1. What attracted you to Nift at this stage in your career and what excites you most about joining as the company’s first Chief Revenue Officer?

Over my career, I’ve worked on all sides of the advertising equation and at companies at every stage of growth, from early stage to IPO to acquisition to Fortune 500. I was on the buy side at TubeMogul/Adobe, the sell side at Chartboost, and the publisher side at Gopuff and Block, where my focus was building and leading revenue and partnership teams. During my time at Block, Nift was a partner of ours for three years, so I’ve seen firsthand how the model drives strong revenue while prioritizing the customer experience. I was also able to get to know Elery Pfeffer, Nift’s founder and CEO, very well while working with him as a client, and I’m thrilled to join Nift now because we share a clear view of both the market opportunity in front of us and the best way to accelerate Nift’s growth.

The timing is also perfect for me to step into the CRO role because commerce media is at an inflection point. The primary challenge most revenue owners face today is monetizing CMN inventory while still offering personalized customer experiences. Brands and commerce platforms are both rethinking how to connect with consumers in ways that feel more contextually relevant and native. Nift is addressing this challenge by prioritizing the customer experience while unlocking revenue. The company is positioned to see explosive growth by solving commerce platforms’ ad challenges, and I’m excited to help achieve that.

2. In your view, how does Nift’s model differ from the retail media playbook and why do you see it as especially well-suited for fintech and other consumer-facing platforms?

Our two-sided ad marketplace, which connects commerce platforms to advertisers and brands to new customers, solves the problem of intrusive ads for consumers, platforms and brands alike.

Consumers are annoyed by traditional retail media formats like sponsored search, banner ads and sponsored product ads because they interrupt the digital experience. Commerce platforms want monetization opportunities that enhance their customer experience. And brands are looking for cost-efficient ways to reach and convert new customers.

Nift addresses the pain points of all three groups by creating positive customer moments through relevant gifting. Commerce platforms partner with us to unlock passive revenue by showing appreciation to their customers and DTC, midmarket and enterprise brands and subscription companies join our platform to efficiently lower their CACs.

Also, Nift works across all verticals, including fitness, travel, utilities and others, not just retail. And because it enables consumer-facing platforms to generate revenue without compromising the experience, it’s a particularly good fit for fintech companies like Block, Klarna and Zip, where trust and the customer experience are at the heart of the business model.

3. How do you see collaborations such as the one with Klarna shaping the broader industry’s approach to integrating ad inventory into customer experiences?

Our partnership with Klarna serves as proof of concept on multiple levels. It shows that gifting drives customer loyalty for our partners that operate consumer-facing platforms as well as brand engagement. It’s also a great example of how major fintech players are moving away from interruptive ads and toward experience-first models. In addition, it provides a framework other consumer platforms can replicate to integrate advertising in a way that’s authentic to their brand. And finally, it demonstrates how the right advertising approach can strengthen rather than strain customer relationships.

4. You’ve led advertising partnerships at companies ranging from startups to IPOs. What lessons from your time at Block, Gopuff and TubeMogul (which was acquired by Adobe) will you bring to Nift as it scales its revenue and partnerships?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you always have to start by understanding the customer’s problem and focus on solving that. I’ve also learned how valuable it is to blend technology and sales in the right way to move faster. Developing real human relationships and knowing when teams need to rely on human expertise instead of digital tools are key, too.

I’ve also learned the importance of building a strong team and a great work culture. As a leader, I aim for a high “do-say ratio,” meaning people keep their word when they say they’ll do something. Experience has also taught me how valuable it is to hire adaptable team players who can move fast and learn quickly. People with those qualities are crucial to the growth of any business.

5. Can you share how AI is being applied to personalize experiences and generate incremental revenue for partners?

Nifts are thank-you gifts introducing customers to new brands and products that are relevant to them based on their history and interests. We use AI to align brand gift offers with each recipient’s preferences and behavior. Matching a customer with offers personally tailored to them drives higher engagement, and our brand partners are seeing conversion rates of up to 40%, versus 1%–3% for traditional digital ads.

We also use machine learning to identify the best moments for our partners to present a gift. Nifts can be delivered at nearly 20 different customer moments, including post-purchase, not just at checkout. For example, a partner might present a Nift to thank a customer for downloading an app, making an on-time payment or leaving a review. Partners can even offer a Nift to acknowledge a customer’s birthday or anniversary. The technology helps identify the best time and context to present the offer. Our AI also enables seamless integration into customer journeys. Nifts can be integrated into email, SMS or in-app or in-store experiences.

6. What do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges for commerce media over the next 2–3 years and how does Nift plan to stay ahead of the curve?

Commerce media is quickly expanding beyond retail into other verticals, like fintech, travel, lifestyle and gaming, so there’s a big opportunity for us over the next few years as the market broadens. We’re seeing a shift toward advertising that enhances rather than interrupts the customer journey and an increased focus on performance, with companies looking to drive measurable, attributable revenue.

As more players enter the commerce media space, differentiation will become harder. But the biggest challenge will still be balancing integrations that feel fully native with authentic customer experiences that don’t feel intrusive. Think about a financial services company that presents a non-endemic banner or video ad on its platform. The ad disrupts the experience and annoys the customer. The company can avoid that, and add value to the experience instead, by presenting an offer that acknowledges and rewards the customer for a specific action, like making a second on-time payment or opening a new account.

Nift is focused on staying ahead by being a first mover into new categories, like we are in fintech, where our recent partner launches include Klarna and Zip. We also let platforms connect with customers at multiple touchpoints, not just during the transaction, so offers are well-timed and delivered through the right channel for each customer. And we’ll continue to lead with proof of results, focusing on the outcomes while ensuring the consumer experience is repeatable.

7. How do you see Nift’s growth impacting consumer loyalty and brand engagement in the long run and what role do partnerships play in scaling that impact?

Nift is building the foundation to become a primary channel for brand discovery by 2026, giving platforms a way to deliver relevant, well-timed offers to customers. Our growing partner ecosystem will be key to scaling that impact, especially as we expand internationally. Strategic partnerships with platforms that are leaders in their industry drive credibility for our solution, expand our distribution and create network effects where every new platform and brand increases the value for all participants.

1. Having represented media brands and publishers from the magazine era to marketing agencies and content creators today, how has the evolution of the media space shaped the way you approach PR?

We have always followed a top-down public relations strategy, with a focus on national media outlets in television, radio, and print, as well as industry outlets in the B2B space. But as the media landscape expanded and fragmented across digital channels, new opportunities for coverage emerged. This shift encouraged a “more is more” approach, as national media hits began to have shorter life spans. At the same time, coverage—whether national or regional—now lives on beyond its initial run, shared and amplified across digital channels, newsletters, and social media, giving a lasting presence and enduring shelf life. The evolution continues to take shape. Podcasts and Substack writers have expanded the media universe again, and our strategy has adapted to actively target these emerging platforms.

2. For media brands, publishers, content creators and marketing agencies, what are the key ingredients of a successful PR strategy?
First and foremost, companies in the media and marketing space must execute a solid thought leadership campaign. Be willing to comment on timely topics—and say something different from everybody else. That’s how you stand out, and how you demonstrate true thought leadership. After all, what’s the point in commenting if you’re simply saying what everybody else is saying? Media industry leaders must be ready and poised to create their own content via newsletters, bylined articles and blog posts, as well as manage a robust LinkedIn presence. Staying front and center is key, and being viewed as a thought leader in your field of expertise will keep you ahead of the competition. Further, consistency is critical; a one-off effort isn’t going to achieve the same impact as a sustained, long-term campaign.

Beyond that, availability and responsiveness are also critical. In a marketing and media landscape where everything moves so quickly—major announcements, brand controversies and industry shake-ups included—you want to earn the reputation with reporters and producers as a trusted source who can reliably deliver quick, insightful commentary on a tight deadline. A strong PR partner will pave the way to building that rapport with key media contacts.


3. Over the years, the lines between PR, marketing, and digital have blurred. How has this convergence reshaped client expectations and the role of PR firms?

The lines between PR, marketing, and digital have always overlapped, but today the role of PR agencies has clearly expanded. Agencies are now expected to manage comprehensive content strategies as an integral part of campaigns—developing website copy, articles, blog posts, email newsletters, and even coordinating events. Increasingly, they’re also tasked with running social media campaigns. While this may appear to be a natural extension of PR, in practice social media campaigns require a different set of skills, with greater emphasis on design, agility, timeliness and cultural sensibility. Throughout the years, I’ve always found the evolution of our industry exciting and invigorating, and today is no different.


4. You’ve compared the rise of AI to the early days of Google. Can you expand on that comparison?

In the early years of Google, it became evident that articles and backlinks from authoritative domains significantly influenced search rankings, often determining whether a brand appeared on the first page of results. As a result, media coverage became an essential component of SEO strategies. This dynamic persists in the current era of artificial intelligence. Brands, marketers and PR practitioners are learning to navigate and leverage AI tools in a way that benefits their businesses. Like we’ve seen with SEO, positive press drives website visits and overall brand presence. However, negative press can also wreak havoc on search results, living in full view online for years. Media coverage continues to play a central role in shaping how companies surface in searches, underscoring the enduring importance of digital strategy. We, as PR professionals, must be nimble and adapt to meet our clients' needs in a world that is continually advancing in technology.


5. How should agencies balance the use of data-driven tools with the need for creativity, relationships, and storytelling?

Let’s start with storytelling. That is the most effective tool in the arsenal. Creativity and relationships are a close second, and the data-driven tools should be used for polish and efficiency. There are no shortcuts; you cannot circumvent creativity. However, it is important to embrace new technology and leverage it accordingly. Effective ways to use AI include:

• Embrace it like a highly customizable tool, or even a co-worker—not a crutch.
• Bounce ideas off ChatGPT; ask questions, ask follow-up questions.
• Give feedback so it knows why you chose the response you did over the other ones.
• Use it for ideation, format suggestions and design concepts, but not as a substitute for judgment and critical thinking.
• Aim to think of yourself as an artist and a scientist; if you struggle to find that balance, collaborate with a coworker whose strengths complement your own.


6. Many marketing and technology brands are competing for visibility and credibility. What advice would you give them to stand out in today’s marketplace?

Where do I begin? First and foremost, standing out requires a commitment to a long-term plan. Understand that visibility is not achieved through a single quick fix or isolated success. It is not just the iconic New York Times profile, the AP feature, the high-profile podcast appearance, or the viral social media post. Nor is it only the bylined article in The Wall Street Journal or the CNBC appearance. True impact comes from the cumulative effect of all these efforts. Consistency is essential. Much like cultivating a thriving plant, a PR campaign must be nurtured over time to remain vibrant and top of mind.

If I were advising the OG technology leaders (aka Mark, Elon, Jeff), I would advise them to tone down the decadence and up the empathy factor. Leverage your resources to organize worldwide volunteer efforts for good or build housing for homeless people in distressed areas. Put your talent and resources to good work, and the public would be happy for you to boast about it. Think of other iconic leaders that we admire, such as Lady Diana, who went into minefields; Warren Buffett, who committed to giving most of his money away; and Oprah, who literally built schools for girls in Africa.

More realistically, for non-household name technology and marketing brand leaders, it is important to take a stand and be authentic. People crave authenticity. We would also recommend creating and owning an event that showcases your company’s unique strengths on a broader stage and exists separately from the day-to-day business. Another powerful tactic is to revive the pre-dot-com tradition of meetups. They foster community, build brand equity, and deliver real value. Plus, they are fun.

Marketers today are surrounded by siloed, disconnected, and unusable data and struggle to convert it into smart decisions fast enough. We built MADTECH.AI to bridge that gap and make AI-powered marketing decision intelligence (MDI) usable for all. It is increasingly clear that “Speed to Value” is becoming essential because leadership demands measurable results with a minimum of waste. Our mission is to simplify marketing analytics complexity so marketers can act with confidence and make a positive impact.

Your platform is “purpose-built by organization type and user role.” Can you explain how this approach simplifies complexity for both B2C and B2B marketers?

A retail marketer, a B2B strategist, and a CMO all need vastly different signals. Our platform is designed to deliver tailored insights by role and organization type, so users see only what matters most to them. This eliminates noise and reduces the time spent digging through irrelevant data. The result is faster, more accurate decision-making across the board.

You talk about making insights “accessible to all.” Why is democratizing data and analytics so important for the industry right now?

Data silos and reliance on technical specialists often slow down smart decision-making. By democratizing access to data and insights, we empower everyone so they can use data confidently. This creates a culture of agility and alignment across the organization. In an industry moving at high speed, accessibility is the foundation for innovation and growth.

For emerging brands or agencies with leaner resources, how does the platform help level the playing field?

Smaller teams often lack the budgets or talent pools of larger enterprises. We provide them with pre-built models, automated pipelines, and AI-driven recommendations that are ready to use. This allows lean teams to unlock enterprise-grade marketing decision intelligence without the overhead. In practice, it means they can compete on equal terms with bigger players.

Where do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation in MarTech + AdTech over the next five years?

The next leap is AI-based Marketing Decision Intelligence. This is deeply data-connected AI that not only reports activity and performance, but also predicts and recommends actions in real time. We’ll also see stronger convergence of MarTech and AdTech, driving unified cross-channel and cross-platform customer journeys. Privacy-first personalization will shape how brands engage with audiences. Together, these trends will redefine speed, precision, and effectiveness in marketing.

What advice would you give to marketing leaders who want to become more data-driven but feel overwhelmed by complexity?

Start by focusing on one or two areas where data analytics can deliver a visible impact quickly. Small wins delivered quickly build confidence and momentum for broader adoption. Choose platforms that remove complexity and make insights easy to use. Most importantly, foster a culture where sharper, smarter, faster decisions, and not just descriptive dashboards and scorecards, define being “data-driven”.

What is your perspective on the value of a well-crafted press release?

Every company across the technology ecosystem — from vendors to channel and go-to-market partners to end user organizations — needs to make announcements in order to broadcast growth and support their corporate initiatives.

Press releases have traditionally been the main communication vehicle for making formal corporate announcements. However, today there are many other valuable communication channels to also consider.

Press releases should be targeted at not only at journalists, but also at customers, partners, investors, analysts and even employees.

An impactful press release campaign should deliver not only influential news coverage and follow-up interview opportunities, but also create meaningful business development and sales momentum.

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, where do press releases fit into a broader communications strategy?

The quick answer is that press releases are an integral part of any corporate communications plan and one of many communication channels that should be utilized.

From our experience, press releases are a good fit for formal corporate announcements, such as the availability of new products and services, the signing of agreements with customers and partners or the completion of other similar company achievements and milestones.

However, not every company announcement requires a press release.

Examples include welcoming new staff, highlighting recent press or analyst coverage, promoting company events and even sharing a holiday greeting.

Each of these examples can be considered a company announcement and the campaigns to support these types of announcements usually revolve around LinkedIn and other social media posts, web site content and email-based outreach.

For these types of announcements, a press release offers no added value and would actually be inappropriate.

What strategic purpose do press releases serve when compared with more immediate channels like social media?

Every company announcement needs to be supported by a carefully planned and executed campaign. This applies to both formal corporate announcements that revolve around the distribution of a press release and casual company updates shared on social media.

At the base of each campaign is a set of marketing assets, including the content, possibly quotes from internal and external sources, and supporting images. Other elements of a successful announcement campaign include effective distribution to and engagement with target audiences.

Press releases, social media posts and direct emails are common examples of distribution channels, while journalist outreach is a typical example of engagement with a target audience.

How much weight do journalists still place on press releases as an information source?

The truth is that journalists are inundated with press releases and pitches from technology vendors on a daily basis. Journalists are more responsive to announcements that are well-written and outreach that is easy to understand. At the same time, journalists are quickly turned off by announcements that overuse marketing superlatives.

What separates a press release that gets traction from one that simply creates background noise?

A meaningful press release allows the reader — whether a journalist, sales channel partner, potential customer or investor — to quickly understand what is being announced and the benefits or strategic importance of the announcement.

 A quote from external sources, such as a customer, analyst and other relevant third party, always adds significant value to a press release.

Our advice is that the structure and content of a press release should be straightforward and easy-to-understand. Alternatively, press releases that contain too many marketing superlatives and lack a logical flow of information will not generate the intended responses.

You mentioned that the audience for press releases has expanded. Are you seeing tech vendors tailor them more toward media, investors or potential partners?

Press releases and other types of announcements are opportunities for companies to facilitate engagements with the important players in their markets and support their corporate initiatives.

An impactful press release — one that is well written and properly distributed — can lead to influential news coverage and attractive follow-up interview opportunities.

We also see that emerging technology vendors also use their press release announcements to facilitate interactions with potential and existing investors.

Similarly, the sales channel partners we work with around the world rely on the press releases and other company announcements of our technology vendor clients. These business partners — many of which are system integration firms, value added resellers and managed service providers — always tell us that they use these announcements to engage with their potential end user customers and move forward the sales opportunities they are pursuing in their local markets.

What role should distribution play in maximizing a press release’s visibility?

Press releases are much more than just the page and a half of text describing a company announcement. Finalizing the content of an announcement is in fact just the middle point of the overall press release campaign.

Good press release distribution can lead to influential news coverage and important follow up interview opportunities. For this to happen, there needs to be an effective outreach to relevant journalists well before the press release is distributed. 

Good press release distribution can also generate valuable business development and sales momentum. In addition to journalists, a company should also send its press releases to its customers — both existing and potential — as well as its sales channel and technology ecosystem partners. This outreach can trigger new business opportunities and move forward sales opportunities that are in process.

Beyond media coverage, what impact can a consistent press release program have on sales and business development initiatives?

A press release is an excellent opportunity for a technology vendor to interact with its network of customers, partners and investors.

Formal briefings or casual conversations can be scheduled with customers, sales channel partners and technology ecosystem partners to introduce the topic of each press release. For example, for a press release announcing a new product or technological capability, demonstrations can be scheduled with customers and partners as part of ongoing account management activities.

This type of ongoing initiative with each press release can generate new business opportunities, move forward sales opportunities in process and even wake up sales processes that have gone dormant.

This area of business development and sales promotion is unfortunately often overlooked by the marketing staff responsible for press releases and is a missed opportunity.

As communications continue to evolve, what does the future hold for press releases?

Press releases will always be relevant, especially for formal company announcements.

There of course will be additional channels to consider that will also add value to the communication and distribution of company announcements.

Companies that invest the right resources to correctly write and distribute press releases can turn these company announcements into powerful campaigns that support not only marketing, but also sales and business development.

1. How do you see organizations leveraging video formats (e.g., behind-the-scenes) to build trust with Gen Z and Millennial audiences?  

Video has evolved beyond a digital marketing tool to become a powerful force for human connection, especially among Gen Z and Millennial audiences. Social video is less about persuasion, as one might see with traditional advertising, and is more about entertaining and informing users: as iStock’s global research platform, VisualGPS, found, about half of Millennials (45%) and Gen Z (50%) say they use video‑first platforms for entertainment. Additionally, the VisualGPS research shows that 31% of people globally seek out videos on social media for inspiration and to learn something new. With these insights in mind, brands and SMBs should focus on video content that adds value to people’s lives to build interest in their brand by teaching viewers something new or sharing a personal story.

A staggering 98% of people say they value authenticity in the visuals they consume, which is one reason that behind-the-scenes content is becoming such a popular (and powerful) format. At a time when audiences are deeply skeptical of content they encounter online, video content that humanizes a business and comes from a place of authenticity is more likely to foster trust. To do so, businesses are adopting popular social video formats that mirror the content users are already looking for.

For example, a local bakery might work with one of their employees to create a “day in my life” video – a common lifestyle video format – to showcase the bakery from a behind-the-scenes perspective while giving audiences a personality to connect with. Meanwhile, a beauty brand might debut a new line of products with a “get ready with me” (GRWM) video–a format that is as much a vehicle for powerful personal storytelling as it is for showing the look and feel of a product. Our research shows that video-led personal journeys inspire empathy and engagement, and these first-person, narrative-focused formats are deeply compelling while fairly simple to produce 

All this to say, many small businesses don’t have the time or resources to produce 100% of their own content. They may also want to include visuals they can’t capture locally, or represent more diverse identities in their videos. To solve this, small businesses are utilizing stock footage to augment their video content. The right pre-shot imagery and footage can evoke a certain mood, heighten the impact of their message, and allow more audience groups to see themselves reflected in a brand’s content.

Overall, a combination of stock footage, smartphone video, and user-generated content will help brands and businesses to strike that coveted balance between authenticity and polish. 

2. Which platforms are brands prioritizing in their video distribution strategy (e.g. Instagram, YouTube), and how do they adapt content formats to meet each platform's expectations? 

Brands are going where their audiences are going. Which social platforms they target will vary depending on which audiences that brands want to engage, where their brand social accounts already have a strong presence, and where they hope to grow. From there, brands are creating video content in line with the expectations of users on a certain platform. For example, TikTok content might play to a trending format or make use of a viral audio file to increase discoverability, while YouTube videos could be tailored for more intentional, appointment-style viewing.

A major trend of note is long-form content, which is gaining widespread popularity across platforms. It’s a shift that defies the reality of our shrinking attention spans and speaks to consumers’ appetite for valuable, authentic content. This is not to say that every brand should be churning out hours of video entertainment. Rather, the growth of long-form video gives brands more time and freedom to tell their stories.

3. How effectively does video content reflect a brand’s personality—whether fun, premium, or purpose-driven?

If every piece of content is an opportunity to create a personal connection with a potential customer, then it’s best to portray your brand honestly and authentically. In engaging today’s consumers, personality and credibility go hand-in-hand. Video content that effectively showcases a brand’s personality is content that focuses on who the brand is, not just what it sells or how it operates.

Brands should also account for industry-specific nuances when creating content that expresses their personality. For example, health and wellness brands might consider showing how their products and services improve the lives of everyday people, rather than leveraging paid influencers, as 81% of people prefer to see real individuals actively improving their well‑being over aspirational imagery. Even sleeker, more “premium” brands can humanize their content by showing the passion and care that goes into the work. It’s all about leaning into personality in a way that compels audiences, but also feels truthful.

4. Are SMBs using video to demonstrate products (e.g., unboxings, tutorials, testimonials) in ways that reduce buyer friction and increase conversions?

According to VisualGPS, 72% of consumers prefer video for product demonstrations, making them a crucial way for SMBs to help audiences understand their product and make informed purchasing decisions. Video allows for a 360-degree view that static online shopping doesn’t offer, as well as the injection of customer testimony or expert commentary from the seller. The more questions a business can answer about how their products look, feel, and function, the more likely they are to convert.

Fortunately for small businesses, these kinds of videos are not excessively expensive to produce, and audiences will value the authentic, realistic look at the product. These videos also offer another chance for SMBs to show off their personality, building further trust and amplifying the chance of conversion. 

5. How do you quantify the impact of video storytelling on long-term customer loyalty and brand trust?

Our ongoing VisualGPS research looks at consumer sentiment over time, and our latest video insights reveal that approachable content told through diverse, creative formats are what resonate most with consumers, building loyalty and trust.

As for quantifying the impact of an individual campaign, each brand has its own specific metrics that matter most, but video content has been expressly linked to higher conversion rates, social engagement rates and improved SEO. SMBs and brands can also use UTMs to see if videos are driving web traffic and monitor for an uptick in product reviews, location check-ins, and social mentions.

And it’s not just quantity that matters: when posting visuals on social media, comments and direct messages from audiences can be valuable sources of qualitative feedback to help SMBs determine whether their video campaigns are resonating.

6. How are you preparing your teams to scale video storytelling as part of a broader digital engagement strategy in a “video-first” environment?

Video content has been a core part of our offering at iStock, and we work with our content creators to produce compelling clips and footage that can be used for just about any project, whether it's for social media, paid ads, websites or digital banners. Creating and scaling original content, especially high-quality video content, can be cost-prohibitive for SMBs; stock footage enables businesses to create varied, personalized and more creative videos to engage a wider variety of audiences. With the variety of dynamic video options available to today’s businesses, it’s easy for them to find something that feels like a true fit for their brand and the story they’re trying to tell.

Scrolling and watching videos online is how so many people fill the downtime in their days, so brands and businesses want to enter these spaces without being invasive and overly advertorial. Video content that models what users are already seeking, while coming from a place of honesty and authenticity, is the ideal way in.

The secret to scaling storytelling is to mobilize your teams as storytellers. It’s important to look at the metrics and understand which content attracts which audiences, but the human element is what truly unlocks scalability without requiring a massive budget. Audiences have a keen sensibility for what’s real and what isn’t, and the best way to keep them engaged is through storytelling that feels honest.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

When it comes to combating subscriber churn, nurturing long-term relationships is the key. Today, we sat down with Gilles Domartini, CEO and Founder of Cleeng, a subscriber retention management (SRM®) company to discuss strategies that can strengthen the subscriber engagement lifecycle and activate personalized, real-time approaches that can convert passive users into loyal subscribers.

1. You’ve described Cleeng as a “Subscriber Retention Management” company. How does that differ from traditional subscription platforms?

A Subscriber Retention Management (SRM®) system takes a more strategic approach to keeping subscribers engaged, reducing churn, and maximizing lifetime value. Our SRM® suite helps traditional subscription services optimize retention by leveraging data-driven insights, ensuring payment reliability, and providing robust customer support.

For example, our customers include traditional subscription platforms such as Univision, Volleyball World and Newsmax. By leveraging Cleeng, Newsmax gained over 150,000 paying subscribers within the first month and retained over 85% of those subscribers as part of the launch of Newsmax+, their OTT service that provides access to Newsmax for those without traditional cable subscriptions.

2. Can you share an example of how a small change in personalization led to a big impact on engagement or retention?

One example that comes to mind is our most recent work with Skyship Entertainment and how a simple change of streamlining their billing process to meet the demand for multi-channel offerings, led to impactful subscriber growth.

Skyship Entertainment is the company behind Super Simple Songs, one of the world’s most trusted educational brands for preschoolers, with 47 million Youtube subscribers. With an audience spanning millions of families worldwide, they wanted to scale their reach even further and offer a more premium, ad-free experience that children could use independently, with content parents could trust.

Specifically, parents wanted the ease and freedom to subscribe once and access the service across multiple devices, whether on iOS, Android, or Amazon tablets. By leveraging our multichannel billing solution, they were able to create a unified multi-channel experience, without making the experience complex for subscribers.

Over the past year alone, the platform’s subscriber base has grown by more than 140%, driven organically, by improving the onboarding flow, having seamless cross-device access, and increasing awareness through YouTube.

3. What’s one underrated metric companies should track more closely when it comes to churn prevention?

One underrated metric that companies should pay closer attention to is Time-to-Convert: the duration between when a user signs up and when they actually start a paid subscription.

While it happens at the very beginning of the customer journey, it can be a strong indicator of future churn risk. A long time-to-convert often signals friction in the onboarding process, a lack of perceived value early on, or hesitancy to commit. These are factors that can lead to weaker engagement and, ultimately, higher churn. Tracking this metric can help teams identify and address conversion bottlenecks before they turn into retention problems.

Yet, there are many more KPIs to succeed, like winback rate, cancellation rate, upgrade/downgrade, LTV. That’s the benefit of having a platform like Cleeng that helps you easily monitor those.

4. What are some UX mistakes you see platforms make that unintentionally drive users to churn?

One of the most common UX mistakes I see is not being transparent enough about trial periods and billing. When users aren’t sure when they’ll be charged or how to cancel, it creates mistrust and often leads to churn right after a free trial ends. A 65%+ conversion from free to paid is typically a good benchmark.

Another issue is making it difficult for subscribers to access their content across devices. If logging in or switching between devices isn’t seamless, users get frustrated and may give up on the service altogether. Nowadays, the web only accounts for 40% of connections (may vary substantially), and the vast majority of people connect on multiple devices.

But perhaps the most overlooked mistake is failing to support users when a payment fails. It represents between 30% to 50% of all churn. Many people churn involuntarily because their payment didn’t go through, not because they wanted to leave. If the platform doesn’t make it easy to resolve payment issues, you lose customers who actually intended to stay. Focusing on transparency, smooth access, and proactive payment support can make a real difference in keeping subscribers engaged.

5. How do you identify the “right moment” to deliver a specific message to a subscriber?

With D2C subscription models, brands are able to collect a significant amount of data from its subscribers, however the challenge that many of them face is efficiently extracting insights from the data and leveraging them to make impactful decisions. These data-driven decisions are crucial to identify that “right moment” to deliver messages to subscribers in order to stay competitive, maximize customer lifetime value.

Advanced AI tools can be beneficial to help streamline this process. With our ChurnIQ AI-ssistant, we help brands get precise answers from their data without the need for deep analytic expertise, which can be both costly and time consuming. Brands can leverage AI-ssistant by asking simple prompts, which will then quickly generate data visualizations, and uncover hidden trends and patterns from their subscriber dataset. These insights can then be used to send those specific messages, uplevel retention strategies, adapt to evolving customer needs and enhance user experiences.

6. If you could give one piece of advice to D2C leaders trying to improve retention, what would it be?

If I could offer one piece of advice to D2C leaders focused on improving retention, it would be to treat retention as a core discipline, not just a byproduct of great content. Retention success requires more than reactive strategies; it depends on having the right infrastructure to support seamless subscriber experiences across billing, offers, payments, customer care, and data analytics.

Too often, platforms rely on fragmented tools or internal builds that are hard to scale or adapt to changing needs. Instead, it's worth investing in solutions that are purpose-built for subscriber businesses. These should offer automation, actionable insights, and the flexibility to support multiple models such as subscriptions, pay-per-view, or seasonal passes.

What sets the most resilient platforms apart is their ability to respond quickly to churn signals, optimize the right levers, and experiment without being held back by complex systems or limited resources. In a competitive and fast-moving landscape, adaptability and operational precision are essential for long-term retention and growth.

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