Saptak Bose started his career in adtech at Google and now reflects on the fast-paced, ever-changing world of marketing technology and the lessons he's learned along the way.

What first sparked your interest in adtech, and how did that journey take shape in the early stages of your career?

Straight out of Bschool, I was hired by Google as part of their adtech/programmatic business (then known as DoubleClick) and since then it’s the only thing I’ve ever known. So, I didn’t really choose adtech, adtech chose me. However, I continued to be in this space throughout since then purely because of the adrenaline rush and the ever-dynamic nature of this practice. There’s never a single dull-day in adtech!

What’s one piece of advice you’d give your younger self, just starting out in the marketing and tech space?

Start taking your vitamins more diligently and a bit earlier in life. Adtech ages you a whole lot quicker than you’d ever realize

Smarter Stacks, Safer Data: Navigating Adtech in a Privacy-First World

There’s a lot of talk about building the “right” tech stack. In simple terms, what does a good setup look like — and where do you think companies often overcomplicate things?

Honestly, there’s no right or wrong, good or bad. A tech strategy should always be based on what business problem does my tech need to solve, and every business is unique! Where I see many large organizations falter is that they jump headlong into data collection and technology implementation without a clear vision of what they want to achieve. And this often leads to collecting irrelevant data, building complex systems that don't deliver value, and ultimately a stalled or ineffective tech strategy.

You’ve worked across regions and markets. How do you tailor your adtech strategy to stay effective and respectful in markets with different privacy laws and consumer expectations?

Regionalization is key! You need to build smaller, smarter pockets of regional data strategy guided by respective privacy regulations. And not just privacy laws, there are different technologies in various regions and different consumption habits across markets which makes a singular adtech strategy less effective.  So, building on an approach of Standardized Framework, Localized Application is the only way for a global centre of excellence to scale.

As cookies phase out and privacy becomes a bigger focus, what’s one thing brands can do today to prepare for a more privacy-focused future?

Get closer to the customer – build more direct-to-consumer relationships and deliver on the promise of a true value exchange for their consent to marketing. It’s the only way to scale on deterministic variables

You’re speaking at Technology for Marketing on building smarter stacks in a privacy-first world. What’s one common misconception brands still have about the post-cookie landscape — and what should they focus on instead?

The notion that more (flashier) technology will solve for all post-cookie problems. The failure to realize that a one-size fits all solution is probably not the future and that the future is federated 

And as platforms and regulation continue to evolve—Where do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation in the next phase of privacy-conscious marketing?

I’m quite bullish on ML’s power to allow Marketers to build on the next-gen of privacy compliant personalization and analytics – whether it’s around Predictive Audiences and their ‘next-best-consumer-outcomes’ or robust Sentiment Analysis providing a richer understanding of customers’ satisfaction levels in near real-time, the opportunities are truly immense.

Saptak will be speaking at eCommerce Expo and Technology for Marketing on the 24-25 September at the Excel London.

Register here

Quick-fire questions

What’s one adtech buzzword you’d love to retire? “AI” – while not purely an adtech buzzword but I really wish that we stop its profuse usage in everything adtech just to make it sound like breakthrough 

Your favourite under-the-radar tool or platform right now? Not really "under-the-radar," anymore but the continued advancements in privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), are fascinating

Cookie-less future: challenge or opportunity? Both. It’s like trying to find WiFi in the wilderness, frustrating but full of potential.

Brand (other than Volvo!) you think is leading the way in smart data use? I think Nike is doing a great job, with its use of first-party data from Nike Run Club and SNKRS, and their  overall hyper-personalized efforts

If you weren’t in adtech, what do you think you’d be doing? Probably a professional cat whisperer, because if I can untangle ad tech supply chains, I can definitely figure out why Mittens stare at walls