The Ad Project

About The Ad Project

The Ad Project is your ultimate guide to conquering the world of digital advertising and retail media. While we specialize in unravelling the complexities of Amazon advertising, we explore the entire retail media landscape, providing you with comprehensive insights that empower you to excel in the rapidly evolving e-commerce industry. Our expert guests bring a wealth of knowledge to the table, ensuring you're equipped with the latest strategies and tactics to thrive in the highly competitive digital marketing space. What sets us apart is our holistic approach, offering a deep dive into Amazon advertising while also exploring the broader retail media ecosystem and offering practical, actionable advice that you can implement immediately to improve your strategy. Whether you're a seasoned advertiser or just getting started, The Ad Project is your trusted resource for staying ahead of the game, driving results, and achieving success across multiple platforms.

Publisher

Ad Advance

Category

business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Jan 2021

Latest episode

27 Apr 2026

Latest episodes

9 of 180 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   27 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Expanding the Map: Amerge Joins the Podean Family

   Host Joe Shelerud interviews Will Fisher, CCO and co-founder of Amerge, discussing Amerge's acquisition by Podean and building a world-class Amazon agency.

2. 

   15 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT

   The AI Arms Race: Real Tools, Real Use Cases & What's Actually Working Right Now

   Joe Shelerud, CEO of Ad Advance, and Ryan Craver, Chief Strategy Officer of Podean, discuss current AI tools and practical applications, revealing how agencies can leverage automation and model-agnostic strategies for real wins.

3. 

   3 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Building Culture That Actually Works: Agency Growth, Acquisitions & What's Next

   Joe Shelerud is joined by Mark Power, co-founder and Chief Engagement Officer at Podean — the global commerce agency that recently acquired Ad Advance — for a candid conversation about building agencies from the ground up and why culture is the most underrated competitive advantage. Key Takeaways: Mark's 30-year journey from B2B email marketing in London → content marketing → IPG → founding Podean with co-founder Travis Johnson Why Amazon is more than a sales channel — and the gap Podean was built to fill "Positive Energy" as a cultural umbrella — how Podean distilled its values into something every team member, across every acquired company, can rally behind The real markers of cultural health — including why the first 3–4 weeks of a new hire tells you everything Remote culture done right — what actually works when your team is virtual and global Transparency = Trust — why sharing the bad news openly builds more loyalty than a polished internal comms strategy ever will Navigating acquisitions — how Podean is integrating Ad Advance and Commerce Canal without an "our way or the highway" mindset What's coming next — a new show hosted by Mark Power and Podean co-founder Ryan Craver, going beyond advertising into broader commerce and industry trends If you're building a team, scaling an agency, or navigating a merger, this episode is packed with practical wisdom from two founders who've lived it.

Inside a recent episode

Expanding the Map: Amerge Joins the Podean Family

Published 27 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] We didn't feel like any agency was doing it at the time. And we joined forces. We built our own optimisation tool, Emerge Engine. We had a dashboard, Emerge View, which brought in retail sales, which no one was really doing at the time. which allowed us to really understand what were the ad sales doing on the bottom line and this was really effective for us in the first year and we got some great great partnerships we really leaned into the partner programs within amazon and it went off from there really we started to really drill into the local expertise starting with germany we got boots on the ground a great leader who knows the german market That kind of forced us to grow throughout the other EU marketplaces. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

13 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

12 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

85

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

Contact The Ad Project

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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