AI meets AdTech

A team of Northwestern University students set out to solve a problem that has plagued both marketers and publishers in the fast-paced world of digital advertising: How can AI make online content more compatible with brand messaging? 

That was the challenge posed by Overtone, a London-based company focused on AdTech innovation, to students in Northwestern's MBAi Program — a joint-degree program offered between Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and the McCormick School of Engineering — and the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) Program. The project was part of the two programs' capstone project. 

For Will Tan ’24 MBAi and Igor Alfimov ’24 MBAi, the project was an opportunity to build a bridge between technological innovation and business needs. 

“We were excited to work on addressing a real-world problem with a company that actively seeks to utilize advancements in the AI space to create solutions that challenge the status quo in the world of media and AdTech,” Alfimov said. “Partnering with MSAi students was instrumental for the success of our team.”  

That team’s mission was clear: Develop a sophisticated taxonomy of online content that could revolutionize how advertisers connect with their target audiences. But as they delved deeper, they discovered a landscape beset with murkiness and inefficiency. 

Undaunted, the team set to work, combining data analysis of thousands of articles with stakeholder interviews to create a solution that was both technically sound and commercially viable. 

The result? A platform that processes article data and generates clusters based on tone, topic, format, and type.  

But it didn't stop there. The team also developed matching algorithms to align those clusters with advertisers’ campaign briefs, creating a powerful tool for targeted marketing. 

Reagan Nunnally, co-founder of Overtone, was impressed by the team’s approach. This is the second year the company worked with MBAi and MSAI students for a capstone project. 

“The solution evolved beyond suitability and acts more as a compatibility framework, which is equally and arguably more valuable,” Nunnally said. “It is ever so slight but nuanced. Suitability is about messages at the right time and right place. Compatibility is about how well two parties are aligned across values, interests and standards.” 

The project’s success hinged on the collaboration between MBAi and MSAI students, mirroring the interdisciplinary nature of the tech industry.  

Jeremy Gilbert, the Knight Professor in Digital Media Strategy at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and the group’s faculty adviser, stressed the importance of this partnership. 

“The differing perspectives and experiences brought by the MBAi and MSAI members of the Overtone team made possible the innovative solution they created,” Gilbert said. “Blended learning experiences like this model the best of the working world and give students a great model for future success.” 

For Tan and Alfimov, the project was a crash course in the complexities of AI-driven solutions in the business world.  

“This project taught us that the success of any solution lies at the intersection of collaboration and alignment,” Tan said. “Bringing together diverse stakeholders — each with their own goals and priorities — requires creating a shared vision early on. Without that alignment, we risk building a solution that is elegant in design but irrelevant in practice.” 

As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, solutions like the one developed by these MBAi and MSAI students promise to create a more efficient, effective, and ethical online ecosystem. 

By enabling advertisers to better target their campaigns while supporting quality journalism, they are doing more than just improving bottom lines. They also are helping create a better digital future. 

“This project demonstrated that AI and business strategy must work in tandem to solve real market inefficiencies while reinforcing the role of technology in shaping a more informed, trustworthy digital space,” Tan said. “In the end, that may be the most valuable lesson of all.”

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