by Dana Lee on 4th Mar 2026 in Video Interviews

In this episode of A Coffee With... Nick Beck, CEO of Tug, joins ExchangeWire's head of content John Still over a tea to chat all things search and performance.

Nick started at Ogilvy Interactive in 1998. After becoming interested in search, he founded Tug in 2006 as a search engine marketing agency that has since evolved into a full-service media agency. Tune in as he and John discuss the transformation of search across social and AI, how technology is shaping discovery and measurement, and the value of client services in a fragmented landscape.

The Resurgence of Search

After a brief shift away, search has re-emerged redefined across platforms. AI has changed discoverability, expanding search from PPC and SEO into geo, social search, and content. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram now function as search engines in their own right, requiring optimisation strategies that go beyond traditional SERPs.

Client service has also come full circle. Historically, it served as a translator between clients and PPC/SEO specialists. As such, demand waned as clients became more technically sophisticated. But with remote work, clients need service again as a single point of contact, and for advice on changing platforms and audience trends.

Independent agencies have a structural advantage; they face fewer bureaucratic layers and are not beholden to publisher deals. This agility enables faster innovation and client-centric pivots – an iteration pace large networks often struggle to match due to approvals and investment hurdles.

Hybrid Service + Technology Model

"The modern media agency needs to deliver service plus technology. It's not enough to just do amazing media planning and buying."

Tug focuses on building its technology for two purposes. The first is improving its operating model to drive internal efficiency. By automating lower-level tasks, such as writing meta descriptions, teams can focus on higher-impact work in creativity and media strategy.

The second is to solve specific client marketing challenges, as large technology builders may not offer smaller, bespoke technologies for one-off client needs. For example, Tug has developed an AI discovery intelligence tool that measures brand inclusion and advocacy. It interprets why AI models do or don't recommend brands, then generates actionable strategies across content, paid media, and other channels.

Performance in 2026

In 2026, Nick predicts that performance will remain results-focused, but attribution will be harder. Performance is still about outcomes, but fragmentation beyond the Meta/Google duopoly has complicated measurement. Attribution necessitates robust tools to prove incrementality and business value to clients, boards, and investors.

Tug has also been building technology to adapt to this shift. Its causal measurement tool, Real Impact, quantifies incremental lift from top/mid-funnel channels. Its correlation technology, Lift Analytics, shows immediately if a brand campaign is having effects via bottom-funnel metrics like CTRs and conversion rates, bridging the gap between branding activity and performance indicators.

MarketingMeasurementOptimisationPerformanceSearch