How the 'Unreasonable Consumer' Now Controls Advertising with Sam Khoury, Chief Strategy Officer at Marketecture Media

https://2026.marketecturelive.com/e/u/checkout/marketecturemedia/tickets/order

Use discount code FINAL30 for 30% off general admission. 
Brands and agencies attend free.

In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with Sam Khoury, Chief Strategy Officer at Marketecture Media, to go behind the scenes on one of ad tech's fastest-growing media companies and preview their upcoming flagship event, Marketecture Live 3: Consumers in Control. From the origins of the company as three independent podcasts to the current debate over OpenAI monetization and the decline of Google Search, Sam delivers a candid look at what's actually moving the needle in advertising right now and what's just noise.

Key Takeaways

The Open Web Is Under Pressure and Advertisers Need A Plan 

Web traffic is declining across open web properties as consumers shift their discovery and research habits toward LLMs and AI platforms. Sam explains why Marketecture Live 3 is deliberately focused on maximizing what advertisers have today rather than chasing AI hype, and how the theme "Consumers in Control" reflects a fundamental shift in how audiences access content, research products, and navigate the internet.

• 4:04 – The event theme and why consumer behavior, not AI, is the real story.
• 5:10 – Why Marketecture is prioritizing practical advertising fundamentals over trending topics.

ChatGPT Ads Could Be A Multi-Billion Dollar Business 

With Google Search usage declining and OpenAI announcing plans to add advertising, Sam and Tim break down what LLM monetization could look like, and why the contextual relevance of ChatGPT ads could be a game changer. The key risk? Transparency. If users can't tell what's sponsored, trust erodes fast. If they get it right, it's a new category of marketing entirely.

• 6:37 – OpenAI's ad play and what it means for search marketers.
• 8:32 – Why demand capture through LLMs still requires demand generation elsewhere.

The Startup Showcase Is Ad Tech's Shark Tank 

MarketectureLive's pitch competition has a real track record. Past participant Streamer.ai was acquired by Magnite shortly after showcasing, and two other startups raised funding rounds. This year, five startups were selected from over 60 submissions spanning pharma, platform integrations, and more, proving the showcase has evolved well beyond AI-only pitches.

• 13:18 – How the startup showcase works: submission, selection, live demo, audience voting.
• 15:27 – Real outcomes: acquisitions and funding rounds that followed past events.

Headline Sessions Worth Blocking Your Calendar For 

The two-day event at The Glasshouse in NYC features the CMO of the NFL discussing the Super Bowl and the rise of live sports advertising, an FTC commissioner addressing privacy and data, leaders from Omnicom and Dentsu, and Ari Paparo's keynote, which Sam calls a can't-miss every time.

• 8:32 – Session highlights and why the NFL CMO session stands out.
• 10:23 – Venue details, ticket pricing, and how brands and agencies attend free.

Connect with the Guest

• Connect with Sam Corey on LinkedIn: Sam Khoury
• Learn more about Marketecture Media: https://www.marketecturemedia.com
• Get tickets to Marketecture Live 3: Use code FINAL30

Transcript

Discount Code And Event Tease

Tim Rowe 0:00

Markitecture Live is back March 10th and March 11th in New York City, and we've got a special discount code so you can be there. Final 30. All caps, no space. Final 30 is the code to use. We've linked the registration in the show notes in the description nearby, so it's easy to find. When you get there, use discount code Final30. If you don't want to miss out on the hottest ad tech event of the year, really the hottest marketing event of the year, then that's the code to use. Final 30, March 10th and 11th, New York City. Today's conversation, though, is with Sam Corey, who's the chief strategy officer at Marchitecture Media. Sam is going to take us through what to expect during the two-day event, how Marchitecture Media has grown the properties like AdTech God, the advertising forum, Adland, some of the acquisitions that they've made. We'll talk about that and go behind the scenes on Markitecture Media, and we'll talk extensively about the event and what to expect there. So listen to the episode. If by the end you're convinced and you want to be there, make sure to use that discount code FINAL30. We'll see you March 10th and 11th in New York City. Without further ado, enjoy. Thank you so much for being here. We're going to learn about Marchitecture Media. We're going to learn about Marchitecture Live, which is an exclusive event you've got coming up in March in New York City. Maybe let's start with who is Marchitecture? What problem do you solve and who do you solve it for?

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Oh, well, first of all, thanks for having me, Tim. Markitecture is a pretty unique B2B media company. You know, it was really founded by personalities in the space, content creators in the space. Harry Papero, Attech God, and Jeremy Bloom, uh, the three of which had content that was created and a very personal kind of open vibe. It's no longer kind of this like very boring, stiff content that's created. And so what happened was there was this need in the market just to be real and be more authentic. Um, so I would say, in summary, we're really a B2B, authentic, personality-driven company where where opinions are valued, insights are valued, and and we really don't beat around the bush. We kind of say it how it is across all social platforms, emails, podcasts, etc.

Portfolio Origins And Merger

Tim Rowe 2:28

That is that is a true statement. I got an email for the event in New York, and Ari put a very direct call out. Hey, we're tired of people waiting to buy tickets, and there's a 30% offer. I don't know if it's still going on. We'll we'll we'll talk about the event here coming up. Give us some of the brands that we might know from Marchitecture Media. You mentioned AdTech God. I think we've got Adland in there, of course, the Marchitecture podcast. How did the platform that is marchitecture come together? We see those kind of pieces now coming together as a media portfolio. Where did it start? Was it Aries podcast? Was it AdTech God? Had a podcast, I think, going on.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

And yeah, it was two core podcasts. Well, technically three core podcasts. There was the marketture podcast from Aerie, the AdTech God Pod and Community from AdTech God. And the third one was the ad tech forum, now the advertising forum, which was ad tech God and Jeremy Bloom. It was those three properties that really combined. And there was a there was just an overall need in the market to create a place where it was like open conversation, while you know ad tech God was really focused on the community creation of it. So the Slack community, the gatherings, the parties, etc. And it just made sense for the three of them to merge into one entity. And we decided that Markitecture Media would be the best name for it.

Tim Rowe 3:49

I think it's pretty cool and it's exciting, obviously, as a podcaster, a content creator, to see what y'all have built. But let's talk about the live event. This is your your third live event. Am I correct?

Event Theme: Consumers In Control

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Third live event. Um, the last one we just had in October. This one is March 10th and 11th, called Consumers in Control. It's really focused on how the consumer has regained that control in terms of how they access content, how they research, how they discover new content across the internet overall, and really just how the open web is is you know being challenged with the onset and growth of LLMs and AI.

Tim Rowe 4:29

Yeah, I I think that that's definitely been a talking point for the better part of a year, just the challenges around the open web and streaming TV, connected TV being such a big piece of that conversation. It seems like a lot of the content now and a lot of the conversation is focusing on streaming TV. Are you seeing that? What's the dialogue that that you're having on your side?

AI Hype Versus Practical Priorities

SPEAKER_00 4:50

So I love it because AI is for sure a very, very important topic. Like I think that this is something that we're all aware of. I think we're all figuring out what the next steps are and how AI impacts our workflow and our consumption habits on the consumer journey. And we think that that's important. But what we've decided in terms of the content that we bring to Marchitecture Live 3 is that that's not going to be the core focus. The core focus is really how do we control what we have today? How do we improve on the consumer journey? How do we maximize what we have today as we see traffic numbers drop across various open web properties? And so even though AI is hot and everybody talks about it, and it's super important, and I think you and I both know that this is constantly in LinkedIn feeds, Twitter feeds, on the tip of everybody's tongue. We still feel like there's really core elements of advertising that need to be addressed. And so we're addressing that in marketture. So I would say AI is a big piece of what's being discussed, but we're definitely touching up on a lot of other topics.

Tim Rowe 5:55

I think your your point is well made. The anthropic claude uh open AI drive super ball is is kind of top of mind, and it's getting a little bit of hate in the in the trade pubs. And I think consumers didn't love it, but maybe some of the tech community does, and there's a lot of conversation just about that itself.

OpenAI Ads And Monetization

SPEAKER_00 6:14

It's a land grab for AI companies right now. So um, you know, setting yourself apart in the market to gain that user base is important. But I mean, open AI, look at their revenues, everybody else is peanuts. So let's be, you know, honest with each other, Tim. Like they they're generating an absurd amount of revenue and will continue to do so. Everybody else is really on their coattails trying to catch up.

Tim Rowe 6:37

Well, open AI, we saw, is adding ads to the platform. Do you have a take? Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Uh yeah, I mean, I think it's a smart move. We know web traffic overall is is declining across the open web. We know the consumer journey has changed, which is why we named our event Consumers in Control. We know their journey has changed. Google is such a massive revenue source and advertising platform for so many. And as we start to see that decline in usage of Google search, I think ChatGPT is sitting on a multi-billion dollar business if they're able to monetize it, monetize it right. My hope is that we learn and the user experience is better and that they continue to deliver value rather than just you know ads everywhere, you know, determining not the greatest user experience. So yeah.

Tim Rowe 7:25

Yeah. It definitely feels like one that they could get right. Hopefully they do, right? And I'm waiting powerful. Definitely powerful. I'm waiting 15 seconds for for a response, even on the the paid version. Hey, show me, show me, show me, show me an ad. Show me an ad. I mean, don't make so over the top that it's disruptive and makes me like want to run away.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

Yeah, I think that's a smart move. I mean, why not? When you have eyeballs, just like anything, when you have an audience, you can monetize that audience. And the goal here is you have a very, very dialed-in audience that uses your platform multiple times a day. You know exactly what they're typing in. The contextual relevance of what you can serve them could be incredible. I just think of you know how that's being recommended and whether it's kind of like deceitful in a way that, oh, I click this because it's sponsored. If I'm not really aware if it is or not. But if they keep that flow organic and and natural, I think I think they're sitting now multi-billion dollar business. Agree. They should monetize it.

Sessions To Watch And Speakers

Tim Rowe 8:25

They should. And and we as consumers, I think we've gotten used to kind of scrolling past those first few results, whether it's on Amazon or even on a Google search result. We know it's a we know it's an ad or it's a sponsored listing, and we we're looking for the the truth. So if they can keep us aligned to the truth, I think that that is a high value business.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

I agree. I agree. I'm all for uh you know search engine marketing. So let's just do LLM marketing. Let's make it work.

Tim Rowe 8:50

And and let's let's be honest with what it is. It's demand capture. We still have to generate said demand. We still have to create interest for our products, for for the things that we sell. So let's spend some time talking about the event. What sessions are you most excited about? What should we be uh checking off on our event day roster? What are we looking at?

SPEAKER_00 9:13

We just wrapped up the Super Bowl, which was great. Go Seahawks, great game, great halftime show, by the way. So I'm I'm actually really excited to have the CMO of the NFL. I think that's a session that I'm really excited about. He's talking about the big game and what that means for for them as an organization, what that means for advertisers, what that means of handling something of that scale. And as you know, with hundreds of millions of people viewing, it is definitely a large-scale event. And it's live, which is also very hot and very on topic for what's happening in the market today with the increase in live sports. But then we also have others that are going to bring a perspective on kind of privacy and data. We have the commissioner from the Federal Trade Commission from the FTC. He'll be speaking. We've got people from Omnicom, Densu. Truly, I think those are the two that stand out the most. And then, of course, uh Ari Papero's, you know, initial speech is always fantastic. Can't miss. Can't miss progress. He's so good. Um he's got such a great personality. He knows so much. I'm looking forward to his uh his keynote.

Tim Rowe 10:18

Those are gonna be some exciting sessions. When is the event? When is it?

Venue, Tickets, And Pricing

SPEAKER_00 10:22

March 10th and 11th, New York City at the Glasshouse, beautiful new venue. I don't know if you've been there, Tim. Uh but it's not. It's incredible. It's all glass walls, very spacious, very fresh and uh hip, great coloring in terms of the lighting. We definitely picked a top-notch location, and that was that was on purpose.

Tim Rowe 10:44

Awesome. And if folks are listening and they want to get tickets, it's not too late. Where should they go? And I think that Ari put that offer out. I don't know if that offer is still live. Yeah, we should have talked about in the and in the run-up, but yeah, bugging.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yeah, there's there's a there's so the one went out just this morning called Final 30, all caps. So F-I-N-A-L 30. Um, that's 30% off general admission. We do have reduced prices for publishers. So if you are truly a publisher, you can sign up. It's only$799. The great thing is that if you are an agency or a brand, and that means true agency and a brand, you actually are comped. So we have every major hold co in attendance. We have major brands coming in. At this point, we are easily going to exceed 30% of capacity, which is over 350 people that are coming from brands and agencies, of that they are all comped. They will be there. We will be greeting them. And if you are there in your brand, I'd love to meet you as well. So yeah.

Team, Momentum, And Goals

Tim Rowe 11:48

Not hard to find. Sam Corey Marchitecture Media. We've got Marchitecture Live coming up. What are you most excited about? Looking forward a little bit. I know that this event has surely got all of your attention, all of your focus right now. But what's coming in 2026? What's on the roadmap?

SPEAKER_00 12:03

You know, Tim, I remember getting married and how nervous I was leading up to my wedding. And then the day after, I'm like, wow, that wasn't so bad. It was worth it. Uh, that was a lot of work.

Tim Rowe 12:11

And I don't remember a thing.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Was I even and I don't remember, yeah. It's like all a it's all a blur. Yeah, it's a blur. I'm mostly excited to just kick, but like this has been so much work. And I do want to do a shout-out to everybody on the team. We got, you know, Ari, Jeremy, AttechGod, myself, Hannah, David, uh, Drew, uh, Jesse. Like, we have a full crew that's working on this all day, every day. It's all we talk about. So, really, I think we're just excited to get it done and to just have a fantastic event um that people can come back to their offices and say we learned a lot uh and we're happy that we're attended.

Tim Rowe 12:51

Definitely. We will make sure that that is all easy to find. Final 30 is gonna be that discount code. That'll all be close by. You're welcome. Sam, one of the really cool features of marketture live events is you have a pitch competition with real startups who have real customers and real technology. Should we expect that?

Startup Showcase Format And Impact

SPEAKER_00 13:10

Or is there gonna be a pitch competition against startup showcases actually one of the hottest sessions that we do? So we've done this at Marchitecture Live One and Two. We're doing it with three. This is along with Aperium and Sonia. This is basically five startups that we hand select. So people have already submitted their company information to it. We select it and vote on who the five are that are going to go on stage. This isn't for funding. This isn't if you're looking to raise. This is truly like we want to showcase and highlight our product. It's quick pitch on stage. You demo it to everyone, and then we do live voting. And then the winner wins. And the real idea for this is you know, startups that have been working so hard to build their new platforms or products just get an opportunity to show it to a thousand people in one room. And again, that lead that may lead to funding, that may lead to new clients, but the reason is not to raise funds. This is really just for you to showcase what you've been building.

Tim Rowe 14:09

It's definitely a good time. Are there any startups that you can kind of tease out any any exciting concepts that stand out in this uh in this upcoming event submissions?

SPEAKER_00 14:21

I can tell you I saw the list yesterday. There are five that have been selected. I think we received over 60. The five that I like are all across the board. So I think last time we had a lot of AI startups. I think maybe three out of five were AI. One is a platform integration, like API type of solution. Uh this ten is pretty diverse. There's one, there's one in particular that's kind of like pharma medical kind of sector. So it's not all AI. It's it's actually a lot of cool products. I think people will will go home with and think, hmm, it's a great product. I'd like to reach out and try it out. So yeah, but I cannot say the names. You have to find it.

Tim Rowe 14:59

You gotta be there. You gotta be there, you gotta be there. March stands we'll be March. Good. We'll be looking forward to it. Yes, those companies have definitely I think it's been a great opportunity. It's it's like Shark Tank for ad tech and related businesses. It's it's a great way to make a name for yourself and go from zero to hero real quick.

Teasers, Outcomes, And Success Stories

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Yes. I mean, we know that there were, and again, not that that's with what the purpose was. We know that there was an exit after being on this platform. So streamer.ai, um was acquired by Magnite shortly after. Shout out. We're gonna take credit for that. So thank you, John Moffy and team. I don't think we did anything with it, but I'm sure he got a lot of exposure. 100% contribution. And then 100%, yeah. This is advertising. And then on top of it, I think two of them raised rounds shortly after. And so I I do believe that it is a great way to put your name out there and just get eyeballs on what you're building. Awesome.

Tim Rowe 15:57

We will link to the event. We will link to Markitecture. We'll make everything very easy for you to find. Sam Corey, if folks want to connect with you directly, what social platforms are you most active on? Where should we go? LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

I am a LinkedIn junkie. It is part of my job description that I need to post on LinkedIn all the time. So LinkedIn is where I'm at.

Tim Rowe 16:17

Good. We'll make sure that you're easy to find as well. Sam, thanks so much for being here. Awesome. Thank you, Tim. I appreciate it. Absolutely. And if you found this conversation to be helpful, please share with a colleague or a client today. Make sure that you get your tickets for Marchitecture Live on March 10th and March 11th. We'll see you there. Awesome. Thank you.