Joel Williams

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to co-found and build Transact Media Group (TMG) alongside some true industry titans — and to partner with some of the biggest players in the market.

While everyone naturally chases the biggest deals and logos, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the past 12 months is the power of going deep on strategic partnerships. I touch on a few of these in the podcast clip, but the reality is simple: without these people, our business wouldn’t be what it is today.

Doing strategic partnerships properly is one of the biggest hacks in business. 

You surround yourself with C-suite leaders and VPs at hungry, ambitious businesses. You test, you learn, and you build — and in the process, you become a far better all-round operator. I don’t need to name names; those people know who they are.

Feeling genuinely privileged to be building something truly game-changing for the market — and even more excited to show up every day and work on it.

We believe we’ve built a product for everyone.
Grow with us.

2026 already feels different. 

January was a sprint across tech and sales — and I’m proud to say we’re now trading globally. We finalised Canada over the weekend, which complements our US and Brazil algorithms across the Americas, nicely — a moment of real serendipity - as we head into our next growth chapter.

We’re now live in 27 markets:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, UAE, KSA, UK and the US.

I also turned 29 in January, and I’ve never felt hungrier to push myself further before my 30th birthday. As someone who has never taken the easy route, I can safely say that this year will be the biggest yet. 

This is why 700+ advertisers have already registered for Transact Media Group (TMG) Business Manager. With 45+ integrations complete, it takes just three clicks to get started for outcome based marketing or data activations. 

Our mission is clear, we believe using historic transactional data will impact your future transactions and lead to enhanced business results. 

The problems we are solving for our brand & agency partners:
﻿
1. Improve campaign performance – Leveraging transactional data to optimise social and programmatic media campaigns.
2. Business outcome marketing – Running fixed cost-per-sale or outcome-based campaigns to acquire new or engage existing customers across display, video, connected TV, YouTube, and podcasts.
3. Measure real impact – Tracking how connected TV (CTV) marketing actually drives purchases, not just impressions.
4. Repurpose creative content – Working with content creators to turn Meta and TikTok content into high-performing programmatic ads, matched directly to transactional data sets.

I’m excited to welcome Mike and Debbie as we scale our North America go-to-market.

Huge thanks to the team - this show is only just getting started, I’m honoured to lead this business forward. 

Thank you for all your continued support.

Really appreciate Campaign UK for the coverage and for taking the time to tell the Transact Media Group (TMG) story.

2025 was a defining year for Transact Media Group — contributing to $50m+ GMV for partners, scaling our team significantly, and seeing 700+ brands commit to campaigns through TMG Business Manager. Most importantly, it validated our belief that performance marketing needs to be built around outcomes, not proxies.

As our Chairman Barry Cupples put it in the piece:
 “Outcome-based media isn’t a trend — it’s a correction. When incentives are aligned, growth follows.”

That philosophy underpins everything we’re building — from launching Programmatic and Google Shopping on a straight CPA basis, to expanding across Europe, APAC, the Middle East, and into the U.S. in 2026.

Thanks to our partners, clients, and the TMG team for the trust and collaboration. The focus now is on scaling responsibly and continuing to deliver real commercial results.

Read more below. Onwards 🚀

Open article: Transact Media Group Eyes 2026 U.S Expansion After Driving $50M GMV for Partners by campaignlive.co.uk

Transact Media Group Eyes 2026 U.S Expansion After Driving $50M GMV for Partners

Media. Data. Commerce. Connected By Transactions.

Tonight, I must start packing my suitcase for Affiliate Summit West, in Las Vegas.

📅 11th–14th January 2026 – Networking, exploring affiliate opportunities, and catching up with partners in tech and e-commerce.

After the summit, we’re heading to New York 🗽 to meet clients, agencies, and brands — showing how Transact Media Group (TMG) helps turn marketing into real business outcomes:

✨ Transact Signals – audience targeting powered our exclusive transaction-level data algorithm
 📺 Programmatic & CTV Activation – measurable campaign performance
 🛒 Consumer Platforms – generating demand and driving commerce

I’ll be traveling with my Co-Founder and good friend, Adam Wilmshurst, and we’re amazed — 55+ meetings booked next week! 

Can’t wait to connect, collaborate, and spark some exciting partnerships. The US is a very important market for us this year, building on a strong foundation laid last year.

🏴‍☠️ 🚀 🇺🇸

For those who know me, you’ll be aware of my passion for Wales and business — so I’m really excited to be taking to the stage with my good friend, Gareth Lewis!

On Thursday 19 February, as part of Wales Week / London, I’ll be hosting a thought-provoking lunchtime lecture at Transact Media Group (TMG) HQ, 100 Bishopsgate, in partnership with Vivid Financial Planning.

Why (Welsh) Businesses Need To Think Global

We’ll explore how data, marketing, and growth can become your core profit engine, including:

1. How data can unlock better decision-making and fuel profitable growth
2. Why marketing should be treated as a strategic growth engine, not a cost
3. What Welsh businesses need to do differently to compete on a global stage
4. Practical lessons from organisations successfully scaling beyond borders
5. This session is designed for founders, directors, and senior leaders looking to future-proof their business and maximise long-term value — whether you’re already operating internationally or preparing for the next stage of growth.

Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Format: Lunchtime lecture & discussion

Register below and join us for an engaging session on thinking bigger, growing smarter, and taking Welsh businesses global! - https://lnkd.in/ehrQrMtx

Thanks for the opportunity Mike Jordan & Dan Langford OBE.

https://lnkd.in/e2NkNAbz

Open article: Why (Welsh) Businesses Need To Think Global by walesweek.london

Why (Welsh) Businesses Need To Think Global

It was great to feature in this episode.

Happy New Year all.

View company: London School of DIGITAL BUSINESS

Marketing looks very different when results, not dashboards, are the scoreboard. In this GPIS episode, Sachin Parekh sits down with Joel Williams, Founder of Transact Media Group (TMG) Group, to unpack what happens when marketing is tied directly to real transactions, real revenue, and real accountability. 

Joel shares how he scaled fast by rejecting vanity metrics, betting on outcome-driven execution, and building systems where performance can actually be proven. 

It’s a sharp, no-nonsense conversation about incrementality, guaranteed results, and why the future of marketing belongs to those who are willing to be measured where it truly counts.

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/d2qBq3dT
YouTube Music: https://lnkd.in/dBg3kHxT
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/d5bNgdux

#GPISSeason2 #MarketingLeadership #PerformanceMarketing #RevenueDriven #OutcomeFirst #B2BMarketing #MarketingAccountability #RealResults #GrowthStrategy #LSDBUK

A big week in the US, spending time with some of the world’s largest brands and agencies.

We’re building deep, strategic partnerships that will significantly accelerate our growth in the market.

This week, it’s back to execution across our other regions — launching a truly company-changing deal and continuing to scale our new products.

We also had a lot of fun filming the below podcast with Tash Courtenay-Smith — check this out ..highlighting a snippet of some of that growth. More PR announcements are coming soon, along with our newly launched Transact Media Group (TMG) Business Manager.

I almost, can’t keep up with our own pace, but we keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Our mission is clear - using transactional-based data to drive meaningful business outcomes from media, not just surface-level metrics.

Striding onwards, Joel 🚀 

https://lnkd.in/e5TupqrH

Open video: Why Performance Marketing Is Being Rebuilt Around Transactions | Tash Insights on youtube.com

Why Performance Marketing Is Being Rebuilt Around Transactions | Tash Insights

A lovely way to wake up to a PR push about our offering in the Middle East this morning from the US.

Humbled by our next phase of growth.

Onwards 🚀 😎

Transact Media Group (TMG) and InMotion have launched Transact Data, a new off-the-shelf transactional insights product giving brands across the Middle East access to scalable, privacy-safe behavioural signals.

The product also includes off-the-shelf private marketplaces (PMPs), giving agencies fully packaged, commerce-driven private marketplace deals ready for immediate activation.

“Brands need real, actionable consumer signals — not guesswork,” said Joel Williams, CEO, TMG. “Transact Data delivers exactly that."

Read the full article here:
https://lnkd.in/g3fj49-N

Open article: TMG, InMotion bring off-the-shelf transactional signals to marketers with ‘Transact Data’ - Campaign Middle East by campaignme.com

TMG, InMotion bring off-the-shelf transactional signals to marketers with ‘Transact Data’ - Campaign Middle East

Founder, Tash Partners | Fractional Growth & CMO Leadership | Growth Infrastructure & Content Systems

A lot can happen in 12 months... just ask Joel Williams and Adam Wilmshurst.

Almost a year after we caught up in the podcast studio to chat about the start of Transact Media Group (TMG), we were back in the studio to reflect on a period that has seen TMG go from 10-15 early client wins to:

✅ Being active in 30+ territories
✅ Running campaigns across Europe, APAC, the Middle East and the Americas
✅ Partnering with some of the most sophisticated brands and agencies in the world – including Mastercard

I'm also explaining why the marketing funnel is no longer a funnel... it's a sieve (with thanks to my good friend Charles Denton for an outstanding metaphor!)

#tashinsights #dtcinsights #ecombrands #femalefounders #newsletter

If you’re free on Wednesday night, I’ll be speaking at empowHER In the Making: Build, Break & Rebuild at The Little Violet Door in London. Nicole Harv

Open article: What a difference a year makes... by Tash Courtenay-Smith • 9 min read

Founder @ Kennedy Creative | Helping B2B leaders dominate their category on LinkedIn and convert influence into revenue through content and outbound

Most executives treat LinkedIn like a resume.

I treat it like a revenue engine.

I work with enterprise B2B executives and founders in the 7–9 figure range to turn authority into measurable growth.

Through The Creative Catalyst Method — a system built on content + outbound — my clients transform visibility into deal flow, building 7+ figure pipelines in as little as 6 months.

And the results speak for themselves:
	
• 30+ MQLs generated in less than 60 days
• Clients getting 3+ leads every week with content + outbound
• A 5-figure deal closed by an agency in under 60 days
• $100K pipeline built in less than 90 days for a SaaS company

What makes this possible isn’t just content.

It’s the combination of strategic positioning, executive voice, and consistent outbound touchpoints that makes your brand unforgettable — and turns authority into revenue.

If you’re an executive ready to move from authority → pipeline → growth, let’s talk.

👉 Book a call or connect with me here on LinkedIn.

Doug Kennedy

I have one memory of my grandfather.

So when I found this photo of me with him, surrounded by all the Kennedy men, it stopped me. 

(Some tears were shed)

My grandfather must have passed shortly after this photo was taken. 

My dad took it in the early 90s and I’d never seen it before.

He recently uploaded a bunch of old photos to OneDrive. I sat down one night to look through them and didn’t expect it to hit like it did.

It made me think about legacy in a quiet way. 

Not the big stuff. 

But just the everyday moments.

No lesson or corny analogy today fam. 

Just one of those photos that makes you pause and think about life. 

If you have a photo or memory that makes you think about legacy, I’d love to see it in the comments. 

P.S. I’m the redhead LOL.

No alternative text description for this image

10 reasons why being a dad with small kids makes snow days better:

(No I wasn’t doing donuts at City Hall in Philly) 
	
1. You wake up already winning. Endless coffee is on the menu. 
	
2. Two inches of snow feels like a national holiday. (In this case, we got 8.)
	
3. Sledding/shoveling becomes cardio you didn’t schedule.
	
4. Coming back inside feels heroic.
	
5. Snow forts start outside and somehow end up in the living room.
	
6. Couch cushions turn into architecture.
	
7. Games last longer because no one’s in a rush to be anywhere.
	
8. Snacks disappear faster.
	
9. Time stretches in a way it rarely does.
	
10. Everyone crashes early, worn out in the best possible way.

Snow days hit different when you’re a dad.

They slow you down without asking permission.

You stop thinking about what you should be doing and start noticing what you’re part of.

Years from now, they won’t remember the snow totals.

They’ll remember you were there.

What did you do in the snow yesterday?

10 years ago (crazy to say), I was packing up my life to spend a year in Paris for an internship that completely changed me.

It was wild.

Yes, I:

• Went to museums
• Drank so much espresso I got dizzy
• Ate pain au chocolat on the Champs-Élysées

But I also:

• Learned a new language
• Met my current pastor (on another continent, somehow)
• Helped build a church under a bridge in a gypsy camp
• Built habits I still carry today

That year gave me so many memories.

It rewired how I see the world, faith, work, and what’s possible when you say yes before everything makes sense.

Lately, I’ve had that same feeling again.

Something about 2026 feels different.

People feel locked in and excited about what’s coming.

For most, that energy will fade after a few weeks. Life will creep back in and the same ole patterns will return.

But I don’t know.

This feels like an adventure year.

The kind you don’t fully understand until you’re already in it.

You feeling it too?

360Brew sounds like a solid cup of coffee while I’m knocking out LinkedIn posts.
 
It’s also the name of the new algorithm model for LinkedIn. 

Feels about right for 2026 (can I get an amen?). 

Regardless, here’s what I’m focusing on this year:

1. Ownership.
2. Real stories.
3. Saying things plainly.
4. Sharing how I actually think.
5. Showing skill through the work itself.
6. Talking with people, not performing for them.
7. Posting even when it feels repetitive or boring.

Some people are pumped about what’s changing. Others feel like they’re getting crushed.

To me, it still comes back to doing the work and showing up like a real person.

What are you doubling down on this year?

You’re not where you want to be because you’re not desperate enough to get there.

That stings. But it’s true.

We can go as far as we want to go. 

The scary part? Personal responsibility.

Want to make more sales?
→ Contact 50 people a day, not 10.

Want to build your brand?
→ Spend less time making another reel and more time having real conversations.

Want to scale your business?
→ Stop hoping for “one big break” and start stacking small wins, daily.

The people who hit their goals aren’t necessarily smarter or more talented.

• They’re hungrier.
• They’re more consistent.
• They do the uncomfortable work, over and over.

The gap between where you are and where you want to be isn’t strategy.

It’s desperation.

How badly do you want it?

One of my coaching clients got their first inbound lead after two weeks of consistent posting.

I know people will say inbound on LinkedIn doesn’t work. 

“It takes months!”

“Only big accounts get inbound leads.”

It’s not true.

Just keep going:

• Optimize your profile so it clearly says who you help, what problems you solve, and why your perspective matters
• Post consistently in the same lane so your message compounds instead of resetting every week
• Talk about real problems your buyers already think about, using language they actually recognize

Most people quit right before LinkedIn starts working for them.

DM me if you want to join my LinkedIn 1:1 mentorship.

“Building authority is like how my grandma baked her blueberry pie.”

The sentence just came out of thin air on a client call the other day. 

(Not even sure if I had the analogy all worked out)

Later, I thought: “wow that’s actually pretty good.”

Everyone loved my grandma’s blueberry pie.

It was one of her things. 

At family gatherings or church events, someone always asked if she brought the pie.

That pie was part of her reputation.

Here’s the recipe for both (simplified):

1. The crust sets the foundation. Clear values and a point of view give everything else something to stand on.
	
2. The structure keeps it repeatable. A simple framework makes the work sustainable over time.
	
3. The blueberries deliver the value. They’re the reason people remember it and come back.
	
4. The butter adds personality. You can feel the care and intention behind the work.
	
5. The sugar creates connection. It invites conversation and brings people together.
	
6. The lemon juice adds contrast. Stories and lived experience keep it from feeling flat.
	
7. The egg wash finishes the presentation. Details matter when you want to be taken seriously.
	
8. The thickener is consistency. Showing up the same way over time is what builds trust.

*See the instructions below to put it all together. 

She never called it branding, but she built trust the same way strong personal brands are built.

- One clear recipe.
- Executed consistently.
- Long enough that your name becomes shorthand for quality.

That’s how personal brands actually last.

Low engagement doesn’t always mean your content failed.

It usually means the right people are watching quietly.

If you only optimize for visible reactions, you optimize for the wrong audience.

Here’s how to think about who’s actually on the other side of your posts:

The 3 Audiences Reading Your Content

Even heading into 2026, a lot of us are still mentally parked in 2025 (somewhat). 

- Closing loops.
- Tying things up.
- Making sense of what actually happened.

Right now looks a lot like:

• Looking back over performance data
• Following up with leads that went quiet
• Analyzing what worked and what didn’t
• And, of course, going through the books

That last one mattered more than I expected this year.

The margin for “I’ll clean this up later” disappears fast. I wanted clarity and confidence that I wasn’t missing something small that could turn into something painful later.

So I asked for help.

I reached out to We Got Your Books, and it was one of the better decisions I made in 2025.

They had a clean report for me in just a few days (it literally blew my mind). 

If you’re looking for support, reach out to 
Emma Smith.

Clean books change how you think. And how you plan what’s next.

The posts that gets likes and the posts that gets DMs are built for two different jobs.

Applause content feels good.

• Broad advice
• Clean conclusions
• Everyone nods along
• The loop closes

People leave thinking, “That was helpful” and then they move on.

DM-driving content does something else.

• It introduces tension
• It speaks to a specific problem
• It leaves the loop open

Instead of satisfaction, it creates recognition: “That’s exactly what I’m dealing with.”

That’s why posts like: “5 habits of successful CEOs” can rack up engagement…

…but posts like: “Most founders try to fix X, but the real issue is Y” quietly build pipeline.

One resolves curiosity. The other sharpens it.

A few simple shifts that change everything:

• Stop teaching. Start diagnosing.
• Share the what and why. Save the how.
• End with a question only the right person can answer.

This isn’t about tricking people.

It’s about writing content that does the job you actually want it to do.

Applause content has a place. So does DM content.

The mistake is expecting one to do the other’s job.

If you’re posting consistently and not seeing inbound, it’s usually not a volume problem.

It’s a positioning problem.

taplio

The Battle

Joel Williams

Doug Kennedy

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJoel Williams's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Joel Williams

Doug Kennedy

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Joel Williams's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJoel Williams's LinkedIn Performance