<div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&#38;_&#62;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> <h3 class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">If you&#8217;ve ever felt like your marketing stack is more of a marketing pile, like siloed channels, disconnected metrics, and a different agency for every platform, this conversation with Zack Dugow is for you.</h3> </div> </div> <div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&#38;_&#62;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>At the fourth annual POSSIBLE Conference in Miami I built a mini-series of four <em>Insider Interviews</em> episodes I&#8217;m calling &#8220;POV: Possible,&#8221; kicking off with Zack , the founder and CEO of <a href="https://cool.co/">The Cool Company</a>. (Yes, that&#8217;s the actual name. BUT, COOL is actually an acronym — more on that in the episode.)</strong></p> </div> </div> <div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&#38;_&#62;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> <p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-1964 size-medium alignleft" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Pitch-me-screen-grab-300x182.jpg" alt="Zack participates in the &#34;Pitch Me. Pinch Me.&#34; segment on Insider Interviews" width="300" height="182" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Pitch-me-screen-grab-300x182.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Pitch-me-screen-grab-1024x621.jpg 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Pitch-me-screen-grab-768x466.jpg 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Pitch-me-screen-grab-1536x931.jpg 1536w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Pitch-me-screen-grab-2048x1242.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">What is truly cool is that this company is based on four acquired ad tech companies, integrated into a single AI-powered platform: They build your ad creative, buy your media across every channel, and continuously optimize for business goals or outcomes. No siloes. One system, one goal, one cool company. And, Zack illustrates the how and why in my segment called, &#8220;Pitch Me. Pinch Me.&#8221;</p> </div> </div> <div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&#38;_&#62;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Spoiler alert (unless you were at Possible and saw it from SalientMG&#8217;s Innovation Stage!): Zack sharesa a compelling case study from National Veterinary Associates where his team ran a head-to-head test against a human media trading team.  Same budget, same time period. The result?</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">289% more phone calls and appointments. The reason? While a skilled human team might make 70 campaign changes in a week, theri CoolAI made over 8,600 in two weeks. <img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-1961" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_8979-1-256x300.jpeg" alt="Innovation Stage at Possible with Zack Dugow and National Veterinary Assoc. Case Study" width="319" height="374" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_8979-1-256x300.jpeg 256w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_8979-1-872x1024.jpeg 872w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_8979-1-768x901.jpeg 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_8979-1-1309x1536.jpeg 1309w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_8979-1-1745x2048.jpeg 1745w" sizes="(max-width: 319px) 100vw, 319px" /></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">As Zack put it:</p> <blockquote> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><em>&#8220;What human is gonna log in, take 20 minutes to make a change that improves something one one-thousandth of a percent? But</em> <em>micro-gains compound fast.&#8221;</em></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&#38;_&#62;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">More human side? You&#8217;ll learn about his dog, Barry (listen why he&#8217;s named that!), and Zack&#8217;s appreciation for Padel (pah-DEL?!)</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-1959" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Buddy-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="229" height="305" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Buddy-225x300.jpg 225w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Buddy-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Buddy.jpg 1086w" sizes="(max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px" />But, we also got into the measurement mess that&#8217;s plaguing the human industry right now. Zack&#8217;s universal advice? Always ask how your attribution is actually being calculated, and sanity-check it against your own internal numbers. &#8220;Ultimately, at the end of the day, you should be looking at your own internal business metrics. If you&#8217;re a restaurant, it&#8217;s like, how many entrees did I sell?&#8221;</p> </div> </div> <div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&#38;_&#62;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">And when it comes to AI being overhyped? Zack, of course, doesn&#8217;t think so. But he does think we&#8217;re just now crossing from &#8220;faster and cheaper&#8221; into &#8220;actually better.&#8221; Proof point? He makes the case that the beauty of automation is its range: the same platform that optimizes campaigns for a national airline can do the same for a local car wash, with no ad expertise required.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">The playing field is leveling, and the implications for marketers at every scale are hard to ignore.</p> </div> </div> <div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&#38;_&#62;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"></div> </div> <div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&#38;_&#62;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Key Moments</strong></p> </div> </div> <div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&#38;_&#62;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>0:01:25 — What the Cool Company actually does under one AI platform </strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>0:03:49 — What COOL stands for: More than a name; a philosophy.</strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>0:06:08 — The Proof Point: A case study that pit AI-driven campaign management against a human trading team</strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>0:07:04 — Why micro-optimizations at AI scale compounds gains humans can&#8217;t replicate </strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>0:09:00 — Attribution truth talk  </strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>0:10:19 — The Channel Budget Trap: Why siloing budgets by platform (TikTok, search, display) limits performance vs unified goal-setting</strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>0:11:13— The Human Side: Meet Barry, Zack&#8217;s co-pilot, and the most Game of Thrones-named dog in ad tech</strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>0:12:49 — Is AI Overhyped? Zack&#8217;s take on where AI is in its evolution </strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>0:15:06 — AI and Jobs&#8230;and what roles will matter most.</strong></p> <h3>Connect with:</h3> <p><strong><a href="https://cool.co/">The Cool Company</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zackarydugow/">Zack Dugow</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="https://salientmg.com/">SalientMG</a></strong></p> <h3>Connect with E.B. Moss and <em>Insider Interviews: With Media &#38; Marketing Experts           </em></h3> <p><strong>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mossappeal">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mossappeal</a><br /> </strong><strong>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/insiderinterviews">https://www.instagram.com/insiderinterviews</a></strong><br /> <strong>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/InsiderInterviewsPodcast/">https://www.facebook.com/InsiderInterviewsPodcast/</a></strong><br /> <strong>Threads: <a href="https://www.threads.net/@insiderinterviews">https://www.threads.net/@insiderinterviews</a><br /> </strong></p> <h3><strong>If you enjoyed this episode, follow <em>Insider Interviews </em>on <a href="https://bit.ly/InsiderInterviews-Videos">@YouTube</a>,</strong><strong> <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/insider-interviews-media-and-marketing-pros/id1501594721">@Apple</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3IJDsC1QlFCoO4HkBP8xNQ?si=6f89b98e8e4b4f36">@Spotify</a> </strong><strong>or your favorite app, AND please share with another smart business leader, and leave a comment, a like … or a tip in my jar!: <a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/mossappeal">https://buymeacoffee.com/mossappeal</a>! </strong></h3> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-1322 aligncenter" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/yellow-button-300x84.png" sizes="auto, (max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/yellow-button-300x84.png 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/yellow-button-1024x287.png 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/yellow-button-768x216.png 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/yellow-button.png 1090w" alt="Support this content at buymeacoffee.com/mossappeal " width="275" height="77" /></p> </div> </div>