What Frogs And Socks Can Teach Us About AI Implementation

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 Sluse (0:24)

Today's episode is sponsored by Basis, the leading intelligent operating system for autonomous advertising. Its enterprise AI solution transforms campaign briefs into strategies and media plans that integrate directly into omni-channel activation. You can learn more at basis.com.

Allison Schiff (0:50)

I'm Allison Schiff, Editor-in-Chief of AdExchanger, and you're listening to AdExchanger Talks. My guest this week is Rebecca Sykes, a partner at The Brandtech Group, where she leads emerging technology, including generative AI.

As brands rush to make more with AI, Rebecca is noodling a harder question. How do you scale the work without losing what makes a brand distinctive? We'll get into what it takes to make AI work beyond the demo, and why the answer has as much to do with people and process as with the technology itself. But first, I'd like to take a moment to tell you about our upcoming Top Women in Media and AdTech event. Join us on the evening of November 3rd in New York City as we celebrate the leaders, innovators and builders moving advertising and media technology forward. The awards gala will take place at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, honoring an extraordinary group of women across AI, commerce media, privacy, programmatic measurement, and CTV. I'll see you there.

Hey, Becky, welcome to the podcast.

Rebecca Sykes (1:55)

Thank you so much for having me.

Allison Schiff (1:57)

Well, you know the drill. What's one thing about you that not a lot of other people already know?

Rebecca Sykes (2:02)

So the thing that not a lot of people know, certainly not from looking at my LinkedIn, is that despite being working at and then leading the company, I've been working at MoFilm for many years, which is a kind of decentralized content creator network.

I have missed most of the seminal movies of the late 80s and 90s. It is literally like the black hole in my kind of cultural reference point. So it's kind of a challenge actually in that job. Name any of the big ones, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, The Goonies, Pulp Fiction, none of them.

I haven't seen any of the others and none of them. And I don't really know how this happened or where I was at that period of my life, but it forms the sort of central references that you'll encounter when you work with any kind of filmmakers. So my kind of film education happened in reverse. I watched thousands of pieces of content made by young filmmakers and sort of aspiring, climbing filmmakers. And then I ended up watching the classics in reverse.

But yeah, you can test me if you like. What's your favorite movie, formative movie? I bet you I haven't seen it.

Allison Schiff (3:12)

Have you seen ET?

Rebecca Sykes (3:14)

Oh, okay, you've got me. Okay, I did see ET. I saw ET, but there are many, many, many that I haven't. My husband, Jurassic Park and Star Wars are the two that really get him.

He can't believe that's...

Allison Schiff (3:26)

You can rectify this.

Sarah Sluse (3:27)

This is possible.

Allison Schiff (3:28)

Grab some popcorn.

Sarah Sluse (3:30)

I know.

Rebecca Sykes (3:30)

Well, actually, as an adult, I have absolutely rectified and we love award season. And even with two young kids kind of managed to get to the cinema a couple of times a week during that period and go and go and watch everything. But there is a there is a real chunk that you wouldn't think, given the role I've played and the jobs I've done.

Allison Schiff (3:47)

I will move on in a second, but please, I need to know you have seen The Goonies, right?

Rebecca Sykes (3:52)

I have not. Still to this day, not seen The Goonies. I haven't seen Breakfast Club. There's honestly, there are so many.

Allison Schiff (3:58)

Oh, the Breakfast Club. Okay, we got to move on. I can't, I can't. John Hughes is just, I don't know, he's screaming from the yonder.

So you are a partner at The Brandtech Group. You lead emerging technology, including Brandtech's generative AI work. And you were named as a leading woman by AdAge in 2025, which is very cool. And we're going to talk about Brandtech stuff pretty much the whole episode. But I do want to do a little more of a career rewind. You brought up MoFilm. You were there in 2015 when Brandtech acquired it, although that was back when Brandtech was still called You and Mr. Jones.

You were promoted to CEO of MoFilm in 2018 After three years, you joined the mothership, I guess you could say. But what did running a creator marketplace teach you about making creative decisions that maybe still comes in handy now, perhaps more handy than ever? Because AI is such a big part of your job and you think about it strategically, like on the daily.