Five Key Takeaways
“When I look at data, I see dollar signs, not zero and ones.”
Data isn't just operational—it’s a revenue stream waiting to be tapped.“We have created about $65 million in revenue on behalf of our publishers since we started the company.”
Monetization through data isn’t theory. It’s happening now for small and large publishers.“The through line for all of them… is that their audiences are high value and their advertisers are asking for more.”
Publishers must move beyond impressions to deliver the who and the what of user behavior.“We’re actually doing the production and the activation. We want our publishers to focus on selling.”
Leverage Lab takes care of strategy and execution—publishers just need to sell.“How do you build your business around knowing your customer?”
First-party data isn't just defense against the cookie collapse—it’s a competitive advantage.
Two Powerhouses, One Purpose
Tim Bradbury of 5X5 and AnnMarie Wills of Leverage Lab are longtime veterans of the media industry, now teaming up to solve a massive problem: how to help small and mid-sized publishers actually make money from their data.
“My reason for existing… has been really revolved around monetizing data.” said AnnMarie.
Leverage Lab (technology platform, first party data strategy) helps publishers monetize first-party data by unifying siloed systems, enriching profiles, and activating high-value audience segments. Their composable CDP in Google Cloud builds “baseball cards” of user insight, enabling precise targeting, increased revenue, and full-service campaign execution—so publishers can focus on selling while Leverage Lab handles the rest.
5X5 (data, identity resolution) is a massive data intelligence platform that processes over 50 billion behavioral signals daily and houses more than 400 million records. Its core strength is identity resolution and signal enrichment—helping publishers understand who their digital users are by matching anonymous site traffic to rich, multi-dimensional profiles. These profiles include both personal and professional attributes (job title, company, household income, digital behaviors, etc.)
Together, Leverage Lab and 5X5 form a complete data-to-revenue engine for publishers. 5X5 provides massive, real-time data enrichment and identity resolution, turning anonymous users into full profiles. Leverage Lab organizes, strategizes, and activates that data—building audience segments, powering multi-channel campaigns, and delivering monetization.
I have respected both AnnMarie and Tim for years, and when I heard they were working together, I knew it was going to be magical for the publishing world. I had to get in there and see what’s going on.
From Crude Oil to Revenue
Together, Leverage Lab and 5X5 give small and midsized publishers enterprise-grade data power: identity resolution, profile enrichment, and revenue-ready activation—all without “boiling the ocean” as Tim likes to say.
Leverage Lab uses 5X5 data in three concrete ways on behalf of their media clients:
Profile Enrichment: Adds MANY additional fields (job title, income, household, etc.) to existing audience records, filling in critical gaps for lead gen and sales.
Audience Matching & Addressability: Boosts digital ad match rates from ~30% to 70–80% by leveraging 5X5’s vast identity signals across platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
Identity Resolution: Connects anonymous website visitors to known user profiles (“baseball cards”), enabling precision retargeting and segment creation for monetization.
AnnMarie:
“We’re creating robust “baseball cards”… and 5X5 gives us more points of addressability … If I can’t connect them… I miss that whole view.”
A Simple Revenue Reality
The bigges sign that your market is ready for enhanced advertising packages that leverage your rich understanding of your high-value niche audiences: Your advertisers, especially your larger and more sophisticated clients, are asking for more. More insight, more targeting, more buyer intent.
Advertisers are getting more and more sophisticated, and Leverage Lab even works with sales team to help them understand how to sell powerfully targeted advertising campaigns to more sophisticated advertisers who understand the value of targeting, and will pay generously for high-converting campaigns that leverage deep understanding.
Built for Action, Not Complexity
This partnership is a full playbook—built on decades of media experience—to help publishers evolve their monetization without overhauling their entire operation.
Golden Hour for Publishers
The partnership between Leverage Lab and 5X5 comes at a pivotal moment. As AI disrupts referral traffic, small and midsized publishers are feeling the pressure to take control of their audience data.
This is no longer a theoretical conversation. The tools exist. The strategies are proven. Publishers who keep pushing forward can turn anonymous traffic into addressable, monetizable segments—unlocking new revenue, deepening advertiser relationships, and future-proofing their business.
There are a lot of shiny things to look at. But knowing your audience is the product. Time and time again I have had it confirmed to me that the soul of media is being the voice and heart of a niche community. Knowing your audience. And serving both your audience and advertisers through that deep knowledge.
And the partnership between Leverage Lab and 5X5 is leading the way for deeper knowledge. Keep an eye on this duo!
Read more at: https://datajoe.substack.com/t/people-of-media
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