70% of the US Population Is Playing. Are Brands Showing Up?

Chris Feo spent 12 years building Tapad from a handful of people into one of the most important identity companies in ad tech before joining Unity, where 70% of the US population is playing games built on their engine. His mission is simple: help brands see gaming not as a niche but as one of the most powerful channels they are underinvesting in.

From Venture to Identity to Gaming: Chris started in venture straight out of college, joined Tapad in 2012 as one of its earliest employees, helped build it from a small team to a company that exited to Telenor and eventually spun into Experian. Now he is bringing everything he learned about identity and data to Unity. 🗺️

70% of the US Population Is Playing: Unity powers games played by 70% of Americans, with nearly an hour of time spent per week. The Midwestern mom and the teenager in the basement are both in there. Chris is helping brands understand what that actually means for their media strategy. 🎮

The Year of Mobile. Again: Chris sees mobile app as having its moment again, and not just for app download performance. He is helping brands bring first party data, third party data, and full funnel measurement to a channel they wrote off too soon. 📱

Managing Expectations Is a Superpower: The advice Chris gives young talent, and the thing he credits most in his own career, is simple. Let people know exactly where things stand. It is the most underrated skill in the business and the one that keeps everything consistent. 💡

Explaining Cross-Device Identity to Your Mom: Chris jokes that his mom thought he worked for Expedia for years. Now people think he works for a gaming company. The truth, as he puts it, is that Unity is so much more than that. 📞