Toby Doig, our VP of Engineering, shares why he thinks the industry has been solving the wrong problems, what really drives his approach to building technology, and why simplicity is often the hardest innovation of all.
You've spent over two decades in digital advertising, building the technologies that support it. What's the biggest misconception people have about the industry today?
Oddly enough, it’s that we have a technology problem, because we don't. What we do have is a complexity problem.
The traditional approach to the industry’s challenges has been to develop more technologies to overcome them. Now, there’s no shortage of data, signals, platforms or intelligence. In fact, we have the opposite. There’s so much that making sense of it all is becoming critical, so complexity can instead be turned into better decision-making.
For me, the next chapter of AdTech isn't about creating more tools. It's about creating better systems. Systems that help people and organizations overcome this complexity, remove friction and shift the focus on business outcomes.
What attracted you to Multilocal, and why now?
Not surprisingly, it was your vision around curation, because curation has become vital in programmatic advertising.
For years, the industry focus has been on building more pipes, more connections and more access. Now we're entering a phase where intelligence matters more. I see the winners as those that deliver true value by allowing buyers and sellers to make smarter, better decisions across this fragmented ecosystem.
Multilocal understands this shift, and that's what made the opportunity so appealing to me.
In a world where AI dominates every conversation, are people thinking about the technology the wrong way?
Yes, because many people see it as the destination. To me, it’s infrastructure. It’s there to automate repetitive processes and allow teams to operate at a scale that's impossible to do manually. Critically, it’s not human versus machine or about replacing people. It’s about using intelligent systems to augment expertise and amplify human judgement. Companies that understand this balance will be the ones that gain a competitive advantage.
In your opinion, what's programmatic advertising’s biggest challenge over the next five years?
It has to be fragmentation, which feeds into greater complexity. We constantly see new channels emerging, new identifiers being launched, new marketplaces being created, new buying models being introduced and new regulations being implemented.
Each year, the ecosystem becomes more complex, and, realistically, we must accept that this will continue. What we can do, however, is help companies navigate this complexity and fragmentation.
That's why I'm attracted to opportunities that allow me to develop technologies which help deliver clarity, transparency and improved decision-making.
We’re already looking to implement an AdCP solution as part of our core strategy, and we’re continuing to build out our use of agentic tools to improve processes and efficiencies.
What role must engineering play inside a company like Multilocal?
For engineering to be truly effective, it must help shape the strategy rather than sit at the end of the process of defining technology requirements.
History has shown us that the best organizations don't simply build products. They help define what is possible. And to do this requires the engineering team to be deeply connected to customers, commercial teams and market realities. The closer engineers are to real-world challenges, the more impactful the solutions will be.
And as you look ahead to working at Multilocal, what excites you most?
It’s the opportunity to help navigate this dramatic time we now face, when AI, automation and curation are converging.
For the first time, we can process vast amounts of information and identify patterns and continuously optimize campaigns at a scale that simply wasn't possible before. And what’s up for grabs is not just incremental improvement. It’s a fundamental reset of how programmatic works and how advertising is planned, activated and optimized.
Naturally, we monitor developments in AI and will actively take advantage of the benefits it brings. However, we are constantly mindful of the concerns that exist around it, such as privacy and security, so we ensure these areas are always taken into account.
Ultimately, playing a role in delivering digital advertising’s future can’t be anything else but exciting.
What will success look like for you at Multilocal?
Success is all about the value we create for the organizations we work with. It’s not about how much technology we build, but how that translates into them achieving better business outcomes. If our customers can move faster, make better decisions, achieve stronger results and spend less time navigating complexity by partnering with Multilocal, then we've succeeded.
Finally, when it comes to thinking about technology, what guides your approach?
I believe any technology must earn its place. To do this, every platform, feature and system developed should solve a genuine business problem and deliver meaningful value. Without this, it’s just complexity disguised as innovation.
The best technologies are always the ones that people barely notice because they make everything work better and their lives easier.
