Genuin Connections: Episode 14 -- Chad Hickey, Founder & CEO at Givsly

What if advertising could actually do something good — and perform better because of it?

Chad Hickey, CEO and Co-Founder of Givsly, spent nearly two decades building revenue teams at some of ad tech's most data-driven companies. Then he asked a question the industry tends to avoid: what if media dollars could reflect what people actually believe?

That question became Givsly — a values-based advertising platform that connects brands with consumers through shared beliefs, and directs real dollars to nonprofit causes in the process.

In this episode of Genuin Connections, Matt Wurst and Chad dig into why values are entering the consumer consideration set alongside price, quality, and convenience — and what that means for how brands build trust, drive performance, and show up consistently for the people they're trying to reach.

What we cover:

• Why values-based advertising is a targeting strategy, not a cause marketing tactic
• How Givsly achieves 90%+ retention by running campaigns that outperform
• The difference between genuine purpose and performative purpose — and how consumers tell them apart
• Why human connection is becoming the defining scarcity of the next decade
• What the fastest-growing values-driven consumer segments actually look like (hint: it's not who you think)

If you're a marketer trying to build something that lasts, this one's for you.

🎙️ Genuin Connections is hosted by Matt Wurst, CMO at Genuin — where we explore the convergence of community, content, creativity, commerce, and the future of media and marketing.