How I Grew This: Real Stories of Digital Growth copertina

How I Grew This: Real Stories of Digital Growth

How I Grew This: Real Stories of Digital Growth

Di: Branch
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How I Grew This is a podcast hosted by Amanda Vandiver and Adam Landis exploring the real stories behind digital growth. Each episode features candid conversations with leaders in marketing, product, and tech about how they built, scaled, and navigated challenges in an ever-changing digital landscape. From breakthrough strategies to hard-earned lessons, guests share what actually worked—and what didn’t—along the way.2026 Branch Metrics Economia Gestione e leadership Management Marketing Marketing e vendite Successo personale Sviluppo personale
Episodi
  • Shifting the Search Paradigm: How Branch Discovery Powers On-Device Intent for Half a Billion Users with Harish Thimmappa

    Shifting the Search Paradigm: How Branch Discovery Powers On-Device Intent for Half a Billion Users with Harish Thimmappa
    Jul 30 2026
    What if the most intimate device in your pocket could understand exactly what you need—before you even search for it? In this episode of How I Grew This, hosts Amanda and Adam sit down with Harish Thimmappa, SVP and GM of Discovery Ads at Branch, to explore an on-device solution revolutionizing app discovery. Learn why first-party data is becoming the ultimate competitive advantage, how Branch powers search experiences on half a billion devices worldwide, and the counterintuitive strategies that balance user privacy with advertising performance. Whether you're a marketer looking to diversify beyond Meta and Google, an app developer navigating a crowded ecosystem, or an AdTech enthusiast curious about the future of personalization, this conversation reveals the technology and thinking that's reshaping mobile commerce. Tune in to discover why the next generation of advertising isn't about who bids the most—it's about who understands the user best. What You’ll Learn: How to build trust by prioritizing user experience over ad loadWhy on-device bidding and ad selection outperforms cloud-based systemsThe power of behavioral pattern recognition beyond search intentHow to align supply and demand in ad tech marketplacesWhy first-party data is now the competitive moat in advertisingHow to position experimentation as table stakes for modern marketers About the Guest(s): Harish Thimmappa is the SVP and GM of Discovery Ads at Branch, leading a standalone business unit that has grown into a major force in mobile advertising. With over two decades of experience in adtech, Harish has built a reputation for scaling technology and advertising businesses, previously holding key roles at InMobi, Supersonic Ads, Kensho, and Unboxed. In this episode, he reveals how Branch Discovery leverages on-device machine learning and first-party data to deliver contextually relevant search results and ads to over 500 million devices globally, while maintaining user privacy and trust. Harish shares actionable strategies for marketers on experimenting with emerging ad platforms, demanding performance-based results, and diversifying spend beyond Meta and Google. His work in developing privacy-first, performance-driven advertising solutions makes this conversation essential listening for digital advertisers and adtech professionals seeking to understand the future of mobile discovery and app monetization. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here. Episode Highlights:[00:07:50] Maintain a 90/10 Organic-to-Ad Ratio to Build OEM Trust[00:00:32] Capture Non-Intuitive Behavioral Patterns to Unlock Deeper Targeting[00:17:03] Move Ad Selection On-Device to Overcome Connectivity and Privacy Constraints [00:19:58] Align Supply, Demand, and Product Teams to Prevent Monetization Failures [00:22:56] Win Advertiser Confidence Through Performance Rather Than Features Alone [00:33:20] Marketers Should Experiment Beyond Meta and Google to Find Information Asymmetries Episode Resources: Harish Thimmappa on LinkedInAmanda Vandiver on LinkedInAdam Landis on LinkedInBranch on LinkedInBranch WebsiteHow I Grew This on Apple PodcastsHow I Grew This on SpotifyHow I Grew This on Simplecast
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    35 min
  • Beyond the Install: Erica Johnson on Building Smarter Mobile Campaigns

    Beyond the Install: Erica Johnson on Building Smarter Mobile Campaigns
    Jul 9 2026

    What if the key to mobile campaign success wasn't just about driving installs? In this episode, host Amanda sits down with Erica Johnson, Director of Global Platforms at Publicis Collective, to explore why thinking beyond the install matters, how to build seamless cross-device experiences, and the critical role measurement plays in modern mobile advertising, alongside AI's growing influence. Whether you're navigating measurement challenges, managing complex global migrations, or preparing for 2026's mobile landscape, this conversation is packed with actionable strategies from the Publicis Mobile Summit. Tune in to uncover how a holistic approach to mobile campaigns drives real, measurable growth.

    What You’ll Learn:

    • How to move beyond install-focused metrics and measure long-term value
    • Why the web-to-app journey deserves immediate attention
    • The crawl-walk-run framework for executing large mobile campaigns
    • How to approach MMP migrations strategically
    • Why AI in ad operations requires teaching the technology your standards rather than fearing it
    • How to accelerate into leadership roles

    About the Guest(s):

    Erica Johnson is Director of Global Platforms at Publicis Collective, bringing deep expertise in digital marketing, media technology, and ad operations. With a career spanning mobile advertising, mobile measurement partners (MMPs), and campaign execution across social, search, programmatic, and CTV channels, she has become a recognized MMP power user and advocate for holistic campaign strategy. In this episode, Erica shares insider perspectives from the Publicis Mobile Summit on emerging trends shaping 2026, including the shift beyond install metrics, the transformative role of AI in ad operations, and strategies for seamless cross-device experiences. Her work migrating global clients across platforms and implementing sophisticated measurement infrastructure has positioned her as a thought leader for brands seeking to optimize mobile performance and measurement in an increasingly fragmented ecosystem. This conversation is essential for marketing professionals and growth strategists looking to navigate mobile advertising complexities and build sustainable, data-driven campaign foundations.

    If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

    Episode Highlights:

    [00:06:17] Think Beyond the Install to Drive Long-Term Mobile App Value

    [00:16:06] Prioritize Postback Events and Partner Configuration in MMP Migrations

    [00:17:27] Prioritize the Web-to-App Journey as a Critical Campaign Foundation

    [00:21:00] Adopt the Crawl-Walk-Run Framework for Large Campaign Execution

    [00:32:02] Lean Into AI Rather Than Fear It—Build Standards and Drive Quality Assurance

    [00:36:45] Pursue Challenging Projects to Build Leadership Credibility and Expertise

    Episode Resources:

    • Erica Johnson on LinkedIn
    • Publicis Collective on LinkedIn
    • Publicis Collective Website
    • Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
    • Branch on LinkedIn
    • Branch Website
    • How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
    • How I Grew This on Spotify
    • How I Grew This on Simplecast
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    23 min
  • The Viral Growth Blueprint: How Nic Weber Turned Creators Into a Scalable Acquisition Engine

    The Viral Growth Blueprint: How Nic Weber Turned Creators Into a Scalable Acquisition Engine
    Jun 4 2026
    What if you could turn creator content into your most cost-effective acquisition channel? In this episode of How I Grew This, Amanda and Adam sit down with Nic Weber, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Noise, to explore why creator-powered marketing outperforms traditional ads, how to build viral campaigns at scale, and the strategies that transform unknown creators into growth engines for your brand. Whether you're a mobile app founder struggling with user acquisition costs or a marketer looking to unlock authentic engagement, this conversation reveals actionable frameworks on relatability, need, and novelty—plus real examples of brands achieving pennies-on-the-dollar CPMs. Tune in to discover how to leverage 950,000+ creators and tap into the future of performance marketing. What You’ll Learn: How to build a two-sided marketplace that aligns creator incentives with brand performanceWhy the interest graph has replaced the social graphThe three-lever framework for viral content: relatability, need, and noveltyHow to reverse-engineer virality by finding existing successful content in your niche, iterating on it with multiple creators, and then scaling the winning variationWhy users acquired through short-form content are higher-intent than traditional paid adsHow to leverage organic platform algorithms as a free ad network About the Guest(s): Nic Weber is Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Noise, known for his expertise in creator-powered marketing and viral content strategy. With a background spanning graphic design, mobile publishing, gaming, and consumer apps, Weber has built scalable growth systems that transform how brands acquire customers through short-form content. At Noise, he has pioneered a two-sided marketplace that connects creators with brands, enabling acquisition costs as low as 8¢ effective CPM through viral video campaigns—a model Weber himself validated by building a consumer app to 2 million downloads. In this episode, Weber reveals the psychology behind viral content, the formula for creating trends, and how brands can leverage an army of everyday creators to dramatically reduce customer acquisition costs while maintaining authentic brand messaging. His insights on relatability, need, and novelty provide actionable frameworks for marketers looking to move beyond traditional influencer partnerships and tap into the most addictive social platforms in the world. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here. Episode Highlights: [00:09:07] Why Human Creators Beat AI for Social Media Marketing – Nic reveals that despite AI videos achieving 20 million views, human creators remain essential because they understand audience psychology and can adapt messaging in real-time. The challenge for brands is that algorithms favor authentic human connection, which AI cannot replicate, making creator-led campaigns fundamentally more effective at driving conversions. While AI can generate volume, it lacks the contextual awareness needed to resonate emotionally with viewers, causing audiences to immediately recognize and skip synthetic content. To leverage this insight, brands should prioritize recruiting diverse creators over investing in AI video generation, even when scaling campaigns across multiple platforms. A concrete example: Noise saw dramatically better performance when they had thousands of creators post variations of a concept rather than relying on a single AI-generated video, because the human variations naturally included hooks and messaging tweaks that resonated differently with different audience segments. For brands looking to maximize ROI on short-form platforms, this means building creator armies that can iterate in real-time based on performance data, not betting on automation. [00:10:49] The Formula for Viral Content: Find, Iterate, Scale – Nic breaks down virality into a repeatable three-step framework: find existing viral content in your niche, iterate on it with multiple creators to test variations, then scale the winning formula across your entire creator base. Most brands fail because they try to create original viral content, ignoring the fact that the internet has already validated what works—making "not being smarter than the internet" the key to success. The real work happens in the iteration phase, where real creators bring their own creativity to hooks, text overlays, and presentation styles, naturally producing variations that hit different audience segments. Brands should start by identifying viral videos in their category with 1+ million views, then brief 50-100 creators to create their own versions with slight modifications, tracking which variations generate the highest views and conversions. For example, if a competitor's cleaning product video went viral, a brand selling a mop should create dozens of variations showing ...
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    41 min
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