AdTechGod Pod

In this episode of the AdTechGod Pod, Simon Powell, CEO of HELI-D, shares how his company is redefining out-of-home advertising with flying digital billboards attached to helicopters. From launching campaigns for MTV, Disney, Pepsi, Xbox, and VaynerX to creating immersive aerial activations that generate massive earned media, Simon breaks down the future of flying digital media and why emotional, high-impact advertising still matters.

The conversation explores the evolution of aerial advertising, the technology powering HELI-D's LED helicopter screens, QR code engagement at massive live events, and what comes next for digital out-of-home, including drones and integrated media experiences.

Takeaways
- HELI-D evolved from traditional helicopter banners into fully digital flying LED billboards.
- Simon Powell transitioned from investment banking into aviation and advertising entrepreneurship.
- Early innovation included projection technology that turned helicopter banners into flying cinema screens.
- HELI-D’s breakthrough campaign debuted at the MTV VMAs with Viacom in 2016.
- Disney partnered with HELI-D for large-scale experiential aerial activations.
- The company has executed campaigns for Pepsi, Star Trek, Catch-22, Xbox, and VaynerX.
- COVID accelerated the development of HELI-D’s scalable LED screen technology.
- The aerial ads create strong emotional reactions because of their size, movement, sound, and visibility.
- HELI-D campaigns generate significant earned media through social sharing and inbound audience engagement.
- QR code campaigns achieved massive interaction rates at live sporting events like the Melbourne Cup.
- HELI-D partnered with Blue Bite for mobile retargeting and shadow fencing at Possible.
- Xbox used Heli-D to create a flying live gaming experience with zero-latency gameplay.
- Simon believes flying digital media will eventually include drones as lift and battery technology improves.
- HELI-D sees itself as a premium “wow factor” integrated into broader DOOH campaigns rather than a standalone medium.

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction to HELI-D and the POSSIBLE event activation
00:46 – Simon Powell’s background in investment banking and aviation
01:34 – The origin of helicopter banner advertising
02:12 – Creating the first digital aerial projection system
03:26 – Pitching Viacom and launching at the MTV VMAs
04:18 – Disney partnership and major aerial campaigns
04:47 – Pepsi Super Bowl activations and entertainment stunts
05:01 – Star Trek, Catch-22, and large-scale aerial experiences
05:54 – COVID’s impact and developing HELI-D’s LED technology
06:51 – AdTechGod’s firsthand experience with the helicopter billboard
08:22 – Emotional impact and audience reactions to aerial advertising
09:06 – QR code engagement success at the Melbourne Cup
10:33 – Earned media and viral audience response
12:22 – Metrics, retargeting, and campaign measurement
13:16 – Xbox Ninja Gaiden activation and live gameplay in the sky
14:53 – The future of DOOH, drones, and flying digital media
16:39 – Cannes plans and future expansion for HELI-D

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David Nyurenberg, SVP of Digital at InterMedia Advertising, joins the AdTechGod Pod to discuss the realities of programmatic advertising, CTV transparency, and why the industry may need a complete reset. From his early days at Gameloft to building digital practices at major agencies, David shares sharp insights on media buying, innovation, AI hype cycles, and the future of CTV.

In this episode, David discusses why transparency matters, how linear TV shaped his perspective on media buying, and what advertisers still get wrong about optimization and data.

Takeaways
- Programmatic advertising incentives have created long standing transparency issues.
- Linear TV buying still offers valuable lessons for modern digital advertising.
- CTV needs show level transparency to unlock its full optimization potential.
- AI and agentic advertising are promising, but still unproven at scale.
- More marketers are openly sharing ideas and challenging industry norms.
- Strong thought leadership comes from driving real innovation, not just visibility.
- Long tail content still matters when optimizing for reach and outcomes.
- The industry is becoming more sophisticated and data driven overall.

Chapters
00:00 David Nyurenberg joins the AdTechGod Pod.
01:20 David explains how he accidentally entered the advertising industry through Gameloft.
03:51 Why David became outspoken about the flaws in programmatic advertising.
05:56 The biggest challenges facing the ad tech ecosystem today.
08:38 How working in linear TV changed David’s perspective on media buying.
11:25 David shares his thoughts on AI, agentic advertising, and AdCP hype.
15:24 What gives David optimism about the future of advertising.
17:27 Building a respected personal brand and becoming an award winning industry voice.
20:37 Why CTV transparency and show level data matter so much.
24:31 How David stays informed in the fast moving ad tech industry.
25:55 Final thoughts and closing remarks.

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At Marketecture Live, Brad Fox, SVP, Health Media, dentsuX, joins Josh Walsh, Co-Founder & CEO, BranchLab, and Zach Rodgers, Founder, Sensical, to explore how AI and neural networks are reshaping healthcare advertising. From the rise of AI-driven patient behavior to the decline of traditional targeting methods, the conversation dives into privacy-safe audience strategies, evolving patient journeys, and what the future holds for pharma marketers in an AI-first world.

Takeaways

AI is rapidly changing how patients search for and consume health information

Healthcare advertising is shifting away from search, contextual, and retargeting

Neural networks enable privacy-safe prediction of patient populations

Audience targeting must be rebuilt using AI-driven models

Patient journeys are complex and require more nuanced segmentation

AI is making both patients and doctors more informed

True one-to-one personalization remains limited due to regulation

AI platforms may eventually monetize healthcare interactions

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to healthcare, AI, and advertising

00:18 Overview of the panel and discussion focus

01:04 AI as a primary tool for health information

01:53 Surge in AI-driven health queries and behavior shift

02:45 Changing role of search and health websites

03:40 Adoption of AI tools by physicians

04:31 Impact of AI on patient and doctor outcomes

06:33 Decline of traditional targeting and need for new strategies

07:40 Future of pharma ad spend in an AI-driven world

08:45 Neural networks and privacy-safe targeting explained

10:31 AI-driven audience targeting and patient lifecycle

12:28 Predictive modeling for healthcare populations

13:03 Importance of understanding patient journeys

15:57 Scaling AI audiences across media channels

17:11 Faster audience creation and activation

18:40 Personalization limits in healthcare marketing

20:12 Future of AI platforms and healthcare ads

22:01 Regulation and the future of pharma advertising
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Eric Mayhew, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder of Fluency, shares how his experience in automotive advertising inspired the creation of Fluency and its mission to eliminate repetitive AdOps work through automation. Eric dives into the difference between automation and AI, the future of agentic systems, and why human creativity still matters most in advertising. From scaling ad operations to building compliant AI workflows, this conversation explores where marketing technology is headed next.

Takeaways
• Automation should eliminate repetitive tasks so teams can focus on strategy and creativity.
• AI and automation are complementary, but they are not the same thing.
• Human oversight remains critical for compliance, governance, and brand safety.
• AI is powerful, but context quality determines the reliability of outputs.
• Personalization in advertising may finally become practical with AI and automation.
• Agencies want customizable workflows, not one-size-fits-all automation.
• Fluency focuses on deterministic workflows that execute advertiser strategies at scale.
• Agentic systems will combine rule-based automation with probabilistic AI decision-making.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Eric Mayhew and Fluency
01:20 How Dealer.com Inspired the Creation of Fluency
04:07 The Real Problem with Manual AdOps Workflows
05:45 Fluency’s Approach to Automation and AdOps Efficiency
07:45 Why AdOps Professionals Should Embrace Automation
10:41 The Difference Between Automation and AI
15:21 AI Risks, Hallucinations, and Governance Challenges
19:21 Where Humans Still Outperform AI
22:54 How Fluency Onboards and Automates Campaign Workflows
27:02 The Future of Agentic AI and Advertising Personalization
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Scott Ensign, Chief Strategy Officer at Butler/Till, joins Amanda Grant, EVP, Global Head of Data and Tech Partnerships, WPP Media, and Chris Feo, SVP, Sales & Partnerships, Unity, to discuss why gaming remains misunderstood, how data unlocks its true value, and what advertisers need to do to tap into its full-funnel potential. From perception challenges to multi-screen behavior, this conversation reframes gaming as one of the biggest untapped opportunities in modern media.

Takeaways

Gaming reaches nearly all demographics, but is still misunderstood by brands

Perception issues and legacy media habits are limiting investment

Gaming environments offer highly engaged, data-rich audiences

Mobile gaming plays a key role in multi-screen consumer behavior

Brands should treat gaming as an audience strategy, not just a channel

Full-funnel opportunities exist beyond performance and installs

Data is the key to unlocking better targeting and planning

Chapters00:00 Introduction to the episode and gaming opportunity

00:18 Why gaming now reaches all demographics

01:45 The gap between gaming usage and ad spend

02:38 Perception challenges holding brands back

04:08 Media buying habits and resistance to change

05:38 How data helps break gaming stereotypes

07:14 Gaming as a high-attention, “lean-in” environment

08:45 Multi-screen behavior and shifting consumption

10:06 Rethinking TV vs mobile in modern media

13:18 Performance vs brand investment in gaming

16:20 Gaming opportunities across industries like pharma

18:18 Unlocking commerce and purchase intent data

20:12 Treating gaming as an audience strategy

21:45 Favorite games and closing thoughts
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