * Matthew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewniederberger/ 📲 Follow Martech Therapy on: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martechtherapy/ * Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@martechtherapy * Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/martechtherapy.bsky.social Want to see more informal demos of niche Martech solutions? Subscribe for free 👇🏻 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit martechtherapy.substack.com

51 min

Welcome to Couch Confidential by Martech Therapy, where we unravel the mysteries of marketing technology one session at a time. Join us on the couch as we dive deep into the intricacies of Martech, from common challenges to breakthrough solutions. Whether you’re a seasoned expert or just stepping into the Martech realm, we’ve got the insights you need to thrive. Read more martechtherapy.com

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Matthew Niederberger
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© 2025 Matthew Niederberger
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Couch Confidentials by Martech Therapy