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Modern business strategy is no longer just about “technology” generally – these days, the technologists who can map out, mash up and mine data for strategic benefit are pivotal to an organisation’s direction. That is according to an ad-tech exec who now runs digital operations at IBM. “The developer and the data scientist now is […]

About four months from the merging of MEC and Maxus, Starcom veteran Amanda Richman has been chosen as CEO USA of the as-yet unnamed entity. Coming on board in October, Richman will report to MEC Global CEO Tim Castree. “Amanda is a fantastic choice to be our US leader,” Castree said in a news release. […]

When video ad-tech operator Tremor Video sold part of its business to Taptica of Israel in August, it meant a $50mn price tag for the sale. But, to Tremor CEO Mark Zagorski, it means more than that. In this video interview with Beet.TV, Zagorski says ad-tech platforms which count both ad buyers and sellers as […]

When IBM engineers developed their artificial intelligence engine Watson to compete in the TV game show Jeopardy! 10 years ago, they may not have expected that it would, one day, also help power the targeting of TV and other ads. But that is now the prospect Big Blue finds itself with, now that Watson is being […]

Nielsen is giving its media clients a standardized way of measuring their content viewing on distribution heavyweights Hulu, Facebook and YouTube with the latest expansion of its Digital Content Ratings. Participating TV and digital publisher clients can now capture incremental viewing of their content within their reported audience numbers. They will receive credit for video […]

Left-leaning political video network The Young Turks has raised $20 million in its latest and biggest funding round, with participation by Jeffrey Katzenberg’s venture firm WndrCo. Also backing the startup of former MSNBC anchor and TYT co-founder Cenk Uygur were 3L Capital, Greycroft and e.ventures. In 2014, TYT received $4 million in backing and executed […]

Just as you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a television network based on age and gender attributes alone. “Most networks are going to look somewhat similar. Although the audience size may be different, they’re going to have similar audience comps,” says Ben Tatta. Hence the gradual shift toward audience-based selling, […]

When programmatic burst on to the scene, it was mainly in the guise of real-time bidding, an auction system for remnant and low-value inventory that has since fallen out of favour with many big publishers. But, though those publishers seek higher prices normally transacted through direct or human-sold deals with advertisers, auctions are still super-relevant […]

Do advertisers need agencies anymore? As programmatic ad buying platforms have risen up and as many are now switching to a self-service online model that allows advertisers to control their own campaigns, many in the industry are wondering: is the agency about to be disintermediated? But, while brands are certainly now putting a hand on […]

In the last year and a half, yet another new tech terminology has popped up in digital advertising, as platforms try to fix and enhance some of the wonkier off-shoots that programmatic has wrought. In “header bidding”, rather than publishers entertain bids from multiple bidding sources in a “waterfall” sequence, they can see them all […]

The future of data-driven TV ad buying is moving in to sharper focus, after number-two US cable operator Charter invested in TV analytics company 605. The deal involves Charter giving 605 access to its second-by-second TV nationaL viewership data, so that programmers and advertisers can better target their material. But it also involves 605 building […]

For advertisers who want to start reaching consumers through new video platforms in the same way they are familiar with from TV, Nielsen had good news last week. The media measurement agency announced it would now provide measurement for viewing through the Hulu and YouTube TV platforms, which some see as new-look digital alternatives to […]

When it comes to the connected TV opportunity, many people are most excited about the opportunity to precision-target individual consumers using granular profile data. But that doesn’t mean demographics are done as a targeting mechanism. Tru Optik, a technology vendor that offers a data management platform for over-the-top (OTT) TV advertisers, is now partnering with […]

Television networks whose programming is seen in such out-of-home venues as airports, restaurants and offices are getting a welcome lift from Nielsen. Lift as in the incremental size of OOH audiences beyond traditional ratings metrics. Time Warner’s CNN and Turner Sports this week signed on for Nielsen’s OOH measurement service, which uses a panel of […]

CANNES — In recent years, it has added tracks for entertainment, innovation and even health. But now the creative ad industry’s main event is considering expanding to encompass an even wider array of media industry topics. Speaking with Beet.TV in this video interview as Cannes Lions kicked off, event CEO Phillip Thomas said the biggest […]

CANNES — Over the last year, a noticeable apology for ad-tech has grown louder in the advertising community, as ad execs – once sold on hyper-targeting super-powers – cast their eyes back toward the basic tenets of creative ad craft. To Doug Rozen, that means “making stories matter”. It’s one of the mantras of OMD, […]

Back in 2012, before the words “safe environment” for digital video became industry mantra, a company called Outrigger Media launched OpenSlate. It was a tool to help advertisers target the long tail of video production. Among other things, the company knew “there would come a time in an industry that got hyper focused on audience […]

In the UK pay-TV market, they are two fierce rivals. But now satellite operator Sky and cable company Virgin Media are forming a “strategic partnership” to scale advanced TV ad targeting opportunities, against the common enemy of online platforms. The pair have announced Virgin will use data from Sky’s existing AdSmart addressable TV system, as […]

LAS VEGAS — When Fox, Turner and Viacom unveiled a new tool to help agencies buy ads across their new advanced TV offerings in April, it was described as “historical“. But one of the partners says the move was just baby steps in what will become a much more full-fledged affair. OpenAP is a way of introducing […]

News Corp’s new global technology chief wants to learn from big tech platforms, and to keep his brands publishing through social sites – but only if the deal stacks up. This month, he was confirmed in the role of chief technology officer after Paul Cheesbrough moved along to the same role at sister company 21st Century […]