AdExchanger
AdExchanger Talks
AdExchanger Talks is an advertising and marketing technology podcast from AdExchanger, the leading voice in ad tech. Listen in as AdExchanger’s award-winning editorial team, led by Managing Editor Allison Schiff, interviews industry leaders and explores the issues and trends that matter to brand marketers, ad agencies, publishers, media companies and technology providers.
The Power Of Creative Data
Creative is a powerful performance lever. In fact, according to CreativeX, ad creative is responsible for nearly half of sales lift – which is more than reach, recency and targeting combined. So why doesn’t creative get the credit it deserves? Until recently, says Anastasia Leng, CEO and founder of CreativeX, technology wasn’t advanced enough to measure creative decisions at scale. But that’s changing.
Measurement Real Talk, With INCRMNTAL’s Maor Sadra
Many measurement companies are promoting marketing mix modeling as an easy-to-use solution to overcome signal loss. But that couldn’t be further from the truth, says Maor Sadra, CEO and co-founder of incrementality measurement startup INCRMNTAL.
Brands, It’s Time To Test Those Alt IDs
Agencies now have more breathing room to think carefully and be strategic about signal loss solutions, because signal loss isn’t just a third-party cookie thing, says Sisi Zhang, chief data and analytics officer at Razorfish. Specifically, she says, brands need to spend more time testing alternative identifiers.
What The World Looks Like To Smaller Agencies
It’s not easy competing for business with massive holding companies (which are only getting more massive). But the Omnicom-IPG deal “also creates opportunities for the rest of us,” says Remy Stiles, North America CEO of programmatic agency Kepler.
A Standard-Bearer For Standards
What do toasters have in common with transparency standards for online advertising? Quite a lot, actually, says Ben Hovaness, chief media officer at OMD Worldwide. If people can trust a set of standards – and companies conform to them – the less transparency one needs. It’s like when you plug in a new toaster. “You’re not worried that it's going to burst into flames and destroy your home,” Hovaness says.
Speaking Of Growth, With Duolingo’s CMO
Performance marketing can become a crutch for some brands, warns Duolingo CMO Manu Orssaud, especially app-based businesses that are under pressure to show rapid growth. That’s why Duolingo makes organic marketing a top priority.
Frank Predictions For 2025
Tune into the first episode of the year with guest Andrew Frank, VP and distinguished analyst at research firm Gartner. We cover a lot of ground, from the impact of multiple major Big Tech antitrust trials to practical AI use cases (minus the BS).
Breaking Away From Low-Quality Data
Scott McKinley shares his journey from professional cyclist and captain of the 1988 US Olympic Road Cycling Team to CEO and founder of data validation provider Truthset. The road was more linear than one might think.
On The Verge Of Convergence
Feels like we’ve been waiting for the convergence of ad tech and mar tech forever. But it’s finally starting to happen, and the time couldn’t be more ripe, says Heather Macaulay, president of product-focused consultancy MadTech.
For Incrementality Testing, It’s One Step At A Time
What is incrementality testing? “I’ve been doing more interviews with journalists lately and realize I need a better answer to this question,” says Haus Head of Strategy Olivia Kory.
The Crusade Against Principal-Based Buying
Jared Belsky, CEO and co-founder of indie digital agency Acadia, needs your help. He’d like someone to please explain to him why media arbitrage isn’t a form of stealing.
Insight Is A Man’s Best Friend, With Mars Pet Nutrition
Personalization and customization are great, but when marketers go overboard with targeting, they don’t cast a wide enough net to attract new customers and foster growth, says JP Jansen, SVP of marketing and CMO for North America at Mars Pet Nutrition.
Talking (Antitrust) Turkey With DCN’s Jason Kint
Digital Content Next CEO Jason Kint shares insights from inside the courtroom during closing arguments in US v. Google, ad tech antitrust edition. Plus: Kint noodles on potential remedies in the search antitrust case against Google.
What’s Next, With Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia
When social media platform Nextdoor launched advertising in 2017, CEO Nirav Tolia declared it would be a $1 billion business by 2020. That didn’t happen. Nextdoor generated $66 million overall in Q3 of this year, and Tolia chides himself for his hyperbole. But Nextdoor has an ambitious plan for advertising growth.
Wendy Clark Says, ‘Do Your Homework’
Former Dentsu CEO Wendy Clark, current president of consulting group Consello, sees the renewed controversy around principal-based buying as a symptom of a more fundamental issue: the lack of open dialogue between brands and their agencies.
The Case For Turning Google’s Network Biz Into A Nonprofit
If the DOJ wins its ad tech antitrust case against Google, it shouldn’t force a breakup, says Arete Research’s Richard Kramer, who proposes this novel solution instead: Google should spin out its network business into a public interest corporation with no hidden fees.
Talking Shop With Mike Ryan, The PMax Whisperer
Mike Ryan of Smarter Ecommerce helps advertisers get the most out of their Google Performance Max campaigns. Understanding what’s going on inside this walled garden black box product is now the most pressing concern for many retailers and ecommerce advertisers, he says.
Back To Marketing Basics, With Back Market’s New CMO
As the former CMO of Sonos, Joy Howard’s job was to make people want to buy new electronics. Now, as the recently appointed CMO of Back Market – an online marketplace for refurbished electronics – it’s her job to convince them not to.
Pitching Performance, With Pinterest’s CRO
Having nipped at Meta’s and Google’s heels for years, Pinterest is finished with being the underdog. It’s been getting very “serious” about its investments in lower-funnel advertising products, says Pinterest CRO Bill Watkins.
Context Vs. Cookies With Dotdash Meredith's D/Cipher Lead
Dotdash Meredith’s Lindsay Van Kirk says the cookie-based buying tools she helped develop in her early career at AppNexus placed too much value on unreliable third-party audiences. But contextual tools like DDM’s D/Cipher, which she now oversees, can build a better ad ecosystem for buyers and sellers.
Oracle Memories, With Omar Tawakol
Omar Tawakol is a serial entrepreneur. He sold two companies in five years, including BlueKai to Oracle in 2014. But he’s in no rush with his new virtual product placement startup Rembrand. He says he’s having too much fun. Plus: Meditating on the end of Oracle Advertising.
Ari Paparo, On The Ground In Virginia
Covering Google’s ad tech antitrust trial in Virginia is surreal for anyone who’s been in ad tech as long as Ari Paparo. He knows most of the people on the stand.
Adam Heimlich, Ad Tech Time Traveler
If Adam Heimlich could travel back in time to alter the future of online advertising, he would go to Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick in 2007, but not necessarily to stop it.
Talking Advanced Audiences With NBCU’s Alison Levin
Advanced audience targeting is perhaps the most significant change in TV ad buying structures, says Alison Levin, NBCUniversal’s president of advertising and partnerships, on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
An AMA With Reddit’s New VP Of Ad Product
It’s a misconception that Redditors categorically dislike advertising, says newly hired VP of Ad Product Management Jyoti Vaidee. In fact, 60% of Reddit users want brands to participate in communities, she says, so long as their interactions are relevant and respectful.
Gopuff Goes In-House
Have we finally reached peak retail media, or is the recent explosion of RMNs the sign of a healthy and thriving marketplace? “It’s the right question to be asking, especially at this time,” says Gopuff’s SVP of business, Daniel Folkman, who helped spearhead the company’s advertising business.
Let’s Live In A Data Democracy
Serial ad tech entrepreneur Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan founded two startups roughly a decade apart, both for a similar reason: making data available across the enterprise in a way that’s also respectful of the consumer.
Hyundai’s New Marketing Direction
Last month, Hyundai eliminated the chief marketing officer role and split the function in two: creative and performance. The move makes sense because two brains are better than one, says Angela Zepeda, Hyundai’s former CMO and now its chief creative officer. But there are critics to this approach.
The Move Toward Better Measurement
There’s only so much you can do to measure earned media, says Najah Ayoub, CMO of Piece of Cake Moving & Storage. That’s why the brand invests so much in the customer experience. Plus: Piece of Cake’s hybrid MMM/MTA approach to attribution.
The Skeptical Technologist
AI-powered systems should make the humans that use them smarter, says WPP CTO Stephan Pretorius. “It has to be people first, not technology first.” Plus: why “technology doesn’t destroy jobs, it destroys tasks.”
Three-Ply Vs. One-Ply Programmatic
What does programmatic media have in common with toilet paper? A lot more than you might think, says Sherine Ebadi, managing director of forensic investigations at Kroll. It’s a question of quality (or the lack thereof).
Antitrust Soul Searching
With Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling expected this fall, Adam Epstein, co-CEO of adMarketplace, breaks down the DOJ’s search-focused antitrust case against Google. Plus: why Google’s Performance Max has some search advertisers hopping mad.
Brand Safety Is Critical – But Don’t Overdo It
It’s time for advertisers to get more nuanced with their approach to brand safety, says Mia Libby, The Wall Street Journal’s SVP of enterprise. It’s okay to be cautious, but excluding all news from programmatic media plans isn’t the answer.
Travelers Just Want To Spend
Once consumers are ready to travel, they’re often ready to spend on almost everything, from beauty and booze to electronics and streaming services. And that creates a unique opportunity for advertisers to reach a new audience with high intent, says Christine Maguire, global VP of commercial business at TripAdvisor.
MediaMath (By Infillion) Rides Again
It’s been almost one year since MediaMath went out of business. Two months later, Infillion acquired the assets out of bankruptcy. Now it’s time for the next phase, says Infillion CRO and CMO Laurel Rossi.
Measure Me This
Shoppable TV ads may encourage sales, but they lack the measurement and performance benchmarks advertisers expect. Buyers must create their own benchmarks – and can only do so by actually testing these new ad units, including with their upfront budgets, says Mike Fisher, executive director of investment innovation at GroupM US.
Practical Ethics For Generative AI
It’s hard to set a strategy for AI adoption without getting a little hands-on experience first, says Betty Louie, a partner and general counsel at The Brandtech Group. You have to play around with the different tools before you even know where the guardrails are, she says.
The Case Against Last Click
If there’s one thing that makes advertising measurement consultant Andrew Covato roll his eyes and shake his head, it’s the endurance of last-click attribution. Last click may seem “simple” and “tidy,” Covato says, but it doesn’t reflect the full funnel.
Lotame’s Next Phase
Signal loss is real, but don’t write an elegy for data management platforms just yet, says Andy Monfried, CEO and founder of Lotame, which turned 18 this year. Also in this episode: Lotame’s reinvention of itself as a data collaboration platform.
Don’t Call It A Comeback
With the rise of generative AI software and major changes to search platforms even in just the past year or two, SEO and SEM tactics are back. Everyone and their mother is trying to figure out how to make search work and what the new world of search marketing even looks like. Enter Navah Hopkins.
A Sandbox Skeptic
What is Google’s true motive in launching the Chrome Privacy Sandbox? An optimist might give Google credit for not dropping the hammer like Apple did. But it’s hard not to be a little cynical about Google’s goals, according to Samantha Jacobson, chief strategy officer at The Trade Desk.
Is The Alt Video Currency Juice Worth The Squeeze?
Alternative TV currencies are ready for prime time from a technology standpoint. But media buyers aren’t quite there yet when it comes to adoption, says Josh Chasin, VideoAmp’s former chief measurability officer.
Roblox Breaks Into Programmatic
Roblox’s head of immersive media Ashley McCollum explains how the online gaming giant built its ad platform with demand for programmatic video in mind. And she previews Roblox’s ambitions to grow an ecommerce platform for real-world purchases.
Question Everything
Quad Media President Joshua Lowcock asks all ad tech partners for log files as a matter of course. And if a company isn’t willing to hand them over, that’s a sign it’s probably hiding something. Plus: The fallacy of scale and pondering the true role of a third-party verification partner.
Turning Signal Loss Into A Gain
Cookie deprecation and the reduced availability of mobile ad IDs is rocking the ad tech ecosystem. But signal loss is also an opportunity for a younger company to build new privacy-preserving targeting technology and grab market share, according to Remco Westermann, CEO of Verve Group’s parent company, MGI.
A New Day For Targeting And Analytics
Jeromy Sonne only began bootstrapping his ad optimization and analytics startup Daypart.AI in 2023, having missed the heady days of low interest rates and easy money. Still, there’s gold in them thar hills for a programmatic startup that isn’t exactly a DSP, isn’t built on cookie-based data and is native to cloud-based advertising.
All Marketing Is Performance Marketing
If Alex Schultz, Meta’s CMO and VP of analytics, had his way, the term “performance marketing” would be retired. There isn’t a line [between] brand and performance,” he says. “It all performs.”
Bloomberg Media Went Direct And Has No Regrets
It’s been more than a year since Bloomberg stopped running third-party programmatic display ads on its website – and it was the right move, says Christine Cook, Bloomberg Media’s global CRO.
The Privacy-Utility Trade-Off
Businesses will always need to find a compromise between privacy and utility, but it’s more than possible to strike a healthy balance, says Graham Mudd, president and chief product officer at privacy startup Anonym.
From ‘Big Data’ To Business Intelligence
It’s not that enterprise analytics is broken. The bigger issue, says Obele Brown-West, president of data intelligence platform Tracer, is that enterprise analytics was never all that functional to begin with.
Unpacking ‘Performance TV’
Advertisers expect direct proof of performance from their streaming ad buys. But even though most people don’t shop via their TV screens (yet), new ad formats can still help brands boost consideration, says MediaLink Managing Director Mark Wagman.
Straight Shooting With Invisalign
If you’re an ad tech or martech vendor thinking about pitching a marketer, then Kamal Bhandal, global VP of brand and consumer experience at Invisalign, has some important advice for you.
Dispelling Multicultural Myths
“There is no scale in multicultural media.” Lashawnda Goffin, CEO of Colossus SSP, has heard that statement many times – and it simply isn’t true. Yet the misperception persists, in part because of problematic programmatic practices.
#NoFilter With Eyeo’s New Chief Product Officer
Do people hate ads? No, according to Vegard Johnsen, who joined eyeo as chief product officer last summer after nearly a decade at Google. What people don’t like, he says, is having no real choice over what they see and not being treated with respect.
Inside Ally Financial’s Big Bet On Generative AI
Lots of marketers are playing around with generative AI. But for Ally Financial, generative AI is a serious investment, not a game or a gimmick, says CMO Andrea Brimmer.
Generative AI Is Moving From Hype Into ‘Serious Mode’
Over the summer, Gartner placed generative AI at the peak of inflated expectations on its hype cycle covering emerging technologies. Sounds about right. But at the same time, marketers are getting more serious about AI adoption, says Abhay Parasnis, CEO and founder of Typeface.ai.
AWS Wants To Be The Backbone Of Independent Ad Tech
Rather than a competitor to data clean rooms, Amazon Web Services – which has a data clean room offering of its own – considers itself to be a facilitator of ad tech companies, says Adam Solomon, global head of biz dev and go-to-market for AWS Clean Rooms. Guess there are no competitors in ad tech, only frenemies.
A Healthy Dose Of Programmatic, With Doceree’s CEO
Meet Doceree, a programmatic health care marketing platform with a twist. Rather than allowing brands to target patients on the open web, Doceree has a specialized DSP for targeting doctors with secure messages on physician-only platforms, says CEO Harshit Jain.
Why Semafor Embraces The B2B Publisher Mindset
Reaching a scaled audience is important for publishers, but scale at all costs is just a race to the bottom in disguise. When publishers have a deep and direct relationship with their readers, advertisers see stronger performance, says Semafor CRO Rachel Oppenheim.
Don’t Talk Yourself Into A Downturn In 2024
Ad revenue in the US is set to grow in the year ahead. So pour one out for 2023 – but try not to make the same mistake. Despite a more-than-decent ad market last year, media executives nearly manifested a recession out of fear that one was coming, according to professional advertising prognosticator Brian Wieser.
Not All Automated Ad Products Are Alike
Google’s Performance Max and Meta’s Advantage+ often get tossed into the same bucket, but they’re different animals. And despite certain benefits, advertisers aren’t in love with all that these two have to offer, says Nii Ahene, chief strategy officer at Tinuiti, on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks (our last of 2023!).
The MRC May Be Old, But It’s Getting With The TV Program
The Media Rating Council has the same goals of promoting fair media measurement as it did when it formed in the ’60s. But it has had to polish its methodology to keep pace with change in the TV measurement space, says Ron Pinelli, the organization's SVP of digital research and standards.
Taking The Measure Of Measurement On TikTok
As TikTok’s global head of marketing science, it’s Jorge Ruiz’s job to prove that ads on the platform can drive results. But marketing measurement is as much an art as it is a science. Also in this episode: self-attribution, the rise (again) of MMM and how TikTok managed to roll with the ATT punches.
It’s Time For Vanity Metrics To Perform A Disappearing Act
Just because a channel isn’t where a final transaction happens doesn’t mean it’s not a performance channel. Connected TV is the perfect example, says Brian Mandelbaum, CEO of commerce data platform Attain.
Down With Blocklists!
It’s not that brands don’t care about supporting the news and good journalism. But an overreliance on keyword blocklists has made it seem that way, says Zefr CEO Rich Raddon on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
The State Of Media Analytics – And American Rugby – With A Kiwi Entrepreneur
Google Analytics dominates the analytics market – but analytics isn’t a zero-sum game, says Ben Young, CEO of insights and measurement startup Nudge. Also: The important of measuring attention and finding "value at the margins."
Exploring The Minds – And Ad Spending Habits – Of Local Advertisers
Local advertisers are spending more on social media platforms today than three years ago, despite being unconvinced social media is the best place to reach their customers. What gives? Corey Elliott, Borell's EVP of local marketing intelligence, explains the story behind the numbers.
Data-Driven Marketing Is State Farm's Best Policy
State Farm has spent tens of billions of dollars on TV advertising and brand marketing. But programmatic media buying also has a big role to play in helping nurture leads, says Alyson Griffin, State Farm’s head of marketing.
Creative And Media’s Much-Needed Merger
The strategy behind agency holding company reorgs makes sense: consolidation of related assets under one roof. But simply merging creative agencies doesn’t solve the bigger client need, which is bringing creative and media closer together, says Jellyfish CEO Nick Emery.
Brands, Please Don’t Add “Israel” And “Hamas” To Your Keyword Blocklists
Advertisers that shun legit news sites for fear of blowback from consumers should think twice – people are smarter than they think, says Vanessa Otero, CEO of Ad Fontes Media, a startup that rates the news for bias and reliability.
Demystifying Black-Owned Media With Black Enterprise
Despite good intentions, the ad industry still has a misconception that Black-owned media can’t scale, says Justin Barton, SVP of digital strategy and partnerships at Black Enterprise.
Buy Now, Pay Later … And Then Launch A Retail Media Network?
Klarna is best known as a BNPL service. But don’t be surprised if you see the Swedish payments company eventually launch its own retail media network, says CMO David Sandstrom.
GroupM’s Performance Chief On Why ‘Commerce Is Going To Disrupt Everything’
Is the programmatic advertising industry in a rut? Maybe just call it a midlife crisis, says JiYoung Kim, president for North America at GroupM Nexus, because there are bright spots – namely, retail media.
Solving The Advertising Puzzle With New York Times’ Joy Robins
At The New York Times, paying subscribers come first – an approach that works on advertising side, too. Hear from newly appointed Chief Advertising Officer Joy Robins, who believes that when media has gone astray, it’s because publications didn’t put the reader at the center of their decision.
The Reality Of Advertising In Virtual Worlds
Super League Gaming CEO Ann Hand shares lessons learned from building in-game ad experiences and insights into the developing in-game ecommerce market. Also: Is metaverse marketing truly dead?
The Real Economics Of Programmatic
Looking for unvarnished, sharp views on transparency, the lack thereof, defining ad quality and the industry’s new obsession with made-for-advertising websites? Then this is the episode for you, with guest Tom Triscari, CEO and founder of programmatic advisory firm Lemonade Projects.
Exposing Ad Tech’s Dirty Laundry
Armed with Ads.txt and Sellers.json files, Nandini Jammi, co-founder of Check My Ads Institute, spends her days exposing how money flows through the twisted pipes of the programmatic supply chain. Her goal? To defund disinformation, toxic content and hate online.
Riding The Rising Tide Of Programmatic Streaming With Disney
CTV’s over-frequency problem is as real as the pressure streaming services are under to grow their average revenue per user. But you don’t have to sacrifice one to achieve the other, says Jamie Power, Disney’s SVP of addressable sales.
Sweeping Away The Crumbs And Diving Into What’s Truly Important In Privacy
The ad industry tends to get lost in its own weeds. (Endless consternation about the end of third-party cookies, anyone?) But the concept of privacy encompasses much more, from dealing with misinformation to promoting competition, says Jules Polonetsky, CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum.
Amplifying Programmatic Podcast Advertising With SXM Media
For programmatic podcast advertising to really take off, buyers want the same assurances they’re used to on other channels, including brand safety controls and effective targeting. It’s a process, says Lizzie Widhelm, SVP of ad monetization at SiriusXM-owned SXM Media.
Life After Third-Party Cookies, With The Director Of Product For Privacy Sandbox
It’s happening folks. The Chrome Privacy Sandbox is going live, third-party cookies will be phased out on Chrome by the end of next year – and don’t expect any further deadline extensions, says Victor Wong, senior director of product for all things Privacy Sandbox.
Moving The Monetization Needle, With Meta’s New VP Of Global Business
When will Meta monetize Threads, its new text-based app? Too soon to say, according to Alvin Bowles, Meta’s new sales leader. But if past behavior is the best indicator of future performance, it’s only a matter of time (and user engagement).
Addressing Content Quality Concerns With Taboola’s CEO
Taboola CEO Adam Singolda bristles at the terms “clickbait” and “chumbox.” Quality is subjective, he says. Also: Inside Taboola’s exclusive 30-year native advertising sales deal with Yahoo.
The Advertising Industry Needs To Invest More In Hispanic Audiences
One-fifth of the US population is Hispanic. But Spanish speakers are sorely underrepresented in measurement ratings, so advertisers miss out on audience buying opportunities, says TelevisaUnivision’s Dan Aversano. To bridge that gap, media companies must be more comfortable with privacy-safe data sharing.
Why Privacy Lawyers Also Need To Be Technologists
Data privacy law is becoming more technically complex, and enforcers are getting increasingly savvy about how online tracking technology works. That’s why being a privacy lawyer today means diving into the technical details, says Daniel Rosenzweig, a senior associate at Norton Rose Fulbright.
Calculating CAC With An Eye On Retention
The cost of customer acquisition (CAC) is about more than what a brand pays to get someone to visit a website or download an app. Advertisers also need to bake engagement and retention into their CAC, says Braze CEO Bill Magnuson.
Why All The Drama About Disintermediation?
There’s a prevailing narrative that supply-side platforms are releasing tools to cut out demand-side platforms in a desperate attempt to differentiate. But “it’s much more nuanced than that,” says Magnite CRO Sean Buckley.
Amazon Is A Beast, But There Are Enough Retail Media Ad Dollars To Go Around
Amazon accounts for more than 40% of retail media’s multibillion-dollar total addressable market. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a big opportunity to scale retailer audiences across the open internet, says Criteo CEO Megan Clarken.
Innovation Is The Only Rational Response To The End Of Third-Party Cookies
The end of third-party cookies isn’t “Armageddon for marketers,” says Wendi Dunlap, Mediahub’s newly appointed EVP of business intelligence and audience science. It’s an opportunity to test, learn and do better.
It’s Time To Defund Misinformation And Take A More Rational Approach To Brand Safety
Why is there so much misinformation circulating online? Because, unfortunately, “it’s a great business,” says L. Gordon Crovitz, co-founder of NewsGuard, which estimates that advertisers are funneling as much as $2.6 billion a year programmatically to misinformation websites.
Ad Tech Should Have Its Head In The Clouds
Ad tech and cloud tech are converging; there’s no doubt about that. But how much of ad tech will get eaten by cloud platforms? That’s harder to answer, says Myles Younger, head of innovation and insights at U of Digital.
Meet The Digital Marketer Who Spent Two Years Working For The FTC
Raashee Gupta Erry spent most of her career in the digital marketing industry at agencies and brands, including Essence and Volkswagen US. Then she took a job explaining ad tech to the Federal Trade Commission. “There’s a wind of change happening,” Gupta says.
Charting “The Last Media Frontier” With In-Game Ad Platform Anzu
Brands are keen to invest more into in-game advertising. But advertising in virtual worlds means they’ll have to be careful not to turn off gamers, says Anzu CEO Itamar Benedy.
What’s In Store For Retail Media, With Albertsons RMN Savant Kristi Argyilan
Retail media is exploding, but there are some obstacles standing in the way of growth. The main issue is a lack of standardized measurement, which is why it’s time for retailers to work together, says Kristi Argyilan, SVP of retail media at Albertsons Companies.
An Upfront Look At TV Measurement, With Omnicom Media’s Kelly Me
The TV industry is on the path toward better measurement – but buyers are still lacking basic standards. The industry needs to get its act together if it plans to transact on new video currencies at the upfronts this year, says Kelly Metz, managing director of advanced TV activation at Omnicom Media Group.
Weighing AI Hype Vs. Reality With ‘AI Marketing Agency’ Boathouse
Do we need to temporarily pause AI development? What are the ethical risks of AI technology? What’s the weirdest AI-generated image or video you’ve seen? In this episode, Peter Prodromou, president of AI agency Boathouse Group, takes on the tough questions.
The Bumpy Road To Reducing The Ad Industry’s Carbon Footprint
The ad industry is in a unique position to galvanize global action against climate change, says John Osborn, US director of trade group Ad Net Zero. But it’s not always easy. Not everyone, including people in the ad industry, agree on how to get there.
Keeping An Eye On Spotify’s Video Ad Strategy
Spotify is all about audio, obviously. But video advertising is a strategic priority for the audio streaming service. Emma Vaughn, Spotify’s senior director of advertising business development and partnerships, explains why.
A Walk Down Ad Fraud Memory Lane With Zach Edwards
In this episode, we’ll take a walk down memory lane with Zach Edwards, Human’s senior manager for threat insights to see what progress the online ad industry has made when it comes to basic privacy and security measures.
Measurement Will Never Be Perfect, And That’s Okay
Ad measurement is becoming more challenging due to signal loss. But there was never such a thing as perfect measurement, says Jen Faraci, chief data officer at Publicis-owned Digitas North America.
Can TV Be A Performance Channel?
Television advertising has the reputation of mainly being a vehicle for branding. But that’s a misconception, says Arjun Kapur, managing partner and founder of Comcast’s Forecast Labs.
Ecommerce Is A Good Look For Saks Fifth Avenue
In March 2021, Hudson’s Bay Company, which owns Saks Fifth Avenue, made an unusual move to split its ecommerce business and physical stores into two separate companies. Why? We got Emily Essner, CMO of Saks, to explain.
Walking The DEI Walk With Direct Digital Holdings CEO Mark Walker
Brands that don’t invest in diverse media are missing out on revenue. “Audiences in those communities reward you for noticing them,” says Mark Walker, CEO of Direct Digital Holdings.
Analytic Partners’ Nancy Smith On Why It’s Time To Give Up On Data Perfection
The digital advertising industry has been too focused on data perfection, according to Analytic Partners CEO Nancy Smith. But as data disappears due to signal loss, brands have an opportunity to regroup around “commercial analytics,” a different measurement approach focused on driving outcomes with less user-focused data.
Why Creatives Don’t Need to Fear AI Art
Performance marketers once turned up their noses at creative, seeming to only care about audience targeting. But signal loss is putting creative back into the spotlight by highlighting how essential even the smallest of details can be, says VidMob CEO Alex Collmer. Also: Hot takes on generative AI art. (Spoiler: Humans aren’t obsolete – yet.)
Kickstarting Instacart’s Advertising Ambitions
Are retail media networks overhyped? “It’s a very fair question,” says Ali Miller, Instacart’s VP of product management for ads. The answer is yes and no. Yes, companies are jumping on the RMN bandwagon – but it’s not hype, as long as retail media can prove its value.
Marketing To The Military Calls For Authenticity
Roughly one-third of the US population has a direct connection to the military. And yet many brands “still struggle to authentically connect with this key demographic,” says Mark Harper, GM of military and defense at Recurrent Ventures.
Getting Into It With Intuit, The Brand With Its Own CDP
With 100 million customers and a homegrown CDP, Intuit is a data-driven brand, says Intuit CMO Lara Balazs. But beyond conversions, the owner of TurboTax and Credit Karma closely tracks brand reputation as a measure of success.
It’s Time For Traditional TV Players To (Finally) Do More With Data
The combination of attention across streaming and linear television is a massive, undermonetized opportunity, says Blockgraph CEO Jason Manningham. But if traditional TV players don’t get more creative with their data, they’ll lose out to the Big Tech platforms. It’s a familiar tale.
Scoping The Ad Tech Ecosystem, With Brian O’Kelley (Reprise)
This week we’re republishing one of the most popular AdExchanger Talks episodes of 2022, with Brian O’Kelley, an originator of RTB and now the CEO and co-founder of Scope3, a new startup that aims to help ad tech companies monitor and reduce their carbon emissions. Happy holidays and happy listening!
Thinking Outside The (Subscription) Box With Misfits Market
When online grocery subscription service Misfits Market was founded in 2018, it took a page right out of the DTC advertiser’s playbook, says Holly Eagleson, VP of marketing. But since the release of Apple’s ATT, Misfits has been embracing new channels.
Truly Supporting Diverse Publishers Means Doing It On The Regular
Advertisers often talk about supporting Black- and minority-owned media companies. It’s Mark Prince’s job to help them turn those pledges into action. As SVP and head of economic empowerment at Dentsu Media, he pushes brands to consistently diversify their media mix – and move away from one-off investments.
Regulatory Scrutiny And The Intricacies Of Ad Law With A 30-Year FTC Veteran
Mary Engle is EVP of policy at BBB National Programs, a nonprofit organization that’s helping keep self-regulation of the ad industry alive. She’s also spent more than three decades with the FTC. In this episode, Engle gets into the weeds on “commercial surveillance,” the nitty-gritty of ad disclosures, the FTC’s case against Kochava and more.
Tackling CTV’s Measurement Mess With FuboTV
CTV measurement is a total mess: Agree or disagree? “It’s a mess,” says Lynette Kaylor, SVP of North America ad sales at sports-focused streaming platform FuboTV. And don’t even get her started on using audience panels to measure streaming audiences.
Thanksgiving Episode: Talking Turkey With IAB CEO David Cohen
How should advertisers approach a wild-child platform like Twitter? David Cohen, CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau – who recently spoke with Elon Musk himself on that very topic – weighs in. Also in this episode: grappling with the term “commercial surveillance,” retail media real talk and marketing in the metaverse.
Advertising Delivers For DoorDash, With VP Of Ads Toby Espinosa
Generating awareness is great, says Toby Espinosa, VP of ads at DoorDash. But a cost-per-acquisition pricing mechanism allows small businesses to invest in growth without having to worry about cash flow.
Why It’s Time To Put ‘Notice And Choice’ On Notice
The “notice and choice” model makes sense in theory, but in practice? It’s a mess. Privacy platitudes need to stop, says Jessica Lee, a partner at Loeb & Loeb. Heck, some practitioners don’t even know how online advertising works.
Straight Talk With An Anonymous Guest, The Legendary Corndog Of Ad Tech Twitter
Call it a Halloween special. Our apparition of a guest this week, an anonymous ad tech Twitter personality, is staying beneath the invisibility cloak. “I’m not senior enough to get away with running my mouth,” says the @HumanPropensity account operator who goes by corndog.
Defining Data Ethics With Unilever’s Former General Counsel
Bringing data ethics into the marketing department is good for an org’s bottom line, says Jamie Barnard, Unilever’s former general counsel focused on global marketing, and now the CEO of a new privacy compliance startup called (natch) Compliant.
Inside T-Mobile’s Plan To Rideshare Its Way Into Ad Budgets
Rideshare marketing should be more than just slapping a screen in the back of a car and running ads, says Cherian Thomas, head of marketing and go-to-market for T-Mobile Advertising Solutions, on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
Why Ad Blocking Is On The Rise … Again
Just like a rising tide lifts all boats, a receding tide grounds all ships. When someone turns on an ad blocker out of frustration, that decision also affects publishers making an effort to serve up respectful ad experiences, says Blockthrough CEO Marty Krátký-Katz.
How To Hold Each Marketing Dollar Accountable
Marketers are banking on compelling creative and contextual signals for performance, with challenges to addressability, says Forrester Senior Analyst Nikhil Lai. Plus: How TV can reduce digital advertising costs.
Episode 300: Scoping The Ad Tech Ecosystem, With Brian O’Kelley
After a hiatus from ad tech, Brian O’Kelley is back with Scope3, a new startup to help ad tech companies reduce their carbon emissions. The cynical POV: He’s cleaning up the mess he helped make. It’s a fair criticism, O’Kelley says: “I take accountability for my role in this.”
Connecting The Dots With Walmart Connect
Retail media has reached escape velocity. “We've grown from basically $0 to a business that's now bigger than The New York Times,” says Walmart Connect VP Jeff Clark. But Walmart still needs to get it right.
Forget AVOD Vs. SVOD – Now It’s Time For ‘HVOD’
Meet your new CTV acronym: HVOD (hybrid video on demand). Why do we need it? The rise of AVOD doesn’t mean SVOD is going anywhere, says Sarah Lewis, global director of CTV at video platform ShowHeroes and a proponent of HVOD.
Why Roku Is Hopping On Shopping
Roku is bullish on shoppable video. The idea of television commerce isn’t new, of course. QVC, HSN and infomercials, anyone? But the technology exists today to breathe new life into the opportunity, says Peter Hamilton, Roku’s head of television commerce, on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
Doing The Math On Privacy Compliance
With five state privacy laws set to go into effect next year, consumer privacy and issues related to data collection are top of mind for everyone – but especially people like this week’s guest, Fiona Campbell-Webster, chief privacy officer at MediaMath.
Fighting FOFO In The Programmatic Supply Chain
Confusing, murky and complex – the programmatic supply chain is a mess. So why do advertisers accept the status quo? Often, it’s because they have a serious case of FOFO: the fear of finding out, says Ruben Schreurs, Ebiquity’s chief product officer.
Speaking Truth To Power, With The Markup’s CEO Nabiha Syed
Nabiha Syed is CEO of The Markup, a non-profit newsroom that runs in-depth investigations into how companies large and small (but mostly large), use technology to reshape society – and it's having an impact. The new lawsuit facing Meta and several hospitals over data sharing used to target ads on Facebook? Yep, that’s thanks to The Markup.
Retail Media Waxes As MTA Wanes, With McKinsey’s Emily Del Greco
Yes, the headwinds are blowing for digital advertising. There’s signal loss, regulatory scrutiny, platform privacy changes and a looming recession, to name a few. But McKinsey Partner Emily Del Greco sees opportunity on the horizon for commerce media and new forms of measurement.
Why Technology Should Follow Behavior (Not The Other Way Around), With VMLY&R Commerce Innovation Chief Roy Armale
Roy Armale, VMLY&R’s global chief innovation officer, believes in tackling technology with human behavior in mind – and being careful not to let the convenience of technology alter our perception of what it means to be human.
Stocking Up On First-Party Data, With General Mills Marketer Heather Conneran
General Mills is going deep on its first-party data strategy. Heather Conneran, director of brand experience platforms, shares the CGP marketer’s lessons learned from its time in the digital transformation trenches.
Listening To The Programmatic Beat, With IHeartMedia CMO Gayle Troberman
Gayle Troberman, iHeartMedia’s CMO, talks up iHeart’s programmatic advertising ambitions and the power of audio to engage – in some cases even more deeply than video. Also in this episode: Lessons learned from 16 years as Microsoft’s chief creative officer.
Dirty, Dull And Dangerous, With C2 Ventures Founding Partner Chris Cunningham
Ad tech entrepreneur Chris Cunningham’s early-stage investment firm, C2 Ventures, has a new fund: just over $20 million for pre-Series A companies, plus $2.55 million for pre-seed startups. But there’s one thing he won’t be investing in, and that’s ad tech. Listen in to learn why.
Context Is Having Its Moment (But It’s Always Been King), With Grapeshot Co-Founder John Snyder
Keyword blocklists are blunt instruments, and yet they persist in programmatic media buying. It’s time to kick blocklists to the curb and start curating keywords by campaign, says contextual pioneer John Snyder, who sold his company, Grapeshot, to Oracle in 2018.
Moving Beyond The “Empathy Incentive” In DEI - E287
When it comes to their DEI commitments, are brands more talk or more action? We bring together the buy side and sell side – Publicis President Jason DaWayne Smith and Black Enterprise President and CEO Butch Graves Jr. – for a frank discussion about whether the industry has measured up.
The Democratization Of Sponsored Listings, With Topsort CEO And Founder Regina Ye
Shopify seller turned ad tech CEO and entrepreneur Regina Ye founded her startup, Topsort, last year to help retailers launch auction-based ads on their sites through an API. Performance advertising shouldn’t be so hard for smaller brands, Ye says, on this week’s episode.
Dr. Johnny Ryan On How Ad Tech Can Change So Much – And Yet, Somehow, Also Not At All
For years, data privacy regulators didn’t have the tools – or the teeth – they needed to effectively enforce proper standards on the internet. Then came GDPR. Now they have the tools and the teeth, but seem largely unable or unwilling to disrupt the status quo. At least that’s the story to hear Johnny Ryan tell it on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
Real Talk About Retail Media, With Ascential’s Patrick Miller
Retail media networks are coming out of the woodwork. And it may feel like everyone’s got one. But it’s time to stop using RMN as an umbrella term. The details matter, says Patrick Miller, co-president of commerce at Edge by Ascential, on this week’s episode.
Crashing The Upfronts, With YouTube VP Debbie Weinstein
With the lines blurring between traditional TV content and streaming media, YouTube made its upfronts debut this year. YouTube VP Debbie Weinstein explains why.
Mobile Attribution’s Next Phase, With Adjust CEO Simon Dussart
Probabilistic attribution is a “stopgap,” says newly appointed Adjust CEO Simon “Bobby” Dussart. Using it for now is fine, but SKAdNetwork is the future of measurement on iOS – take it or leave it. Also in this episode: Remaining independent under parent company AppLovin.
The Post-IDFA Era Ain’t Bad, With IronSource CRO Omer Kaplan
Apple’s ATT rollout triggered an industry-wide freakout among mobile ad tech companies. But surprisingly, over the past year Apple has gotten “more accessible,” says Omer Kaplan, CRO and co-founder of ironSource. Also in this episode: Being a newly public ad tech company in a tricky market.
The ROI Of Doing Good, With Good-Loop CEO Amy Williams
The bad news: The internet as a whole has a larger carbon footprint than the entire airline industry (!!), and programmatic advertising is a contributor. The good news: “The extent to which people are aware of that and open to a conversion is changing at a phenomenally fast rate,” says Amy Williams, CEO and founder of sustainable advertising startup Good-Loop.
Rooting For Nielsen (Really), With VAB CEO Sean Cunningham
You’d be forgiven for thinking of the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) as a professional thorn in Nielsen’s side. The TV ad industry trade org is largely responsible for the chain of events that led to Nielsen losing its MRC accreditations last year. But “this isn’t personal,” says VAB CEO Sean Cunningham on this week’s episode. “I don't know that anyone's rooting harder than we are for [Nielsen] to get it right.”
Move Fast And Fix Things, With IAB Tech Lab CEO Tony Katsur
Does IAB Tech Lab CEO Tony Katsur have the toughest gig in ad tech? That’s an “accurate description,” Katsur says on this week’s episode. It’s his job, among many other things, to spearhead and speed up Project Rearc, an ambitious industry effort to press reset on how personalized advertising works online.
The Facebook Signal Crash, With Tuff CEO Ellen Jantsch
Clients of growth marketing agency Tuff saw “painful” results on Facebook as a result of signal loss, but it’s been able to roll with the changes, according to CEO Ellen Jantsch. There was even a silver lining. Apple’s ATT accelerated the indie agency’s move away from last-click attribution. Plus: navigating an acquisition while pregnant.
Retail Media Is Back, With Kroger SVP Cara Pratt
Retail media is returning to the spotlight after its heyday of mascot-branded cereals in Saturday morning TV cartoons, newspaper circulars and cardboard cutouts in store aisles. This time, retail media is powered by first-party purchase data and loyalty programs. We speak to SVP of Kroger Precision Marketing Cara Pratt, an OG when it comes to OGs (online groceries, that is).
The Symbiosis Of Ads And Subs, With The NYT’s Lisa Howard
Don’t apologize for having to monetize, according to Lisa Howard, global head of advertising and marketing solutions at The New York Times. “[We’re] unapologetic about ads,” she says. But when it comes to digital advertising, less is more.
Living In A Multi-Currency World, With NBCU’s Kelly Abcarian
Kelly Abcarian joined NBCU last year to lead a team tasked with disrupting the measurement status quo. “Marketers don’t buy ratings,” Abcarian says on this week’s episode. “They buy results.” NBCU’s roster of alternative measurement and audience verification providers now includes seven partners – and counting.
Analyzing App Trends, With Apptopia CEO Jonathan Kay
Mobile behavior is telling: How is Trump’s Truth Social really doing? How is app usage trending in Russia and Ukraine? Did all those crypto ads during the Super Bowl actually get people to download crypto apps? On this week’s episode, we dive into the trends with Jonathan Kay, CEO of app store intelligence platform Apptopia.
Episode 272: Guess What? MMPs Aren’t Dead, With Branch’s Alex Bauer
It was hard to imagine how mobile measurement platforms (MMPs) could survive Apple’s ATT changes. But the MMPs aren’t dying, they’re thriving, says Branch’s Alex Bauer, on the heels of raising $300 million.
Leaving Cookies Behind, With Dstillery’s Chief Data Scientist Melinda Han Williams
Former physicist Melinda Han Williams used to spend her time studying “electronic transport in nanostructured graphene devices.” These days, as chief data scientist at Dstillery, she’s creating identifier-free solutions to transport us past the end of third-party cookies.
Personalization Needs To Be In Context, With ActionIQ CEO Tasso Argyros
Privacy and data security aren’t just legal issues – they are also customer experience issues. Consumers don’t like their data “changing hands under the table,” says ActionIQ CEO Tasso Argyros.
Why MoviePass The Sequel Will Have Ads, With CEO Stacy Spikes (Back At The Helm)
It’s a classic tale of redemption. After going bankrupt in 2019, MoviePass is set to relaunch with co-founder and original CEO Stacy Spikes leading the charge. There are a lot of reasons things will be different this time around, Spikes says, including the eventual rollout of an advertising component.
Diversifying The Data, With LVA Founder Larry Adams
Marketers often rely on a combination of assumptions and incorrect, faulty data that perpetuates stereotypes. Former WarnerMedia executive Larry Adams experienced this firsthand and founded LVA, an “anti-racist” agency that uses proprietary technology to measure the level of inclusion in content.
Blazing An Alternative Measurement Trail With WarnerMedia’s Andrea Zapata
Nielsen has always “had a challenge with counting appropriately,” says Andrea Zapata, head of research, data and insights at WarnerMedia Ad Sales. That’s why WarnerMedia is going big on alternatives: VideoAmp, iSpot and Comscore.
Politicking At A Pivotal Moment For Online Advertising, With IAB Policy Chief Lartease Tiffith
Amazon vet Lartease Tiffith, the IAB’s newly appointed EVP of public policy, has a wide spectrum of responsibilities: lobbying against bills that ban data-driven advertising, then lobbying for a federal privacy law. He’s a week and a half in, and he’s got his work cut out for him.
Personalization Needs To Be In Context, With ActionIQ CEO Tasso Argyros
Privacy and data security aren’t just legal issues – they are also customer experience issues. Consumers don’t like their data “changing hands under the table,” says ActionIQ CEO Tasso Argyros.
Getting In The Weeds On Identity With Merkle Global CEO Michael Komasinski
What can marketers do to separate the snake oil from the good stuff when it comes to identity resolution and cookieless technology? In a nutshell: “Buyer beware,” says Michael Komasinski, newly appointed global CEO of Dentsu-owned Merkle.
OpenX CEO John Gentry Opens Up On Why An IPO Is Not In The Cards Right Now
OpenX CEO John Gentry on why the company isn’t going public in 2022, its recent COPPA settlement with the FTC and the ongoing challenge of ensuring quality supply in an open exchange.
Living Under Apple’s Thumb, With AppsFlyer CEO Oren Kaniel
Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency framework left the mobile ecosystem reeling – but the writing was on the wall, says AppsFlyer CEO Oren Kaniel on this week’s episode. ATT reminds him of when Apple pulled the plug on UDID and replaced it with the IDFA.
MParticle CEO Michael Katz On Living In The CDP Era
DMPs are dead – long live CDPs … at least according to Michael Katz, CEO and co-founder of customer data platform mParticle. After years of confusion, the CDP space is finally starting to shake out as marketers get smarter about what they need from the tech.
The CEOs Of Nielsen, VideoAmp And ComScore On A Year Of Massive Change In TV Measurement
2021 was a year of reckoning for TV measurement. On AdExchanger Talks, we spoke with three of the most important names in the space about these tectonic shifts: the CEOs of Nielsen, VideoAmp and Comscore. Here are the highlights.
The CDP Market Is Growing Up, With BlueConic COO Cory Munchbach
The customer data platform (CDP) market might be crowded, but savvy brands are to sifting through the category to fit their specific needs, says Cory Munchbach, chief operating officer at CDP BlueConic.
The Inside Scoop On OOH’s Post-Pandemic Revival With OAAA CEO Anna Bager
The pandemic tossed a curveball to the out-of-home advertising industry. Ad revenue plummeted. But “spending is definitely back,” says Anna Bager, president and CEO of the Out of Home Advertising Association of America. “It’s a rebound.”
Evening The Score With Comscore CEO Bill Livek
Comscore has been capitalizing on Nielsen’s recent missteps – and taking the opportunity to throw shade at traditional panel-based measurement. Samples “don’t work well when you have a problem maintaining them,” says CEO Bill Livek.
No More Half Measures in TV Measurement, With VideoAmp CEO Ross McCray
VideoAmp is having a moment. (Nielsen is not.) “Winners and losers are emerging,” says VideoAmp CEO and Founder Ross McCray on this week’s episode. VideoAmp recently secured $275 million in financing as it angles to enter the “winner” category.
Searching For Privacy Online With Mozilla’s CMO, Lindsey Shepard
Online advertising and privacy aren’t mutually exclusive – as long as the former is transparent and permission-based and the latter isn’t completely ignored, says Mozilla’s CMO, Lindsey “Shep” Shepard, on this week’s episode.
Listen Up! Let’s Address Podcasting’s Measurement Problem, With Acast’s Head Of Automation
Measurement is “the elephant in the room” for the podcast market, according to Elli Dimitroulakos, head of automation in the Americas at Acast. With podcast advertising projected to break $2 billion in spend by 2023 it’s time, she says, for the rise of new tech to cut down on the fragmentation of podcast supply and distribution.
A Brand Safety Wake-Up Call For Advertisers With Q.Digital CEO Scott Gatz
Overly restrictive keyword blocklists are still a big problem for publishers, according to Scott Gatz, CEO and founder of LGBTQ publisher Q.Digital, which experiences this issue acutely as a voice for the LGBTQ community. Niche publishers are often penalized for inoffensive words that commonly appear in their content. It’s time for advertisers to ask themselves what words they’re reflexively blocking – and why.
Inside Agency Transformation During The Great Resignation With Wavemaker Changemaker Kathryn Spaeth
Change is the law of life – especially for a global chief transformation officer. As the newly appointed change leader at WPP agency Wavemaker, Kathryn Spaeth is bringing her experience from the consulting world to bear in agency land.
Keeping Count With Nielsen CEO David Kenny
Nielsen’s been through the wringer recently with the loss of its MRC seal and alternative measurement companies surging forth to take advantage of its stumble. But CEO David Kenny is confident that the ad industry needs a base standard for TV measurement and that Nielsen has what it takes to keep its spot.
Newly Appointed MMA Global President Lou Paskalis Has Opinions
As the brand new president and COO of marketing trade org MMA Global, Lou Paskalis is on a mission to “save marketing from itself.” Here’s what the former top media executive at Bank of America has on his agenda. No punches will be pulled.
Conversational Media, Emoji And DEI With Holler CEO Travis Montaque
What is conversational media? Holler CEO Travis Montaque explains why emoji, stickers and GIFs are a language of their own as well as an opportunity for brands to communicate with consumers beyond the confines of conventional paid media.
Bringing Digital To The TV World With FreeWheel GM Dave Clark
Are advertisers ready to buy TV like they buy digital? Yes, indeed, says Dave Clark, GM of Comcast-owned FreeWheel. Demand is quick to follow digital-like capabilities in TV. But one thing FreeWheel isn’t planning to emulate is a walled garden. Also in this episode: Nielsen’s ongoing MRC headache, the programmatic upfront and what climate change has to do with the ad tech industry.
The Unquantifiable Nature Of Privacy With Google’s David Temkin
What is privacy? Turns out, there’s no easy answer, even for David Temkin, Google’s senior director of product management for ads privacy and user trust. But change is coming regardless – which means it’s time for the ad industry to get comfortable feeling just a little bit uncomfortable as the ground shifts underfoot.
Going Big On Media With Stagwell CEO Mark Penn
Stagwell CEO Mark Penn drops by post-merger with MDC Partners to talk media networks, cross-agency collaboration, what it means to be a challenger holding company, the importance of fusing technology with creative (finally) – and the unlikely connection between his esoteric map collection and marketing.
The New Yahoo With Chief Business Officer Iván Markman
Verizon Media is now officially … Yahoo. Guess everything old is new again. But how did we get here and where is the new Yahoo going? Iván Markman, chief business officer of Yahoo – formerly Verizon Media – joins to fill in the details.
Innovid CEO Zvika Netter
Innovid was one of the earliest players in TV ad tech. The company will go public via SPAC in Q4, placing it in the growing herd ad tech unicorns. Netter discusses its origin story and future roadmap.
What’s Next In Ad Quality Measurement? With DoubleVerify CEO Mark Zagorski
The verification category has steadily expanded into adjacent areas like viewability, fraud and brand suitability. In this conversation, Zagorski talks about where he expects future innovation in the never-ending quest to measure quality in advertising.
Brand Safety Comes To Social And CTV
CEO Lisa Utzschneider describes Integral Ad Science's brand safety efforts on TikTok and other social platforms. “It’s now a strategic imperative for marketers to protect their brands,” she says. “Our customers have become much more sophisticated."
Checking In With Open AP
Open AP was founded as a consortium of national TV networks to coordinate their work on new ad initiatives. In this episode, CEO David Levy discusses its progress in helping those networks offer unified planning and audience matching for advanced campaigns that run across linear and streaming TV.
InMobi Has Its Eye On Telcos, With Abhay Singhal
InMobi is one of the largest and longest running mobile ad tech players in the world. Founded in 2006, the company has grown to some 1,500 employees globally, about 1,000 of whom are based in India. The company is now expanding to serve new customers - including a telco-specific business unit announced this week.
Give Me A Sign, With Vistar Media CEO Michael Provenzano
Michael Provenzano founded Vistar Media to bring programmatic buying to digital out of home advertising. With demand for digital signage returning after a horrendous 2020, he gives an update on the company – including its recent $30 million investment from out of home giant Lamar Advertising.
Programmatic Will Drive The Travel Recovery, With Justin Scarborough
The Delta variant notwithstanding, travel is coming back. What form does the recovery take? A conversation with Justin Scarborough, senior director of programmatic at Fort Worth digital agency PMG.
The Future Of Measurement Is A Hodgepodge
Kinesso SVP Sarah Rose says user-level measurement will still work in a post-cookie environment, but it will be complicated. “It’s going to be a hodgepodge of site-level data, CDP-level data, DMP-level data,” she says.
Closing The Loop On Amazon, With Larry Harris
The CEO of Amazon specialist Alpha Precision Media discusses key changes in Amazon's ad ecosystem: the underutilized power of Twitch, the future of retargeting using Amazon data, changes to sponsored search and attribution improvements.
Outside Inc. Gears Up For Membership, With CEO Robin Thurston
Outside Inc. has put together an unrivaled portfolio of active lifestyle brands, including Backpacker, Women's Running, Yoga Journal, Outside Magazine, Outside TV, Gaia GPS, Peloton Magazine and more. CEO Robin Thurston discusses Outside’s audience opportunity and his plan to grow subscriptions to 50% of revenue.
Parsing Google’s Latest Swerve On Third-Party Cookies, With Liane Nadeau
Google’s decision to grant third-party cookies a stay of execution until 2023 sparked relief and frustration across the industry. Digitas SVP Liane Nadeau, who has been out in front on the shift to privacy-friendly ad targeting, discusses how this latest change is likely to impact advertisers, agencies and publishers.
Google’s Balancing Act, With VP Tara Walpert Levy
Google’s size and fragmented company structure mean it's constantly buffeted by dueling incentives on a range of issues impacting marketers, agencies, publishers, tech and of course consumers – not to mention emerging regulatory pressure. Tara Walpert Levy, VP Americas, Agency and Brand Solutions, discusses the high wire act.