Most marketing teams are still trapped in a fake war: brand vs. performance. Jesse Resnick and Walter Shock (Co-Founders of Ei Digital) argue that’s the wrong fight, and that attribution is basically a magician: great at misdirection, terrible at telling the truth.
In this episode, we break down what actually compounds in 2026: building end-to-end systems that connect creative, targeting, measurement, and learning…so your funnel doesn’t just “perform”…it improves.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why treating performance like “just a numbers game” is a fool’s errand (the art + science have to work together)
- The real modern flywheel: data → creative insights → more creative → better algorithmic matching
- Why last-click attribution keeps steering budgets wrong (and why Google often “gets credit” it didn’t earn)
- A real-world test: turning off brand keywords (yes, even with a massive brand) and what actually changed
- How to use Meta as a real-time learning lab with a Minimum Viable Campaign (MVC) instead of “focus group theater”
- The leadership move most teams skip: second-order metrics (because lower-funnel reality can invalidate upper-funnel “wins”)
Connect with Jesse, Walter, and Ei Digital
Want help building leadership + growth systems that actually hold up in the real world?
Book a Transition Leadership Foundation Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/foundation-call-20min
Adam W. Barney works with transitioning leaders at pivotal moments - career shifts, leadership inflection points, and identity resets - helping them regain clarity, direction, and sustainable momentum.
