A conversation with Michele Donati, EVP, Chief of Futures of Horizon, on why Horizon is betting on an open ecosystem—Horizon OS and its labs—to bring best-in-class partners together, accelerate innovation, and drive smarter media investment across the full planning-to-optimization workflow.

Highlights:

Horizon OS decoded: why “open beats closed” for speed, flexibility, and partner-powered innovation

How Horizon Futures maps 65+ subcultures into actionable brand and audience strategy

The new live-event playbook: real-time hype → social reverb → cultural afterglow

Where LLMs actually change insight workflows (without replacing the human layer)

Why labs matter: de-risked experimentation for clients who want innovation without chaos

Adam sits down with Elijah Harris, EVP Investment Strategy at Omnicom Media, to unpack how senior investment leaders actually think—how long-tail partner ecosystems get built, what keeps investment moving despite shifting industry narratives, and why multicultural audiences remain one of the most resilient growth engines even as public ESG and DEI messaging evolves. It’s also a rare chance to get to know Elijah beyond the title, with real perspective on leadership, career longevity, and the passions that shape how he operates in media.

Highlights:

• The DEI headlines shifted, but the budgets didn’t
• Why multicultural media is still one of the most resilient growth plays
• The inside view of how investment leaders decide what gets funded
• The difference between public posture and real media spend
• How relationships and narrative shape modern media investment

CTV performs best when ads align with the moment, not just the screen. As content intelligence and AI mature, contextual precision becomes the real growth lever. This episode unpacks how deeper content signals, better measurement, and scene-level alignment are shaping the future of CTV.

Key takeaways:

• Why contextual relevance outperforms blunt reach
• How IRIS.TV’s content ID scales CTV intelligence
• What scene-level targeting unlocks for brands
• Where live sports and real-time CTV are headed
• How AI strengthens human-led strategy

Recorded live at ADWeek with Adam Katz and Nancy Grey.

As AI accelerates change across advertising, true advantage comes from clarity, creativity, and outcome-driven decision-making. This conversation explores how modern media leaders are redefining value, empowering teams, and using technology to elevate—not replace—human strategy. Featuring insights from Jacob Davis, Global Head of Media at Crossmedia, a respected leader shaping the future of independent media, in conversation with host Adam Katz.

Key takeaways:

• Why value is shifting from time spent to outcomes delivered
• How AI should remove friction, not replace thinking
• What smarter partnerships unlock beyond platform defaults
• Why human creativity remains the ultimate differentiator
• How trust and clarity lead to better media performance

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Adam Katz sits down with Tammy Henault, a transformational marketing leader whose career spans The New York Times, CBS/Paramount+, and the NBA—organizations that have reinvented themselves in the face of massive industry shifts.

Tammy shares how she has built her career at the crossroads of media, entertainment, and sports, stepping into roles during moments of disruption—from the launch of digital subscriptions and direct-to-consumer streaming to global sports innovation. Across every chapter, her success has been rooted in embracing change, building for what doesn’t exist yet, and staying relentlessly close to the audience.

The conversation dives into:

How Tammy led marketing through pivotal transitions—NYT’s paywall era, Paramount’s leap into streaming, and the NBA’s launch of the In-Season Tournament—while driving global reach and daily cultural relevance.

Why “marketing with fans, not to fans” fuels deeply personal engagement, and how local culture and access shape global audience growth.

Why long-term success requires data, technology, and lifecycle design long before acquisition—and how infrastructure becomes the true engine of retention.

Tammy’s take on AI’s promise: faster storytelling, smarter research, and personalized creative at scale—but with a warning against over-automation and content that loses authenticity.

Her philosophy of defining goals, championing empathy, celebrating wins and smart failures, and creating teams where everyone’s success rises together.

Tammy also opens up about what’s next: the collision of tech, fandom, and experiential storytelling — from consumer innovation and health & wellness to immersive cultural spaces that tap into how people truly connect.

With thoughtful candor and bold optimism, Tammy offers a compelling look at leading innovation across iconic brands—and why staying scrappy, human, and culturally fluent will define the future of marketing.

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem live from Adweek, host Adam Katz sits down with Terrence Moduthagam, VP at Media.net, to reflect on a year of partnership, cultural alignment, and shared innovation between their companies. Terrence leads the curation business for Media.net Exchange — a nearly 2,000-person, product-led organization shaping the future of sell-side media targeting.

Terrence explains how curation is evolving beyond data signals alone — toward pairing intelligence with culturally relevant moments that matter to real people. He discusses why collaboration with partners like Sightly has helped unlock growth through culturally aligned activation and stronger marketplace influence.

The conversation dives deep into:

• AI’s true role in advertising — not replacing people, but elevating creativity and decision-making
• How democratized knowledge is expanding global maturity and leveling access to innovation
• The importance of product experimentation and tinkering to drive what’s next
• How Media.net builds global culture and scale while still operating like a scrappy startup

Terrence also shares his passion for mentorship — helping others break into the industry — and how teaching empathy to his daughters keeps him grounded, optimistic, and focused on what matters most.

This episode is an inside look at where ad tech, culture, and humanity meet — and how leaders like Terrence are steering the industry into its next wave of intelligent change.

On this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, Adam sits down with Michelle Niblock, SVP and Client Lead at Digitas, representing Publicis and leading the McDonald’s business. Michelle dives into how McDonald’s stays culturally relevant by moving at the speed of fans—from playful real-time CRM moments (like the viral “seemingly ranch” Taylor Swift activation) to reviving nostalgia with digital-first initiatives like Monopoly.

She explains why she deeply believes in CRM, loyalty, and using data responsibly to create meaningful value for customers, not just conversions. Michelle also breaks down how Digitas’ SWAT (Shareworthy and Trending) product helps brands identify culture-right moments they can authentically own. She shares her excitement about AI’s power to unlock creativity—not replace it—and predicts a rise in AI wearables that improve both everyday convenience and emotional well-being.

From Bills fandom to cultural insights to where marketing is heading next, Michelle brings sharp strategy, optimism, and a human-first POV to one of the world’s most iconic brands.

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Adam Katz sits down with Melissa Berger, Chief Solutions Officer at Digitas, for a lively and insightful conversation about leadership, innovation, and loyalty in the modern marketing era.

Known simply as “Berger,” Melissa shares how her evolving role at Digitas bridges media, commerce, CRM, and creative to help brands drive meaningful growth. She discusses her work leading a small but mighty “solutions” team that builds scalable strategies and products—like the SWAT Suite—to connect creativity, data, and technology.

The conversation explores:

• AI and application: How Digitas integrates AI agents and workflows across teams to boost efficiency while keeping human creativity at the center.
• SWAT and speed-to-culture: Why authenticity beats trend-chasing when connecting brands to real cultural moments.
• Loyalty redefined: Insights from her podcast Building the Loyalty on how brands earn genuine preference—not just program participation.
• Leadership and collaboration: How a diverse executive team drives “networked experiences” and kinetic ideas that move people and brands forward.
• Balance and growth: Why Melissa admires Arianna Huffington’s message of wellness and balance, and how she applies that mindset amid a fast-paced career.

Outside of work, Berger talks about her love for travel, golf, champagne with friends, and her obsession with neon aesthetics and nostalgic 90s fashion.

This episode captures a dynamic mix of humor, authenticity, and strategic depth—showing how Melissa Berger and Digitas are shaping the future of connected marketing with both speed and soul.