Murder Your Thirst And Measure Everything

SPEAKER_1 (0:12)

Welcome to AdExchanger Talks, the podcast devoted to examining the issues and trends in advertising and marketing technology that matter most to you.

Sarah Sluves (0:24)

This episode is sponsored by Verve, an ad solution that helps brands activate consumer intent in real time across platforms. As AI reshapes how people plan vacations, Verve helps travel brands show up when it counts.

Allison Schiff (0:48)

I'm Allison Schiff, editor in chief of AdExchanger, and you're listening to AdExchanger Talks. In this episode, we'll be cracking open a tall boy of media strategy with Liquid Death's chief media and digital commerce officer Benoit Vatere. We'll talk about how a brand known for unhinged creative runs on hardcore measurement, including the finer points of incrementality testing, why ROAS can be a very misleading KPI, and what it takes to prove that ads are working in the real world when you can't exactly slap a pixel on a 12-pack of water. We'll also get into the concept of loyalty in CPG or the lack thereof, and why Benoit doesn't think engendic AI will kill great branding. But before we dive in, Programmatic IO New York is coming up on September 28th and 29th at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square. It's time to unleash growth across the open web, and to do that, we've got a seriously good agenda lined up for you with excellent speakers, including Chris Kane, and folks from Zoom, Time, Horizon Media, PMG, Hey Dude, the Brand Tech Group, Dentsu X, Razorfish, Goodway Group, The Guardian, and more. I'm losing my breath just trying to list them all.

Podcast listeners get 10% off with the promo code POD10, so what you're waiting for? Get your ticket and see you there.

Hey, Benoit, welcome to the podcast.

Benoit Vatere (2:05)

Thanks for having me, Allison. Good to see you again.

Allison Schiff (2:09)

Yes, good to see you again because we've actually, well, it feels weird to say we've known each other for 10 years because we haven't been in constant contact, but you were one of the first people I interviewed way back when because mobile was my beat when I started at AdExchanger, you have a long history in mobile, which we will talk about. But first, I want you to lay it on me. What is one thing about you that not a lot of other people already know?

Benoit Vatere (2:34)

There is quite a few. I would say the one that probably is not expected is I run ultra marathons and I just finished a 50-miler recently. I think people don't know that or don't expect that. That's one of them.

Allison Schiff (2:46)

Damn. Okay. I ran track in high school, but that was over two decades ago. And I barely exercise now. I'm very impressed.

Benoit Vatere (2:55)

Yeah.

I used to not be a runner. I used to not be able to run a mile about two years ago. And here I am now. So, yeah.

Allison Schiff (3:02)

Well, is the runner's high real?

Benoit Vatere (3:05)

It is real. It is actually very real. It was, I wouldn't run and I would not want to run because I didn't like it. And then I just got hooked. And it goes from a half to a full marathon to 50K to 50 miles. Like it just keeps on going. You just get hooked.

Allison Schiff (3:21)

Well, I've yet to be hooked, but I'm going to take your word for it.

Maybe I'll start running one day.

So I want to do a quick career rewind on you because your path is interesting and maybe a little unusual. You have a master's degree in engineering from a French agricultural school, which is, I don't know, just tells me maybe you had a different career in mind or maybe not. But that's kind of a curve ball. And then you spent 25 years in LA building ad tech with a focus on mobile. You had a conversion optimization company that you founded. You ran a mobile gaming monetization platform called Playhaven, which is actually when you and I spoke for the first time because, like I said, mobile was my first beat area when I started at AdExchanger, which is funny to say because no one now would say, oh, I cover mobile because mobile is so infused into everything. But back then, it was a different story. And then you started Mammoth Media, which is a mobile entertainment and tech studio, created a bunch of apps targeted at Gen Z, Yarn, Wishbone, we wrote about those also. And Yarn was a pretty prescient idea, like it's chat fiction. So people tap the screen to reveal text messages one line at a time to tell these short, suspenseful, dramatic stories. And it feels like a text based precursor to micro dramas, like in retrospect. But yeah, then Liquid Death, they came knocking summer 2024 You started out as a media advisor on contract, and then by December, you were their chief media officer. So I will ask a question, I promise. What would you say your background, media, mobile, tech, agricultural studies, all of that good stuff, what did it give you walking in the door that say a more traditional CPG marketer wouldn't necessarily have?