In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I’m joined by Jose Soto, VP of Engineering at Converge Marketing, to discuss how data democratization transforms performance marketing. Jose highlights a common bottleneck in marketing where engineering teams act as the data gatekeepers, often slowing down marketing efforts. 

How Converge Uses Technology to Drive Growth

Data-Driven Marketing: How Converge Uses Technology to Drive Growth

‘The ‘Silicon Valley Scholar’, the ‘Adtech Alley-opp’ and the ‘Walk of Fame’ all join the PMW International Powerlist – but what is their real life alias? The unveiling of the most influential people in the global performance marketing sector continues today.

PMW International Powerlist 2025: Winners 81-100 revealed

Reimagining audience targeting is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Traditional segmentation models often rely on outdated assumptions that stifle innovation and growth. At Converge, we help brands break free from these limitations with a data-driven, human-centric approach that fosters deeper, more authentic connections. The key isn’t just adjusting how brands see their audiences—it’s evolving their entire engagement strategy to meet consumers where they are and inspire meaningful action.

By shifting from broad generalizations to empathy-driven storytelling, brands can create campaigns that resonate with consumers’ aspirations and identities. What are their goals, challenges, and dreams? How can your brand play a role in their transformation? The most successful marketing efforts aren’t just about selling a product—they’re about forging lasting connections and fostering consumer growth.

### The Converge Approach to Reimagining Audiences

A strong marketing strategy starts with an in-depth understanding of your audience. At Converge, we’ve developed a five-pronged approach to ensure brands continuously refine their targeting strategies and break free from limiting assumptions:

**1. Defend** – Protecting and strengthening core audiences that deliver consistent value. By leveraging deep audience insights, brands can ensure their loyal customers feel recognized and supported, solidifying long-term relationships.

**2. Capitalize** – Identifying untapped potential within existing customer bases. Hidden within every audience are overlooked subsegments that, when engaged with tailored messaging, can be reinvigorated to drive new revenue.

**3. Grow** – Moving beyond predefined personas to explore emerging audiences. This means aligning brand values with new demographics and experimenting with bold, innovative campaigns that expand reach.

**4. Innovate** – Using predictive analytics to anticipate shifts in customer behavior. Investing in new formats and channels allows brands to stay ahead of the curve, engaging the next generation of consumers before competitors do.

**5. Evolve** – Challenging internal biases around brand identity and audience perception. A continuous cycle of audience reassessment fosters agility and adaptability, ensuring marketing strategies stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape.

### Unlocking Hidden Potential

By reimagining audience engagement, brands can unlock massive growth potential. This requires a strategic, cross-channel approach that meets consumers where they are, leveraging innovative formats and culturally relevant messaging to cut through the noise.

### Taking Action: A Three-Phase Strategy

**1. Performance Pulse:** Start by analyzing existing audience insights. Our Performance Pulse assessment helps identify knowledge gaps and outdated perceptions that may be limiting growth.

**2. Collaborative Workshop:** Work with our team to explore fresh opportunities and develop new audience narratives that better align with today’s evolving market.

**3. Pilot Campaign:** Test a bold, experimental campaign aimed at a newly identified audience segment. Data from this initiative will inform future strategies, ensuring ongoing optimization and impactful engagement.

It’s time to move beyond outdated audience assumptions and embrace a strategy that’s dynamic, data-driven, and focused on real human connections. At Converge, we’re ready to help you redefine your approach and unlock the full potential of your audience.


Reimagining audience targeting is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Moving Beyond Generalizations to Drive Action

Flipping the Script on Audience Stigmas: Moving Beyond Generalizations to Drive Action

Many marketers mistakenly see brand and performance marketing as separate, even opposing forces. It's time to argue for a more holistic perspective.

How Brand And Performance Marketing Drive Mutual Success

Outdated legacy systems pose a significant challenge to modern marketing agencies. These systems impede agility, scalability, and data-driven decision-making. After years of accumulating point solutions, many companies find their tech stacks function far from seamlessly.

Today’s marketers prioritize comprehensive platforms over bundled tools, seeking simplification, integration, and operational efficiency. However, many legacy solutions are built on outdated data architectures from the late 90s, designed for a different era of marketing unable to handle today’s fast-paced, multi-device consumer and the massive data volume.

To address this, marketing agencies need to focus on cross-departmental collaboration between engineering and marketing teams. Moving away from the patchwork of disconnected tools, modern platforms must offer a unified system where all marketing channels seamlessly work together and connect disparate data sources. This removes the fatigue many companies experience from juggling dozens of siloed solutions. As a result, emerging technologies, such as AI, no-code/low-code solutions, and cloud-based platforms, can streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and fuel sustainable growth by replacing legacy systems.

Outdated legacy systems pose a significant challenge to modern marketing agencies. These systems impede agility, scalability, and data-driven decision-making. After years of accumulating point solutions, many companies find their tech stacks function far from seamlessly.

Modernizing the Marketing Engine: Overcoming Legacy Infrastructure Challenges for Growth

Modernizing the Marketing Engine

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Some brands spent up to $8 million for a commercial during the Super Bowl, which will be broadcast by Fox this year. The price tag, which has been rising to record rates in recent years, is still considered worth it by industry experts.

Even at $8 million per Super Bowl commercial, ad executives say it’s still bang for your buck

Super Bowl commercial still bang for your buck

Performance marketing has always been a core element of marketing campaigns, using highly measurable bottom-of-the-funnel channels and tactics to drive sales. Yet, in recent years, a new, more expansive model has emerged.

2025: The Year Of Performance Reinvention

The Year Of Performance Reinvention

## After more than three decades of calling myself a marketer, one guiding principle has remained constant: **always expect change.** Throughout my career, I’ve adapted to countless disruptions, transformations, and reinventions of nearly every facet of advertising and marketing. Change is what keeps me engaged and excited about the work – even with all its inherent challenges. 

Yet, strangely enough, one thing has remained remarkably static: **Performance Marketing.** 

Despite the rise of digital, e-commerce, social media, and now AI, the role of performance in most marketing plans has stayed confined to a predictable box. It’s the so-called “bottom of the funnel.” It’s measured by a few KPIs tied to the last mile. And, most notably, it’s kept at arm’s length from “Brand” marketing. 

As the (relatively new) CEO of a boutique performance agency, I believe it’s time for this outdated division to end. Keeping Performance in a silo has held back modern marketing. It’s overdue for reinvention. 

### Here’s the truth: today, all marketing must perform. 

This doesn’t mean every campaign should live exclusively in direct response channels or sacrifice building emotional connections with your audience. But in an era where every dollar must be accountable, it’s clear that everything we do – brand or performance – must deliver results. 

**It’s time for a complete paradigm shift.** At Converge, we see ourselves as innovators of performance and, as such, we are “all in” on this transformation.   Through our client work in media, analytics, experience and lead generation, we have embraced the new rules of marketing: 

- **Erase the line:** The divide between brand and performance is a vestige of a pre-digital world. In a consumer-led media landscape, brands have to find ways to **earn**  attention vs. buying it..  That means striking the right balance between telling stories and driving response. 

- **Forget the funnel – embrace the journey:** The path to purchase is anything but linear or one size fits all.  Understanding how audiences buy and building campaigns designed to advance that journey is the way we unlock value from every channel. 

- **Make Measurement King:**  Instead of putting measurement at the end of the story and focusing only on standard digital KPI’s, start every plan with a strategic cross channel measurement framework.  It will ensure that your media and messaging are aligned to your goals and designed for performance. 

This is our manifesto. This is how we do Performance for growth marketers.  We can’t wait to make everything work for you. 

 

After more than three decades of calling myself a marketer, one guiding principle has remained constant: always expect change. Throughout my career, I’ve adapted to countless disruptions, transformations, and reinventions of nearly every facet of advertising and marketing. Change is what keeps me engaged and excited about the work – even with all its inherent challenges.

A Manifesto on Modern Performance

A Manifesto on Modern Performance, for Today's Growth Marketer

## In today's competitive digital landscape, leveraging AI is key to driving better ROI. Platforms like Meta are leading the charge with powerful AI tools that enable smarter targeting, real-time optimizations, and more efficient use of ad budgets. But these tools are only as effective as the strategies behind them. At Converge: Your Agency of Action, we go beyond just using these technologies—we make them work for you.


### Meta's AI tools are designed to help advertisers unlock their full potential:
 
- Precision Targeting: AI analyzes user behavior to identify the audiences most likely to convert, ensuring every ad reaches the right people.
- Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO): AI continuously tests and refines ad elements—images, videos, and copy—to serve the combinations that drive the highest engagement and ROI
- Smarter Ad Placement & Bidding: Tools like Meta Advantage+ use AI to optimize where and how your ads are displayed, maximizing results while keeping costs low.

###  How Converge Unlocks the Full Potential of AI

At Converge, we don't just execute campaigns—we ensure they deliver value at every stage. By combining Meta’s advanced AI capabilities with our proprietary strategies, we help your business stand out and succeed.

Here's what we bring to the table:
- Free Performance Pulse Audit: Our proprietary Performance Pulse dives deep into your campaign performance, analyzing data from platform tools and beyond. We provide actionable insights that go beyond surface metrics, giving you clear recommendations to drive growth.
- Full-Funnel Optimization: From brand awareness to conversions, we align AI-powered insights with your specific goals to maximize ROI at every stage of the funnel.
- Custom Strategy Development: We tailor Meta’s tools to your business needs, ensuring you’re not just meeting industry benchmarks—you’re exceeding them.
- Creative Excellence: Meta’s AI optimizes creative performance, but only when the assets are strategically designed. Our team ensures your content resonates with your target audience, driving results across all campaigns.

### Get Your Free Performance Pulse Audit

Meta's AI tools are powerful but leveraging them to their full potential requires expertise. At Converge, we combine technology with strategy to ensure your campaigns deliver maximum value. Ready to take your paid social campaigns to the next level? Contact us today for a free Performance Pulse audit. Let us show you exactly where your campaigns can improve—and how we’ll help you turn insights into action. Let's make your campaigns work harder and smarter to drive your business forward. Reach out today for your free performance pulse to jump start your media optimizations going into the new year.

In today's competitive digital landscape, leveraging AI is key to driving better ROI. Platforms like Meta are leading the charge with powerful AI tools that enable smarter targeting, real-time optimizations, and more efficient use of ad budgets. But these tools are only as effective as the strategies behind them. At Converge: Your Agency of Action, we go beyond just using these technologies—we make them work for you.

Maximize Paid Social ROI with AI

Maximize Paid Social ROI with AI: Converge, "Your Agency of Action" will show you how!

## Every interaction you have as a marketer is a data point. Every consumer touchpoint, campaign setup, and CRM entry contributes to the ecosystem that powers your performance. Yet, data hygiene—the essential practice of maintaining clean, accurate, and actionable data—is often overlooked. Left unchecked, it introduces risk, inefficiencies, and even lost revenue opportunities.

At Converge, we've navigated the ins and outs of data—from tactical campaign naming conventions to micro-journey mapping. As Director of Analytics, I've experienced firsthand how clean data fuels the performance engine. A regular "data diagnostic" mitigates risk, enables efficient data-driven decision making, and uncovers untapped opportunities.

### Why Data Hygiene Matters

**1. Data-Driven Decisions** In the fast-paced marketing world, strategies shift quickly based on real-time information. Clean, reliable data ensures decisions are built on a solid foundation, reducing the chances of missteps and misallocated resources

**2. Enhanced Targeting** With clean data, marketers can focus on high-value opportunities and audiences most likely to deliver results. Casting a wide net is fine, but wasted time and resources pursuing irrelevant leads can harm more than help.

**3. Improved Reporting** Clean data is critical to producing accurate reporting, allowing agencies and in-house teams to better showcase wins, quickly diagnose what isn’t working, and optimize campaigns efficiently.

**4. Building Consumer** Trust Consumers are more informed than ever. Clean data empowers marketers to craft messages that are both relevant and respectful, fostering trust and authenticity in every touchpoint.

**5. Risk Identification** If your data is dirty you may be speaking to the wrong person, at the wrong time, with the wrong message resulting in spend inefficiencies. There is also risk of not being compliant and the plethora of problems that can put your performance at risk.

### When Things Get Messy: How to Stay on Top

Even the best systems encounter a little "data dirt. " The key is to prevent it from spiraling:

- **Shine a Light on the Gaps:** Regularly review naming conventions, data transfers, and tracking systems. You should do a “spring cleaning” for your data annually.
- **Set a 10-Minute Rule:** Spend 10 minutes a week performing quick data check-ins. Small, consistent maintenance prevents larger, time-consuming problems down the road.
- **Prioritize What Matters**: Not all data points are created equal. Focus on the metrics that drive performance, and don't sweat the small stuff.
- **Relax and Get Some Help:** As a data-centric independent agency we've partnered with clients of all sizes to identify data solutions focused on consistency, cleanliness and actionable influence on performance.

### Solution: Converge Data Diagnostic

Data hygiene isn't just a task—it's a competitive advantage, it is our competitive advantage. With clean, actionable data, your team can optimize campaigns, foster consumer trust, and drive measurable performance.

At Converge we've partnered with our clients to develop solutions to keep data pipelines clean, efficient, and connected from strategic planning to tactical event level detail to backend CRM performance measurement.

The **Converge Data Diagnostic Toolkit** provides a holistic view of your data environment. We provide an honest assessment of the state of your platforms, linkages, and outputs along with a prescriptive series of recommendations to enhance data-driven performance outcomes.

If you work with marketing data, there's a good chance you're struggling with at least one serious data challenge.

**Contact us today and see how a data diagnostic can help identify and resolve those challenges and enhance your marketing performance.**

Every interaction you have as a marketer is a data point. Every consumer touchpoint, campaign setup, and CRM entry contributes to the ecosystem that powers your performance. Yet, data hygiene—the essential practice of maintaining clean, accurate, and actionable data—is often overlooked. Left unchecked, it introduces risk, inefficiencies, and even lost revenue opportunities.

Data Hygiene

Data Hygiene: The Hidden Force Behind High-Performance Marketing

## A Wall Street Journal article this week highlighted a powerful market signal: John Burns Research & Consulting estimates that $30 billion in potential remodeling spending is "…sitting on the sidelines, waiting to be spent." Despite a recent slowdown due to higher financing costs, the home services industry sits on the edge of a significant upswing, thanks to over $35 trillion in homeowner equity. Homeowners with an average of $400,000 in equity, have been holding off on major projects, but will be ready to invest as borrowing conditions improve.

Two things stood out to me as I attended the TOP 500 Live Qualified Remodeler's Conference in Las Vegas this past week with some of the nation's largest home services companies. First, this is a critical moment to prepare for the likely surge in renovation demand. As lending rates become more favorable, homeowners will be eager to reinvest in their properties. Companies that strategically increase their marketing NOW will be primed to capture a substantial share of this pent-up spending.

Second, the pandemic made getting leads a little too easy, and there's a lot of trash leads out there. In contrast, our proprietary engine identifies hyper-targeted audiences and pinpoints their high-value actions throughout the customer journey, creating strategies that maximize growth. While lead generation is essential, the true value lies in leads that convert. We're on the cutting edge every day helping clients get smarter + stay competitive with our innovative action-based lead generation.

In today's competitive landscape, priming your marketing is essential. As more remodeling funds become available, home service companies will face increased competition to capture clients ready to act. Positioning your brand as a trusted partner now – while consumers are actively researching but not yet committing – can lay the foundation for strong lead conversion as financing conditions improve.

At Converge, we excel in generating high-quality leads in the home services space for clients like Leaf Home, Great Day Improvements, Erie Home, and ADT. The consumer landscape has changed since the pandemic, and now more than ever, targeted lead generation is crucial. You may already be active in traditional digital channels, but we specialize in enhancing those efforts and exploring innovative avenues for lead generation.

And don't forget about print! No one in the country outperforms Converge when it comes to print performance. We invest our own resources to ensure your success. If print isn't a significant part of your strategy, we're ready to show you how to fully leverage this channel to drive leads.

Now is the time for home service businesses to intensify their advertising and media efforts. Those who act decisively will be best positioned to capture the surge in remodeling demand and win big as homeowner spending accelerates.

A Wall Street Journal article this week highlighted a powerful market signal: John Burns Research & Consulting estimates that $30 billion in potential remodeling spending is "…sitting on the sidelines, waiting to be spent." Despite a recent slowdown due to higher financing costs, the home services industry sits on the edge of a significant upswing, thanks to over $35 trillion in homeowner equity. Homeowners with an average of $400,000 in equity, have been holding off on major projects, but will be ready to invest as borrowing conditions improve.

Home Services Must Get Smarter

WSJ: Homeowners Hold $30 Billion in Remodeling Dreams — Why Home Services Must Get Smarter About Leads To Stay Competitive.

## Performance marketing agency Converge, today announced the appointment of Shoshana Winter as CEO and Jason Whiting as Chief Growth Officer (CGO). As demand increases for full-fledged performance marketing services, these new appointments join Converge's team with a proven record of driving growth, primed to capitalize on the continued expansion of performance marketing services.

With 30+ years of agency and client-side marketing experience, Shoshana has held multiple strategy, media and creative leadership positions at dentsu agencies, including mcgarrybowen, Vizeum US, and most recently, dentsu, where she served as Executive Director for the company's performance creative team.

Previously the CGO at PureRed, Jason also served as CEO of MRY and led new business for several large agency brands including AKQA, HUGE and Media Monks. Jason's 20 years of extensive experience in data, media, creative, and technology has enabled him to successfully lead agencies, build teams, and expand brand reach through innovative solutions. Whiting will be responsible for propelling growth and the adoption of Converge's services.

“I could not be more excited to lead Converge through this exciting transformation,” said Shoshana Winter, CEO of Converge. “Performance is experiencing a real renaissance as brand marketers are increasingly held to tougher measures when it comes to return on marketing spend. Converge is perfectly positioned to take advantage of this moment.”

This announcement marks an important milestone for Converge, as it looks to double down on growth and fuel client success. The agency's long-standing client base spans across multiple verticals, including home services, membership businesses, legal and financial services as well as healthcare and automotive, with notable clients that have included AT&T, AAA and LeafHome.

“We are bullish on the performance services industry and the unique market opportunity for Converge,” said Adam Lavelle who was recently appointed to the agency's board of directors in June. “Adding Shoshana and Jason, two senior agency executives with successful track records, reflects our confidence in the agency's value proposition and its ability to capitalize on the market opportunity while accelerating client successes in 2025 and beyond. Converge has a quiet history of executing precision marketing solutions and delivering successful outcomes for clients. It's time for more people to learn what the agency can do for them.”

Shoshana and Jason join co-founders Maarten Terry and Mike Carrano, who will remain on the leadership team as co-presidents as the agency expands its offering and evolves its position in the market.

### About Converge

Converge is a full-service, performance marketing agency. Founded in 2006, with lead acquisition as the primary offering, today Converge offers a variety of direct marketing capabilities including media strategy, buying and planning, advanced data & measurement, audience modeling and predictive analytics, performance UI/UX and creative services. Converge manages integrated multi-channel media and lead acquisition campaigns with a focus on print, display, paid search, paid social, SEO, email, and CTV. Servicing clients across multiple verticals including Home Services, Legal, Insurance, Financial Services, Converge has generated over $2B in client sales and more than 1M leads for its clients.

Performance marketing agency Converge, today announced the appointment of Shoshana Winter as CEO and Jason Whiting as Chief Growth Officer (CGO). As demand increases for full-fledged performance marketing services, these new appointments join Converge's team with a proven record of driving growth, primed to capitalize on the continued expansion of performance marketing services.

Converge Appoints Shoshana Winter and Jason Whiting

Performance Marketing Agency Appoints Dentsu's Shoshana Winter as CEO and MRY/AKQA/Media Monk's Jason Whiting as CGO

We compiled a dataset consisting of media circulation, inbound calls and sales in shared mail over the course of two years to ensure we had enough data to build a model that would enhance our selection methodology. We then leveraged our data science team to build out a predictive model at the ZIP Code level using demographic and behavioral attributes to determine which ZIP Codes would drive the highest call and sale volume relative to the circulation available within the geography. The geographies were then ranked and buys were conducted using the the top of the buyable universe.

The model directed us to purchase the same volume of circulation as our previous methodology but increased inbound call volume and down-funnel sales volume leveraging a flat marketing budget. As a result, marketing efficiency improved for the print channel as we rolled out this strategy for additional shared mail programs featured in the marketing plan.

With a growing need to increase consideration meant reaching new audiences while shifting beyond last click attribution...

With changing consumer trends in weight loss, our client needed to amplify their message and expand advertising to attract new customers, going from mainly Paid Search to a full funnel digital acquisition plan.

<ul><li>Leveraged advanced predictive modeling and industry insight to identify paid media channel expansion, creating an omni-channel approach</li><li>Leaned on 1PD & content signal to build audiences sets and optimized the consumer journey to focus on first time brand interactions</li><li>Ran multiple lift analysis to determine the true incremental value of media in a historical system built off referrals</li></ul>

By increasing investment to historically high levels and launching multiple first-time channels, the client was able to generate new interest in the brand, leading to increased sales and incremental revenue

After a post-pandemic surge and success in word-of-mouth tactics, the rise of prescription weight loss impeded new customer acquisition.

On top of that, their team had to prove the value of their media investment to field marketing and independent retailers, who were questioning how corporate marketing efforts were supporting their local business. The team worked to strike the right blend of media activations and measurement methodology to accomplish both goals.

<ul><li>Leveraged geo targeted and tailored mobile campaigns to supplement our print insert distribution</li><li>Inserts were versioned to included nearest addresses of client stores (including 8 locations per insert)</li><li>When prospect clicked on the mobile ad, they were sent directions to the nearest client Store</li><li>Leveraged test & control groups to measure impact of being exposed to both types of media - test groups were comprised of devices who fit several criteria: Home & Work Location, General Offline Behavior, Proximity to POI, Brand Affinity, Device Type</li></ul>

Campaign provided the lowest cost per new subscriber when compared to other campaigns against the same objective. Store level foot traffic studies allowed us to further optimize media distribution with 10% lift per store Retailer satisfaction from those who previously questioned the value of corporate support and are now satisfied with quantitative media in market.

With an overall objective of acquiring new customer accounts, our client needed to achieve incremental growth at pre-determined efficiency thresholds.

In order to increase lead quality and profitability, we were tasked with advancing efforts to incorporate &quot;A-Business&quot; attributes into cross-channel targeting while growing new engaged audiences. We accelerated our measurement approach to help uncover the value of cross-channel audience behaviors. This included a deeper understanding of first-party data’s effect on business quality throughout an omni-channel customer journey, as well as expanding our measurement approach to include secondary indicators and incremental impacts.

<ul><li>Unifying available data to incorporate into audience targeting</li><li>Accelerate key data usage Cross LOB [line of business] & Cross-Channel</li><li>Assign purpose and cadence for measurement tools to create a unified measurement approach</li></ul>

Unifying sales data, zip scoring, business quality and consumer attributes improved efficiencies while propelling down funnel evolution to continue driving sustainable growth. Incorporating secondary performance indicators and impacts to brand consideration fueled full funnel audience expansions with cross-channel measurement & brand and conversion lift studies integrated to further quantify impact.

Campaign provided the lowest cost per new subscriber when compared to other campaigns against the same objective.

Our Work: case studies

LeafFilter: Data Driven Geo-Targeting Drives Sales & Efficiency

Weight Loss Nutritional Program: Launching Full-Funnel Acquisition Media Campaign to Propel New Customer Memberships

Wireless Mobile Provider: Integrating Traditional & Digital Media to Drive in-Store Traffic and New Customer Accounts

AAA: Reaching a Greater Number of Qualified Prospects Across Their Consideration Paths

Check out our latest news & insights.

Data-Driven Marketing: How Converge Uses Technology to Drive Growth

PMW International Powerlist 2025: Winners 81-100 revealed

Flipping the Script on Audience Stigmas: Moving Beyond Generalizations to Drive Action

How Brand And Performance Marketing Drive Mutual Success

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