RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. – As artificial intelligence reshapes nearly every corner of modern media, Spark Foundry president Steve Birnbaum says its most transformative effect can be summed up in a single word: streamlining. From how agencies use data to how brands connect with consumers, AI is helping reduce complexity, accelerate decisions and surface insights that once took teams countless hours to extract.
In a conversation at the Beet Retreat LA, Birnbaum told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan that the explosion of available data has made the planning landscape richer, but also far more unwieldy.
“When I first started, we had a few data sources,” he said. “Now we have… I’d almost argue too many. But that’s a good thing.”
The challenge, he noted, is turning that abundance into something coherent. AI’s ability to merge and analyze disparate datasets is allowing teams to shift their energy away from manual mining and toward the higher-order work of storytelling, hypothesis-testing and strategic design.
“If we can actually take that data, combine it and have one holistic data source,” he said, “we can spend our human hours thinking about how to tell the right story, how to connect with consumers in the most engaging way.”
Asking the data, not just about the data
Birnbaum described a planning environment where AI lets teams validate or overturn assumptions in minutes. If strategists believe a product is bought primarily on emotion, they can now “ask the data” to confirm or contradict that.
Sometimes the data supports the intuition. Other times, it reveals that a product is really about convenience or practicality. Either way, he said, brands gain clarity and a better foundation for creative and media decisions.
FAST isn’t an outlier, it’s video
As streaming surges and free, ad-supported streaming television, or FAST, channels proliferate, Birnbaum cautioned against treating FAST as “a unicorn off in a corner.” It’s simply another addressable video environment, with one big advantage: programmatic buying.
The heart of effective FAST investment, he stressed, is pairing precision identity with meaningful context.
“Identity is a must,” he said. “If I have perfect context but I’m reaching the wrong person, I’ve wasted my dollars.”
The “dream state,” he added, is marrying the right consumer with the right environment. If forced to choose, though, identity wins because it drives reach and outcomes.
Client relationships: Speed and streamlined collaboration
AI isn’t just changing planning. It’s reshaping how agencies and clients work together.
Birnbaum said unified data and automated analysis are compressing timelines and allowing teams to move from weeks of preliminary work to strategic action far more quickly. Clients get faster insights; agencies get more space to focus on partnership, outcomes and long-term strategy.
“It gives us the opportunity to operate a lot faster,” he said. “We can eliminate some of those hours of analysis and spend our time on what the media strategy should be.”
Building trust: Explainability, consent and value exchange
But speed is worthless without trust, Birnbaum said. As identity becomes more sophisticated and more reliant on AI, agencies must over-invest in transparency and consumer protection.
He underscored three principles:
- Explainability: being able to describe targeting and data use in plain language.
- Transparency and consent: being clear about what’s collected and why.
- Value exchange: ensuring consumers understand the benefits they receive in return.
“If they don’t understand, they can’t trust,” he said. “But if they do understand, I believe they can.”
Predictive identity: The next frontier
Looking ahead, Birnbaum sees AI’s greatest contribution in its predictive power: helping brands identify emerging trends in consumer behavior, culture and media before they crest.
Rather than chasing “the current big trend,” which is often expensive and fleeting, AI can guide brands toward what’s next.
“The predictive analysis is a lot more than a guess,” he said. While it won’t be perfect, it offers a more intelligent way to anticipate shifts and stay relevant.
As agencies and brands navigate a rapidly evolving media economy, Birnbaum believes AI isn’t just a tool, it’s becoming a strategic partner. And the promise of predictive, privacy-safe identity could define the next chapter of consumer connection.
