Home AdExchanger Talks Podcast: Nate Woodman Says Brands Will Eventually Own Proprietary Machine-Learning Models

Podcast: Nate Woodman Says Brands Will Eventually Own Proprietary Machine-Learning Models

SHARE:

Welcome to episode No. 8 of AdExchanger Talks, a podcast focused on data-driven marketing. Subscribe here.

According to Nate Woodman, GM of demand solutions at IPONWEB, the deployment of brand data in the media-buying arena is at an early stage. His pet thesis: Now that CRM activation in programmatic is common, the next challenge will be the development of proprietary machine-learning models that are owned and controlled by brands.

“Most CRM data is activated through a DSP,” Woodman says in this latest episode of AdExchanger Talks. “That supports a segmentation strategy, but to drive real performance out of a system requires a machine-learning model, which can hit performance targets in a vastly superior way to segment-based buying.”

A tiny club of big marketers, such as Netflix, have initiatives in place today around proprietary algorithmic IP. And other performance-focused verticals like banks may be positioned to do so. But it’s a steep climb.

“The challenge to the industry, and it’s a daunting one, is to find a way to spread proprietary algorithms across programmatic platforms,” Woodman said. “Most brands aren’t even close to realizing this vision, but some are making overtures in the direction of proprietary machine-learning models.”

He added, “I don’t know that it’s going to go there, but it’s a vision.”

Also in this episode: Woodman talks about IPONWEB’s unique place in ad tech history, its current strategy and the evolution of the agency trading desk model.

Must Read

CleanTap Says It Easily Fooled Programmatic Tech With Spoofed CTV Devices

CleanTap claims that 100% of the invalid traffic it spoofed was accepted into live auctions run by programmatic platforms and was successfully bid on by advertisers.

HUMAN Expands Its IVT Detection Tool Kit With A New Product For Advertisers, Not Platforms

HUMAN has recently started complementing its bid request analysis by analyzing the time between when a bot clicks an ad and when the landing page loads. Now it’s offering the solution to individual advertisers.

Index Exchange Launches A Data Marketplace For Sell-Side Curation

Through Index Exchange’s data vendor marketplace, curators gain access to third-party data sets without needing their own integrations.

Privacy! Commerce! Connected TV! Read all about it. Subscribe to AdExchanger Newsletters

Can Publishers Trust The Trade Desk’s New Wrapper?

TTD says OpenAds is not just a reaction to Prebid’s TID change, but a new model for fairer, more transparent ad auctions. So what does the DSP need to do to get publishers to adopt its new auction wrapper?

Scott Spencer’s New Startup Wants To Help Users Monetize Their Online Advertising Data

What happens when an ad tech developer partners with a cybersecurity expert to start a new company? You end up with a consumer product that is both a privacy software service and a programmatic advertising ID.

Former FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya speaks to AdExchanger Managing Editor Allison Schiff at Programmatic IO NY 2025.

Advertisers Probably Shouldn’t Target Teens At All, Cautions Former FTC Commissioner

Alvaro Bedoya shared his qualms with digital advertising’s more controversial targeting tactics and how kids use gen AI and social media.