SPEAKER_01: 0:03

Hello and welcome back to season two, episode nine of That Martech Girl, the podcast where Martech meets culture, the business podcast with personality. This week I am sitting down with my good friend. His name is Adam OT. He is the VP of Growth at Huge. I'm really excited for this week's episode because Adam is really a veteran in the Martech industry. And one thing about Adam is his energy is so infectious, and you'll hear that during the interview. He's really knowledgeable in marketing technology, and he'll be teaching us a lot about a topic called intelligent twins. But in addition to that, he also knows how to really build relationships, and he knows how to network in a way that provides longevity and success, not only for his company, but also in his own career. So without further ado, let's get into it. Hey Adam, how are ya?

SPEAKER_00: 1:16

I'm good. How are you?

SPEAKER_01: 1:18

Doing so good. Welcome to that Maritech Girl. So happy to have you on. Last time we saw each other was at Opticon. How was Opticon for you?

SPEAKER_00: 1:28

It was great. It was awesome. I love New York. Uh I think Opticon gave me a clear sense of where brands are headed. I think that the takeaway that I took from Opticon really was how to operationalize experimentation and personalization. I think a big focus there also was Opal, their integration, right? The intelligence there. And I think the latest focus around the convergence of AI, content intelligence, and commerce was really something that I focused in on. I think content creation and the envision to really use that inside digital experiences is adaptive, and I think it's meaningful. So it was a great time, and uh always look forward to the Opticon events. Uh and New York is one of my favorite cities, so it was great.

SPEAKER_01: 2:09

Yes, you guys, um, Adam was out there networking. I saw him doing his thing. It was great to see you in action. Love seeing that. But I feel like we just jumped right into things. I'd love for you to just give a brief intro of yourself, um, your background, and what you currently do at Huge. Of course.

SPEAKER_00: 2:29

Yeah, yeah. So a little bit about me. Uh, I live in Atlanta, Georgia. Uh, I have been in advertising for now about 12 years. I work for Huge, which is a global creative and technology agency, uh, really focused squarely on creating intelligent experiences that bridge technology design and marketing. Uh, Huge has been headquartered in Brooklyn, New York for about 25 years now. Longevity really speaks to the continuous ability to evolve uh at the intersection of technology and creativity. So uh love that and have really had a great time. It's been 11 months coming up on the 12-month marker. So really excited for that. Uh, love the mission here as well. Just intelligent experiences, how we're using data and technology, not only to make something look good, right, but to also work smarter, provide bespoke and intuitive value for users. So it's been super great working here uh and excited for what's to come as well.

SPEAKER_01: 3:23

I love that explanation, especially if intelligent experiences. I think you know there are multiple ways to do experiences, and huge is definitely doing it right. Um, huge is a partner of Optimize Lee, and that's how Adam and I connected originally. But outside of Huge, you're doing some amazing things. And I see you on LinkedIn all the time, just like how he was at Opticon, kind of connecting with everybody, you know, making waves. He's also making waves with young professionals coming up at NYU. So I'd love for you to just talk about your experience there, what you got into, the talk a little bit. Just tell us, tell us the scoop on NYU.

SPEAKER_00: 4:08

I'm happy to. Yeah, it was fun. Um, you know, it's always tough when you come from humble beginnings and you get opportunities like speaking in front of young people uh who really, you when you look back, uh, have a lot more in common with myself than I thought. Uh, I had the opportunity to speak at NYU to master's business students uh at the School of Professional Studies. It was great. Uh the talk was really a focus on the distinction between networking and connecting, which I think is a big thing that I focus on and have has really helped me in my career. Uh, and we focused on RQ, uh relational quotients. So essentially the measure of an individual or an organization's ability to create, cultivate, and make meaningful relationships. I don't think it's about how many people you know, but really the quality and the depth of the relationships that you have. Uh, a high RQ is going to drive your ability to grow opportunities, uh, meet people and build social capital. Uh, I don't think clients really buy service anymore. I think they buy into trustworthy relationships. I think that means you move beyond transactional interactions and really into strategic partnerships. So it was super awesome to talk to uh the young students. I've had a lot of outreach since then, which has really just boosted my spirits and continuously uh gotten me into the space to do more things like this, to come talk with you and hopefully speak to others as well. And uh yeah, just wanted to tell them, you know, it's more than just becoming a quick transactional exchange of business cards or having a brief conversation. We want to really get true depth uh and meaning into the connections that you're making, and that will help you grow in your career.

SPEAKER_01: 5:38

That is so powerful because and I see you do it in action, right? I do it in action as well. But I think now in a world where like AI is the conversation, and we're like, let's use AI for everything.

SPEAKER_00: 5:51

You gotta still be real, exactly.

SPEAKER_01: 5:54

You still have to be real, you still have to have a conversation, and that's what's gonna be missing in the new generation of you know, working and and thinkers. So getting your MBA or your master's of business and whatever isn't always enough, right? I agree.

SPEAKER_00: 6:11

I think I think the requirements around your curiosity, your vulnerability to connect with other people and how you gain meaningful insights, right? Active listening, understanding business challenges, personal motivations, people's purpose is really what's more important than pitching your services, right? And I think a lot of the connections that I have uh have been rooted in really connecting around those arenas and then moving into the challenges and how we can work together from a business perspective over time. So I totally agree, couldn't agree more.

SPEAKER_01: 6:43

Yes. Um, something else when we talk about relationships and building them, etc., that we have in common is that we're both people of color. Adam is a black man, I'm a black woman, and I would love to hear just your perspective on that relationship building element and basically um how you've used your superpower of being, you know, somewhat different in these rooms that you're walking into to kind of form those relationships and those bonds and and use it as an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

SPEAKER_00: 7:20

Yeah, I'm happy to. I think, you know, I come from a strong background. My father was a public speaker and was a traveling salesman, my mom was an educator, and I was born and raised in a pretty affluent area. Uh also, you know, got have gone through my things personally with with understanding, you know, self-value and worth in rooms, right? And I think what happens in in inside of you when you are a person of color and you are someone who is working up a ladder and you may feel that there are distinctions is you have to be your unique self. Um, I think being myself has actually put my career on a trajectory that I never thought it would go to in the last year, two years, because I was able to open up and just say, you know what, I'm gonna think less about how I look in the room, how I feel in the room, and I'm gonna be myself, right? Because ultimately, what the business and the arena that we work in on a general basis lacks is authenticity, right? People are not authentic. So I think anyone that you meet who knows me will tell you, I have my authentic self in every room, right? In every meeting, internally, externally. If you see me out in public, I'm myself, right? And and I think that has actually helped me drive a lot of change and a lot of success uh for organizations through my career is by injecting that realness into it. And so I would urge people of color, women, uh, those who come from different backgrounds, whether it be education, to really look inward and say, you know, how can I be my authentic self and make a difference and an impact, ultimately leaving people better than you found them, but also making change in these environments so that we feel uh the people that come behind us don't have to walk through some of the muddy waters that maybe we have had to.

SPEAKER_01: 9:00

Yeah, you said something the other day to me about, you know, you feel as though there is a responsibility that you have to kind of open the door for others as well, like yourself. Can you speak a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_00: 9:15

Um I think that I was given an opportunity by a gentleman about a decade ago with not much prior experience, uh, but was I'll always remember one of the greatest mentors that I had told me, you know, I can teach you, but I can't make you understand. And I think for me, you know, when you take the opportunity, you must grab it by the horns and you must take advantage of it. I think in the world that we live in today, uh, the opportunity with a cell phone, with the internet, you know, you can reach heights and you really don't have to ask many questions, right? You can figure out most things for yourself. And so what I urge young people to do, and what I tell people like when I spoke at NYU, I said the same thing was you need to go out and be your best advocate for your success. You if you are showing your value and you're proving value on a day-to-day basis, your boss or your manager will see it and it will shine through to others. They you won't have to go speak on your behalf. Your advocation will be through the work that you're doing, right? And so, so for me, it's always been uh show through the work, right? Uh, you want to be able to put in the effort, the first person in, the last person out, you know, doing beyond your job and expectations will ultimately put you in a position, hopefully, through the latter part of your career where you have already shown the maturity, right? The growth, the willingness to do the work that people understand. And so I do feel like it is not only a responsibility of mine to share the work ethic status of what I mean by having a successful career, but also share that what you may think your limitations are. They're actually within, right? And you need to be able to look and say, no matter what brick by brick wall that you've put up in front of me, or any challenge that you might throw my way, I'm gonna find a solution and I'm gonna be successful. And ultimately that has helped me go through my career and just look at every single challenge that I face as a hurdle, right? And we're just gonna jump over it every time. So uh you got to stay positive and uh you gotta be willing to put the work in. And those would be my two best pieces of advice.

SPEAKER_01: 11:20

Yeah, resilience will go a long way, and also just as you said, you know, sometimes it's what's inside that's holding us back the most. And if we just put the work in, it's hard. Not saying it's not hard.

SPEAKER_00: 11:34

It's gonna be hard, it's gonna be difficult. Trust me, you're gonna have some added situations that you may not, you know, that others may not experience. You might have some days that are tougher than others, but I do think that um, you know, we live in a space now where um we need support for one another, love for one another, and caring more than we've ever needed it before. And so for me, I'm gonna go to work every day and try to make people feel heard, seen, uh, make my clients, my prospects, uh, my relationships, my partners um connected and feel that they are part of uh of my own growth and and part of my community as well.

SPEAKER_01: 12:12

I love that. So bringing the conversation back um to marketing technology and your work at Huge, we were talking and it may have been around Opticon about digital twins. And that conversation really struck me because I think that there's a lot of value there for many of the persons listening, perhaps today, who are interested in improving their digital experiences, et cetera. So can you please talk a little bit more about digital twins and what exactly Huge is doing around that arena?

SPEAKER_00: 12:47

Yeah, Intelligent Twins. So an Intelligent Twin is a power offering that's designed to help organizations simulate behavior, preferences, and journeys of their customers. How it works is really vast amounts of data, market trends, customer sentiment, historical campaign performance, and uses of advanced generative AI to predict outcomes, test strategies, and discover new growth paths. So I'll give you a real world example. Uh imagine a major financial services company is looking to redesign their mobile banking app. The traditional method, they would build a single prototype, run an A-B test, maybe on one to two percent of their live user base, gather limited real-time data. The success we have with Intelligent Twin is we create a mimic of their current customer base. This twin or digital model will allow us to test tens of thousands of possible app configurations, right? Personalized messaging strategies, uh, feature placements, and instantly we can do that without risking a single live customer interaction. So the outcome, it's gonna allow the client to identify optimal experience, dramatically reduce time to market, and guaranteeing successful launch with predictable outcomes. Um, that to me, I feel like is the future of where we're going to see across different sectors, uh, and really where we've seen a lot of success with some of our current clients across different sectors as well.

SPEAKER_01: 14:07

I think that is fascinating. So, what you're doing is you're mirroring what would be a specific circumstance, right, with all of these clients, but instead you're taking the risk out of it for your clients and being able to simulate that same environment. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00: 14:28

Yeah, it's amazing. I think uh you can go to our website www.hugeinc.com. Again, that's www.hugeinc.com. You can see some of our real world uh case studies with our clients that we've done in the past, uh, features on Intelligent Twin and really a breakdown on that as well. I'm excited to see where we go in 2026 with new clients uh as we grow and scale uh and try to go into new spaces as well. Very exciting time at Huge and uh very exciting time for AI, real world uh challenges and solving solutions for that as well.

SPEAKER_01: 15:01

Amazing. Thank you so much, Adam. This has been a very informative conversation. Um we've learned about intelligent twins, we've learned about your time at NYU and you know your outlook on AI for the future. Really appreciate you coming on to That Martech Girl.

SPEAKER_00: 15:18

Hey, appreciate it. I'm always around and happy to be a guest. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it so much.

SPEAKER_01: 15:24

Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of That Martech Girl. Please don't forget to follow us on whatever streaming platform that you're listening to this episode on. And follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn at ThatMart Tech Girl. Next week is our final episode of the season. So be sure to continue tuning in. Your support is so appreciated. Have a wonderful rest of your week. Bye bye.