Table of Contents

• Sunday Edition: ADOTAT Unplugged

• Optimizing Campaigns, Missing Life

• Jeff Bezos approaches work-life balance

• How to Actually Make It: Owning Your Space in ADTE …

  • According to eMarketer

  • According to AdAge

  • Looking for a New Job in Adtech?

  • How Not To Sell Your Soul in Marketing

Confession time: I didn’t follow this advice. Not even a little. I spent decades buried in the trenches of marketing, chasing every shiny new adtech trend, and obsessing over results. My kids? They grew up while I was busy optimizing campaigns and perfecting pitch decks. One day, I looked up, and they were gone—living their own lives while I wondered where the time had gone. So, let me save you from the same wake-up call. Here’s the real guide to being a marketer who crushes it at work and at home, without becoming a cautionary tale.

1. Your Family Won’t Applaud Your ROI

Sure, your clients might be thrilled when you boost their ROI by 200%, but here’s a hard truth: your kids don’t care. They’re not impressed by your industry awards or that LinkedIn post with 1,000 likes. What they’ll remember is whether you showed up. Did you make it to the science fair? Did you cheer at the soccer game? Did you sit at the dinner table without checking your phone every five seconds?

I’m telling you this because I didn’t do it. I was so focused on hitting every professional milestone that I let the personal ones slide. And guess what? No one’s going to remind you to prioritize your family. Clients won’t say, “Hey, take the afternoon off to spend time with your kid.” It’s on you to set those boundaries and protect that time.

Start by scheduling non-negotiable family time. Treat it like your most important client meeting. And while you’re at it, remember that presence matters more than presents. Fancy vacations and expensive toys don’t replace the small, everyday moments that build real relationships.

Because here’s the kicker: no one remembers the ad campaign you launched in 2012. But your kid? They’ll remember the 15 minutes you spent reading with them before bed—or the 15 you didn’t.

2. Burnout Isn’t a Flex

In marketing, burnout has somehow become a badge of honor. Everyone’s competing to see who can grind the hardest, work the longest, and sleep the least. But here’s the thing: that hustle mindset isn’t sustainable. It’s a shortcut to misery, not success.

When you’re working 16-hour days, skipping meals, and surviving on caffeine, it doesn’t make you a rockstar. It makes you a liability—to yourself, your clients, and your loved ones. And the irony? You’re probably doing worse work because you’re too exhausted to think straight. Creativity thrives on rest and balance, not on sleepless nights and adrenaline.

So how do you avoid the burnout spiral? Start by recognizing that the world won’t end if you take a break. Unplug from your email after hours. Take real vacations—yes, the kind where you don’t sneak off to answer “just one quick Slack.” Prioritize your mental and physical health like you prioritize your deadlines.

And here’s a wild thought: say no once in a while. Not every opportunity is worth your time, and not every project needs you to sacrifice your sanity. The most successful marketers aren’t the ones who do everything; they’re the ones who do the right things.

3. Market Yourself, Not the Persona

We’ve all seen it: the marketer whose entire online presence is a polished highlight reel of professional wins, trendy opinions, and inspirational quotes. But here’s the problem with marketing yourself as a persona instead of a person—it’s exhausting, and it’s fake.

Authenticity wins every time. Share your successes, sure, but don’t shy away from talking about the challenges, the failures, and the lessons learned along the way. People connect with vulnerability, not perfection. And honestly, trying to maintain a flawless public image will drive you insane faster than any tight deadline ever could.

The same goes for your personal relationships. Don’t let your professional persona bleed into your personal life. Your friends and family don’t need the polished, on-brand version of you. They need the real you—the one who tells bad jokes, forgets the occasional deadline, and knows the difference between work and life.

And while we’re at it, let’s ditch the constant need for validation. You don’t need to post every achievement online for it to count. Sometimes, the best wins are the quiet ones—the kind you celebrate with the people who matter most, not with strangers on LinkedIn.

4. Time Is the Only Real Currency

Here’s the most brutal truth of all: your time is finite. You can always land another client or launch another campaign, but you can’t buy back the time you didn’t spend with the people you love. Every hour you give to work is an hour you’re not giving to something else, so spend it wisely.

Think of your time like a marketing budget. You wouldn’t blow it all on one flashy campaign, right? You’d allocate it strategically, making sure every dollar—and every hour—has maximum impact. Apply that same logic to your life. Balance the budget. Spend your time where it matters most.

Start small. Block off time for the things you value, whether it’s a weekly date night, a family game night, or even just an hour to read a book in peace. And when you’re with your loved ones, be with them. Put the phone down. The email can wait.

And here’s the kicker: investing in your personal life will actually make you better at your job. You’ll be more focused, more creative, and—dare I say—happier. Because when your life is balanced, everything else tends to fall into place.

5. Remember Why You Started

Marketing can be a grind, but it’s also one of the most creative, exciting careers out there. Don’t let the pressure and deadlines overshadow the passion that brought you here in the first place. Remember the thrill of brainstorming a killer campaign or seeing your work make a real impact.

But also remember that your career is just one part of your life. You’re more than a marketer. You’re a parent, a partner, a friend, a person with interests and passions outside of work. Don’t lose sight of that.

Take a step back every once in a while and ask yourself: am I living the life I want? Or am I just running on autopilot, chasing the next big thing because it feels like I have to? If the answer is the latter, it’s time to recalibrate.

Because here’s the truth: no one looks back on their life and wishes they’d spent more time in meetings. They wish they’d spent more time living. So go ahead—market yourself, crush those campaigns, and hit those targets. But don’t forget to live a life worth marketing.

Pesach Lattin
Editor, ADOTAT
[email protected] 

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How to Actually Make It: Owning Your Space in ADTECH— Without losing your Mind.

Marketing, especially in the dystopian universe of adtech, is like trying to ride a unicycle on a tightrope while juggling flaming chainsaws—and someone’s yelling, “Can you add more pizzazz to that?” The hustle culture here isn’t just encouraged; it’s practically a sacrament. Overworked? Stressed? Welcome to the club—your badge of honor is in the mail. If you’re not drowning in client demands, media plans, and the latest buzzy metric of the week (how’s that “attention economy” treating you?), are you even in the industry?

Let’s talk about the chaos. Marketing deadlines, especially in adtech, aren’t just relentless—they’re like sprinting on a treadmill that never stops. Campaigns roll out faster than you can say “programmatic,” and with every new release, there’s another shiny tool you’re apparently supposed to master by yesterday. Unlimited vacation? Please. That’s just a corporate mirage to make you feel guilty for taking a long weekend.

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