Zapier’s Head of Paid Ads on Storytelling, AI-Targeted Ads, and Why He’s All-In on Influencer Marketing

Happy fall, MiM-ers! Grab your pumpkin-spiced latte, settle in with Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, and get ready to hear from a paid marketer who’s all-in on influencers, storytelling, and AI-targeted ads.Happy fall, MiM-ers! Grab your pumpkin-spiced latte, settle in with Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, and get ready to hear from a paid marketer who’s all-in on influencers, storytelling, and AI-targeted ads. (I’m sorry I can’t offer up a more recent fall-inspired album. To be fair, I’m still obsessed with my “Summer 2019” mix.) Keep reading to learn why Zapier’s head of paid ads thinks the golden age of paid ads is over.  1. Fully embrace the influencer buzz.  James de Feu says the golden age of paid advertising is over. And he’s okay with it.  He’s also the manager of paid ads at Zapier.  (I’m currently imagining Mad Men’s Don Draper rolling over in his TV grave.) De Feu is so confident about influencer marketing that he negotiated to bring it under his paid ads team. He succeeded because, moving forward, “we see that as our brand motion.”  In fact, when I asked how he’d spend a hypothetical $1k, de Feu tells me he’d put a hefty 40% into influencers.