Andy Plesser

The role of the media agency is dramatically changing with entrance of “biased” tech companies, says Michael I. Roth, CEO of Interpublic Group. He says the role of the unbiased, “agnostic”  media agency is more important than ever. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, says that there will be an increasing “blurring of the lines” […]

FORT LAUDERDALE –  WPP’s Xaxis unit is not a trade desk, but is a media company much like AOL or Yahoo.  It  is a “line item” for agency media plans,  says David J. Moore, Xaxis Chairman in this conversation with Nielsen’s Andrew Feigenson, Managing Director for Digital.  Moore notes that Xaxis has a large sales […]

PHOENIX – Lotame, the big DMP (data management platform)  is powering premium video distribution for publishers, explains Andy Monfried, founder and CEO, in this interview with Beet.TV  He explains how Lotame works with video ad company SpotXchange by bringing deep, actionable data to the company’s programmatic operation. Monfried also talks about the growth of the […]

PHOENIX — Mobile video advertising is exploding, with year-over-year video advertising up 13X for video adtech company SpotXchange, says Kevin Schaum, Director of Mobile Operations.  In the interview, he explains the factors leading the growth of monetization of mobile video on both the App and mobile web platforms. Schaum also speaks about the growth of […]

FORT LAUDERDALE –  Virool, the self-service video advertising company with some 30,000 customers, is increasing  its operations around the needs of large brand marketers and advertising agencies — meeting demand for views of branded video content, says Brian Danzis, Chief Revenue Officer of the San Francisco-based company. He says that the length of videos now […]

FOR LAUDERDALE – While customized display ads, created on the fly for the individual consumer, has become well established, the opportunity for advertisers to customize video advertising has been limited by technology issues.  Those issues have been solved that value to brands is dramatic, says Anthony Risicato, Chief Strategy Officer for Eyeview. Risicato, formerly with […]

PHOENIX – The audio podcast, long cast aside by many news organizations, is finding a resurgence.   Says Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief of Slate Group in this interview with Beet.TV While there has been new attention for podcasts with the success of Serial, Slate has been producing them since 1999.  He says “as a journalist, I […]

PHOENIX – While data is providing greater efficiency for marketers, data tools will become widely available.  It will be the media agencies of the future who can harness creativity who will succeed, says Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Strategist for the Publicis Groupe, in this wide ranging interview with Beet.TV He talks about the changing demands of […]

PHOENIX –  The upcoming Digital Content NewFronts, a two week showcase for digital video, will represent the maturation of sponsored video as a medium, says Scott Donaton, Chief Content Officer of DigitasLBi NA, in this interview with Beet.TV Donaton says that custom creative content, coupled with traditional media, outperforms traditional campaigns.  He says what has been […]

PHOENIX –  With the “democratization” of media channels, advertising opportunities for publishers have dramatically shifted.   Publishers can partner with advertisers to create high quality, engaging content, says Troy Young President of Hearst Digital, in this video interview. Regarding the so called “separation of church and state” between editorial and publishing, he says that editors […]

PHOENIX – In effort to establish global standards around advertising technology, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has created the IAB Tech Lab and this week announced the appointment of David J. Moore as chairman of the new group. Moore is chairman of Xaxis and president of WPP Digital.  He is a past Chairman of the IAB. […]

PHOENIX – Outgoing IAB chair Vivek Shah, who ignited the industry around  the ad fraud issue with his fiery speech at last year’s IAB Leadership Meeting, says that twelve months on, the problem of fraud has improved with the efforts of both publishers and the the marketing community. But the problem persists and he feels that […]

PHOENIX –  Bloomberg Media has combined Bloomberg.com and BloombergBusinessWeek.com into a new flagship destination BloombergNews.com. It has been designed with new advertising units which make ads “viewable” across screens, explains Paul Caine, Global Chief Revenue Officer of Bloomberg Media, in this interview with Beet.TV He says the Microsoft is the site’s global launch partner.  The […]

FOR LAUDERDALE –  Hulu, the popular entertainment video portal,  is seeing a majority of its views coming via devices that connect to the television, says Peter Naylor, SVP of Advertising Sales, in this interview with Beet.TV He says that some 60% of viewers are now consuming content in their living rooms with 20% consumption on […]

FORT LAUDERDALE –  Cancer has touched so many of us — and sometimes it hits very close to home.  Such is the case for SMG’s EVP Tracey Scheppach whose son Ryan, 9, is battling leukemia.  His official diagnosis is High Risk Pre-B ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia).   Tracey has taken to doing triathlons to raise awareness […]

Beet.TV has begun production of a 50-part series of personal interviews with noted advertising and media luminaries. These will be short videos of individuals who have impacted the course of the industry. Titled the “Media Revolutionaries,” the series is being co-produced with WPP’s Xaxis unit. David J. Moore, President of WPP Digital and Chairman of […]

FOR LAUDERDALE – Time Inc has made an “unequivocal commitment to video,” says J.R. McCabe, SVP for Video, in this interview with Beet.TV To that end, the company is readying multiple studios on “thousands of feet” of soundstage in lower Manhattan.  Time will move into the new studios later this year. In the interview, he […]

FORT LAUDERDALE – The massive changes in the way that date is powering advertising is transformative, akin to a sort of “industrial revolution,” says Ashley J. Swartz, industry analyst and founder of Furious Corp, in this keynote presentation at the Beet.TV executive retreat this past weekend. Please find more videos from the event here.

LAS VEGAS – The Weather Company streamed 1.2 billion video views in 2014, with about 40 percent on mobile devices.   That consumption was double the previous year.   While the company is producing much of its video content in-house, it is starting to work with local television partners including the Tribune TV stations to […]

LAS VEGAS –  Last year’s  reorganization of digital media agency VivaKi  has lead to a closer working relationship with the Publicis media agencies, says Mac Delaney, SVP, in this interview with Beet.TV He added that VivaKi is  implementing a number new programs and expansion plans,  notably the alliance with Adobe and the acquisition of RUN. […]