Hosted by Haus Chief Marketing Officer Olivia Kory, Open Haus highlights the stories, tactics, and strategies the most recognizable enterprises in the world use to make marketing investment decisions.
About Haus: Haus is the causal marketing platform leading brands trust to optimize billions in ad spend worldwide. With support from PhD economists, data scientists, and growth experts, Haus’ AI-driven technology enables brands like Dyson, Wayfair, Sonos, Fanduel, SharkNinja, and Intuit to optimize spend, accelerate growth, and make smarter marketing decisions at scale.
Brett Gordon is a Professor of Marketing at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. He sat down with Haus’ Chief Scientist Joe Wyer, CMO Olivia Kory, and Head of Science Strategy Phil Erickson to discuss his landmark research around advertising measurement, including his “close enough” paper and “predictive incrementality with experimentation” (PIE) paper. (Both are essential reading around Haus — in fact, we hand it out to new hires.)
In this episode, they dig in to:
Brett’s background (1:04)
Brett’s landmark “close enough” paper (5:09)
Why marketing data is so bad (15:45)
Brett’s “Predicted Incrementality by Experimentation” (PIE) paper (20:09)
What marketers can learn from the PIE paper (24:34)
Attribution is biased…but can we learn from that bias? (28:30)
Generalizing PIE using experiments (31:06)
About Brett:
Brett Gordon is the Robert A. Magowan Professor of Marketing at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. His research focuses on pricing, advertising, promotions, retailing, and experimentation, using methods from causal inference, machine learning, and empirical industrial organization. He partners with companies to measure and enhance marketing effectiveness. His recent work examines digital advertising measurement methods while developing new evaluation approaches.He served as a co-editor at the Journal of Marketing Research from 2023 to 2026 and is the co-creator of the “How I Wrote This” podcast, which goes behind the scenes with authors to understand how great academic marketing papers came to be. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
About Haus:
Haus is the causal marketing measurement platform built for performance-driven brands and enterprises. From GeoLift incrementality testing to Causal MMM, Haus helps marketing and finance leaders understand what's actually driving growth — so they can make smarter business decisions.
🔗 Learn more about Haus: https://www.haus.io
📅 Book a demo: https://www.haus.io/demo
💡Follow Haus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/haus-analytics
4 Aug 2026
What To Do After a Bad Incrementality Test Result
You see success stories about brands that have leveraged incrementality testing to transform their business. While these are inspiring, they conceal an inescapable reality of executing a high-impact incrementality testing program: Sometimes, test results will bum you out. In our latest episode of Open Haus Playbook, Haus Measurement Strategists Dean Gordon and Ike Armstrong sit down to talk about that difficult moment when you get a test result that “punches you in the chin.” First, they outline ways to frame that poor test result in a way that's productive — not just to your marketing org, but also to the finance team and the C-suite. Then they lay out their playbook for next steps after a less-than-stellar result. They’ll share some tactical testing ideas that can build upon this baseline result and turn it from a disappointment to the start of improved media performance.In this episode:Intros, and defining “bad" results (1:22)The different types of disappointing test results (4:37)Reframing a “bad” test result (7:42)How do you communicate disappointing test results to finance? (13:04)Planning next steps after a bad test result (15:30)Strategy #1: The 1-2-1 approach (21:05)Strategy #2: The Firehose Approach (30:50)
About Haus:
Haus is the causal marketing measurement platform built for performance-driven brands and enterprises. From GeoLift incrementality testing to Causal MMM, Haus helps marketing and finance leaders understand what's actually driving growth — so they can make smarter business decisions.
🔗 Learn more about Haus: https://www.haus.io
📅 Book a demo: https://www.haus.io/demo
💡Follow Haus on LinkedIn: / haus-analytics
26 Jun 2026
Incrementality Testing at Scale: Lessons from Newton CMO Aaron Zagha
Newton CMO Aaron Zagha was early to Amazon when DTC brands were still allergic to it. He was early to influencer marketing when nobody had figured out how to measure it. And he was early to incrementality testing when most CMOs were still trusting last-click attribution and in-platform ROAS.
As CMO of Newton Baby, Aaron didn't just build a brand; he helped invent a category, convinced parents that purchasing a baby mattress required research and thought, and scaled the company to an acquisition by Resident (Ashley Home Furniture). Along the way, he quietly became one of the most analytically rigorous growth marketers in DTC.
In this episode of Open Haus, Aaron joins Haus CMO Olivia Kory to walk through his full journey: from a finance background that gave him an unusual obsession with measurement, to the scrappy early days of Newton Baby, to their exit — all while taking us blow-by-blow through the experiments and hard-won lessons that made the difference.
Aaron also explains how, with Haus, Newton Baby improved marketing efficiency by 30% over a three-year period, significantly boosting efficiency in a tumultuous macroeconomic environment.
This is an episode for growth marketers who want to hear what it actually looks like to build a data-driven marketing org from the inside. Aaron’s story lays out just how important it is to see around corners and always remain rigorous (and unemotional) when it comes to figuring out what’s working and what isn’t.
In this episode:
Aaron's journey from finance to ecommerce (1:26)
How Aaron "picked the right horse" with Newton Baby (4:13)
The highlights and lowlights from Aaron's time at Newton Baby (8:43)
Aaron's early big bet on influencer marketing (12:15)
Newton's forward-thinking omnichannel sales strategy (15:56)
Inside Newton's acquisition by Resident (22:00)
Aaron's measurement journey with Haus (26:16)
The efficiency gains Aaron unlocked with incrementality testing (34:50)
Balancing optimizing for growth vs. efficiency (38:43)
The importance of building a strong customer advisory board (41:49)
About Newton:
Newton Baby strives to revolutionize the landscape of infant sleep by offering a range of meticulously crafted, healthy, and safe sleep products. At the forefront of their innovation is the creation of the world's first 100% breathable, washable, and recyclable crib mattress. Beyond crib mattresses, their commitment to excellence extends to a diverse array of offerings, including furniture, bedding, and even pet beds. Newton Baby ensures that their products not only meet the highest standards of safety but also cater to the varied needs of families. Operating through direct-to-consumer channels and leveraging the expansive reach of Amazon, Newton Baby brings their transformative sleep solutions to a broad audience, making a positive impact on the well-being of infants and families alike.
About Haus:
Haus is the causal marketing measurement platform built for performance-driven brands and enterprises. From GeoLift incrementality testing to Causal MMM, Haus helps marketing and finance leaders understand what's actually driving growth — so they can make smarter business decisions.
🔗 Learn more about Haus: https://www.haus.io
📅 Book a demo: https://www.haus.io/demo
💡Follow Haus on LinkedIn: / haus-analytics
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