Ep 46:m Sparkling Sips: The Signal Era — Kait Stephens, Brij; Why Smarter Advertising Starts with Better Data

AI may be getting smarter. But are we giving it the full picture?
Live from Advertising Week New York, where everyone is talking AI, algorithms, attribution, and measurement, SHeCOMMERCE sits down with Kait Stephens, CEO and Co-Founder of Brij, to challenge one of advertising's biggest blind spots: Brands are spending billions to reach consumers they don't fully understand.
Welcome to the Signal Era, where the quality of the data feeding advertising algorithms may matter more than the sophistication of the technology itself.
For CPG brands, the challenge is especially real. Consumers discover products on TikTok, engage with ads on Meta, and ultimately purchase at Walmart, Target, or Amazon. Yet much of that purchasing behavior remains disconnected from the advertising platforms trying to optimize performance.
Kait breaks down how connecting retail and marketplace purchases back to digital advertising can transform measurement, improve customer acquisition, and help brands make smarter investments across the entire commerce ecosystem.
But this conversation goes beyond algorithms.
Kait shares her journey from private equity investor to technology founder, the realities of fundraising as a woman, and how embracing authenticity, empathy, and her public voice has become a leadership advantage.
The big message? Smarter algorithms alone won't win the next era of advertising. Better signals, connected thinking, and leaders willing to challenge the status quo will.
🔥 Key Takeaways
1. We've entered the Signal Era.
AI-powered advertising platforms are increasingly making targeting and optimization decisions automatically. That makes the quality and completeness of the data brands feed those algorithms a critical competitive advantage.
2. Your DTC customer isn't necessarily your retail customer.
For a brand generating 80% of sales outside its DTC channel, algorithms trained only on website purchasers may be learning from just 20% of its actual customer base. And those customers may behave very differently from shoppers at Walmart, Target, or Amazon.
3. Prove It. Then Improve It.
Kait simplifies Brij's value proposition into two powerful ideas:
Prove It: Connect retail and marketplace sales back to advertising campaigns to better understand what's actually driving purchases.
Improve It: Use those insights and customer signals to optimize media spend, build stronger audiences, and reduce customer acquisition costs.
Kait shares an example of a Brij customer seeing a 50% reduction in customer acquisition cost, demonstrating the potential impact of better signals.
4. Siloed organizations are leaving money on the table.
When DTC, retail, and marketplace teams optimize against separate goals, brands risk making decisions that benefit individual channels instead of the total business. Kait challenges leaders to align incentives around profitable omnichannel growth.
5. Stop measuring TikTok only by TikTok Shop sales.
Kait calls TikTok one of the biggest channel opportunities in advertising. Her argument? TikTok creates demand that may ultimately convert on Amazon or in physical retail. Marketers focusing solely on TikTok Shop conversions risk significantly underestimating its impact.
6. Being a female founder can be a competitive advantage.
Kait openly discusses overcoming imposter syndrome while fundraising, leaning into her strengths, and discovering that authentic leadership and content creation can attract talent who believe in her vision.
👩‍💼 Speaker Bio: Kait Stephens
CEO & Co-Founder, Brij | RETHINK Retail Expert | Host, The Omnichannel Marketer
Kait Stephens is the CEO and Co-Founder of Brij, where she's helping omnichannel brands transform retail and marketplace purchases into actionable, owned customer data that drives smarter advertising, lowers customer acquisition costs (CAC), and increases customer lifetime value (LTV).
With more than 12 years of experience in retail and commerce, Kait brings a unique perspective shaped by her bac...