Bryan Whitaker Of Statara Solutions On The Future Of Adtech

Advertising technology is rapidly evolving, transforming the way brands connect with consumers. From programmatic advertising to data analytics, the adtech industry is driving innovation and efficiency in marketing. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Bryan Whitaker, CEO, Statara Solutions.

With 20+ years serving as a national leader in technology and analytics for political and public affairs campaigns, Statara Solutions CEO Bryan Whitaker understands the data landscape and its significant impact on businesses and organizations looking to expand, retain and communicate with their constituents. Prior to Statara, Bryan served as Chief Innovation Officer for TargetSmart and Chief Technology Officer for the Democratic National Committee building the national data infrastructure used by President Obama’s successful reelection campaign.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

Starting in 2002, I was a political campaign communications specialist and a field organizer promoting candidates in Ohio, Iowa, and Michigan. That experience helped me to quickly move up in leadership positions, and I led the charge in Southeast Ohio for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in the 2004 Presidential General Election. I’ve designed and led data and analytics efforts for various NGOs and social good campaigns while serving as Chief Innovation Officer for TargetSmart and served as the Chief Technology Officer for the Democratic National Committee during the 2012 election cycle where I built the national data infrastructure used by President Obama’s successful reelection campaign.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The Kerry-Edwards election defeat taught me a few lessons. One of the biggest was that my college education in statistics would be tremendously helpful as voter data and predictive models were becoming more pervasive in targeting audiences for political marketing. In 2005, I landed a job at the Service Employees International Union in Washington, DC where I started the union’s data and analytics department. The rest of my data intelligence and technology story stems from that critical time in my life and the country’s history.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

At Statara Solutions, our clients are budget conscious, especially higher ed institutions and non-profits. We’ve built a new media buying platform that capitalizes on Statara’s rich data insights and allows marketers to maximize their budget while more efficiently and effectively reaching core constituents. In fact, clients have experienced a 6x Return on Ad Spend industry average. For fundraising, for volunteer recruitment, for online store sales — that’s huge. We recently were awarded the prestigious 2024 SAMMY Award for the Best AdTech category for our platform and we’re very proud of it.

As we continue to build out solutions for our marketers, AI coupled with richer intent data signals will give clients even more fire power to reach their targeted audience in a more meaningful way.

Thank you for that. Let’s now shift to the central focus of our discussion. What do you believe will be the most significant technological advancements in adtech over the next five years?

One of the biggest adtech issues will be absorbing and reacting responsibly to US data privacy regulations. As state and even federal laws continue to change, it is incumbent upon adtech providers to responsibly stay on top of those laws while continuing to innovate their solutions such as predictive modeling that are adaptable to future regulations. The same goes for intent data and applying that to scale. There will need to be a careful balancing act between tapping into intent data to better understand consumers’ interest and propensity behavior and ensuring consumers’ data remains confidential and applied in good faith.

Of course, AI is all the rage in every industry, but in adtech the charge will be to ensure that when integrating AI capabilities into either new or existing solutions, authenticity is not lost. AI cannot replace human creativity and interaction and if it is removed, its legitimacy significantly diminishes.

How is artificial intelligence changing the landscape of advertising technology, and what potential does it hold for the future?

AI, when applied correctly, is making some parts of adtech smoother and faster, thereby decreasing costs and lag. For the future, it will likely replace some skills that can be automated such as audience generation. Ultimately, it will lead to more of a reliance on human-driven strategy and AI-driven execution where critical analysis and creativity converge.

What are the biggest challenges currently facing the adtech industry, and how can they be addressed?

We continue to see clients getting nickel and dimed by adtech junk fees with very little insight into efficacy. Buyers are over it and want more transparency in pricing and more transparency in results and reporting. As budgets are tighter and marketers need to maximize their dollars across a variety of channels including digital and CTV, they require the right tools to help outperform their competition and reach high-intent audiences that are likely to convert. We built the Statara Media Ad Platform for this very reason which is already known for its precise audience targeting and robust analytics.

How do you see the role of data privacy evolving in adtech, and what impact will it have on the industry?

Data privacy compliance won’t evolve as much as it will continue to be at the center of everything we do. If anything, adtech platforms and users will need to police themselves regarding first-, second- and third-party data sources, the role of PII, the role of SPI, and modeling. There are scalable ways to comply, but each platform will need to consider the best path forward in terms of balancing innovation with adherence to privacy compliance.

Can you share a case study or example of a groundbreaking adtech innovation that has had a major impact on the market?

Although Optimizely has been around for more than a decade now, it’s approach and introduction of data science and analytics to digital advertising and marketing content was groundbreaking and remains a force today. The company employs a scientific approach in attracting and engaging readers and viewers online through a rigorous data science methodology. I continue to watch as the company scales and applies new innovation to content.

What are the “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The Marketing and Advertising Industries?”

1 . Implement time, money, and people management skills. Marketing campaigns are exactly that — they’re micro campaigns. Every campaign operates on the same three finite resources: time, money and people. Using each wisely is a recipe for success.

2 . Know your way around a spreadsheet. You don’t need to be a quant, but knowing how to navigate a spreadsheet to understand audiences, perform campaign analysis, and glean insights is critical.

3 . Communicate clearly and succinctly about goals and results, successes and mistakes, and any decision points facing your effort.

4 . Know when to talk and know when to listen, with more time spent listening.

5 . Determine the line between fact and opinion and know when to share which. Authenticity is key.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

As a parent of a young human, I believe universal free childcare and early childhood education are game changers for society. Education at a very early age and stronger support for parents helps level the playing field and sets up our society for success. This shouldn’t be something only the privileged have access to.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can see my ramblings at https://x.com/whitakerb2

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!