Seedtag CEO Brian Gleason Outlines Neuro-Contextual Advertising Vision and Global Expansion Strategy

Brian Gleason, recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of Seedtag, is steering the global leader in neuro-contextual advertising through a period of significant expansion and technological innovation. Gleason brings decades of experience from previous leadership roles at Criteo and GroupM, where he helped build commerce media strategies and scale global businesses. His transition to Seedtag represents what he describes as an even bigger opportunity to redefine advertising by making it more human, sustainable, and effective.

What distinguishes Seedtag in the competitive ad tech landscape is its neuro-contextual advertising approach powered by the company's proprietary AI platform, Liz. Unlike traditional contextual methods that rely on keyword matching or predefined categories, neuro-contextual advertising combines neuroscience principles with advanced embeddings to understand content in a human-like way. Liz processes millions of articles daily across ten languages, analyzing text, images, video, and emotional cues while maintaining strict privacy standards by focusing on user interests and intentions rather than personal data.

The company's momentum is evident in its recent performance, with 120% year-over-year growth in North America and successful expansion into new markets including Australia and Canada. This growth stems from both technological strength and established trust with brands and agencies. Looking forward, Gleason identifies Connected TV (CTV) as a major growth opportunity, noting that while CTV represents a fast-growing category, contextual advertising within streaming environments remains an evolving space where Seedtag's capabilities can provide significant value.

Seedtag's approach directly addresses industry concerns around data privacy and the decline of third-party cookies. By focusing on user interests, intentions, and emotions rather than personal data, the company enables advertisers to succeed in a privacy-first environment without compromising performance. The recent strengthened global partnership with Human Security reinforces Seedtag's commitment to providing authenticated, fraud-free inventory across CTV and the open web.

The company's CTV offering brings the same depth of contextual intelligence that Seedtag has built on the open web into streaming environments. Liz analyzes video content using natural language processing, computer vision, and sentiment analysis, breaking it down into over 11,000 categories and recognizing 600+ objects and 300 situational contexts. The emotion model operates at both show and scene levels, detecting key moments, themes, and predominant emotions to enable more precise ad matching.

Seedtag's AI Intention Models represent another key innovation, distinguishing between casual browsing and transactional readiness. This capability allows brands to avoid wasting spending on low-intent impressions and focus investment where consumers are most likely to act. A leading automotive client in Spain demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach, achieving a Cost per Quality Visit 68% below target and a Cost per Lead 35% below goal.

As Seedtag continues its rapid global expansion, maintaining company culture and fostering innovation remain priorities. Gleason emphasizes the importance of remembering the company's Madrid origins while ensuring consistency across markets with local adaptations. The organization currently employs over 700 people across North America, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC regions.

Looking ahead to the next 12-18 months, Seedtag's strategic priorities include continuing to scale while advancing privacy-first advertising through neuro-contextual strategies powered by Liz. The company aims to help brands better understand and connect with consumers by translating emotions and context into measurable outcomes through continued refinement of AI models, expanded market adoption, and advancement of CTV offerings. For Gleason, success in the rapidly evolving digital advertising industry requires the right team, deep understanding of client needs, and the ability to commit while remaining flexible enough to pivot when necessary.