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We exist in an unpredictable world that is always changing. New technologies, such as artificial intelligence, have changed the concept of “seeing is believing”, creating mistrust but at the same time holding the promise of driving business growth. Brands are being asked to develop deeper relationships with consumers, but those consumers’ attention spans are often pulled in multiple directions by second and third screens.
This duality begs the question: How can brands thrive in today’s environment? At this year’s DMEXCO event, a fireside chat titled “Mastering multiple challenges: AI, brand performance and customer engagement” intended to give these answers.
Taboola CEO and Founder Adam Singolda and Maike Abel, Head of Digital and Corporate Marketing at Nestlé Germany, took to the stage to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital age. Each brought a unique perspective, one from technology innovation and the other from consumer goods, as they discussed a range of marketing topics, including measuring the impact of marketing initiatives, improving customer experiences customers and the use of AI in the workplace.
Read on for a taste of the highlights, or watch the full chat below to discover more about how these two industry leaders are navigating the complexities of modern marketing.
Fewer platforms, better results
Performance marketing is crucial to driving sales, but the inefficient “spray and pray” approach is being replaced by strategies that prioritize effective targeting and reaching the consumer in the right place at the right time.
Adam started the chat by acknowledging that the past few years have been messy and stressful due to the pandemic, a recession, high inflation, conflict and war, among others, all affecting consumer behaviors and, in turn, the advertising and marketing landscape. Since performance marketing is crucial to driving sales, he asked Maike how Nestlé has modified its campaign strategy to meet the moment.
Maike shared that in the past, Nestlé had been launching performance ads on multiple platforms (TikTok, Snap, Meta and YouTube) to be everywhere all the time, but this approach fragmented the budget and led to a decline in brand health. He realized that the company needed to change tactics and focus on core strategic brands, audiences and messages. Then, the “Less, Bigger, Better Initiative” (fewer brands, greater communication and better results) was born.
In line with the initiative, Nestlé now launches more targeted campaigns with only a select few partners. This combined platform strategy has produced the desired results: more impactful campaigns, deeper connections with audiences, and significantly improved brand health.

The fight for consumer attention
Because Taboola works with so many advertisers, Adam brought up a topic he sees many clients struggle with: how to capture consumer attention in such a cluttered world.
Maike said that each Nestlé brand has mapped out a consumer journey to deeply understand which platforms foster the best communication and how consumers connect with the brand. He used Purina PetCare as an example, illustrating the consumer experience goes beyond feeding a cat or dog; includes an ecosystem of relevant content and solutions, such as partnering with pet health insurance.
Adam revealed that many of Taboola’s most successful clients, especially those with a direct-to-consumer model, followed a specific strategy: they focus on telling stories and interacting with consumers early on and continue to build the initial connection during the consideration
He also mentioned that brands that try to sell to consumers only at the last moment of decision-making not only overpay for the customer, but also fail to build a relationship, which consumers value more and more.

AI in the brain
It wouldn’t be a tech conference without talking about AI, so Adam and Maike delved into how Nestlé uses new ways of technology.
Broadly speaking, Maike sees AI as providing solutions and making life easier, which she appreciates. Nestlé uses AI in a three-tiered framework: adapt or use an available license, shape an existing tool for its needs (such as the creation of a Nestlé corporate GPT) or develop algorithms specific to the needs of Nestlé
When using AI for marketing, the company is aware of potential ethical and legal issues. They’ve decided not to use AI to create human faces or pets to maintain a sense of authenticity, but they could use it to generate a background for a scene. Additionally, using traditional actors keeps the company out of the legal gray area surrounding AI-generated content ownership rights.
Adam noted that while AI will help companies drive growth, at the end of the day, people do business with people, and companies need to demonstrate a culture and value system that aligns with the mentality of consumers. He suggested that “perhaps the real innovation of a company, rather than funding and resources and all that stuff, is just a group of people who have a set value about what needs to be done and how they want to do it.”
The security of the open web
With a few minutes left, Maike asked Adam to explain something he once said: “I want to be the Robin Hood of the open internet and I want to make sure journalism thrives.”
Adam described advertising as a beautiful thing because it supports the growth of a business and gives access to new services and products. He said journalism is the essential link because it allows the next generation to learn about products, science or technology from someone with experience. This allows publishers to extend their connection with their readers.

He sees the open web as a balancing act that makes the world a safer place. “We can have fun on TikTok and Instagram, but we always have this place where we can feel safe, where nobody knows who we are, nobody is after us.” Instead, on the open web, “ads just find us, and we can just read and be curious and learn things.”
There are many more marketing ideas and facts to discover in the video. It’s well worth a look!