Shannon Maguire is Global Head of Marketing at AdTonos and previously served as Global Head of Marketing at Audiomob. She has spent the majority of her career working within the audio advertising industry. She co founded Under35.Media, an industry initiative designed to support and connect the next generation of media and advertising professional.
What exactly does your job entail?
I am currently Global Head of Marketing at AdTonos, having previously spent the last two years as Global Head of Marketing at Audiomob.
Throughout my career, I have worked predominantly within the audio advertising industry, helping high growth technology companies build their brands, expand internationally, and drive commercial growth. While based in the UK, much of my work has focused on the US market, where I have spent significant time supporting business development, partnerships, events, and industry relationships.
My role sits at the intersection of marketing, communications, partnerships, events, sales enablement, and business development. Marketing today is no longer just about brand awareness. It is about generating demand, supporting revenue growth, building strategic partnerships, and ensuring sales teams have the tools and opportunities they need to succeed.
A large part of my role involves creating opportunities for conversations to happen, whether that is through content, events, partnerships, PR, or creative campaigns. Ultimately, if marketing is not contributing to pipeline and commercial growth, it is not doing its job.
What campaign or piece of marketing communications are you most proud of in your career and why?
I am a big believer in creative, low-cost marketing that gets people talking.
Throughout my career, I have built event activations, games, quizzes, competitions, and interactive experiences designed to capture leads and start conversations. Lead generation is one of the most important responsibilities of a modern marketing team, and the most successful organisations are those where sales and marketing operate as one commercial function.
One of my favourite examples came at MADFest 2024. We had a stand like everyone else, but after the first day, I became increasingly aware that every brand was essentially doing the same thing: standing behind a booth, waiting for people to walk over and be sold to.
Because much of the event took place outdoors, attendees were allowed to bring dogs. So, I borrowed a friend’s extremely cute and very well-behaved Pomeranian. She wore a pink collar, danced on command, loved attention, and instantly became more popular than anyone at the event.
People constantly stopped to say hello, stroke the dog, ask questions, and take photos. Naturally, those conversations quickly turned into discussions about what we did, who they worked for, and whether there were opportunities to collaborate.
It was a great reminder that marketing does not always require huge budgets. Sometimes the best results come from thinking differently rather than spending more.
For anyone starting their marketing career, I highly recommend reading Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday. It completely changed how I think about customer acquisition, creative problem solving, and guerrilla marketing.
Who has been your biggest inspiration in your career to date and why?
Gary Vaynerchuk has probably been the biggest influence on how I think about marketing and business.
What I find most impressive is that he did not just build a personal brand. He built one of the most recognised modern advertising agencies in the world by understanding where consumer attention was moving before many others did. He consistently challenged traditional marketing thinking and demonstrated that understanding culture, attention, and consumer behaviour is often more valuable than having the biggest budget.
His ability to combine creativity, commercial thinking, and execution has been a huge inspiration throughout my career.
What is the biggest challenge in your sector and how is your company helping to address it?
One challenge that does not receive enough attention is the gap between senior decision makers and the people actually responsible for implementation and execution.
In advertising and media, large partnerships, integrations, and commercial agreements are often signed at a senior level. However, the long term success of those initiatives depends on the teams responsible for activating, optimising, managing, and improving them day to day.
The people driving execution are often earlier in their careers and can sometimes be overlooked when it comes to networking, professional development, and industry opportunities.
This was one of the reasons I recently co founded Under35.Media, a new industry initiative focused on supporting the next generation of media and advertising professionals. Research consistently shows that the period between 30 and 35 is one of the most important stages for professional acceleration and career growth. We wanted to create a platform that supports the people who are often responsible for turning strategy into successful execution.
What is the biggest opportunity in your sector and how is your company helping to make the most of it?
Audio is entering an incredibly exciting phase.
Consumers are spending more time listening across streaming, podcasts, gaming, and connected environments, yet audio still receives a relatively small share of advertising budgets compared to the attention it commands.
The biggest opportunity is helping advertisers understand that audio can deliver both brand impact and measurable business outcomes. As technology improves, audio is becoming increasingly addressable, measurable, and performance driven.
At AdTonos, we are helping brands access audiences across digital audio environments, while also pioneering opportunities in emerging channels such as in car advertising, bringing advertisers closer to consumers during moments of genuine attention.
How important, and why, are the following in helping you promote your own company?
The press
Extremely important. Press coverage provides independent validation and credibility that company owned channels simply cannot replicate. It is also valuable in ensuring that the work being done by your team receives recognition within the industry.
In a crowded market where new technologies, products, and partnerships are announced every day, strong media relationships help ensure your message reaches the right audience and does not get lost in the noise.
Events
Events are absolutely critical for us. While we are headquartered in the UK, the majority of our market and customer base is in the US. Because of that, events play a vital role in helping us connect with both existing and prospective clients.
Many of our strongest partnerships and commercial opportunities have originated from conversations at industry events. They provide an opportunity to strengthen relationships, understand market challenges, showcase innovation, and generate new business in a way that is difficult to replicate through digital channels alone.
Your company’s owned media
Owned media was actually one of the areas where I saw the biggest opportunity when I joined AdTonos.
I think it is incredibly important to keep your partners, clients, and wider industry network updated on what you are doing. It may not always feel fair, but in our industry, if you are not actively talking about your successes, partnerships, product developments, customer results, and industry insights, it is very easy to be forgotten.
The adtech industry is highly competitive, and there are countless companies competing for attention. Consistent communication through channels such as LinkedIn, newsletters, blogs, case studies, and thought leadership content helps ensure you remain visible and relevant.
For us, B2B platforms are absolutely essential. However, we do not invest heavily in consumer focused channels such as Instagram or TikTok because they are not where our customers spend their time. Our focus is on reaching decision makers and industry professionals through the platforms and channels that matter most to them.
