Why You're Wasting Ad Budget Without Even Knowing It with Jacqueline Freedman | Horizons Pod

Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple.—Jacqueline Freedman is the CEO and Founder of Monarch Advisory Partners, a full-stack marketing consultancy specializing in GTM, MarOps, and MarTech. Prior to launching her consultancy, Jacqueline was the 5th marketing hire at WeWork during their hypergrowth phase and the 1st Marketing Operations hire at Grammarly during their transition to a B2C2B model.Here’s some of my takeaways from this week’s episode…1/ 📊 Process trumps perfection: When scaling marketing ops, focus on creating foolproof processes rather than expecting perfect execution. Create clear documentation, role-based access controls, and simplified workflows that even non-marketers can follow successfully.2/ 🎯 Community over metrics: Sometimes the most valuable marketing initiatives don't have clear KPIs. WeWork's building newsletters focused on community-building rather than specific metrics, showing how brand value can outweigh immediate measurable results.3/ 🔄 Post-mortems are gold mines: After mistakes, focus on "what happened, how it happened, why it happened, and how to prevent it." Document learnings and use them to improve processes. The response to failure matters more than the failure itself.4/ 💰 Daily data syncs = massive savings: Small operational improvements can yield huge returns at scale. Example: Updating paid ad suppression lists daily instead of monthly saved millions in ad spend by preventing mistargeting of existing customers.5/ 🎨 B2B doesn't mean boring: B2B companies can (and should) be more playful with their brand voice. While you don't need to chase every trend, establish a clear brand persona and don't default to overly formal communication.6/ 📈 Personalization needs substance: Move beyond basic "{first_name}" personalization. Focus on meaningful data points that provide value to users, while being mindful of privacy boundaries.7/ 🤝 Vendor partnerships matter: Build strong relationships with your marketing tech vendors. Join customer advisory boards and provide detailed feedback - you know the problems, they know how to build solutions.8/ 👥 Cross-functional translation is key: Marketing ops pros must be "global translators" between teams. Success comes from ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and vice versa.—Where to find Jacqueline Freedman: * Monarch Advisory Partners: https://www.monarchadvisorypartners.com/* The Martech Weekly: https://themartechweekly.com/* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelinefreedman/—In this episode, we cover:00:00 Optimizing Ad Spend & Intro Jacqueline Freedman 01:11 Early Career: Jacq of All Trades & Remote Work Pioneer 02:58 Scaling WeWork's Hyper-Localized Newsletters (500 Buildings!) 04:22 The "Why" Behind WeWork's Emails: Community Over KPIs 06:16 The Unmeasurable Value of Brand Marketing 07:33 The Tech & Process Behind 500 Weekly Emails 09:30 Empowering 500 Non-Marketers to Be Marketers 11:46 Hyper-Localization: Beyond Countries to Buildings 13:09 Joining Grammarly: Building B2B Marketing Ops from Scratch 15:00 Hot Take: Why MQLs Aren't Dead (If Done Right) 19:19 Defining Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) 22:08 Grammarly's B2C to B2B Pivot: Finding the New ICP 24:15 AI in Writing: Tool, Threat, or Transformation? 26:54 Grandfather's Wisdom: Clients & Stakeholders Make or Break Your Day 27:30 The Power of Stakeholder Relationships & Listening Tours 30:16 Bridging the Gap: Marketing & Engineering Collaboration 33:02 Being "Dangerously" Technical as a Marketer 37:06 Facing Pay Inequity & Advocating for Fair Compensation 39:23 The Art & Discomfort of Negotiating for Yourself 43:06 Confessions of a Recovering Workaholic: Boundaries & Balance 45:35 Learning from Mistakes: A Post-Mortem Tale ("Winner of AB Test Here") 51:28 Blameless Post-Mortems & Process Improvement Culture 53:15 How You Leave Matters: Employees & Unsubscribers 55:58 Beyond First Names: Creating Impactful, Personalized Campaigns (WeWork Year in Review) 1:01:37 Should B2B Brands Be More Playful? 1:03:57 Saving Millions: Daily Data Syncs & Ad Suppression at Grammarly 1:08:07 Partnering with Vendors to Shape MarTech's Future 1:10:10 Where to Find Jacqueline & Final Thoughts—Obligatory disclaimer: I've worked at YouTube and Google for about a decade in various marketing teams. Nothing I say in my personal spaces is necessarily endorsed by them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit horizonspod.substack.com