Advertising
Explore how paid media actually works across platforms, where optimization breaks down, and how to structure campaigns for long-term performance instead of short-term metrics.
FOCUS AREAS
Paid Media Systems
How campaigns, budgets, and objectives interact across platforms, and why structural decisions matter more than individual optimizations.
Creative & Messaging Strategy
Why creative is the primary lever in modern advertising, and how message-market fit drives results more than targeting or settings.
Platform Mechanics
How major ad platforms optimize delivery, assign credit, and influence performance, often in ways that are not obvious from reporting alone.
Scaling & Budget Allocation
When and how to increase spend without destroying efficiency, including the tradeoffs between volume, reach, and performance.
CORE IDEAS
Advertising platforms optimize toward their own objectives, which often diverge from business outcomes.
Campaign architecture frequently has a greater impact on results than bids, audiences, or formats.
Modern ad systems respond primarily to creative signals, not manual configuration.
Strategies that work at low spend rarely behave the same way at scale, and efficiency is not a metric that can be maximized indefinitely.
START HERE
New to how I think about advertising? Start with these foundational reads.
How short-term efficiency metrics can lead to long-term performance decline.
A real-world example of how reach, repetition, and creative drive outcomes.