194. Resilience in Ad Tech: What Agency Life Teaches Every Programmatic Trader
Release Date: 03/18/2026
202. Mastering Audience Optimization & DSP Transparency with Jenn Ha and Ed Hackney from Pearl Diver
Programmatic Digest
In part two of this special episode of the Programmatic Digest podcast, host Hélène Parker welcomes back Ed and introduces Jenny, the Head of Customer Experience at Pearl Diver Building on the previous episode's focus on audience discovery, this conversation dives deeply into audience optimization and the critical role of true partnership in ad tech. Jenny and Ed share insights on the optimal times to introduce new audience segments, highlighting that the best time to test an adjacent audience is actually when current campaigns are already performing well They also discuss their...
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201. Activating High-Intent Audiences with Ed Hackney and Trinity Lawry from Pearl Diver
Programmatic Digest
Most advertisers focus on people who are ready to buy today. But what happens when that audience runs out? In this episode, I chat with Ed Hackney and Trinity Lawry from Pearl Diver about how to find high-intent audiences, why balancing every stage of the marketing funnel matters, and how AI is making audience discovery easier for media buyers. This podcast was made possible thanks to the incredible support from Pearl Diver. In This Episode Why focusing only on conversions can quickly exhaust your audience. How behavioral data helps identify where consumers are in their buying...
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200. Behind 200 Episodes: The Real Work, the Real Joy, and the Real Impact with Manuela Cortes and Hélène Parker
Programmatic Digest
Celebrating 200 Episodes: Community, Representation, and the Future of Programmatic Digest Reaching 200 episodes is more than a milestone. It's a celebration of the incredible community that has supported Programmatic Digest from day one. In this special episode, Hélène Parker and Manuela Cortez reflect on the journey that brought them here, the lessons they've learned along the way, and the vision they're building for the future. From expanding the podcast into Spanish to creating opportunities for more diverse voices in ad tech, this conversation is a reminder that meaningful change...
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198. Performance Advertising in Programmatic
Programmatic Digest
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199. How To Be A Performance Marketer in Programmatic Media
Programmatic Digest
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197. July Focus: WTF is Programmatic Performance Media
Programmatic Digest
I attended a performance advertising workshop hosted by MediaMath and it reminded me of something I truly believe: The best way to learn something is to teach it. So this July, I'm dedicating all of our content to one topic: Programmatic Performance Advertising. Predictive targeting. Identity resolution. Dynamic budget allocation. Attribution. And more. New content every week. All month long. About Us: We help historically excluded individuals break into programmatic media buying and land jobs they love. Through our Reach and Frequency® program, coaching, and community, we make...
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196. AI Meets Programmatic: How Media Buyers Can Optimize with AI
Programmatic Digest
In this episode of the Programmatic Digest, Hélène Parker and Assetou Kone dive into the evolving role of AI in programmatic advertising and campaign optimization. The conversation explores how media buyers and traders can use tools like ChatGPT and Claude to streamline workflows, analyze campaign data more efficiently, and uncover deeper optimization insights. Hélène opens the session by reframing optimization as more than simple “bid up, bid down” tactics. Instead, she explains how successful optimization requires hypothesis testing, strategic thinking, and understanding how DSP...
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195. From Cookies to Context: Rethinking Targeting in Ad Tech
Programmatic Digest
In this episode of the Programmatic Digest, Manuela Cortes sits down with Eric Tilbury, Head of Programmatic and Solutions Engineering at Anuvo, to discuss the evolution of ad tech and the industry's shift away from traditional identity-based targeting. With over 14 years in the space, Eric shares insights from his unique background working on both the supply side (monetization) and the buy side, explaining how balancing the needs of both publishers and advertisers has shaped his perspective on the ecosystem. The conversation highlights a major flaw in current programmatic practices: the...
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194. Resilience in Ad Tech: What Agency Life Teaches Every Programmatic Trader
Programmatic Digest
Sign up to our FREE workshop on March 31st: In this episode of Programmatic Digest, Hélène Parker sits down with Assetou Kone, programmatic expert and consultant, for a real conversation about resilience in programmatic advertising and agency life. Assetou shares her journey into ad tech, from studying political science and mass communication to discovering programmatic during a digital marketing bootcamp. What started as a curiosity about digital media quickly became a career built on solving complex marketing problems across multiple verticals, including political campaigns,...
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From Data to Insight: How Curation Drives Smarter Optimization
Programmatic Digest
Our Let’s Talk Curation series was created in partnership with GDB, our curated data partner, to help demystify curated audiences, what they are, how they work, and when and why you should consider using them. Check out this lesson, From Data to Insight: How Curation Drives Smarter Optimization. #ProgrammaticAdvertising #Curation #AdTechEducation #MediaBuying #ProgrammaticTips About our Partner: GDB is a curated audience data partner focused on combining quality inventory and audience signals to support smarter testing and cleaner measurement in programmatic campaigns.
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Optimization with AI for Programmatic Traders Site Lists + Geo Insights (DMA)
— from Pivot Tables to Prompts
In this episode of Programmatic Digest, Hélène Parker sits down with Assetou Kone, programmatic expert and consultant, for a real conversation about resilience in programmatic advertising and agency life.
Assetou shares her journey into ad tech, from studying political science and mass communication to discovering programmatic during a digital marketing bootcamp. What started as a curiosity about digital media quickly became a career built on solving complex marketing problems across multiple verticals, including political campaigns, retail, e-commerce, banking, and pharmaceutical brands.
The conversation dives into the softer skills that often determine long-term success in programmatic, including active listening, observation, and understanding the internal structure of the organisations you work within. Assetou explains why knowing how a company operates and who influences decisions can dramatically improve how traders execute campaigns and support client goals.
Hélène and Assetou also unpack the reality of agency work, including burnout, under-resourced teams, and the pressure traders face when managing dozens of campaigns at once. They discuss why deep work is essential for campaign optimisation, insights, and meaningful reporting, and why many agencies underestimate the time required to generate true strategic value from programmatic data.
The episode also explores what resilience actually looks like for traders and buyers, from documenting your work and protecting yourself with clear communication to learning from campaign mistakes and using those lessons to grow stronger in the role.
They close the conversation with thoughts on the future of AI in programmatic, highlighting how automation could relieve traders of repetitive tasks while allowing them to focus on insights, strategy, and deeper analysis.
🧠 About Us:
We help historically excluded individuals break into programmatic media buying and land jobs they love. Through our Reach and Frequency® program, coaching, and community, we make learning programmatic clear, practical, and welcoming.
Our mission is simple: DSP access and education should be for everyone, not just a few. That’s why we teach new talent and support independent agencies and brands through my work at Infillion (MediaMath), helping more people access the MediaMath DSP.
Join once, stay learning forever. Past workshops, paid gems, and every new recording + resource added as we go. This library isn’t a one-time thing, it’s the full vault plus all future trainings, recordings, and guides.Access it here: https://heleneparker/com/library
⏱ Timestamps:
• [00:00] – Welcome and introduction to Assetou Kone
• [04:20] – From political science to programmatic advertising
• [09:15] – Why programmatic stood out during digital marketing training
• [14:40] – The soft skills every trader needs: observation and active listening
• [20:30] – Understanding organisational structure and client vision
• [27:10] – Agency realities: burnout, campaign overload, and team structure
• [35:20] – Deep work in programmatic: optimisation, insights, and reporting
• [42:00] – Learning from mistakes and building trader resilience
• [49:15] – Documentation, communication, and protecting your work
• [54:30] – The future of AI in programmatic workflows
SIGN UP TO OUR FREE WORKSHOP HERE:
https://www.heleneparker.com/liveworkshop/
👤 Meet Our Guest:
Assetou Kone – Programmatic Marketing Specialist and Consultant
Assetou Kone is a programmatic marketing expert with experience across multiple industries, including political campaigns, retail, finance, pharmaceuticals, and e-commerce. Her work focuses on campaign optimisation, data-driven insights, and helping brands deliver the right message to the right audience through programmatic media.
📎 Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/assetou-kone
💻 Meet The Team:
Hélène Parker – Chief Programmatic Coach
🌐 heleneparker.com
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helene-parker/
Manuela Cortes – Co-Host, Programmatic Digest en Español
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuela-cortes-/
🎓 Learn Programmatic:
For Individual Buyers: https://heleneparker.com/library
Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://heleneparker.com/newsletter
Be the first to find out free programmatic training workshop: https://www.heleneparker.com/waitlist/
📲 Follow Us:
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/programmatic-digest-podcast
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@programmaticdigest