Alumna’s Platform Has Redefined Advertising Technology

DCG has secured partnerships with Fortune 500 brands, including Coca-Cola; Honda; Procter & Gamble; McDonald’s; and Pandora Media. The company is the capstone of Mrs. Foote’s two-decade advertising career, one that took root amid trying circumstances at St. John’s. 

“I will forever be grateful for St. John’s being there for me when I needed support the most,” Mrs. Foote recalled. “When my father passed away during my sophomore year, everything changed. He was the breadwinner for our family, and I did not have family in New York to lean on.”

“One day, a dean wanted to have a chat with me,” Mrs. Foote continued. “I went to her office, and she asked me to write a thank-you note. I asked why. She said an anonymous donor was going to pay for the rest of my tuition. Every time I think about it, I get emotional because St. John’s did not have to step in for me that way.”

To this day, the donor’s identity remains a mystery. But the spirit of the gift is what makes St. John’s unique, Mrs. Foote said. “I have a special place in my heart for the University,” she said. “Every time I think about it, I smile with gratitude.”

Mrs. Foote graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management with a concentration in integrated marketing strategy. A member of the St. John’s Cheerleading team, Fashion Club, and Aspire Mentor program, she graduated with a 4.0 grade point average.

She landed her first full-time job in 2007 with MEC through University Career Services. By 2013, she was an associate media director at Moxie Interactive in Atlanta.

“Everything in my career traces back to St. John’s,” she said. “That first opportunity through University Career Services opened the door to advertising, and every step since has helped shape the company I am building today.”

After 17 years of agency-related work, Mrs. Foote was inspired to set out on her own. DCG helps clients discover, strategize, and reach audiences with authenticity. Its award-winning proprietary Audience Resonance Index™ (ARI) decodes cultural, emotional, and transactional signals in real time to predict advertising messages that will land with specific audiences. Rooted in artificial intelligence (AI) and designed by Mrs. Foote, ARI helps brands evaluate campaigns before committing advertising dollars.

“I think many of us reach a point in our careers where we say, ‘Why am I working for someone else?’” Mrs. Foote said. “I probably would not be running my own business today without the foundation and opportunities St. John’s provided along the way.”

Mrs. Foote’s ARI technology is celebrated for shifting audience metrics from after-the-fact reporting to proactive planning. It layers psychographics, transaction data, cultural motivators, and competitive insights from more than 200 million profiles and 600 million devices to discover audiences likely to drive product engagement.

Mrs. Foote, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Partnerships at DCG, and her ARI technology have received industry awards including Best AI Tool from Digiday Technology, Most Innovative AI from Newsweek, Strategic AI Product of the Year from Adweek, and Entrepreneur of the Year Honoree from AdExchanger. She hopes her story will inspire other women to pursue entrepreneurial ambitions.

“I love to see women step out on their own and say, ‘I can absolutely do this,’” she said. “There is real power in women moving with confidence, backing one another, and proving that we can build, lead, and win on our own terms.”