The advertising world is undergoing a massive shift in audience understanding — but, according to one industry veteran, the future lies not in knowing who customers are, but what they want.
Amid data privacy concerns and the rise of artificial intelligence, marketers are having to rethink their strategies.
Lou Paskalis, founder and CEO of AJL Advisory, calls it “the convergence of convergences.” In this video interview with Beet.TV, he said: “We’re seeing tech, we’re seeing data, we’re seeing compliance, we’re seeing privacy, we’re seeing advertising and attribution all come together.”
From identity to intent
Pakalis argues that the industry’s focus on identity has reached its peak and that intent is now the key to effective advertising. “I think now, as a lifelong [ad] buyer, I would rather know your intent than your identity,” he explained. “And if I had to choose, I’d rather not even know identity because it’s fraught with compliance issues.”
He points to companies like GumGum, a contextual intelligence platform, as an example of how AI can be used to determine intent based on content consumption. This “old is new again” approach, as Paskalis calls it, leverages sophisticated AI to identify actual customer intent rather than relying on potentially misleading identity markers.
This shift towards intent-based advertising offers a way to navigate the complex world of data privacy regulations while still reaching the right customers with the right message.
“We can rebuild our customer orchestration at the speed and scale of programmatic using AI without identity,” Paskalis said. “Is identity a nice-to-have? Yeah. But I wouldn’t kill myself trying to resolve it if I could get to intent through other means.”
The power of advanced TV
Paskalis was speaking ahead of Beet Retreat San Juan 2025, Feb. 26 to 28, where he will moderate a series of panel discussions on topics including CTV, commerce media and orchestration with representatives of companies like Index Exchange, Mindshare and LG Ad Solutions.
Paskalis believes that the true potential of Advanced TV lies in its ability to reach smaller, more homogenous audiences in relevant contexts.
“I think ultimately CTV will more than eclipse the revenue that legacy publishers in a linear space were getting from the traditional 30-second ad,” he predicted.
Beet Retreat San Juan 2025 will take place at the The Royal Sonesta San Juan, Puerto Rico, including executive discussions, fireside chats, networking activities and non-profit action.
