Intuit SMB Media Labs: Proactive B2B Advertising at CES 2026

At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, the conversation at the LA Times Studios and Monks lounge took a deep dive into the evolving world of B2B marketing. Faith Pinnow sat down with Chris Moneta, the Director of Strategy and Operations at Intuit SMB Media Labs, to discuss how a company synonymous with financial tools like QuickBooks and TurboTax has transformed into a sophisticated advertising powerhouse.

From Financial Tools to Media Labs

For many, Intuit is a utility for taxes and accounting. However, Moneta explained that SMB Media Labs is a “natural extension” of Intuit’s core mission to help small businesses thrive. By leveraging the ecosystem business owners already use, Intuit has created a bridge for global brands to reach this specific audience with products they actually need, such as specialized insurance or freight logistics.

Moving Beyond “Spray and Pray”

Moneta highlighted a fundamental shift in how brands reach business owners. In the past, traditional TV advertising was a “spray and pray” game – paying to reach a mass audience (like everyone watching a football game) in hopes that a few small business owners were among them.

With Intuit’s deterministic data, advertisers can now eliminate that waste. Moneta contrasted traditional search engines with the power of Connected TV (CTV): “Traditional search is fundamentally a reactive channel… by the time a small business owner searches for freight logistics, they’re already at the bottom of the funnel. Conversely, CTV is a proactive channel. Brands are able to reach small business owners and share solutions before those owners even know to search for them.”

Privacy as the “Gold Standard”

In an era of heightened data sensitivity, the transition to a media-heavy model raises immediate questions about user privacy. Moneta was quick to address this, describing Intuit as a “shield.”

He explained that the challenge wasn’t just moving data, but building for a privacy-first world. Intuit de-identifies and abstracts signals at the source. This ensures advertisers receive verified audience segments without ever seeing the private, sensitive information of individual users. As Moneta put it, “Brands are able to get the precision of QuickBooks data while we’re able to maintain the gold standard of trust and privacy that Intuit is known for.”

The Future is Self-Service

After spending its first two years in a pilot phase to verify efficacy, SMB Media Labs is now moving into a “scaling” phase. The labs have transitioned from a managed service to a self-service model, integrating directly with existing toolkits like The Trade Desk. This interoperability ensures that marketing teams can access Intuit’s specialized segments within the platforms they already use every day.

By meeting partners where they already are, Intuit is proving that the future of B2B advertising isn’t just about more ads – it’s about more relevant, proactive solutions delivered with surgical precision.