The AdTech Solution of the Year Is Built Around People
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Pathlabs Marketing |
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August 19, 2026 |
In adtech, the answer is usually another product. Another platform. Another dashboard. Another promise to automate the hard parts.
At Pathlabs, we have always believed the hardest parts still need people.
Technology can connect data, improve decisions, and speed up execution. But it cannot earn a client’s trust, understand the pressure behind a pitch, or step into an agency’s business and act like part of the team.
That is why this recognition feels especially meaningful.
Pathlabs has been named the 2026 MarTech Breakthrough Award winner for Overall AdTech Solution of the Year. The award recognizes our Media Execution Partnership, or MEP, which gives independent agencies the infrastructure to compete at an enterprise level without building an enterprise-sized team.
A Campaign Analyst and Account Manager work together at Pathlabs HQ in Missoula, Montana.
A Different Kind of AdTech Solution
Independent agencies do not lack technology. They are surrounded by it.
What they often lack is the time, specialized talent, operational depth, and buying power to make a growing stack of tools work together. The MEP closes that gap.
Pathlabs works as an extension of the agency, supporting media planning and buying, activation, optimization, analytics, and reporting. The agency keeps control of strategy and the client relationship. Instead of adding another vendor to manage, it gains a team that can plug into the work and move it forward.
People First is one of our core values. It is also how the model works.
Every partnership is powered by strategists, account leaders, buyers, analysts, and operators who learn the agency’s business and care about the outcomes behind each campaign. Technology helps the team move faster and see more clearly. Judgment, communication, and follow-through are what make the partnership valuable.
“Pathlabs has expanded our capabilities, and without a doubt we win more because we’re not doing this alone. They genuinely feel, act, and function as an extension of our team, and the ROI of partnering with them has been huge.”
The Recognition Belongs to the Team
This award says AdTech, but it belongs to people.
It belongs to the Pathlabs team members who learn an agency’s business, catch problems early, explain performance clearly, and keep showing up.
It also belongs to our agency partners. They trust us with relationships they have spent years building and invite us to work inside their businesses, not around them.
The work is technical. The partnership is human.
We are proud to be named Overall AdTech Solution of the Year. More than anything, we are proud that a people-centered way of working earned the recognition.
The Pathlabs team at our All Hands Summer Bash. Photo: Vladi Media.
