Data only matters if it drives decisions
Who are you, and what brings you to justtrack?
GN: I have spent 16 years watching companies sit on data they cannot fully use. The tools give them reports. What they actually need is decisions. That gap — between data and action — is the problem I kept running into, first at pilot with P&G, then when building Mercury from scratch.
At pilot I spent a decade mostly dedicated to Procter and Gamble, eventually co-shaping TwentyFive — the joint venture between pilot and MediaCom that served as P&G's Media Agency of Record in DACH. Then six years as MD at Mercury Media Technology, also part of the pilot Group, where we built a full-stack, API-first media operations platform from scratch — the System of Record for how agencies and advertisers manage their entire media workflow, from briefing through buying through measurement and marketing mix modeling.
I am not someone who grew up inside a gaming studio. I come from the advertiser and agency side. But when I looked at what gaming studios are dealing with — the measurement complexity, the tooling fragmentation, the gap between what they can see and what they need to decide — I recognised the problem immediately. The context is different. The challenge is the same one I have been working on my whole career.
That is why I am here. And as it turns out, I arrived at exactly the right moment — but more on that in a second.
The MMP market is going through a lot right now. How do you read it?
GN: It is the most significant shift in the category since it was created. I will leave it at that for now — a lot is playing out, and I would rather show what we are doing about it than talk about what others are getting wrong.
What I will say is this: for the first time in years, there is a real opening for a new kind of partner in this space. One that is independent, honest about what it is, and genuinely built for the studios it serves. That opening will not be there forever.
What does 'a new kind of partner' mean to you?
GN: Not a vendor. A vendor sells you software and sends you a renewal notice.
A partner shows up. Understands your setup. Tells you what is working and what is not — even when that is uncomfortable. Connects you to the people and inventory and knowledge that can actually move your business.
I spent years on the advertiser side watching companies pay for tools they did not fully understand and could not fully control. I am not interested in building another one of those. justtrack exists to make gaming studios better at what they do. That is the only measure that matters — and we keep building toward it every day.
What kind of company are you building internally?
GN: The first thing I said to the team was: the holy grail is not me. I know that sounds like a strange thing for a new MD to say. But I mean it.
My job is not to be the answer. My job is to make sure the company works — that things connect, that gaps get spotted early, that the culture stays strong across every team and every person. I am one piece, not the whole puzzle.
What I genuinely value in the people around me: integrity, clarity, positivity, curiosity. I hold myself to the same standard, which is why I say it out loud rather than just putting it in a slide somewhere.
And what gets me out of bed: this is not a normal moment. For justtrack, for the market, for what we are capable of building. I told the team this directly — this is not a job. It is a position in a moment that does not repeat itself. I believe that completely. And I want to work with people who feel the same way.
What do you need from gaming studios right now?
GN: A conversation. Fifteen minutes. No pitch, no agenda on my side — just listening.
I want to understand what is frustrating you. What your current setup looks like. What would need to be true for you to consider working with someone new. What you have tried before that did not work.
I am not here to sell you something today. I am here to understand the problem well enough that when we do show you what we have built, it actually fits.
If what I have described sounds at all relevant to where you are right now — reach out. I would genuinely love to talk.
Gunnar Neumann is MD at justtrack, part of the applike group.