If the ad tech industry were weather, it’d be Portland—typically cloudy with a chance of unexpected sunshine. For Myles Younger, a clear morning without the usual downpour is less about meteorological luck
and more a mirror to the unpredictable yet occasionally brilliant world of digital ads. It’s like navigating through fog with a broken GPS—you never know when you'll hit a pothole or discover a new shortcut.
Transitioning from the skies to the breakfast table, Myles's morning meal is as loaded as his calendar. He opts for an everything bagel, which, much like his approach to the digital domain, includes a bit of everything to
kickstart the day. This culinary choice isn't just about satisfying hunger; it's a strategic decision, a mirror reflecting his business philosophy. Each bite is a blend of different tastes, much like his daily grind—a mix of challenges, innovations, and the occasional easy win. This isn’t just breakfast; it’s a crash course in daily strategy, buttered and served warm every morning.
In the quiet embrace of dawn, Myles Younger
starts his day not with a jolt, but with a pause. The house is still, the kids haven’t yet stormed the castle, and the only sound is the subtle sizzle of yesterday’s bacon finding new life in today's breakfast. It’s a rare slice of solitude where the day's chaos hasn’t yet breached the walls of his morning sanctuary. Myles cherishes this time, understanding that once the day kicks off, it's like being strapped to a runaway carousel of emails, calls, and crises. His philosophy is simple yet
profound: "I always just sit and eat. I don't try to work while I'm eating breakfast." This isn't just breakfast; it's a daily ritual of grounding—a bacon-tinged meditation.
But as the sun rises higher, so does the digital pulse of Myles’s day. The tranquility of the morning gives way to the relentless glare of the computer screen. It's a portal to a world wired with potential and packed with panic—an endless scroll through
digital demands that mirrors the undercurrents of anxiety pulsating through the ad tech industry. This screen is both a battlefield and a playground, where victories are hard-fought and the enemy—restlessness—is relentless. Myles captures the essence of this modern malaise, noting, "The anxiety you get from being on a computer all day... it's a real thing." It’s an acknowledgment that even in the digital age, the human element can't be coded out; instead, it's often coded under stress.
Myles Younger's career path has more twists than a season finale of Game of Thrones. Kicking off in B2B marketing, where buzzwords fly thicker than arrows at the Battle of the Bastards, Myles navigated his way through the ad tech maze with the agility of a Silicon Valley start-up CEO dodging IPO questions. From marketing maestro to tech guru, his journey reads like a who’s who of the digital world, each pivot sprinkled with a bit of
that startup magic dust.
Upon his entry into U of Digital, after his gig at MediaMonks, Myles encountered what can only be described as a different beast. "Especially joining U of Digital, which I'm exposed to a different variety of the industry than I was at MediaMonks," he quips. This wasn't just a career shift; it was like swapping a well-worn baseball glove for a set of quantum physics textbooks. U of Digital threw him into the deep end of the pool—except the
water was made of code and the pool was actually a think tank filled with every bleeding-edge tech shark in the industry.
In the swirling digital waters of U of Digital, Myles evolved from mere mortal to digital sage. MediaMonks had its charms, sure, but it was at U of Digital where he started slicing through industry hype with the precision of a samurai. Each day served up a fresh slice of the digital pie, and Myles, fork in hand, was ready to dissect it.
If Myles Younger’s career had a Tinder profile, it would read: "Serial entrepreneur, lover of all things digital, and occasionally falls in love with ideas over drinks." One balmy evening at a startup meetup proved to be the digital equivalent of a blind date with destiny. As Myles waded through a sea of wannabe unicorns and digital dreamers, the spark of entrepreneurship that had been smoldering within him found its oxygen. "I came
home I was just so excited... talking to people all night," he recalled. This wasn’t just networking; it was electric—like sticking a fork in a toaster and surviving to tell the tale.
This meetup wasn’t your average awkward mingle with cold coffee and stale donuts. No, this was the ad tech social event of the season, buzzing with the frenetic energy of Silicon Valley but without the pretentious posturing. Here, ideas weren’t just shared; they were volleyed back and
forth with the enthusiasm of a Steve Jobs keynote. For Myles, it was less about handing out business cards and more about collecting inspirations. Each conversation was a potential beta test, each handshake a merger of minds.
As the night unfolded, Myles’s journey into the heart of the entrepreneurial jungle deepened. He was no longer a bystander; he had skin in the game. The startup ecosystem, with its wild optimism and cutthroat competition, was both a
battlefield and a playground. Myles, armed with a fresh perspective and a business card that doubled as a boomerang, was ready to dive headfirst into the fray. If entrepreneurship was a cocktail, that night he drank it straight—no chaser.
Myles Younger's resume reads like a well-traveled GPS of the digital world, each destination etching a new line in his playbook. By the time he docked at U of Digital, his suitcase was packed
with mismatched socks of experience—each one vital, colorful, and slightly irreverent, just like him. At U of Digital, Myles whipped out this eclectic wardrobe of wisdom to tailor strategies that didn’t just fit the mold—they shattered it. His approach? Mix a little old-school B2B marketing with a splash of startup hustle, stir vigorously, and serve chilled. This concoction wasn’t just innovative; it was borderline revolutionary, turning traditional ad tech strategies on their heads and shaking
the pockets for loose change.
Transitioning to MediaMonks, imagine Myles stepping into a dojo where the art of digital persuasion was both preached and practiced. Here, he wasn't just a strategist; he was part apprentice, part sensei. "It was really educational to actually work for an agency," Myles noted, reflecting on his tenure amid the creative chaos that defines agency life. MediaMonks wasn’t just another notch on his belt; it was where he learned to dance in
the rain rather than just getting wet. The agency’s vibrant confluence of creativity and commerce acted as a high-octane fuel for Myles’s already fiery passion for digital mastery. At MediaMonks, the playbook was more than a guide—it was a living document, constantly rewritten with each campaign, each client, each click. Here, Myles honed his skills, sharpened his wit, and prepared for the next leap into the unknown, with his digital compass pointing ever towards innovation.
In the pixelated pressure cooker of ad tech, Myles Younger found his release in the literal pressure cookers of his kitchen. After a day spent juggling data and dodging digital dilemmas, the kitchen became his sanctuary, where the ingredients were tangible and the outcomes deliciously predictable. Cooking, for Myles, wasn't just about feeding the stomach but also about nourishing the soul—and refreshing the mind.
Crafting a complex media strategy, Myles discovered, wasn't so different from perfecting a beef bourguignon. Both required a deep understanding of the components—whether they be audience segments or aromatic herbs. Each ingredient needed to be added at just the right time, at the right temperature, to blend together into something greater than the sum of its parts. In strategy as in cuisine, timing is everything. A dash too late, and your campaign is as bland as overcooked pasta; a
sprinkle too soon, and your social media ads might simmer into obscurity.
As he diced onions, Myles would muse on slicing through market noise. Marinating meats mirrored the slow, necessary infusion of brand values into consumer consciousness. And just as a pinch of salt rescues a sauce, a well-timed tweet could save a campaign. In both arenas, Myles reveled in the creation process—mixing, refining, tasting, and sometimes starting all over again when the mix wasn’t
quite right. This wasn’t just cooking; it was a metaphor for his professional life, each meal a lesson in patience, precision, and a little bit of daring—much like the ever-evolving world of digital advertising.
If Myles Younger's career were a blockbuster film, his first boss would be the wise Yoda to his eager Luke Skywalker. Back in the early days, when marketing was more about mailers than memes, Myles’s first boss took him under her wing and showed him the
ropes of the marketing galaxy. This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill mentorship; it was a crash course in everything from crafting compelling campaigns to navigating the choppy waters of corporate politics. Under her tutelage, Myles didn’t just learn marketing—he absorbed it, like a sponge soaking up every drop of wisdom, wit, and occasional wine spill at office parties.
This mentor wasn’t about handing out fish; she was all about teaching Myles to bait his own hook.
She provided the foundational marketing education that transformed Myles from a greenhorn into a veritable Swiss Army knife of digital strategy. Her lessons ranged from the mundane to the monumental: how to finesse a finicky spreadsheet, how to sell a vision in a room full of skeptics, and most importantly, how to maintain sanity in an industry that often feels like a circus on fast-forward.
"I learned more in those early years
than in all the marketing textbooks combined," Myles reflects. Her hands-on approach meant Myles was in the trenches from day one, getting his hands dirty with real-world projects and absorbing the nuances of the trade. This wasn't just mentorship; it was a rite of passage. Myles’s career, forged in the fires of early mentorship, has been a testament to the power of having a guiding hand. The impact was profound and lasting, equipping him with the skills, confidence, and resilience to navigate
the ever-evolving ad tech landscape. And like any good mentor-mentee relationship, it left Myles with a story worth telling and a legacy worth continuing.
When it comes to digital advertising’s future, Myles Younger isn’t just peering through the looking glass—he’s smashing it to pieces and examining every shard. With the digital landscape evolving faster than a Kardashian’s social media feed, Myles warns that the path ahead is
fraught with both dazzling potential and treacherous pitfalls. "What you don't know in digital advertising will eat you alive," he says, painting a picture of an industry where ignorance isn’t just bliss—it’s a ticket to obsolescence.
In a world drowning in data, the risks of proliferation are as vast as the oceans of information we swim in daily. Myles sees the unchecked growth of data as both a boon and a bane. On one hand,
the treasure troves of user insights offer unprecedented opportunities for targeted, effective advertising. On the other, this deluge of data can lead to ethical quagmires that make the Bermuda Triangle look like a kiddie pool. The ad tech industry, he argues, must navigate these waters with the precision of a submarine captain avoiding depth charges.
Myles advocates for a future where ethical practices are not just an afterthought but the foundation of digital
advertising. This isn’t just about staying on the right side of history; it’s about building a sustainable future where trust and transparency aren’t sacrificed on the altar of quick profits. For Myles, the future of digital advertising hinges on the industry's ability to self-regulate and prioritize ethics over easy wins. It's a call to arms for ad tech professionals to be more than just data miners; they must become the stewards of a digital ecosystem that values integrity as much as
innovation. In this brave new world, what you don’t know won’t just eat you alive—it’ll redefine the very fabric of digital interaction.
Myles Younger’s odyssey through the chaotic cosmos of ad tech is nothing short of legendary. From his early B2B marketing escapades to his strategic wizardry at U of Digital, Myles has danced through the digital minefield with the grace of a tech-savvy Fred Astaire. His ability to pivot and adapt in an industry that changes faster
than a startup’s business model has made him a true maestro in the world of digital strategy.
Throughout our conversation, one thing became abundantly clear: Myles isn’t just playing the ad tech game—he’s rewriting the rules. His tenure at MediaMonks provided a fertile ground for growth, allowing him to soak up the intricacies of agency life and apply them with the precision of a master chef crafting a Michelin-star meal. His
insights on data proliferation and the necessity of ethical practices in tech aren’t just noteworthy—they’re game-changing. In a world awash with data, Myles stands as a lighthouse, guiding the industry towards a future where integrity and innovation go hand in hand.
As we tie a bow on this enlightening chat, it’s evident that Myles’s philosophy on life and learning extends beyond the office cubicle. “I’m always pondering how I can make more time and space in my
week for playing music or painting,” he muses, showcasing a commitment to creativity that fuels his professional genius. Myles Younger isn’t just a player in the digital arena—he’s a trailblazer, constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. In the ever-evolving saga of digital advertising, Myles remains a beacon of innovation, skillfully blending the art and science of the industry in his own inimitable style.
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