There’s A Meta Diaspora Building The Fastest-Growing Ad Platforms

Ex-Meta employees are spreading out across the ad ecosystem, and they are taking roost in new trees. If you look at both the senior leadership and the rank and file of OpenAI, TikTok, Amazon Ads, Roku and more, you’ll find many Meta alums. I wrote about this trend in AdExchanger this week, so, on this week’s podcast, our managing editor, Anthony Vargas, interviews me about the reporting that went into the piece and what the future holds now that Meta employees have spread far and wide. Here’s some of what we get into: - Which Meta ad platform features rivals are copying – and where platforms are going beyond just reverse engineering Meta’s best features. - Why OpenAI is a top landing pad for ex-Meta talent, with a platform that’s closely mirroring Meta’s most in-demand features. - How Amazon Ads fits into this trend and how its years-ago hiring spree from independent ad tech shaped the commerce and video ad platform. - TikTok’s ambition to build not just in-feed video ads that rival Meta but a fully diversified commerce platform and influencer network - CTVs are looking to Meta as they build SMB-friendly, self-serve ad platforms for regional carpet kings and direct-to-consumer brands. - The reason Meta talent is fleeing, as employees face uncertainty, layoffs and low morale. As the talent that built and sold Meta’s ad platforms moves on, they still retain the mindset and institutional knowledge learned at the ad giant. And given enough time, Meta may find itself facing new challengers trained on the same playbook it wrote.