Beyond the AI Hype Cycle: Moloco VP Explains How to Drive Real Results

In this week’s episode of The Breakout Growth Podcast Sean Ellis and Ethan Garr chat AI and growth with Ben Jeger, Moloco’s Vice President of EMEA. Moloco’s machine learning-based advertising solutions help marketers take advantage of advertising opportunities outside of the “walled gardens” of Google, Meta, and Amazon. In the past year, AI has taken on a life of its own for good reason, but we wanted to dig beneath the hype cycle to understand how this technology will really impact the world of growth. With Ben, we got just that. Moloco hasn’t changed its messaging to capitalize on the AI whirlwind, even though it’s fair to say they are an AI company.  They have simply continued their relentless focus on delivering customer outcomes.  In performance marketing, that is the only thing that matters, and as Ben says, “Fancy words don’t get us there.” So in this discussion, we learn how these tools level the playing field for marketers and why they are so valuable for augmenting human capabilities. In addition, we get a picture of why Moloco has grown 5x in the past two years to a $2+ billion valuation, and how Ben is approaching his task of expanding the business throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Thanks for listening to the Breakout Growth Podcast, and don’t forget, to watch us and subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-K_CY4-IrZ_auEIs0j97zA/featuredWe discussed:* Moloco’s 10-year, overnight success story (07:50)* Defining AI and Machine Learning (10:58)* In performance marketing, sustainability is about long-term outcomes (14:41)* “It’s not a lie to say we are an AI company,” but what matters is outcomes (17:51)* Creating value outside of the “walled gardens” (27:43)* Growing Moloco beyond gaming (33:52)And much, much, more . . .  Get full access to Sean’s Substack at seanellis.substack.com/subscribe