With Xandr gone, marketers turn to AI-enabled storytelling and raw data

Marketers are drowning in data but starving for insight. As platforms shift and AI takes center stage, success hinges on decoding data and turning metrics into meaning. The data itself isn’t the problem—translation is.Patricia Penachio Tanabe, Founder and Head of Marketing at Arbos Digital, pushes for a deeper, more client-centric approach to interpreting data. She reveals why marketers need to move past surface-level metrics and start telling stories that align with each client’s unique business reality.Numbers tell a narrative: The industry often fumbles the follow-through, Tanabe notes. “Everybody has the data, everybody can read the numbers, but they don’t know how to tell a story about it that is consistent with the business that they’re working with.” When marketers stop at metrics, they miss the chance to tie ad tech efforts to real-world client results.Lessons from complexity: Tanabe’s deep dive into platforms like Xandr underscored the lasting value of technical fluency. “Understanding how the platform worked in the back end made me a better marketer,” she says. That behind-the-scenes knowledge now helps her break down data in ways that actually serve client goals, especially as the industry navigates major shakeups like Xandr’s closure in favor of an AI-driven ad future.Friend, not foe: Tanabe believes that “you need to understand how to use AI. It’s not about using it for the sake of using it or ‘oh, let’s write an email and make it better’. It’s an amazing thing for us as marketers and data analysts and data scientists to save time, but you need to know how to use it.” Far from a threat, she views AI as a tool to streamline the grunt work, freeing up time for deeper analysis and more strategic, client-specific insights. Used well, it’s a way out of the walled gardens and into broader, more tailored solutions.No one-size-fits-all: Knowing the wider ad tech landscape is key to making data work for clients. Tanabe points to The Trade Desk’s 2025 transparency push, Yahoo’s ongoing evolution, and what she calls the “under the radar” power of Amazon Ads as shifts to watch.Tanabe calls for an industry-wide mindset shift. “It’s not one-size-fits-all,” she says. “Marketers should understand the data and what that means to the business they’re working with.” She zeroes in on the key question: “What does that data mean for your client? How does that work for their specific business needs?” It’s a shift from generic reporting to tailored insights that actually drive outcomes.While platforms readily provide data, marketers need to move past surface metrics and toward deeper business understanding. “The story is based on your understanding of the business and what’s been done on that platform,” explains Tanabe. That kind of tailored, client-specific insight is what will separate successful marketers from the rest.