Michael Kassan

ORLANDO — Almost 12 months after strategic advisory firm MediaLink was off-loaded by Cannes Lions organizer Ascential to talent agency UTA, CEO Michael Kassan is happy with the firms’ amicable “divorce”. Kassan’s company joined Ascential in 2017. In this video interview with Beet.TV at the ANA Masters of Marketing, he says the new focus is […]

The number of subscription video-on-demand services may be multiplying toward possible “subscription fatigue”, and there may still only be 24 hours in any given day. But could transportation technology change the game? A growing number of media leaders thinks so. In this video interview with Beet.TV, cross-disciplinary media consultancy MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan says a content […]

Back in November, we reported how MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan was seeking out some big-name entertainment companies to serve as foundational partners for Connect Learn Explore (CLX), a new strand at Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity. With just a few weeks to go before the annual ad industry shindig kicks off in June, it […]

As the “battle of the titans” in streaming television rages on, advertising won’t be going away anytime soon, according to MediaLink’s Michael Kassan. “I think it’s going to have to find its level,” the Chairman & CEO says in this interview with Beet.TV at the 2019 Digital Content NewFronts. “I think it has to be […]

ORLANDO—The latest report on marketers taking certain activities in-house as opposed to using agencies comes as both sides need to produce more growth and profits. “Everybody’s under pressure at the same time,” observes MediaLink Chairman and CEO Michael Kassan. Noting margin inadequacies at agencies and profit-and-loss challenges at marketers, it’s logical to take a close […]

ORLANDO – After a few years in which the advertising business seemed to get consumed by numbers and efficiency, is creativity returning the fold? If the agenda for next year’s upcoming Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is anything to go by, it certainly is. In a new addition to the advertising festival’s agenda, CLX (“Connect. Learn. […]

COLOGNE – Strategic advisory firm MediaLink considers itself as occupying “the intersection of marketing, media, advertising, entertainment and technology.” To say it’s a busy place to be is an understatement, according to Chairman & CEO Michael Kassan. “We are in an absolute state of transformation. I’ll be kind, I used to say chaos. It’s controlled […]

COLOGNE – To Michael Kassan, there could not be a better time for The Relevance Conference that AT&T will host later this month. “I think the name speaks for itself. We are at a point in time where we all are kind of drowning in information,” he says. Not only will AT&T unveil the name […]

When The New Yorker writer Ken Auletta decided to take a hard look at companies that are dependent upon advertising, he came away seeing “frenemies” everywhere—all of them facing “existential assault.” The resulting book, being released today after three years of research, is titled Frenemies: The Epic Disruption of the Ad Business (and Everything Else). […]

What separates WPP from the dodo? One is an extinct animal – but could the ad agency holding group also about to become one, too? In recent months, many agency holding groups have reported revenue trending down and share prices have fallen, after challenges including the rise of brands buying direct from online platforms. And […]

If anyone could discern a possible sea change in the formerly one-day event called the NewFront it would be Michael Kassan. The Chairman and CEO of strategic advisory and business development firm MediaLink witnessed its birthing by Digitas and has become an integral player as the event morphed over the years. And so it is […]

BARCELONA — It was already consulting for media companies across the industry. Now MediaLink’s acquisition by Ascential, the company which runs the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is set to give the firm a stronger role easing the concerns of worried brand execs. In fact, CEO Michael Kassan says the company plays kind of a “therapist” function for agencies […]

Strategic advisory and business development firm MediaLink is heading to CES 2017 to expose its clients—a mix of Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Madison Avenue and Wall Street—to “immersion and experiences in terms of sensations in marketing,” according to President and COO Wenda Harris Millard. If that’s not enough, there also will be disruption, the kind that […]

COLOGNE — The media agency is changing. In a world where clients can do more themselves, or go elsewhere for services, agencies may be under threat. Michael Kassan thinks he has seen the future for a rejuvenated, more relevant model. “We just completed advising AT&T … a month ago …on the largest single review in history, I […]

PALM SPRINGS — As the digital media industry celebrates its 20 years and the milestone of being a $50 billion global industry, the business needs to become more diverse, says Michael Kassen, CEO of the powerhouse media consultantcy in this interview. We spoke with him on Sunday at the IAB’s annual leadership meeting.

LAS VEGAS – At Cannes Lions, many in the media agency world were consumed by an unprecedented number of accounts in review.  The torrent was named “Pitchapalooza.” With most of the reviews are over and there have been notable winners and losers, but the net share of business hasn’t  changed much, says Michael Kassan, Chairman & CEO […]

From the MediaLink suite at the top of the Carlton hotel, to the stages and hall of the Palais, innovation around advertising technology will be more prominent than ever, says Michael Kassan, CEO of powerhouse media consultancy MediaLink.  We spoke with him in April about the upcoming Cannes Lions Festival. MediaLink will showcase a number […]

Call it alchemy, call it a meeting of minds, but marrying up seemingly-disparate disciplines it the key to unlocking business growth. So says one of the leaders of cross-disciplinary media consultancy MediaLink. “Partnership is what makes this world go around,” according to CEO Michael Kassan. “You need people who are growing toward the same goals. One shop does not fit all […]

CANNES, France – While “programmatic” has been a much-referenced  buzzword of the Cannes Festival, in the future it will just be media buying, albeit machine-lead for most media except network TV, predicts  Michael Kassan, CEO of the powerhouse media consultancy MediaLink, in this interview with Beet.TV We spoke with him during the Festival onboard the […]

Notwithstanding all the pageantry and hype around the two weeks of presentations by the digital publishers for what is called  the Digital Content NewFronts, there will be deals.  What had been an industry showcase, has become a marketplace, says Michael Kassan, CEO of powerhouse media consultancy MediaLink in this interview with Beet.TV We spoke with […]