AI Marketing Strategies | NYC
Register by Jan 13 to save on passes and connect with marketers from Uber, Bose and more
The Barbarian Group COO Rick Webb has some tough words for Silicon Valley. He has little time for those arguing there isn’t a bubble right now in tech company valuations, zeroing in on those that have ad-dependent business models. For all that Silicon Valley companies lament the lack of tech savvy in the advertising, the opposite is clearly true. Webb makes that point clear:
Brands don’t actually want or need any more media channels. As far as they’re concerned, the internet can stop now. We have enough channels. We were happy when we had like seven (TV, print, outdoor, radio, in-store, direct and theater), got a little interested in the first few new ones. Urinals? Uh, okay. Banners? Interesting. Google? Yes. Groupon, Farmville, GroupMe? OKAY I AM GETTING TIRED NOW. Silicon Valley seems to think that advertising’s appetite for new media channels is unending. It is not.
Read more on The Barbarian Group blog. For a counterpoint, see angel investor Chris Dixon and venture capitalist Brad Feld.
Trending in
Most Read
More in Media
Media Briefing: Here’s what media execs are prioritizing in 2026
January 8, 2026
Media executives enter 2026 weathered by disruption, but refocused on AI revenue, brand strength and video and creator opportunities.
Why publishers are building their own creator networks
January 6, 2026
Publishers are forming creator networks to regain control, combat traffic declines, and reach audiences shifting toward influencers.
The accidental guardian: How Cloudflare’s Matthew Prince became publishing’s unexpected defender
January 5, 2026
Cloudflare’s day job is fending off botnets and nation-state cyberattacks, not debating how Google and other AI firms crawl publisher sites.