Introduction to Jessica Chase

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s show where we have Jessica Chase. Jessica is a mom of 3 and married to her husband of 16 years. She’s obsessed with programmatic advertising and multi-touch attribution and runs the programmatic agency getabovethefold.com.

Jessica has been in marketing and advertising for 20 years on the client side, agency side and publisher side of the ad business. On a personal note she likes to read, travel, journal, meditate and anything to do with hanging out with her family.

Table of Contents

• Who is Jessica Chase?
• Current Projects that Excite Jessica
• Tactical and Strategic Programmatic Advertising Advice from Jessica
• Where Does Jessica See the Future of Programmatic Advertising?
• Advice for Women in Tech and Marketing
• How to Get in Contact with Jessica
• Additional Insights from Jessica
• Jessica’s Advice to Her Younger Self
• Books, Podcasts, and Leaders That Inspire Jessica
• Conclusion

Who is Jessica Chase?

Early Life and Education

Jessica was born and raised in Utah, in the Cottonwood Heights area. As a first grader she wanted to be an OB-GYN. She even drew a picture of herself delivering a baby, much to her parents surprise.

At 7 years old she moved to Sandy and lived there until she graduated high school. She went to Alta High School where she wanted to be a basketball player and made the school team.

A Life-Changing Accident

But a severe accident between junior high and high school changed the course of Jessica’s life. She broke her leg so bad she almost died and required a blood transfusion at Primary Children’s Hospital. She had to start high school late and reevaluate her goals.

Finding Journalism

With athletics no longer an option, Jessica found a new passion in journalism. She became editor-in-chief of the school newspaper at Alta High School. This led her to pursue a degree in communication at Westminster College where she was also editor-in-chief of the college newspaper.

Transition to Marketing

During college Jessica worked as a marketing administrative assistant at 1-800-CONTACTS. This role gave her exposure to all aspects of marketing including:

• TV advertising
• Print advertising
• Email marketing
• Website optimization
• Brand lift studies

Under the guidance of a mentor at 1-800-CONTACTS Jessica decided to stay in marketing. She completed her MBA and chose to specialize in affiliate marketing within the company.

Career Progression

Jessica’s marketing career has evolved over time:

1. Affiliate marketing for 10 years
2. Working on the publisher side for a cashback company
3. Rakuten, an agency specializing in affiliate marketing, programmatic advertising, paid search, and multi-touch attribution

It was at Rakuten that Jessica fell in love with programmatic advertising, which led her to her current position.

Current Projects that Excite Jessica

Helping Advertisers Understand Full-Funnel Results

One of Jessica’s primary passions is assisting advertisers in understanding how to measure full-funnel results. This task has become increasingly challenging with the impending removal of cookies and the resulting changes to pixel tracking.

Jessica finds excitement in helping advertisers see the lift in their advertising efforts, regardless of the tracking environment. She believes it’s both challenging and fun to demonstrate the impact of advertising across various channels and touchpoints.

Adapting to Cookie Deprecation

With Google’s recent announcement about phasing out third-party cookies for 1% of users (approximately 30 million people), Jessica is excited about the opportunities and challenges this presents for programmatic advertising.

She explains that programmatic advertising has been forward-thinking in this area, with solutions like Unified ID 2.0 from The Trade Desk already in place. This technology allows for targeted advertising while maintaining user privacy through encrypted and hashed personal identifiable information (PII).

Exploring AI in Programmatic Advertising

Jessica is also enthusiastic about the integration of AI in programmatic advertising. She notes that AI has been a part of programmatic demand-side platforms (DSPs) for several years, but recent advancements are making campaigns more effective and efficient.

Some AI applications in programmatic advertising include:

• Optimizing bidding strategies based on multiple metrics (CPC, CTR, CPA)
• Identifying and removing underperforming publishers
• Enhancing overall campaign performance

Tactical and Strategic Programmatic Advertising Advice from Jessica

What is Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising is super targeted advertising within a customer persona. It’s not “spray and pray” it’s precise targeting across all channels:

• TV
• Radio
• Native
• Display
• Video

Programmatic advertising is on the “open internet” which is any publisher or app outside of walled gardens like Facebook, Google, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).

When to use Programmatic Advertising

Jessica says businesses should use programmatic advertising when:

1. They have a marketing foundation (e.g. paid search, SEO, social media)
2. They have a website that tracks leads and orders well
3. They want to go beyond individual platforms

She says you should have at least a brand campaign running on paid search before you start with programmatic advertising so that customers can find the brand after seeing ads on other channels.

Budget

For programmatic advertising Jessica recommends:

• TV: $5,000 per market for a test
• Display, native or video: $3,000 per month

These budgets allow for real testing and to show lift in metrics.

Integrated Marketing

Jessica says to take an integrated approach to marketing not siloed channels. She recommends:

1. Get all agencies to work together
2. Look at data across all channels
3. Keep synergy between marketing efforts
4. Be open to budget allocation across the marketing funnel

She says to budget to upper funnel activities (e.g. TV, audio, podcasts) to drive bottom funnel performance.

Creative

Jessica’s approach to creative varies by client and goal. Some examples:

• Weekly creative changes for time sensitive campaigns (e.g. tax strategy countdown)
• Industry specific targeting for B2B clients
• Testing different coupons for e-commerce clients

She says to always have an “evergreen” creative running alongside seasonal or promotional creatives as the latter often outperforms the former.

Optimization

Jessica’s agency does a bi-weekly optimization with clients which includes:

1. Review campaign performance
2. Test different customer personas if initial targeting isn’t delivering
3. Look at creative performance and A/B test
4. Adjust targeting and creative based on data

Where Does Jessica See the Future of Programmatic Advertising?

Cookie Deprecation and Its Impact

Jessica believes the future of programmatic advertising will be significantly influenced by the deprecation of third-party cookies. She anticipates:

1. Reduced targeting capabilities in platforms like Google
2. Increased reliance on alternative identification methods like Unified ID 2.0
3. A potential shift in advertising budgets towards programmatic platforms that can still offer precise targeting

The Role of AI

Jessica sees AI playing an increasingly important role in programmatic advertising:

1. Enhancing campaign effectiveness and efficiency
2. Improving publisher selection and optimization
3. Providing more sophisticated bidding strategies

While AI will automate many processes, Jessica believes human oversight will remain crucial for setting goals, monitoring performance, and making strategic decisions.

Privacy and Data Protection

As privacy concerns continue to shape the advertising landscape, Jessica expects:

1. More emphasis on first-party data collection and utilization
2. Increased adoption of privacy-preserving technologies like Unified ID 2.0
3. Potential new solutions from major players like Google (e.g., Privacy Sandbox)

Cross-Channel Integration

Jessica anticipates further integration of programmatic advertising with other marketing channels, allowing for more seamless omnichannel campaigns and attribution.

Advice for Women in Tech and Marketing

Drawing from her own experiences, Jessica offers the following advice for women pursuing careers in tech and marketing:

1. Embrace the mental stimulation that comes with a career, and don’t be ashamed of wanting both a family and professional life.
2. Seek out mentors who can guide you in your areas of interest.
3. Consider pursuing higher education, as it can help open doors and clarify your interests.
4. Stay open-minded and continuously learn about new areas within your field.
5. Conduct informational interviews with professionals in roles you’re interested in.
6. Don’t be afraid to seek help, whether it’s through therapy, business coaching, or mentorship.
7. Remember that you don’t have to do everything alone – build a support system around you.

Jessica emphasizes the importance of mental health and self-care, encouraging women to prioritize their well-being as they pursue their career goals.

How to Get in Contact with Jessica

For those interested in connecting with Jessica or learning more about programmatic advertising, she can be reached through the following channels:

1. Website: getabovethefold.com
2. LinkedIn: Search for “Jessica Chase, MBA”
3. Email: jessica@getabovethefold.com

Jessica welcomes questions on any topic, from mentoring and career advice to mental health support. She is passionate about helping others in the industry and is always open to sharing her knowledge and experience.

Additional Insights from Jessica

The Importance of Resilience

Throughout the conversation, Jessica emphasized the role of resilience in overcoming challenges. She attributes her ability to bounce back from setbacks to several factors:

1. Experiencing her parents’ divorce at a young age
2. Moving and adapting to new environments
3. Overcoming a severe injury that altered her life plans

Jessica believes that building resilience is crucial for success in both personal and professional life. She actively works on fostering resilience in her own children and encourages others to develop this important trait.

Work-Life Balance and Mental Health

As a working mother in a demanding field, Jessica is candid about the challenges of maintaining work-life balance. She advocates for:

1. Regular therapy sessions to maintain mental health
2. Utilizing business coaches and mentors for professional growth
3. Creating a support system to manage various responsibilities

Jessica emphasizes that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and encourages others to prioritize their mental health alongside their career aspirations.

The Value of Slowing Down

Inspired by Mr. Rogers, Jessica has been exploring the importance of slowing down and creating “white space” in life. She observes that modern society, especially in the digital age, moves at an increasingly rapid pace. Jessica advocates for:

1. Taking time to listen and connect with others
2. Developing emotional intelligence
3. Practicing empathy in personal and professional relationships

By incorporating these values into her life and work, Jessica aims to create a more balanced and fulfilling approach to both her career and family life.

The Impact of AI on the Job Market

While excited about the possibilities AI brings to programmatic advertising, Jessica also acknowledges the potential impact on the job market. She notes:

1. Major tech companies are already announcing significant layoffs due to AI integration
2. The need for human oversight and strategic thinking will likely remain crucial
3. Professionals should focus on developing skills that complement AI capabilities

Jessica encourages individuals to embrace AI as a tool to enhance their work rather than viewing it as a threat to job security.

Jessica’s Advice to Her Younger Self

What advice would you give to your younger self?

“I would tell myself everything’s gonna be okay and not to worry so much. We all need to tell ourselves that every day. I struggle with anxiety a little and I think we just need to remember everything has worked out great so far. So based on that track record everything will probably be fine.”

Jessica said this is something she still tells herself daily and will probably tell herself in the future. This is all about perspective and trusting in ourselves.

Books, Podcasts, and Leaders That Inspire Jessica

What are your sources of inspiration?

Mr. Rogers. I know I’m a total nerd but I’ve been having my kids watch his show and I’ve been reading his books. I really believe in slowing down and creating white space for ourselves and our children.

Mr. Rogers explains:

1. Slowing down in our crazy world.
2. Listening and emotional intelligence.
3. How to talk to kids and complex emotions.
4. Mr. Rogers helped me through tough times in my own childhood.

Jessica sees value in Mr. Rogers’ teachings not just for kids but for adults too. She believes his getting down to people’s level, showing up with real care and empathy is something we need more of in our interactions with each other.

This is all about Jessica’s whole life approach to life and work. Emotional intelligence and real human connection in all areas of life and work.

Conclusion

Jessica Chase from basketball player to programmatic advertising pro. Resilience, adaptability and always learning. Digital advertising insights and work life balance and mental health for pros and beginners.

As the industry changes with technology and privacy regulations Jessica’s whole life approach to marketing and data driven strategies will be the way to navigate it. She’s sharing her knowledge and supporting others in the industry is the collaborative spirit that drives innovation in the fast paced world of digital marketing.

By combining technical skills with emotional intelligence and personal growth Jessica Chase is the new breed of marketing leaders shaping the future of advertising while keeping the human at the heart of all business.