As fragmentation, signal loss, and AI disrupt how brands reach and engage audiences, the role of data has never been more critical. Many brands are flooded with insights but struggling to turn them into action.
According to Virginia Marsh, Head of Data & Agencies at Fluent, the next wave of growth won’t come from having more data—it’ll come from making it “usable, scalable, and revenue-generating from day one.
Q&A with Virginia Marsh
Virginia shares her career journey across CPG, retail, AdTech, and MarTech—and how she’s now applying that experience at Fluent to help platforms and agencies turn real-time, declared data into meaningful business outcomes.
Read the full Q&A for expert insights into:
- What years of cross-industry experience taught her about connecting data to growth
- Why more data isn’t always better—and how to focus on what actually drives outcomes
- How real-time, identity-resolved data is reshaping targeting and activation
Can you share some background on your career journey and previous roles?
My work has always centered around data—creating it, connecting it, and turning it into something that drives results. I’ve worked across CPG, retail, tech, AdTech, and MarTech, and I’ve led efforts to build everything from elasticity models to commercial audience products. That’s included pulling in messy, disparate datasets, writing code to structure them, and then bringing the output to market through cleanrooms, media platforms, and direct partnerships. Whether it’s crafting a new data product or activating a segment at scale, I’m always asking: how do we make this useful, usable, and revenue-generating?
What sparked your interest in data, and what keeps you excited about it today?
I’ve always been fascinated by the “why” behind human behavior—data gave me a way to measure it. What keeps me excited today is how much the landscape is evolving. We’re no longer just collecting data; we’re creating it—intentionally, in real time, with identity and compliance built in. That shift opens up new ways to build products, reach audiences, and respond to market needs faster.
What’s a common misconception you see around data strategy?
That more data equals better strategy. It doesn’t. Most brands are swimming in noise, not signal. A good data strategy is focused, actionable, and tied to outcomes. If your data isn’t moving decisions or dollars, it’s not strategy—it’s overhead. And if it can’t be monetized or activated through your partners, platforms, or campaigns, it’s just dead weight.
Having worked across multiple industries, how has that shaped the way you think about data and business growth?
Working in CPG and retail taught me to prioritize impact—are we moving product, driving trial, improving loyalty? In tech and AdTech, I learned to think about system design, speed, and scalability. Together, those experiences helped me understand that data only matters if it’s connected to action. Whether you’re an engineer or a marketer, the question should always be: what are we doing with this data that actually moves the business?
Any people or resources that have shaped how you work or lead?
The CPG Guys podcast has been a go-to for me—Peter Bond and Sri Rajagopalan are great at cutting through hype and surfacing what’s really working across commerce, retail media, and data strategy. Peter in particular has shaped how I think about value creation and how to communicate it.
And I have to mention Lisa Kinney—she’s been an unofficial mentor and sounding board throughout my career. She’s encouraged me to lead boldly, stay curious, and bring others along with me. Her influence is everywhere in how I show up today.
What drew you to Fluent? What does success look like in this new role?
Fluent has something rare—real-time, declared, identity-resolved data that’s been built with intention from the start. That makes it incredibly powerful for platforms and agencies that are grappling with signal loss, compliance challenges, and the need for scalable audience targeting.
In this role, I’m focused on unlocking that data’s full value: building commercial data products, powering new GTM strategies, and making sure agencies and platforms can seamlessly access, scale, and activate Fluent audiences. That might mean packaging seed audiences for programmatic channels, enabling direct-to-platform distribution (Meta, TikTok, YouTube, TTD, Snowflake, etc.), or helping agencies design net-new segments based on declared intent.
Success for me is simple: making our data easy to buy, easy to use, and impossible to ignore.
Any trends or shifts you’re keeping a close eye on right now?
Agentic AI is a big one—shopping agents and digital assistants are changing the way people discover and decide. That’s going to have massive ripple effects on brand loyalty, personalization, and audience strategy. I’m also really bullish on data marketplaces—Snowflake, Databricks, LiveRamp, etc.—and how they’re reshaping distribution, pricing models, and how data gets consumed. Fluent’s in a great position to meet that shift head-on.
How do you see data helping businesses navigate today’s uncertainty?
In volatile markets, data gives you direction. It’s how you detect the early signals—behavior shifts, price sensitivity, loyalty erosion—before it shows up in lagging metrics. Data won’t eliminate uncertainty, but it can help you respond faster and smarter. The brands that will win are the ones that pair real-time audience intelligence with the ability to act on it—across channels, partners, and platforms.