How He’s Keeping His Cool While Everyone Else Chases Trends
If marketing today is a three-ring circus, Sam Bloom is the rare ringmaster who doesn’t just keep things running—he makes everyone feel good about being part of the show. As Head of Partnerships at PMG, Sam navigates the chaos with a sense of calm, clarity, and a genuine warmth that’s increasingly hard to find in the ad industry. “The best view of the circus is above the circus,” he shared on The ADOTAT Show. “I try very hard to make sure that we have a perspective that’s 50,000 feet above the circus. If you’re inside the tent, it can be very distracting.”
Sam’s ability to see the big picture—and inspire others to follow his lead—has made him not only an invaluable leader but also one of the industry’s most universally liked figures. From his early days at Camelot to his current role at PMG, Sam has always been the kind of person who lifts others up, blending strategic brilliance with an innate knack for connecting with people. He doesn’t just focus on metrics or the next big trend; he zeroes in on what truly matters: marketing that moves hearts and minds and leaves a lasting impact.
A Career That Could Be Its Own Netflix Series (and Definitely Should Be)
Sam Bloom’s career is less a linear trajectory and more a greatest-hits mixtape of the advertising world’s wildest moments. If Netflix were smart, they’d greenlight Breaking Ads tomorrow. The pitch? A charismatic, no-nonsense protagonist navigating everything from the glory days of Blockbuster to the rollercoaster of modern ad tech—with Mark Cuban cameos thrown in for good measure. Sam himself teased the idea, saying, “I’ve worked for Mark Cuban for four years, worked at Blockbuster, and been in the ad business. There are so many characters in our business, you could easily spin off a whole bunch of shows.”
And he’s right. Imagine the flashbacks: Sam helping launch Blockbuster Online while the Titanic of physical rentals was already taking on water. “It was a very difficult time in that business, and I had a very difficult boss,” he admitted. Cue the drama. Cue the resilience. While most people might crack under that kind of pressure, Sam leaned into the challenge, filing away every hard-earned lesson like a strategic hoarder. “Those things were formative for me in ways I didn’t understand then but do now,” he reflected.
But it’s not just the Blockbuster chapter that packs the drama. Sam’s career is peppered with moments that are equal parts humbling and hilarious. Take his stint at IChoose, where he candidly admits, “We blew through $25 million.” Most of us would consider that a career-defining faceplant, but Sam turned it into a growth opportunity. It’s this willingness to learn from failure—and laugh about it later—that makes Sam’s story so compelling.
“Almost all the lessons have come around massive failures,” Sam said with characteristic honesty. It’s refreshing, especially in an industry that tends to gloss over the hard parts. But Sam? He’s not about to sugarcoat anything. He’ll tell you that being wildly overconnected and under-supported at times didn’t crush him—it refined him.
And that’s the magic of Sam Bloom: his ability to turn every misstep into a masterclass. Whether he’s dealing with a tough boss, navigating the collapse of a beloved video rental empire, or riding the chaotic waves of the ad tech world, he emerges not just wiser but funnier.
So, yes, Breaking Ads should absolutely happen. The plot practically writes itself: a brilliant, ever-curious strategist who keeps his head in the clouds and his feet on the ground, constantly rethinking what it means to thrive in the circus of modern marketing. And if we’re lucky, Sam might even get to write the theme song himself. It’d probably be called Lessons Learned, Money Burned. Stay tuned.
Marketing as a Higher Calling (and No, That’s Not Just a Fancy Way of Saying “More KPIs”)
Sam Bloom doesn’t do marketing by the numbers—or at least not the kind of numbers that make your CFO happy but leave your customers yawning. For Sam, marketing is more than a checklist of deliverables or an obsession with click-through rates. It’s about strategy, a concept that often feels like an endangered species in an industry that loves to reinvent itself every six months. “If we get so tactical, we’ll be commoditized,” he warned, cutting through the noise with the kind of clarity that makes you sit up and listen.
Sam’s philosophy can be summed up in one word: purpose. It’s not about drowning in the details of the latest ad tech or getting lost in the weeds of media buying—it’s about connecting with people in a way that actually matters. “The best marketers out there are still people trying to change hearts and minds, understand customers’ needs, and build really good propositions,” he said. “That will always be the higher calling of marketing.”
And here’s the kicker: Sam doesn’t just talk about this high-minded mission; he lives it. He’s the guy who’ll steer you away from the hamster wheel of trendy tactics and back toward the basics of what marketing is really supposed to do—make people care.
The Industry is Moving Fast—Too Fast
But let’s not pretend sticking to this higher calling is a walk in the park. Marketing today isn’t just a business; it’s a “fashion business,” as Sam put it, with trends coming and going faster than you can say “influencer marketing.” “And we’re in fast fashion, by the way,” he added, perfectly capturing the frantic pace of the industry. “You’ve got to be nimble and adaptable to the techniques for marketing to consumers.”
Translation? Marketing in 2024 is less about perfect planning and more about survival of the quickest. If you’re not adapting, you’re toast. The channels, the platforms, the consumer behaviors—they’re all shifting at warp speed. It’s like playing poker in a tornado, and the only way to win is to know which cards to hold onto and when to fold.
Balancing Trends with Timelessness
The genius of Sam’s approach lies in his ability to balance the ephemeral nature of marketing trends with the timeless truths of the business. He understands that while the tools and platforms may change, the endgame stays the same: reaching people where they are, speaking their language, and—most importantly—making them feel something.
It’s why he’s not quick to jump on every new marketing bandwagon, even when the rest of the industry is sprinting toward the latest shiny object. For Sam, it’s about more than staying relevant; it’s about staying meaningful. And in a world where many marketers have a hard time telling the difference between the two, that makes him stand out.
Riding the Big Waves: The Dallas Stars Experiment
One of Sam’s most intriguing recent projects is PMG’s partnership with the Dallas Stars and their Victory+ streaming service—a direct-to-fan model that could revolutionize sports marketing. “The Stars joined up with a company called APMC to start something called Victory+,” he explained. “It’s ad-supported, free for fans, and available on all devices. Whether you want to work with the team at a sponsorship level or buy programmatically, you go to one partner.”
The results speak for themselves. “They’re getting four, five, six times the consumption of the games they had during the Bally’s era,” Sam said. “More importantly, it’s increased digital engagement massively.”
Sam believes this model represents the future. “What happens when you own your own data, your own channels, your own content? All those things make a ton of sense. While it may not be the case for every sport now, I think in time you’ll see rights holders eventually want to take back those rights.”
The Art and Science of Standing Out
For Sam, innovation is about more than adopting the latest tech—it’s about standing out in a crowded marketplace. “We are in a marketplace where everyone copies whatever works until it’s not effective anymore,” he said. “That’s the Ricky Bobby theory of marketing: if you’re not first, you’re last.”
To help clients break free from outdated strategies, Sam relies on a combination of data and customer insights. “We start with ground truths and basic facts,” he said. “I think people are so focused on the tasks of marketing that they forget about the art of marketing and what we’re really there to do.”
Leadership with a Side of Brisket Tacos
Sam’s leadership style reflects his grounded, collaborative philosophy. “Leave it better than you found it,” he said, summing up his guiding principle. Whether he’s handing out paper towels during a metaphorical spill or cracking jokes about tequila and brisket tacos, Sam leads with empathy and humor.
When asked to describe his leadership style as a gourmet dish, Sam didn’t hesitate. “I would definitely be brisket tacos,” he said, noting their comforting simplicity. Paired with a “Mexican martini” or “ranch water” (tequila, fresh lime juice, and a splash of Topo Chico), it’s a metaphor that’s as quintessentially Texan as Sam himself.
Looking Ahead: Innovation, Teamwork, and the Sam Bloom Way
If the marketing industry is a forest, Sam Bloom isn’t afraid to acknowledge the chainsaws. But while others bemoan the deforestation—the companies falling behind, the strategies that no longer work, the clutter of trends gone wrong—Sam is already planting the seeds of what’s next. “There’s going to be a massive deforestation, but there’s going to be reforestation coming,” he said. “The reforestation piece, if we focus on innovation and where the puck is going, is way more interesting.”
Classic Sam: grounded, forward-thinking, and just optimistic enough to make you believe in a brighter marketing future. He’s not interested in clinging to the good old days because, frankly, they weren’t all that good. Instead, he’s focused on what’s possible—what can emerge when marketers embrace change rather than resist it.
The Team Player in Chief
For Sam, the key to navigating this ever-shifting landscape is simple: teamwork. “I’ve always viewed myself not as an individual, but as part of a team,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think about leaving things better than I found them.”
And that’s not just a feel-good soundbite; it’s how he operates. Whether he’s rolling out groundbreaking strategies or cracking a self-deprecating joke, Sam has an uncanny ability to make the people around him feel like they’re part of something bigger. He’s the kind of leader who hands you a metaphorical shovel and gets you excited about planting trees—whether literal or the kind that will sustain your marketing plan for years to come.
Pioneering Without the Ego
What’s striking about Sam isn’t just his optimism—it’s his ability to balance big-picture thinking with humility. This is a guy who talks about leaving things better than he found them, but not in some “mission statement on a coffee mug” kind of way. He’s out there proving it, one transformative project at a time.
When Sam talks about “where the puck is going,” you know he’s not just throwing out a sports metaphor to sound savvy (though he was a goalie, so it works). He’s living it. He’s watching trends, understanding what clients and consumers actually need, and making moves that matter—not for himself, but for the industry and the teams he leads.
The Perspective Marketing Needs
In an industry drowning in its own noise, Sam Bloom is a refreshing change of pace. He’s not shouting to be heard or chasing the latest shiny object. He’s steady, insightful, and relentlessly human. He knows that innovation isn’t just about tech—it’s about people. It’s about collaboration, teamwork, and making sure everyone leaves the table feeling like they’ve built something worthwhile.
And here’s the thing: Sam doesn’t just talk about these principles; he embodies them. While others are busy making splashy moves for short-term gains, he’s planting the seeds for long-term growth. Whether it’s building partnerships, charting new directions for his clients, or just finding the humor in a chaotic industry, Sam brings a perspective that’s not just worth having—it’s worth keeping at 50,000 feet.
So, as the marketing world continues its endless churn, Sam Bloom isn’t just watching where the puck is going—he’s already skating ahead, ready to lead the way.
