AI Meets Strategy: How Tom Newhouse is Slashing Overhead and Redefining GOP Media Buying

A recent study found that AI tools can help make some workers more productive, albeit at the expense of their happiness. Somebody should warn Tom Newhouse.

The GOP media buyer, whose resume includes stints at Targeted Victory, the NRCC and Convergence Media, recently hung his own shingle. One thing he’s aiming for with the new shop: creating great efficiencies for clients using AI tools.

“What I’m seeing in the industry is that more people can do more with less — using AI and the ability to become more efficient with our jobs allowed me to look at digital for the first time as something that can be done with a smaller, leaner staff as opposed to having to bulk up and compete with firms that have dozens upon dozens of staffers,” Newhouse told C&E.

He sees himself carving a new lane thanks to the efficiencies created by the automation of media planning and buying, allowing him to focus on strategy and “creative solutions” for clients — hence the firm name: Slash Strategy. It’s a novel approach in more ways than just the embrace of technology.