In extended downturns where criticism is widespread, companies must actively shape the narrative rather than ignore it. Address credible criticism directly, anchor messaging in one clear strength, and tell a compelling story about the future you’re leading.

Adtech investor and entrepreneur Eric Franchi is joining Sharp Pen as an advisor to spread the executive evangelism approach to communications and catalyze Sharp Pen's growth in adtech and martech.

Travis Kalanick’s return is a reminder that the companies that shape perception are the ones that control their narrative, build visibility early, and anchor their story in something much bigger than their product.

When adtech CEOs speak publicly, the goal should be to define the future of advertising and position their company as the leader taking the industry there. The effectiveness of any executive communication ultimately comes down to the strength and clarity of the narrative behind it.

Adtech’s public market slump is about a missing story. The companies defining the AI era will be the ones bold enough to articulate where advertising is going and why they’re uniquely built to lead it.

Executive evangelism is about more than posting on LinkedIn. It’s about building a narrative, owning a topic your customers care deeply about, and consistently showing up across channels until you become the authoritative voice in your space. Here’s how to do it.

A strong adtech website answers three questions: what you do and for whom, how you’re different, and why it matters right now.

The case for executive evangelism goes beyond the practicalities of marketing. Executive evangelism is merely the logical response to the dominant paradigm of modern media, which is the shift from institutions to individuals.

There’s no secret to building a B2B brand on social: the companies that win pick a clear north star, teach their audience, and show up with unusual consistency long after others lose interest. If you’re willing to repeat yourself, engage publicly, and commit to the work, social can become one of the most capital-efficient ways to build a durable B2B brand.

If you think of your blog as a place where people go, you’ll likely be disappointed. If you think of it as a place where your company’s ideas live — fuel for social posts, sales enablement, search and AI answer engines, and buyer research — it becomes a valuable strategic marketing asset.

Ads are not at tension with generative AI; better ads are consistent with it. OpenAI should own that message instead of running away from it.

I’ve spoken with hundreds of CEOs about communications, and the same questions come up again and again. If you’ve hired a PR agency, you’ve probably wondered about these same points. Here are my answers.

Most companies mishandle competitor messaging by being too vague, naming abstract problems instead of clearly identifying the actors and behaviors holding customers back. The right approach is to integrate competitors into a hero-vs-villain narrative — usually as a group, and sometimes by name when punching up — to create clarity, differentiation, and momentum.

Pinterest’s acquisition of tvScientific validates performance TV as a category and signals a major shift toward making TV measurable, optimizable, and fully connected to search and social at massive scale. It’s a win for advertisers, TV publishers, independent adtech — and a clear reminder that sustained CEO evangelism around a single big idea can materially shape outcomes.

Palantir’s Alex Karp shows why the most effective 2025 marketing strategy is a CEO who publicly evangelizes a high-stakes, idea-driven narrative that people want to follow. Any CEO can follow this approach by developing a provocative story, choosing a few core content pillars, and showing up consistently on social to create momentum.

Success isn’t a matter of luck. It’s the cumulative result of years of deliberate action, drive, and putting yourself in the right places. The same is true of marketing. If you want more awareness, trust, and pipeline, don’t wait for fortune to find you. Become your own evangelist and manufacture your own luck.

PubMatic has a compelling, well-structured AI narrative spanning infrastructure, applications, and agentic transactions, but the company could improve its impact by adopting a modern distribution strategy. With consistent executive-led storytelling across social, email, audio, and the press, PubMatic could reshape industry perception and unlock significant upside.

PR only feels unpredictable when you treat it as random stunts, but with the right structure, it becomes systematic and compounding. This framework shows CEOs how to organize PR into clear buckets, repeatable story types, and the core assets required to generate consistent, business-driving attention.

Viant’s latest earnings call was a case study in clear, memorable messaging — centered on three differentiators, customer wins, and a bold vision for the industry’s future. The takeaway for other adtech leaders: focus on three repeatable proof points, make the customer the hero, and connect your story to where the market is headed.

CEOs shouldn’t respond to every critic — only those with substantial audiences who are engaging in good faith and repeating a common criticism. When CEOs do engage, they should use authentic language, acknowledge mistakes briefly, make one clear point, and show the human complexity behind leadership. Sam Altman’s recent X reply illustrates this approach.