#449 Smarter Ad Spend with AI: Zeke Camusio’s Attribution Playbook for Founders and CMOs

The CTO Show with Mehmet Gonullu

In this episode, Mehmet speaks with Zeke Camusio, founder of Data Speaks, an AI-powered platform helping marketers and founders finally solve the attribution puzzle. From cutting through vanity metrics to deploying machine learning for media mix modeling, Zeke shares a tactical playbook for maximizing return on every marketing dollar—without increasing ad spend.

Whether you’re a founder navigating early-stage growth or a CMO optimizing multimillion-dollar campaigns, this conversation offers powerful insights into how AI is transforming marketing efficiency.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• The two major attribution challenges most startups overlook

• Why traditional analytics tools like Google Analytics can mislead your strategy

• The difference between multi-touch attribution and media mix modeling

• How AI and machine learning bring clarity to messy marketing data

• What startup founders should know before scaling their ad budget

• How to optimize ROI across multiple channels—even with limited resources

• What to expect from the future of marketing in a cookie-less, AI-powered world

💡 What You’ll Learn

• Why attribution is broken—and how to fix it

• How to reduce waste in marketing spend

• How small businesses can access tools once limited to enterprise

• The strategic role of AI in marketing planning

• When to consider first-party tracking vs. third-party pixels

• How to think about incrementality in your campaigns

👤 About Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Data Speaks, an AI-powered analytics platform that helps companies identify what drives their sales and invest in the right marketing strategies.

With a background in economics and data science, Zeke has spent the last 20 years developing AI, machine learning and data analytics solutions, enabling hundreds of companies to make data-driven decisions and accelerate growth.

He is a frequent speaker at AI, machine learning, and digital marketing conferences and podcasts.

https://www.dataspeaks.ai/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zekecamusio/

⏱️ Episode Highlights & Timestamps

• [00:02:00] – Zeke’s background and journey from marketing agency to AI startup

• [00:06:00] – Common misconceptions about data-driven marketing

• [00:10:00] – Attribution breakdown: why last-click logic fails

• [00:13:00] – Explaining media mix modeling with real-world examples

• [00:17:00] – Where machine learning fits into attribution

• [00:20:00] – Why tracking individual users is no longer the best path

• [00:26:00] – Cost considerations: DIY vs. partnering with attribution experts

• [00:29:00] – Can we track traffic from ChatGPT and LLMs?

• [00:33:00] – Zeke’s prediction: AI agents as decision-making assistants

• [00:36:00] – Final advice for founders and marketing leaders