If you’re looking for a smooth, refined take on marketing, go elsewhere. This interview between Sean Simon and his old pal, Rob Davidman, VP of Media at Fear-LS, is a no-holds-barred conversation on everything from the early days of digital media to the AI-driven future. So grab your coffee and maybe a stress ball because it’s about to get real.
1. The ‘Oh, This Is Sales?’ Moment
Sean opens with a classic flashback: it’s the ‘90s, he’s in a Nob Hill bar, watching the Flyers, and thinking sales is not for him. But Rob — crafty as ever — convinces him otherwise with dollar signs and the promise of “no high-pressure sales.” Flash forward to a Texas sales floor with Mark Cuban, clapping his hands and shouting, “Selling time!”
You can almost hear Sean’s “What have I gotten myself into?” sigh. But, hey, it worked out, and he’s got Rob to thank for that push — a pretty solid reminder of how those “right place, right time” moments (even if accompanied by a few choice expletives) can change your whole career.
2. Inventing Pre-Roll Ads and… Tin-Can Audio?
As the interview unfolds, Rob takes us down memory lane, back to when he helped bring radio online. He recalls the era of “tin can” audio quality and clunky ISDN lines that felt revolutionary. The kicker? They invented the pre-roll ad at broadcast.com — that little gem that YouTube, Spotify, and half the internet rely on today.
And here’s the best part: they weren’t streaming as we know it today. Think slow-loading packets of data, with audio “hiccups” as it trickled in. Primitive? Absolutely. Game-changing? You bet.
3. Yahoo Buys Broadcast.com… Then Lets It Die
When Yahoo picked up broadcast.com for $5.1 billion (casual pocket change, right?), the company had the bones of YouTube and Facebook before either existed. But Yahoo just couldn’t fit the tech puzzle pieces together. Rob muses that they had the brains, but not the framework, to make it work. The lesson? Even the biggest brands can fail spectacularly at innovation without a clear roadmap for integration.
4. Earthquake Media: Breaking the Mold
After Yahoo, Rob saw the glaring need for integrated media — the classic digital vs. traditional agency split wasn’t cutting it. So, he founded Earthquake Media, a shop that treated digital and traditional as one. Fast forward to today, and Rob’s all about Fear-LS, a consultancy that’s half creative partner, half tech wizard, helping clients not just with ads but with full-blown digital transformation.
5. Fear-LS: Big Data Meets Big Creativity
What’s the Fear-LS difference? Rob breaks it down: they’re a consultancy that goes beyond creating ads. With 1,200 people worldwide, they’re tackling the whole digital journey, from analytics and advanced media buying to full-on customer experience design. He likens them to a McKinsey for digital, but with the chops to actually implement the strategies they recommend.
6. AI and the Marketing “Tool, Not Strategy” Debate
When it comes to AI, Rob and Sean aren’t buying the “AI as strategy” hype. “AI is just a tool,” they agree — a hammer, not a house. Rob sees AI as a way to supercharge creativity, crunch data, and streamline tasks, but insists that it can’t replace the human element. As Sean puts it, AI can make your strategy better, but it can’t be the strategy itself. The key? Use AI to enhance human creativity and insight, not replace it.
7. AI-Driven Search: The SEO Game-Changer
Rob and Sean dig into Google’s latest AI Overviews and how they’re shaking up SEO. Forget the keyword-stuffed pages of yore; today, it’s all about structured data and context. Rob sums it up: if your content isn’t rich, relevant, and valuable, you’re not showing up in AI-powered results. The takeaway for brands? Start talking to search engines like they’re people — and optimize your product data for these new AI-driven experiences.
8. Looking Ahead: Personalization, Immersion, and Staying Fearless
When asked about the future of advertising, Rob gets excited about personalization, immersive experiences, and tech that meets customers where they are. Think U2 concerts at Vegas’ Sphere (yes, Rob went there) and AR/VR glasses that bring products to life. At Fear-LS, they’re pushing clients to get bold, take risks, and make tech part of the creative process.
Sean and Rob end on a high note: in a world of ever-changing tools and tech, it’s the fearless brands that win. And if you’re not adapting? Well, as Mark Cuban might say, “It’s selling time, people!”
