Archive
This column was written by Andy Wasef, Head of Innovation and Technology at MEC, one of the world’s top media agencies. I’ll confess, I love TV. My job may center around the latest innovations (many of which I equally love) but I spend a large amount of my media diet consuming many of the great TV shows… Continue reading »
This column was written by Premal Shah, VP, Strategy at Chango, a real-time marketing technology company with an advanced platform and full-service solutions for brands and agencies. Premal is responsible for leading best practices and partnership strategies across all media solutions and the Programmatic Marketing Platform (PMP). When most people hear the word “retargeting,” they… Continue reading »
This column was written by Fahad Khan, Founder and CEO of One Public, a cross media digital marketing software company based in New York City. The definition of “native advertising” that is loosely or tightly associated with content marketing is flawed and misguided. I had stressed the need to define native advertising at an IAB… Continue reading »
This column was written by Mike Shehan, CEO and Founder of SpotXchange, the largest global marketplace of video ad inventory, and Chairman of Booyah, a digital agency. Much has been said in the last year about the rise of RTB and programmatic technologies within online video advertising. Some will hang their hat on the industry seeing widespread… Continue reading »
Today Yahoo announced that the company intends to acquire microblogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion. This is an important event for the two companies, their users, marketers and the New York startup ecosystem. Here are some of the good things that will likely happen from this: Success. New York City has not had a fully… Continue reading »
Is it better to rent or own? When looking for a home, most people are faced with this daunting question. Owning a home gives stability and the free reign of being able to customize your living quarters, but also comes with a higher price bracket and more responsibility. On the other hand renting gives more… Continue reading »
The online media industry will by now have had time to digest the news that Firefox 22 intends to block 3rd party cookies by default. What this means is that when an ad is served to a website hosted by this version of the browser, the technology that serves the ad will not be able… Continue reading »
We are pleased to welcome Julia Casale as a monthly contributor to The Makegood. Julia is Chief Marketing Officer at Casale Media. She has been working in digital media for more than ten years and loving every moment of it. Look for Julia’s monthly column every first Thursday. From marketing to creative to media, every… Continue reading »
This column was written by Gavin Dunaway, U.S. Editor at AdMonsters, the global community of ad operations and technology leaders. Portrait of a cord cutter – you’re looking at it. Disturbing, a little serial killer-esque, I know. Five years ago, I moved to NYC from DC with a laptop and an iPod as my only… Continue reading »
John Minty is Chief Operating Officer of DDB California, including offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. DDB California is part of DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc., a worldwide marketing communications network. The Makegood exclusively spoke with John about his new position, brand stories, and top performers. The Makegood: Congratulations on your new position as… Continue reading »
Adam Chandler is SVP of Sales at Jumptap, a leader in targeted mobile advertising. The Makegood recently spoke with Adam about his new position, mobile advertising, and consumer behavior. The Makegood: In January, you joined the mobile ad network Jumptap as senior vice president for advertising sales, congratulations! Can you elaborate on your new priorities?… Continue reading »
Terry Young is CEO of sparks & honey, a company that operates a data-driven advertising newsroom that helps synchronize brands with culture. The Makegood recently spoke with Terry about culture, the data-driven newsroom model, and changing dynamics of the modern family. The Makegood: You are a seasoned agency executive that has held posts at IPG,… Continue reading »
This column was written by Florian Kahlert, Managing Director, North America, of GfK’s Digital Market Intelligence (DMI) group. A dashboard, as the name suggests, should give the user a very quick readout on the status of something. Think of a car dashboard: You have a bunch of lights, gas and temperature gauges, and maybe… Continue reading »
Dan Slagen is SVP of Marketing at Nanigans, an early and initial Facebook Ads API partner. The Makegood recently spoke with Dan about Nanigans’ founding round, ROI and LTV, and the future of mobile and video on Facebook. The Makegood: Congratulations on your recently closed $6 million round of funding. What are your plans in… Continue reading »
Last week I attended an event at The Standard hotel in New York City hosted by venture capital firms NEA, Silicon Valley Bank and Lerer Ventures. The Standard’s Roof Bar offers extraordinary views of lower Manhattan, including Freedom Tower and its newly installed spire. “Fitting,” I thought to myself as I chatted with this next… Continue reading »
We asked for it, and we got it. It seems that for many of the innovative ad products out there, ad sales support is scarce. Whether it’s self-serve interfaces for search or Facebook ads, or by-invitation-only programs geared toward multi-million-dollar spenders, it seems impossible in certain circumstances to get an ad sales rep to dedicate… Continue reading »
My apologies to those who happened to notice from a tweet, or post on Facebook or LinkedIn in the past nine days, for this will be a little repetitive, but last Monday I started as Programmatic Advertising Director at The New York Times. I am privileged to have responsibility for all global programmatic and channel/”indirect”… Continue reading »
Chris Ingram is Founder of IngramEnterprise LLP and Chairman of Sports Revolution, a company that works with the biggest spenders in sports sponsorship and media to maximize the revenue return on sports rights. The Makegood recently spoke with Chris about sports marketing, his role as Chairman of Sports Revolution, and how he became the Godfather of… Continue reading »
Without an outside source of funding most media and technology startups will perish. The cost of hiring engineers and salespeople is usually just too high to self-fund a business until it is profitable. There are usually three stages of fundraising that a startup must go through to create a sustainable business: Stage 1: Angel Round.… Continue reading »
This column was written by Gavin Dunaway, U.S. Editor at AdMonsters, the global community of ad operations and technology leaders. “The truth is, digital media is overpriced.” I believe I flinched a bit as the agency executive made that blunt statement. We were chatting in the wake of a heated conference session about viewability, where… Continue reading »
Joe Kowan is Managing Partner, Practice Lead, Digital Investment & Activation at MEC Global, one of the world’s top media agencies. The Makegood recently spoke with Joe about his new role, MEC’s digital workflow, and RTB. The Makegood: Congratulations on your new role as Practice Lead, Digital Investment and Activation at MEC. What are your… Continue reading »
Steven Lindseth is Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of YouBeauty.com, a website to explore the link between beauty and health with tips from Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen. The Makegood recently spoke with Steven about big data, startups, and the science of beauty. The Makegood: What inspired you to found YouBeauty.com and why is… Continue reading »
Ari Brandt is CEO and Co-founder of MediaBrix, a company that powers the industry’s leading advertising platform for social and mobile games. The Makegood recently spoke with Ari about social and mobile games and breakthrough moments. The Makegood: Ari, what inspired you to found MediaBrix and to focus on social and mobile games? We launched… Continue reading »
Last week at the Lerer Ventures CEO Summit, executives from New York media and technology startups discussed the challenges with building a company from scratch—particularly as it relates to people. Given that startups are highly dependent on the talents of the first few dozen people who join up, it’s essential to get the most out… Continue reading »
Buying media on a cost-per-action (CPA) basis sounds like a win-win situation when your objective is to drive a single action. Instead of paying for impressions or clicks, you’re compensating publishers only when a consumer takes a defined action. While this model may be appropriate for some advertisers, it is a very risky proposition in… Continue reading »
I’ve had the good fortune of consulting with a number of start-ups over the past few months on their media and marketing strategies. Start-ups are very different beasts from the larger corporate giants we media folk are more used to engaging with. For a start they won’t always have a marketing function, your client will… Continue reading »
Samantha Skey is Chief Revenue Officer at SheKnows, one of the Top 100 Websites for Women that enables experts to create and distribute premium content at scale. The Makegood recently spoke with Samantha about female-centric content. The Makegood: Samantha, congratulations on your new position! Can you elaborate on your new priorities? I am focused on… Continue reading »
The New York Times obituaries section is the city’s toughest club to get into. First, you have to die. Second, of the 150,000 people each day that are eligible, The Times selects only one or two people to get in. Given these long odds, who from our industry might eventually make it past the Times’… Continue reading »
This guest column was written by Mark Trefgarne, Founder and CEO at LiveRail, a leading publisher monetization platform for video. Last year, almost fifty million concerned citizens searched the Internet for “Hurricane Sandy”, seeking news about loved ones, information on the damage, advice on how to keep safe and ways to help the relief effort.… Continue reading »
Last week Rutgers University fired their men’s basketball coach for his abusive behavior toward his players. His acts, caught on video, included a range of behavior typical of a schoolyard bully: name calling, pushing and kicking his players. The coach, who was supposed to be the leader his team, was allowed to inflict his abuse… Continue reading »
As the SVP of Global Advertising Products and Strategy, Seth Demsey is responsible for the strategic vision of advertising products across AOL and AOL Networks. The Makegood recently spoke with Seth about balancing the needs of ad tech entities, programmatic buying and selling, and the future of online video. The Makegood: Seth, how do you… Continue reading »
This column was written by Gavin Dunaway, U.S. Editor at AdMonsters. Forget “To be or not to be?” “How do we get those big branding dollars moving into our wonderfully efficient programmatic channels?” – now that is the question, or at least it has been as long as I’ve written about digital advertising. But cramming… Continue reading »
The clicks from organic search are free; Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not. Simply speaking, SEO is the process of identifying and capturing organic clicks based on the content found on your website. Interactive agencies tout organic search as a free way to capture additional traffic. While this may be the situation in an ideal… Continue reading »
Cloud computing has become an increasingly popular go to market strategy for both new and mature ad tech companies looking to streamline their infrastructure. I want to talk about safety and precautions, specifically as it pertains to cloud computing. While this is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about… Continue reading »
Wally Krantz is Worldwide Creative Director at The Brand Union (TBU), a WPP-owned brand strategy and design consultancy. In his role, Wally’s responsibilities span across The Brand Union’s 23-office network. The Makegood recently spoke with Wally about international communication and company brands. The Makegood: In February, you were promoted to TBU’s Worldwide Creative Director, congratulations! What… Continue reading »
Stuart McLean is founder and CEO of Content & Co, a company that creates, produces and distributes content for brands to engage with their audience. The Makegood recently spoke with Stuart about original content, consumer insights, and cross channel engagement. The Makegood: What are the challenges brands are facing in producing original programming, how does… Continue reading »
By the year 2025 an incredible 70% of the US workforce will be comprised of Millennials—people born between 1980 and 2000. Given their coming dominance, this generation will have a huge impact on business and the workplace. But if you look closely you can see that their presence is already being felt today. Here’s how:… Continue reading »
Krishna Subramanian is Chief Marketing Officer at Velti, a leading global provider of mobile advertising technology and marketing solutions for brands, agencies and publishers. The Makegood recently spoke with Krishna about tablet advertising, trends in app usage and app advertising. The Makegood: Krishna, besides Burrp! And Mobclix, you co-founded Blue Lithium, the world’s largest behavioral… Continue reading »
This guest column was written by Dee Salomon, Senior Vice President of MediaLink LLC, a strategic advisory and business development firm. Halfway through my discussion with David Sable, CEO of Y&R, it struck me that we were talking about two different things. The topic was storytelling, but David was talking about the story and I… Continue reading »
Do you consider yourself to be a Generalist or a Specialist? Ever think about that as it relates to your career? Ever get a job or not get a job because you were one or the other? Consider Jose Oquendo, a 12-year Major League Baseball veteran who spent most of his career playing for the… Continue reading »
You have suffered through the name droppers and pretenders, spent hours and hours evaluating candidates, and you managed the impossible; You found someone that you are excited about! You made it to the 1-yard line and it’s time to extend a job offer. Unfortunately, you don’t get points for making it to the 1-yard line.… Continue reading »
At this point we can all agree that the world of marketing and advertising has been fundamentally changed. Thanks to mobile, social, and search technology, brands are now transparent, and the tools from yesteryear are no longer sufficient. Neither is the typical corporate structure. Some corporations have taken an aggressive approach to this. For example,… Continue reading »
“Matt, will you write a recommendation so that I can go business school? I want to get my MBA,” my colleague Katie Bronnenkant asked me a few years ago. “Why do you need an MBA? You work in media,” I said dismissively. At the time Katie and I both worked at MEC, the global media… Continue reading »
This column was written by Gavin Dunaway, U.S. Editor at AdMonsters, the global community of ad operations and technology leaders. Real-time bidding is programmatic trading, but programmatic trading is not simply RTB. That statement is not a riddle, though in the ever mind-warping universe of digital advertising technology, it’s caused a lot of confusion over… Continue reading »
A couple of weeks ago we heard the news that Facebook acquired Atlas for the sum of $100M. Atlas is primarily an ad serving platform born from the agency Avenue A (aka Razorfish), who wanted to develop an in house tool to manage their online display buying. During the early noughties Atlas quickly became a… Continue reading »
In the envisioned world of “programmatic premium,” computers buy all digital media automatically with astonishing efficiency and without human intervention. Contrast that with today’s reality: an army of DSOs – Digital Switchboard Operators – carrying out digital media plans using a manual 42-step process. On the buy side, this process typically requires 482 hours in… Continue reading »
Like many companies today, our startup operates as a series of distributed teams. Our product team is in Brooklyn while our sales and marketing team operates in Manhattan. We have found that if we let engineers and product designers work in Brooklyn not only are they more likely to accept our offer employment, the current… Continue reading »
Kevin Meany is founder and CEO of BFG, an independent, creative communications agency that delivers seamless storytelling and consumer insights to companies. The Makegood recently spoke with Kevin about breakthrough insights, consumer relationships, and the importance of relevant content. The Makegood: Kevin, you founded BFG 17 years ago. Today, you are leading a truly integrated marketing… Continue reading »
10. @Bre, @fivethirtyeight, @garyvee and @elonmusk need a rest. 9. There’s a boat-load of work to get done around here. 8. Every time you tweeted a picture of your barbeque, WE gained weight. 7. Your use of “inside hashtags” was disorienting. #fakeSXSW 6. Thanks, but we would like to get back to hearing about bands… Continue reading »
Rob Beeler is Content Czar of AdMonsters, and Gavin Dunaway is U.S. Editor at AdMonsters, the global community of ad operations and technology leaders, providing ad operations conferences and events, content, training and consulting. The Makegood recently spoke with Rod and Gavin about what drives AdMonsters’ community, ad operations, and topics worth cheerleading. The Makegood:… Continue reading »
While building the next Facebook or Google may be a worthy goal, the best possible outcome for many venture-backed startups is to be acquired by a larger company. In a sense, the entire startup ecosystem—founders, venture capitalists, lawyers and other service providers—forms a kind of ad hoc research and development lab for bigger companies. Given… Continue reading »
This column was written by Krystina Rubino, Associate Director, eDR, at Underscore Marketing, an independent media agency that creates and manages digital marketing programs. In an ideal world, agencies would have a rock solid relationship with every Google and Yahoo!(/Bing) team they work with, to help both the agency and its clients navigate the evolving search… Continue reading »
A growing trend is brewing in the digital publishing world where brand new sites that no one has ever heard of are posting astronomically high numbers of unique visitors per month. Popping up in various exchanges on a seemingly daily basis, the sites appear to be running ads from major brands, but these sites are… Continue reading »
Michael Cassidy is founder and CEO of Undertone, a provider of quality display, high impact and video solutions. The Makegood recently spoke with Michael about Undertone’s products in display, mobile, and video. The Makegood: Michael, you have led the company’s growth from a start-up advertising network to an industry-leading provider of quality display, high impact… Continue reading »
“After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today.” In one of the most honest resignation letters in the history of CEO resignation letters, last week Andrew Mason signed off after four… Continue reading »
This guest column was written by Ryan Harwood, CEO of PureWow, a free daily email and website for women, featuring culture, fashion, travel, and tech. You’ve heard it again and again. And again. Here it is, one more time for the back of the room: content is still king. It’s still the most valuable asset… Continue reading »
Like millions of Americans, I read Steven Brill’s fantastic investigation last week for Time entitled “Bitter Pill” that revealed why this country’s health care costs are so outrageously high and how they are crippling our economy. All the noise around our health care system during the Obamacare debate and very few asked the right questions or… Continue reading »
AdMonsters and Adap.tv released the ‘2013 European Digital Video Outlook‘. The report covers the ‘State of the UK Online Video Advertising Industry’. Research points to advertisers’ evolving perception of online advertising and highlights the challenges. 86% of UK advertising agencies purchased digital video inventory in 2012, with 62% listing brand awareness as a primary goal.… Continue reading »
After my last 3 articles (LinkedIn, Crucial Sales Skills, Rolodex) you may be saying, “I hear you, I already knew hiring was hard!” The next challenge: It’s also really expensive. Since staffing fees are easily quantified, often Ad Tech start-ups rely on their sales leadership to fill open sales positions in order to avoid these fees. Some Back-of the-Envelope… Continue reading »
We are pleased to welcome Jeff Rosenblum as a monthly contributor to The Makegood. Jeff is a founding partner of Questus, a digital agency, and he is a documentary film director and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading innovators in the field of digital marketing. Look for Jeff’s monthly column every fourth… Continue reading »
This guest column was written by Dee Salomon, Senior Vice President of MediaLink LLC, a strategic advisory and business development firm. At the 2008 IAB annual meeting, Wenda Harris Millard heralded the ad-tech revolution with her ‘pork bellies and diamonds’ speech. Five years later we have seen impressive growth in programmatic and audience-targeted media and… Continue reading »
AdMonsters, the global leader in providing strategic insight on the future of digital media and advertising technology is a media partner and contributor to The Makegood. This column was written by Jana Massey, Sr. Director, Ad Operations at Buzz Media. At the tail end of last year, the IAB Ad Ops Summit held a 3MS Town… Continue reading »
James Avery is the founder and CEO of Adzerk, a company that is focused on helping publishers make more money from their ad inventory by building a revolutionary ad serving platform. The Makegood recently spoke with James about Adzerk’s adOS app store and the fastest ad code in the world. The Makegood: James, what market gap… Continue reading »
I recently entered into a discussion with a client about the potential of marketing their app instead of driving traffic to the website. I held the view that the app was a much more engaging and rich experience than the more transactional website and that getting more people to use the app would show healthier… Continue reading »
Regardless of whether a publisher is a start-up or an established company, no one is exempt from challenges related to managing digital ad operations. Just when you think it’s safe to assume that publisher X has it all together because they are ranked in the top 50 in Comscore or Nielsen, or they just received… Continue reading »
The Makegood, the website that provides an inside look into the media advertising industry, and AdMonsters, the global leader in strategic insights on digital media and advertising strategy through its conferences, website, research and consulting services, today announced a marketing partnership where the two organizations will work together to produce timely and relevant content and… Continue reading »
John Trimble is Chief Revenue Officer of Pandora Media where he is responsible for all advertising revenue, strategic sales marketing and advertising operations. The Makegood recently spoke with John about personalized music and Pandora’s success in mobile. The Makegood: John, within the last three years, Pandora became one of the leading radio services. What is your… Continue reading »
Like many media and technology companies, we are planning to staff up as we prepare for our next stage of growth. Many of the qualities we’re looking for from prospective employees could be useful to your company as well. True believers. You have to be ambitious to build an enterprise technology company in a place like… Continue reading »
For decades, gender roles have been pretty divided in the workplace. Men, for the most part, aren’t shy about vocalizing their demands – whether it’s negotiating their salaries up front, asking for raises or increasing budgets to add additional staff. I myself can attest to the fact that female professionals, however, are bound by a… Continue reading »
Morpheus Media, the digital media agency, is a monthly contributor to The Makegood. This column was composed by Shenan Reed, Chief Media Officer. It was the day after Hurricane Sandy and we all scrambled to our computers to count noses, check on our own and get back to making certain the storm didn’t delay our… Continue reading »
Digitas’ Jordan Bitterman, Senior Vice President and Social Marketing Practice Director, provides his view on the future of video. “Summary: Video is being freed – It’s moving to the cloud. Software is becoming just as important as hardware. Business models & technology are slowing the pace of change. Familiar names are emerging as the new… Continue reading »
There are some CEOs who believe that you should only hire “A” players and fire everyone else that doesn’t measure up. I am not one of them. Don’t misunderstand—I have fired people who cannot or will not do what is asked of them. But I don’t believe that automatically thinning the herd is a good… Continue reading »
We are pleased to welcome Tom Hespos as a monthly contributor to The Makegood. Tom is Founder and Chief Media Officer at Underscore Marketing, a boutique firm that creates and manages digital marketing programs. Look for Underscore Marketing’s monthly column every second Friday. It’s no secret that agencies have a problem with the sheer number of media partners asking for time to pitch… Continue reading »
The cookie is the lynchpin of any successful display advertising campaign. The cookie allows marketers to collect data that they can in turn leverage to target their advertising to qualified prospects. Without the cookie, digital advertising just wouldn’t be as effective. We can say this with confidence because we see the problems inherent in mobile… Continue reading »
Jeff Jarvis wrote a piece in April 2006 for the Guardian to “propose an open ad marketplace that would allow advertisers to find the best blogs and bloggers to find the best ad deals.” He lists three main concepts to accomplish this: metrics, workflow (ease of implementing code for ads), and trust. Broadly, the concept… Continue reading »
Arlo Laitin is Senior Vice President of Cardlytics Media Group, a company that enables brands to connect and engage with consumers based on their actual purchase behavior. The Makegood recently spoke with Arlo about Cardlytic’s analytics platform and consumer behavior. The Makegood: Arlo, at Cardlytics, you provide a new way to connect, engage, and measure consumer… Continue reading »
Any product must have market appeal in order to gain customers. At my last company, Pictela, we struggled to achieve product/market fit in our first year. Initially, we tried to sell our product to PR agencies as a way to distribute brand content. But no matter how hard we tried we could not get them… Continue reading »
Susan Schiekofer is President of Digital for North America MEC, one of the world’s top media agencies. The Makegood recently spoke with Susan about her new position, brand communication and social media data. The Makegood: In November, you were promoted to MEC’s President Digital, congratulations! Can you elaborate on your new priorities? My priority is to… Continue reading »
My dad officially retires this Friday on February 1. He always has been and remains one of my heroes, in part because Friday actually marks the end of a fourth successful career after overcoming some major obstacles growing up and into adulthood. After being the first in his family to graduate from college and receive… Continue reading »
Matt Minoff is CEO of Selectable Media, a leader in enabling consumers to unlock digital content through advertising. The Makegood recently spoke with Matt about the new partnership with Microsoft and Selectable Media’s content unlock model. The Makegood: Matt, six years ago, you were professional basketball player in the Israeli Premier League and Corporate Finance… Continue reading »
Morpheus Media, the digital media agency, is a monthly contributor to The Makegood. This column was composed by Ben Beyda, Associate Director, Mobile Strategy. At this point in the evolution of the mobile marketing space, you’ve likely faced or are soon to face the decision of how to go about creating a native mobile application.… Continue reading »
For ten years I worked on the partner side of the marketing business, both as an agency executive at MEC and then as the co-founder of Pictela, an ad tech firm. Now, as the CEO of an enterprise technology company, I’m a pure marketer and it turns out that this side of the business is… Continue reading »
John is Founder and CEO of isocket, a Venture Capital backed startup in Silicon Valley and NYC that builds tech for direct ad sales. isocket is the leading platform for powering programmatic direct and self-service buying at the web’s top publishers. The Makegood recently spoke with John about advertising technology and isocket’s success. The Makegood:… Continue reading »
Erika Nardini is Vice President, Head of Marketing Solutions for AOL Advertising, a brand company, committed to continuously innovating, growing, and investing in brands and experiences that inform, entertain, and connect the world. The Makegood recently spoke with Erika about her new position, the digital future and brand experiences. The Makegood: Erika, congratulations on your new… Continue reading »
E. Walter Deming did not work for an ad serving company. He did not write code. He was not a social media guru. He did not Tweet. He was not an angel investor. He did not even live during the rise of internet media. So why does he matter now? At the conclusion of World… Continue reading »
Media buying used to consist of vetting publisher sites for “quality” and quality was measured differently by every advertiser. Yet there were some standards that most often equated to scale – how much traffic the site generated, the quality of content – or even, was it professionally procured content? Advertisers also looked at relevance to… Continue reading »
By Roy Pereira, Founder and CEO of Shiny Ads, a self-serve advertising platform for digital publishers. There is little doubt that real-time bidding (RTB) entered the mainstream in 2012. eMarketer reported that RTB ad spending grew 98% from 2011 to almost $2 billion dollars in the U.S. With a market this hot, it’s not surprising that more… Continue reading »
GroupM’s Mike Bologna, Director of Emerging Communications, provides his exclusive CES 2013 wrap up report to The Makegood’s readers. Click here to view ‘The 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Review’.
This is the monthly column, “That’s What She Said,” written by Amy Vale. We are pleased to welcome Amy Vale as a monthly contributor to The Makegood. Amy is VP, Global Research and Strategic Communications for Mojiva Inc., the parent company for Mojiva, the mobile ad network, and Mocean Mobile, the mobile ad serving platform. Advertising has been… Continue reading »
Over the last 6 months I have seen many briefs from brands requesting ‘content marketing’ services. Some indicate a desire to shift away from online paid media, reallocating budget into producing and seeding content. This is partly due to a view held that paid online media is a bottomless pit requiring constant funding, and that… Continue reading »
Elizabeth Scherle and Aydin Acar are the co-founders of Influenster, a free-to-join community of invited trendsetters who give opinions of products and experiences. The Makegood recently spoke with them about scoring online influence and connecting brands with influential online communities. The Makegood: Aydin and Elizabeth, what inspired you to found Influenster? The concept came to us while Elizabeth… Continue reading »
In 2013, we’ll be watching a dramatic shift in the digital advertising technology landscape which may become known as The Great Ad Tech Sutton Pivot of 2013. In his excellent new book for entrepreneurs, Lean Startups, Eric Ries defines a pivot as “structured course correction designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product,… Continue reading »
January is a popular time to get a new job in advertising, especially for salespeople whose Q4 bonuses and commissions have been paid out. But how do you find the sales job of your dreams? For some answers I spoke to Ellie Windle, Sales Director at MediaMath. Ellie is also a former Executive Recruiter at… Continue reading »
Tom Hespos is the chairman and president of Underscore Marketing, an independent media agency that creates and manages digital marketing programs. The Makegood recently spoke with Tom about Social Media, Online Marketing and the changing digital landscape. (Read Part I) The Makegood: On your corporate blog, you write about brands on Facebook. Can you explain the… Continue reading »
Tom Hespos is the chairman and president of Underscore Marketing, an independent media agency that creates and manages digital marketing programs. The Makegood recently spoke with Tom about Social Media, Online Marketing and the changing digital landscape. The Makegood: Tom, you started Underscore Marketing in May 2002, focusing on digital media for clients from all product… Continue reading »
Agencies, ad tech firms, and start-ups tend to be staffed by younger people. The hours are long, the problems are complex and the technology is constantly changing. As a result, high growth companies are now mostly comprised of Millennials, the massive generation of Americans born after the year 1980. I sometimes hear my fellow Gen-X… Continue reading »
Joseph Vito DeLuca is Marketing and PR Manager at SponsorPay, the leading global cross-platform advertising solution for the monetization of premium content or virtual currency on social networks, virtual worlds, mobile apps as well as online games and services. According to lpsos, a projected one-third of U.S. consumers planned on purchasing a tablet during the… Continue reading »
GroupM’s Mike Bologna, Director of Emerging Communications, provides his exclusive CES 2013 preview to The Makegood’s readers. Click the link below to view ‘What To Expect’. CES.Preview.2013
With student debt now topping $1 trillion dollars and the cost of college far outpacing inflation, some have begun to question if getting a college education is worth it. Industries like media and advertising tend to rely on a lot of on the job training—client entertaining and negotiating isn’t something most schools teach. To get… Continue reading »
One of the most prophetic things I have ever heard came from my college Organizational Behavior professor and it was “K.I.S.S… Keep It Simple Stupid.” It is my resolution in 2013 to make K.I.S.S. a daily practice and I would like to encourage folks to do the same. Over the past year our industry has… Continue reading »
How much did you write last year? I bet it’s a lot more than you think. My total word count comes to over a million. This was surprising to me — wasn’t technology like video conferencing and voice recognition supposed to diminish our dependence on the written word? It turns out that writing and producing… Continue reading »
I believe there is a higher percentage of columnists that write prediction- or resolution-themed columns in early January than there are people that actually make real resolutions nowadays. And to prove it, I will write a column with a resolution theme…. One of my favorite New Year’s traditions in broadcast media is the SyFy channel’s… Continue reading »
LinkedIn is a phenomenal recruiting tool for all industries, but there are a few subtle things you can look for on a profile when evaluating an Ad Tech sales candidate. Company Progression- Are the companies they work at getting more or less prestigious? Career Progression- Is their title going up primarily because they are joining smaller… Continue reading »
Fahad Khan is the Founder and CEO of One Public, one of the earliest Facebook Preferred Marketing Developers and a provider of next-generation enterprise social marketing software and solutions to global brands, agencies and retailers. The Makegood recently spoke with Fahad about his position and international trends in marketing technology. The Makegood: Fahad, you founded… Continue reading »
I feel like we’re at an important juncture in digital media. Consolidation is happening all over the place so that a few key players are emerging in ecommerce, in social and in technology.. We’ve witnessed Facebook struggle in 2012 potentially putting a spanner in the works for many upcoming tech companies. The impact of this has signalled a warning sign… Continue reading »
Having just packed 2 industry clichés into a single title, I now feel compelled to explain my excess. “Robust” of course is an adjective in our industry used to describe an application that is technically sophisticated, has many features required by business, and implies superiority to other competitors. And “Stack”? It’s a more recent entry… Continue reading »
It’s December and time to make bold predictions for the upcoming year. I have a mundane, but important, prediction for 2013: it will be the year the digital advertising industry finally adopts a standard electronic insertion order. Furthermore, the electronic IO will usher in a wave of innovation in “programmatic premium.” Digital advertising was born… Continue reading »
Dax Hamman is the CRO of Chango, a search retargeting platform. Dax is a frequent writer for iMedia, the HuffPost and eConsultancy. We’re living in the age of big data. That’s definitely a good thing. The more data we can capture and make actionable, the more efficient and effective digital advertising becomes. This is why we’re witnessing… Continue reading »
Shawn Riegsecker is the CEO of Centro, a media technology and services company. The Makegood spoke with Shawn about his 16-year career in digital media as well as recent Centro milestones, as the company marked its 11th anniversary. The Makegood: Shawn, Centro recently announced Kelly Wenzel as Chief Marketing Officer and Scott Neslund as Executive… Continue reading »
Morpheus Media, the digital media and strategy agency, is a monthly contributor to The Makegood. This column was composed by Tara Kalmanson, Senior Social Strategist In journalism school, I heard (and helped circulate) a common student thought: transitioning to PR and marketing from the world of editorial was “going to the dark side.” In exchange… Continue reading »
Working Media no longer works on its own. This is far greater than a media buying challenge. It is actually one of the biggest issues facing every marketer today regardless of size or industry. We used to maximize the ratio of working to non-working as best we could. Non-working media includes costs related to production,… Continue reading »
Last year I went out on a limb here on The Makegood and made some predictions about media in 2012. Some have been highly accurate. Others have proved the maxim that predicting the future is a fool’s errand. Here are a few that I got right: “Look for social TV startups like GetGlue and Bluefin… Continue reading »
Sarah Reilly is VP of Sales at Blueye Creative, a Chicago based Facebook preferred partner with a platform to help brands create and measure social marketing programs. Previously, Sarah was a Director of Sales at Thismoment, a global cloud based CMS for brand engagement, and also held positions at Vibrant Media and Salesforce.com. Marketers have… Continue reading »
Philipp is the founder and CEO of Proximic, a company that helps media traders grow revenues through improved online ad placements. We recently spoke with Philipp about his experience and industry trends. The Makegood: Philipp, how did you get into the online advertising industry and what inspired you to found Proximic in 2007? PP: In 2002 I… Continue reading »
If you’ve been shopping online lately it’s probably safe to assume that while you surf the web you are being bombarded with online advertisements from retailers that you have either visited or made purchases from. With recent Cyber Monday sales pulling in nearly $1.5 billion, and RTB density doubling during this stretch, it’s likely that you’re seeing… Continue reading »
In a room with Rupert Murdoch and a few other smart guys, the following conversation occurred during the conception of The Daily (ok, not really). “I have an idea! Let’s start an iPad only newspaper app where we charge users a small fee to wait 2 minutes each day for the app to update. We’ll… Continue reading »
When the book “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN” was first published last year, much of the coverage focused on the lascivious elements of the story. Especially during the early years, the cable sports network attracted all kinds of characters, some of who engaged in sex with coworkers, took drugs… Continue reading »
Mike Shehan is the CEO and Founder of SpotXchange, the largest global marketplace of video ad inventory, and Chairman of Booyah, a digital agency. Previously, Mike was the CEO of Ereo, an image search technology company and also founded LOGEX International, an e-commerce solutions provider for the retail and catalog industries. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday behind us,… Continue reading »
Al Muzaurieta (right) is Founder & President, and Nedim Aruz is Co-Founder and Vice President of Good Apple Digital, a full service digital media planning and buying agency. The Makegood recently spoke with them about their niche in the marketplace, media planning and brand engagement. The Makegood: Nedim and Al, you met each other over 10 years ago working as media planners at… Continue reading »
Provocative, huh? The title for this column is based on the tagline for one of my favorite books, Freakonomics, where economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner cover “The Hidden Side of Everything.” The original book came out in 2005, sold four million copies, and like many smart authors and publishers these days, Levitt and… Continue reading »
Recently, a Sr. Sales Director at another company accidentally cc’d me on an email to a Media Supervisor. The entire email was ridiculous but one line in particular stuck out to me: “I recommend that big data driven agencies like yours use biddable media for their programmatic RTB opportunities.” Wait. What?!? I have decided to… Continue reading »
The term Big Data although prevalent throughout our industry is not a new concept. For years finance companies, print publishers, catalogers have invested millions in CRM systems and established relationships with data management companies that facilitated the capturing of data and the decisioning of segmentation, creative, and offers to create 1to1 (what a throwback term… Continue reading »
Amir Kassaei is DDB Worldwide’s Chief Creative Officer, one of the most lauded creatives in the world. The Makegood recently spoke with Amir about DDB’s LaunchPad program, a 3-month to 6-month internship at DDB designed to bridge the gap between students and professional creatives (Read Part I). The Makegood: The LaunchPad Program will teach young professionals… Continue reading »
Amir Kassaei is DDB Worldwide’s Chief Creative Officer, one of the most lauded creatives in the world. The Makegood recently spoke with Amir about DDB’s LaunchPad program, a 3-month to 6-month internship at DDB designed to bridge the gap between students and professional creatives. The Makegood: Amir, you are continuously demonstrating a deep understanding of… Continue reading »
We are pleased to welcome Doug Wintz as a monthly contributor to The Makegood. Doug is Founder and Principal of DMW MediaWorks, a consultancy specializing in digital ad operations and technology. Look for his column every third Wednesday on The Makegood. Depending on your point of view, “Armageddon” could refer to 1) the day in… Continue reading »
The publishing business is under siege by technology. The New York Times is blaming exchange-traded media for its most recent declines in online display ad revenue. Federated Media just gave up on direct sales in favor of exchange-traded media. Meanwhile, CNET just reported that “Google generated $20.8 billion in ad revenue in the first six months of 2012,… Continue reading »
Over the past year I’ve met with dozens of advertising agencies, media companies and ad tech firms to discuss their challenges in human resources technology. Since the solution that my company is building needs to work with all this tech stuff, I’ve become something of an expert on the HR tech landscape. Like Terry Kawaja’s… Continue reading »
Robert Vorel is president of Crest Communications Inc, a full service Branding/Promotional Ad Agency. It provides market positioning implementation utilizing newly defined “real-time marketing” approaches. For many brands and agencies that have long favored such traditional media as print newspapers, radio and television to carry their advertising messages, navigating the complexity of advertising in the fragmented digital… Continue reading »
We’ve all become used to the clichéd ‘data is the new oil’. In digital media at least, data is what drives performance, data is what helps us make business cases, helps us to prove or disprove hypotheses and what ultimately justifies our fees. Having data at our fingertips is not new, it’s just that we… Continue reading »
Alice K. Sylvester is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Media Behavior Institute, an industry leader in research surrounding how people interact with digital media. Alice is also a partner at Sequent Partners, a New York-based brand and media metrics consultancy. The Makegood recently spoke with Alice about her positions and the challenges of the changing media landscape. The… Continue reading »
Amanda Currie is Senior Vice President at Adconion Direct, a leading digital distribution platform spanning digital, email, social media and mobile. Amanda was co-founder and Vice President at Frontline Direct, a leading database management and customer acquisition firm, which was acquired by Adconion Media Group in 2008. Over the last 10 years, running a digital start up and being acquired… Continue reading »
Mary Ellen Muckerman is Strategy Director at Wolff Olins, a brand consultancy that ‘helps ambitious leaders invent the future by reinventing their business or category’. With nearly 20 years of experience in both Fortune 100 companies and nationally recognized advertising agencies, Mary Ellen has developed multinational integrated marketing and advertising strategies. The Makegood recently spoke with Mary Ellen… Continue reading »
John Lim is Co-Founder and CEO of Life in Mobile, a global mobile monetization agency with offices in New York and Europe. John founded multiple companies, including On Site Marketing, Mobile Card Cast and most recently, Life in Mobile. The Makegood spoke with John about ‘Life in Mobile’ and mobile monetization strategies. The Makegood: John,… Continue reading »
Peter Shankman is Founder of HARO (sold to Vocus) and CEO and Founder of the Geek Factory, a Social Media and PR firm. Peter is also Investor and advsior to multiple early stage startups. The Makegood recently spoke with Peter about redefining journalism, social media monitoring and the future of social networks. The Makegood: Peter,… Continue reading »
Social networking has had a number of inflection points in its short history – markers in time where so many people have discovered the value of their networks and the platforms on which they are built and maintained. The list includes the 2008 Presidential election, the evening we learned of the killing of Osama Bin… Continue reading »
I recently had the privilege to have a conversation with Chad Little, co-founder of his new company called Adhesive, which will be focused on show-stopping CPC ads that generate exceptional performance. Mr. Little has had a long successful history as a serial entrepreneur, including his last company Fetchback that was acquired by GSI Commerce in 2010. Tim Nichols… Continue reading »
While I work in New York City, on most nights and weekends I live in a small rural town about 90 minutes away. Last week superstorm Sandy affected people on the East Coast — sometimes tragically so — and our area was no exception. We have been without power, running water, TV, Internet and train… Continue reading »
Mark Wills is the Founder of the Audacious Group, a Branding Consultancy. Mark has been working in advertising for 20+ years at companies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Coca-Cola and Ogilvy & Mather. Have you ever noticed things bought by the ounce are normally better than things bought by the pound? Saffron versus salt, caviar versus… Continue reading »
Matthew Kumin is Founder and CEO of PublishThis, a company that enables businesses to search, curate and distribute content from around the web, including articles, blogs, videos, tweets and photos. Matthew has worked in the software and Internet industry for over eighteen years and has extensive experience building data, content and publishing-oriented digital businesses. The Makegood recently… Continue reading »
A longstanding industry issue has been the implications on privacy that cookie based targeting creates, and Do Not Track legislation is not going away. Forthcoming versions of Mozilla’s Firefox, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Apple’s Safari, and Google’s Chrome browsers have installed Do Not Track mechanisms that could potentially have a substantial impact on the digital advertising… Continue reading »
Kailei Richardson is the Director of Marketing for PointRoll, a Gannett company and leading provider of digital marketing solutions and technology. iPhone, iPad, Amazon Kindle and BlackBerry. What do all of these devices have in common? Each of these has seen incredible consumer adoption and provided marketers with new ways to engage with consumers –… Continue reading »
Rob Friedman is the Executive Vice President of Digital Element, a business unit of Digital Envoy, which is a is part of Dominion Enterprises, a leading media and information services company that delivers the de facto standard in IP Intelligence and NetAcuity Localization technology. Rob brings to his role more than 15 years of experience… Continue reading »
Terence Kawaja is Founder and CEO of LUMA Partners, a strategic advisory firm focused at the intersection of media and technology. Terence is a seasoned investment banker with more than 20 years of experience and has advised on over $250 billion of transactions. The Makegood recently spoke with Terence about LUMA Partners’ refreshing investment banking… Continue reading »
In the world of startups, the term “mafia” has come to positively describe a group of people who have built a successful company and then continued to work together to create a new wave of startups. As Sarah Lacy, founder and editor-in-chief of PandoDaily, the Silicon Valley-based publisher, recently put it: “In the case of… Continue reading »
Paul Mokbel is CEO and Founder of SiteScout, a Canadian self-serve advertising platform for small businesses, digital advertising professionals and global brands. The Makegood recently spoke with Paul about SiteScout’s powerful self-serve advertising platform. The Makegood: Nowadays, ad tech companies are often launched by being backed by major VCs. SiteScout, however, has a different and interesting story.… Continue reading »
GfK recently hosted the panel discussion ‘Agency Talk: Enter the Digital Client’. GfK’s Ben Theriault, SVP Sales, Digital Market Intelligence, moderated the discussion on digital clients with the participants Josh Bock, VP Director, Decision Sciences at Universal McCann, Michael Kaushansky, SVP, Analytics and Insights at Havas Digital and Arun Kumar, Senior Consultant, Consumer Insights at… Continue reading »
The best movie ever with the worst title ever has to be The Shawshank Redemption, right? There are so many great scenes, amazing moments, and the ultimate triumph-over-adversity story. I was reminded of one of my favorite scenes when planning for the next couple of days. I will be on the road tonight heading to… Continue reading »
The Makegood is pleased to welcome Ellie Windle as a monthly contributor to The Makegood. Look for her column every fourth Wednesday on The Makegood. Ellie is Sales Director at MediaMath, the leading provider of digital media trading technology and services. If you have ever hired a sales professional in the Ad Tech industry, you may have… Continue reading »
We all believe that campaign success is a mutual quest. So, why is it that when publishers ask an agency for the KPI on which performance is being measured – the request often goes unanswered? Don’t we all need to reference the same playbook? Is it not the goal of both the agency and the… Continue reading »
While at MEC, the global media agency, I ran the media business for retailer L.L. Bean. One of the most effective parts of our campaigns were the “retargeted” ad banners that we would serve to people who had previously been to the retailer’s web site. This was similar to sending more catalogs to the most… Continue reading »
Google’s launch of a new tag management product this month happened with little fanfare or reason to comment. After all, Google has launched many new media products over the years, many of which are free to use. They’ve probably given TagMan, BrightTag and SiteTagger some cause for concern. After all, which client will want to… Continue reading »
Bryan Gernert is Chief Executive Officer at Resonate Networks, a company that helps political campaigns and brand marketers to find target audiences online based on their values. The Makegood recently spoke with Bryan about startups and political campaigns. The Makegood: Bryan, you have a professional history of helping to grow startup companies into successful businesses,… Continue reading »
Namely, a cloud-based management platform for advertising, media and technology companies, has raised $750,000 in funding. Lerer Ventures, the New York-based venture capital fund, led the round. Also participating was Bullpen Capital, a venture fund based in Menlo Park, California. We spoke with Namely CEO and founder Matt Straz about the investment and the rapid… Continue reading »
Morpheus Media, the digital media and strategy agency, is a monthly contributor to The Makegood. This column was composed by Liz Pelikan, Display Strategist. Tips for Strategists and Media Planners When trying to persuade our more traditional luxury brands to take a leap of faith regarding new and innovative digital opportunities, we often find ourselves… Continue reading »
Scott Reese is CEO and Co-Chairman of the Board at blurbIQ, an interactive video advertising company that attempts to maximize the experience for consumers. The Makegood recently spoke with Scott about his position and latest trends in interactive video advertising. The Makegood: Scott, you are a serial entrepreneur that has started up 3 successful ventures over… Continue reading »
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about “programmatic premium” - using machines to fully automate the purchase of premium advertising inventory. It seems like every conference lately has someone from Kellogg’s on a panel saying programmatic premium is GR-R-REAT with very impressive statistics to support their claims. The Ad Exchanges, DSPs, DMPs, SSPs, and various… Continue reading »
Shawn Riegsecker is founder and CEO of Centro, a media logistics company. The 2008 election ushered in an era of internet-based voter engagement, but that was about a million years ago in terms of how quickly the web has come to dominate nearly every aspect of campaign strategy, voter opinion gathering and messaging machinery. Today,… Continue reading »
Florian Kahlert is Managing Director of Digital Marketing Intelligence (DMI) at GfK, a company that is passionate about online research for consumer products and services, pharmaceuticals, retail, media, and public policy. The Makegood recently spoke with Florian about his position and innovative online research. The Makegood: Florian, how did you get into the online industry,… Continue reading »
Shelley Eleby is a new contributor at The Makegood. Shelley is Vice President Marketing Services at quadrantONE, a joint venture of the media companies Tribune Company, Gannett Co., Inc., Hearst Corporation and The New York Times Company. We’ve gotten used to the A Word: Attribution. In fact, since I was on the client side, we’ve come a… Continue reading »
Among other accomplishments, he created public seating areas by altering decades old traffic patterns, outlawed smoking in city parks, legislated saturated fat and sugary soda laws and committed the city to plant one million trees within 10 years. He has used his office to affect change at a rapid pace. Not everyone reading this post… Continue reading »
Peter Davies is the Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Adconion Direct, a leading digital distribution platform spanning Display, Email, Social Media and Mobile. Firstly let me state this very clearly: networks are not dead. In fact, not only are they surviving, the experienced ones are in fact thriving. How can this be?… Continue reading »
Frank Addante is CEO and Founder of the Rubicon Project, the world’s leading real-time trading platform for online ads. The Makegood recently spoke with Frank about the Rubicon Project and his role as a serial entrepreneur. The Makegood: Frank, you are a serial entrepreneur specializing in high-tech, having founded or co-founded companies including StrongMail Systems and L90,… Continue reading »
Mihael Mikek is the Chief Executive Officer and a Co-Founder at Celtra. He is a pioneer in mobile advertising having launched the first all-in-one rich media advertising platform for mobile. The Makegood recently spoke with Mihael about his role at Celtra, managing fast growing businesses and the AdCreator. The Makegood: Mihael, you have co-founded and… Continue reading »
There’s a lot of talk about online ad creativity, and for good reason – the bulk of display dollars are still transacted within a set of ad sizes that haven’t changed much in 10 years. With AOL and the IAB pushing the boundaries of display ad units, these innovations could and should come to real-time… Continue reading »
Two recent events in the Digital Media industry have tested the ‘plat-ag’ vs. platform exclusive theory: 1. Google’s announcement of their tag management solution and 2. FBx. Platform agnostic brands, startups, and agencies main USP is being able to shift gears easily and adapt to the most current and innovative technologies available. Yet a major… Continue reading »
Rubicon Project recently release a report on the Real Time Buying Marketplace. Buyers and sellers in the online advertising ecosystem have been working continuously on two primary fronts in order to be successful with this form transaction by leveraging scalable technology and processes to optimize performance and to keep informed of current trends in marketplaces for buying and selling strategies. Check out… Continue reading »
What was it like for you in junior high? For me, it was…uh…not so fun. I was the shortest kid in my class, the only one to carry a handkerchief in my pocket for allergies, and eventually needed glasses and braces. Oh yeah, I had it going on. Kids that age, as you may remember,… Continue reading »
Bowen Dwelle is the Founder and CEO of AdMonsters. Since 1999, AdMonsters has grown from an informal group of early pioneers in online ad operations to a global network of senior leaders in the field. We recently spoke with Bowen about AdMonsters and the future of digital media. The Makegood: Bowen, after working in advertising technology… Continue reading »
Rob Norman is the Global Chief Digital Officer for GroupM. Prior to landing arguably the most prestigious position in digital media advertising, Rob held multiple senior positions throughout GroupM and its global media agency, MEC, during a remarkable 26 year career. This interview was conducted as Rob was en route to Stream, the annual conference… Continue reading »
Chris Cunningham co-founded appsavvy, an activity advertising technology company and serves as CEO. We recently spoke with Chris about customized brand experience and upcoming initiatives. The Makegood: Chris, you launched appssavvy in late 2007 focusing on integrating customized brand experiences on Facebook. What motivated you to launch this business? CC: In co-founding the company with Michael… Continue reading »
Morpheus Media, the digital media and strategy agency, is a monthly contributor to The Makegood. This column was composed by Dave Surgan, Manager, Digital Media Communications. Last week I heard a familiar grudge that digital media does not have enough hard metrics to justify a shift in marketing budgets. It’s true, mass media can provide… Continue reading »
Last week I was granted access to Mediaocean’s new digital pre-buy application, SmartRFP, and was both surprised and impressed by what I saw. This will be the first major new product release since the merger of Donovan and MediaBank. SmartRFP will work with both of existing OX and DDS media billing products and is part… Continue reading »
Geoff Schiller is the Chief Sales Officer at Hearst Digital Media and the President of 212, New York’s interactive advertising club. We recently spoke with Geoff about his new role and upcoming initiatives. The Makegood: Geoff, congratulations to your recent promotion to the Chief Sales Officer at Hearst Digital Media. What are your new goals in… Continue reading »
Mark Kopera is the Director of Product Management at [x+1]. Previously, Mark has worked in digital media at companies including appssavvy and Digitas. We recently spoke with Mark about his current role. The Makegood: What skills did you gain from consulting that enable you to better understand digital media? MK: I was fortunate enough to… Continue reading »
I’ve recently been reading an outstanding publication called ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ by Daniel Kahneman. The book is about ‘human rationality and irrationality’ and how the brain can often jump to the wrong conclusions. One reason for this cites Kahnenman is ‘because people are prone to apply causal thinking inappropriately, to situations that require statistical… Continue reading »
Brent Hieggelke is the CMO of Urban Airship, a company that powers Push Notifications, In-App Purchase, and Subscriptions for mobile applications across major mobile platforms. The Makegood: Brent, you started your career working in finance before moving over to media at a newspaper publisher. Can you tell us what motivated you to make the change?… Continue reading »
It’s the fall media planning season. It’s the time of the year when leaves fall and make a mess of all the yards in the neighborhood. It’s also the time of the year when RFPs fall and make a mess of all the desks and inboxes in the media world. In The Fiesta Nobody Loves, Doug… Continue reading »
What a year it’s been! In our first twelve months we’ve published over two hundred interviews, thought pieces and news items about the business of media advertising. Whether it has been the intricacies of automated buying, the advances in mobile advertising, or the more lighthearted aspects of our business, The Makegood has served as a… Continue reading »
By Mark Wills, the Founder of the Audacious Group, a Branding Consultancy. Mark has been working in advertising for 20+ years at companies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Coca-Cola and Ogilvy & Mather. Some things are as true today as they were back then. Others aren’t. I was very fortunate to have been schooled in advertising… Continue reading »
By Mark Wills, the Founder of the Audacious Group, a Branding Consultancy. Mark has been working in advertising for 20+ years at companies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Coca-Cola and Ogilvy & Mather. A couple of news stories caught my eye recently. The first was the now familiar tale that TV advertising is failing to reach… Continue reading »
For all that we love about social networks, there is a glaring problem we must address: the very platforms that bring us together, also keep us apart. THE CURRENT DYNAMIC Before we experienced a total proliferation of media choices – before cable television, specialized websites and Google news feeds gave way to social networking streams… Continue reading »
Jason Kelly, Admeld’s former chief revenue officer, has been named CEO of Sociomantic Labs, the Berlin-based pioneer of real-time bidding (RTB) technologies for eCommerce advertisers. Kelly left the ad tech company Admeld, that has been acquired by Google in December last year, to lead Sociomantic Labs, that is expanding from its European base into the U.S. We recently spoke with… Continue reading »
GroupM’s Mike Bologna, Director of Emerging Communications, provides his opinion on Addressable TV State of the Union in a recently released report. According to Mike, over time, every media channel will possess the ability to deliver a targeted message to the appropriate consumer at the ideal frequency. See the full report by clicking on the link… Continue reading »
Anthony Onesto is the Chief Talent Officer at Big Fuel. Anthony has been working in HR management for the past dozen plus years at companies including Fresh Direct and Zeta Interactive. We recently spoke with Anthony about his current role. The Makegood: Anthony, you have facilitated growth of companies, for example Fresh Direct. What would… Continue reading »
What started as a fun discussion over lunch with an industry peer about the possibilities of RTB transformed into a ‘what if’ discussion about turning the ad buying concept upside down – and the potentially significant ramifications of this approach. What if algorithms were tweaked to purposely lose, and, pushing this further, lose at the… Continue reading »
F-commerce has a performance problem just like Bob Dole. However, unlike Bob Dole – F-commerce hasn’t found its magic blue pill yet. Every major tech outlet has highlighted why F-commerce sucks. Some attribute it to social media ‘gurus’ with no real business experience in charge of driving online store traffic and failing miserably while others point… Continue reading »
James Curran has spent the last decade working in and building ad platforms. As former product and business development lead for Lotame’s Data Management Platform and a product manager for Advertising.com, James has seen a historical trend in the use of multiple ad platforms by companies and believes it points to where they will be taken… Continue reading »
By James Malins, Director of Social Media at Adconion Direct. Continuing our quest to solve what Facebook is good for, we move beyond branding to other equally valuable uses of the platform when approached correctly. In case you missed yesterday’s guide to the plethora of features Facebook rolled out recently, you can find it here. Let’s… Continue reading »
By James Malins, Director of Social Media at Adconion Direct. Facebook, of late, feels like a late-night infomercial. With a seemingly endless, “But wait, there’s more!” roll out of product features, Facebook now sells the most advanced, feature- full “Oxyclean®-infused, Pajama Jean® Showtime Rotisserie BBQ®” social media platform out there. Marketplace ads, Sponsored Stories, Premium… Continue reading »
Anthony Iacovone is the Founder and CEO of Adtheorent, a mobile ad tech company. Anthony has significant experience working in telecommunications at companies including Global Crossing and MCI. We recently spoke with Anthony about his current role. The Makegood: Anthony, you have been working in the telecommunications industry your whole career. How did you first… Continue reading »
The digital media business is evolving so fast that the roles for people are changing very quickly. In some cases, people have migrated to adjacent industries. Others have so closely tracked the transformation of media into a technology business that they now essentially work for tech companies. And a few have left media and advertising… Continue reading »
I am certainly not one to give real dating advice based on current experience, um…perhaps based on any past experience as well, except for, thankfully, my last attempt…. But in the last few weeks, I had some catch-up conversations at conferences and elsewhere with old friends, peers, and favorite members of past teams that I’ve… Continue reading »
Jay Habegger is the co-founder of OwnerIQ. Jay was previously the CEO of Bitpipe and has significant experience working in digital media at companies including Reuters. We recently spoke with Jay about his current role. The Makegood: Jay, you are very active in the Boston startup community, having founded two companies and being an active… Continue reading »
Last week Thrillist, the New York-based media and e-commerce company targeted to young men, raised a $13 million Series A round of venture capital. By itself, this is not remarkable news; there are many startups that have raised millions of dollars over the past few years. But if you look at the numbers behind Thrillist,… Continue reading »
I started out interning at a mobile games company before the iPhone and Android were ever released in a day when Nokia still reigned Mobile King. It was also years before Google acquired AdMob, before App Marketplaces, and before Angry Birds. Mobile gaming used the game console industry as the example, when really it was… Continue reading »
I’m going to be totally honest and say that I had originally planned to fill this this article with a diatribe about mobile display advertising. I was going to criticize the misleading stat that click through rates are 15 times higher on a mobile, (50% of which occur in error I might add), especially in view of… Continue reading »
We recently spoke with Ari Brandt, CEO of MediaBrix, about the findings of a joint study conducted with Harris Interactive on monetizing Facebook Apps and Moblie Apps. The Makegood: The survey found that traditional online ads, i.e.: standard banners and video ads, are not effective in a social media app environments. What elements insocial advertising… Continue reading »
By Mike Shehan, CEO and founder, SpotXchange Mike Shehan is the CEO and Founder of SpotXchange and Chairman of Booyah, a digital agency. Previously, Mike was the CEO of Ereo, an image search technology company and also founded LOGEX International, an e-commerce solutions provider for the retail and catalog industries. It has been well documented that… Continue reading »
Morpheus Media, the digital media and strategy agency, is a monthly contributor to The Makegood. This column was composed by Hope Distant, Group Associate Director, Client and Media Strategy. Traditional advertising-driven brands are very comfortable with the current metric in place as it has been the same since the 1950′s. The Gross Rating Point (GRP)… Continue reading »
At a recent industry conference, a controversial topic that crept up on panels and during networking portions was dynamic floors. For the uninitiated, dynamic floors is the practice of a supply side platform or ad exchange bumping up the clearing prices of auctioned-off RTB inventory to more closely match the highest placed bid. It is… Continue reading »
This is another in a long line of unsolicited Marissa Mayer suggestion pieces from around the Internet. I will stay away from parenting tips as she seems to be getting enough of those. This one is about business. What Yahoo! Is Missing: Owned Channels In the world of paid, owned and earned media, brands are… Continue reading »
Claire Bishop is in charge of strategy, planning and implementation of all digital marketing at MMGY Global. Her experience in online retail and branding programs includes tactical components such as display, affiliate, OTA merchandising, social, mobile and search. Claire believes in the importance of digital branding as well as transactional engagement and has contributed to… Continue reading »
New York City’s media industry is the largest and most vibrant in the world. The city has more billion-dollar plus media companies and employs more people than any other metropolis. But as the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) pointed out in a study earlier this year, there are steps that the city needs… Continue reading »
Colleen Soriano is the SVP Managing Partner, US Integrated Investment & Digital Innovation at UM. Colleen has held management roles at MEC and Avenue A / Razorfish. We recently spoke with Colleen about her new role. The Makegood: Colleen, you have been working in media planning for 12+ years. Can you tell us your story of… Continue reading »
As the Media industry is still discussing the implications of Facebook Exchange to the market, one interesting case study that hopefully will come from the alpha that the industry I’ve been mulling over is: what’s more effective – retargeting on Facebook using an advertiser’s cookie pool(s) or retargeting based on Action Spec Targeting? The former… Continue reading »
It’s been the year of mobile at least 10 times in the last 10 years, so what makes 2012 the year that mobile advertising really takes hold? Ben Fox, from Adconion Media Group, shares nine metrics covering the technology, distribution, device and creative fronts to support his contention that this will be the year that… Continue reading »
Jeff Rosenblum is the producer and director of The Naked Brand and a founding partner of Questus. Having co-founded Questus in 1998, Jeff has significant experience in digital marketing. We recently spoke with Jeff about The Naked Brand. The Makegood: The Naked Brand focuses attention on how corporations should be transparent with stakeholders and give… Continue reading »
If any of you play golf or even watch golf, you know one of the hardest parts of the game is to forget that last bad shot you hit and focus on the next one coming up. No matter how badly I shanked that 5-iron into the trees, I need to quickly realize the only… Continue reading »
Ming Linsley is the Senior Partner, Senior Director, Social Media at MEC. Ming has extensive experience working in media and advertising on both the client side, at LL Bean, and the agency side, at MEC. We recently spoke with Ming about her current role. The Makegood: Ming, you worked on the client side, at LL… Continue reading »
Nick Johnson is the SVP, National Sales, NBC Sports Digital. Nick has held management roles at media companies including CNN and Revenue Science. We recently spoke with Nick about his role and the 2012 Summer Olympics. The Makegood: Nick, you have been working in media sales for about 20 years, at companies including CNN and… Continue reading »
Last week, computer scientist Marissa Mayer was named CEO of Yahoo! In the process, the Silicon Valley-based company passed over interim CEO Ross Levinsohn, the candidate favored by many New York media professionals. This occurred despite the fact that Yahoo! is dependent on New York-based media agencies buying its ads. 70% of all US media… Continue reading »
Lorne Brown is the Founder of Operative. Previously Lorne has held various management roles at internet and technology companies. We recently spoke with Lorne about his current role. The Makegood: Lorne, you founded Operative, an advertising business management company, in 1999. What motivated you to do so and why was it the right time? LB:… Continue reading »
When I began my career ten years ago my initial desire was to be in TV (or on TV I hasten to admit). The glamour, wealth and fame factors drove me to apply for an ad operations job at a television sales company. However, the sheen soon wore off and my ambitions were muted when… Continue reading »
Agencies act like wasted sorority girls giving everything away for free. From a sustainable business model perspective, it seems ridiculous to give free services to clients, but in actuality they’re retention rate and ability to win business depends on it. And like sorority girls – agencies are very good at looking desirable in what seems… Continue reading »
Advertising agencies are notoriously inefficient in digital media. A recent study showed that agencies typically spend more than $4,000 in media labor to place an advertisement on a website. The good news for challengers is there’s a big opportunity to win business away from inefficient agencies by adopting new methods that give you a sustainable… Continue reading »
Last year I wrote a column entitled “The RFP is Frustrating Mess.” The Request for Proposal is the bane of the existence of digital media buyers who must wade through thousands of emails and spreadsheets each year to assemble media plans for their clients. Media sellers are equally frustrated, especially when they diligently respond to… Continue reading »
Dick O’Hare is the Founder and CEO of Local Yokel Media. Dick has extensive experience in online media, having held executive roles at companies including DoubleClick, Yahoo! and AOL. We recently spoke with Dick about his current role. The Makegood: Dick, you got into digital media early, having started working at DoubleClick in 1999. What were… Continue reading »
Nikhil Sethi is the Co-Founder of Adaptly, a social media advertising technology company. Adaptly was founded in 2010 and was incubated through DreamIt Ventures. We recently spoke with Nikhil about his role and company. The Makegood: Nikhil, you co-founded Adaptly right after graduating college. Can you tell us the story behind why you decided to… Continue reading »
There are thousands of players in the social marketing space, but two companies – Facebook and Twitter – are the true north of our business. This is actually healthy for the industry. The early Internet had three dominant portals. Search became a mature segment around two major offerings. Even home computing came down to Mac… Continue reading »
Whether it’s consumer devices like the iPhone or apps like Instagram, well-designed products are now all around us. As consumer expectations for design migrate to business, it’s more important than ever to build ad-tech systems that people actually want to use. This is especially important given the number of systems that most people already use… Continue reading »
Bob Davidowitz is the Chief Revenue Officer at Trust Metrics. Bob is a seasoned media professional and has worked at companies including Primedia, Rodale and Bauer Media Group. We recently spoke with Bob about his current role. The Makegood: Bob, you spent most of your career in magazine publishing at companies including Rodale and Bauer… Continue reading »
Despite RTB’s accelerated adoption in the past two years, it has yet to reach a point of universal benchmarking, and standards. There’s no comScore or Nielsen report for RTB activity – yet – perhaps we’ll start seeing the beginnings of that before the year is out (are you guys listening?). Most RTB industry discussions typically… Continue reading »
Myles is head of marketing and business development at Canned Banners, a platform that automates and streamlines display ad design. I caught up with Myles on the state of display ad creative. Tim Nichols: Everyone keeps predicting the death of the banner ad, yet Canned Banners has staked its business model on making it easy… Continue reading »
Last week I took my family on a vacation to Arizona. In addition to enjoying natural attractions like The Grand Canyon, The Painted Desert and Meteor Crater, we also consumed a surprising amount of media on our road trip. The biggest surprise was all of the print that we consumed. Ordinarily, we get our media… Continue reading »
By Christopher Hansen Christopher Hansen is President of Netmining, a provider of display targeting solutions. Christopher has 14+ years experience working in digital media at companies including 24/7 Real Media and 360i. As the media industry evolves, fresh lingo floods the market. We’ve seen this with search, mobile, social, video, networks, exchanges and now real-time bidding (RTB) and display… Continue reading »
It was a brisk February 11, 1996, in New York City, the Sunday night before my first day as new Regional Sales Manager at CNET. I was fired up as a 24-year-old to start with a territory of the eastern half of the United States for this cool start-up doing wild things at the time… Continue reading »
Greg Rogers is the CEO of Pictela, a high definition brand content platform that was acquired by AOL in 2010. We recently spoke with Greg about Pictela’s newly released ad formats. The Makegood: Pictela recently released new ad formats that enable marketers to serve premium advertising across browser, mobile, and tablet, through one work-stream. Can… Continue reading »
Peter Spande is the Chief Revenue Officer at Business Insider. Peter has held management roles in media and ad sales at companies including Federated Media and CNET. We recently spoke with Peter about his new role. The Makegood: Peter, you have been working in ad sales at companies including CNET and Federated Media for 15+… Continue reading »
Kim Perell is the CEO of Adconion Direct. Previously, Kim was the Founder and CEO of Frontline Direct Inc, a performance marketing company specializing in database management and customer acquisition, which was acquired by Adconion. We recently spoke with Kim about her current role. The Makegood: Kim, you founded Frontline Direct, a performance marketing company… Continue reading »
“I remember to have heard of a notable Woman, who was thoroughly sensible of the intrinsick Value of Time: Her Husband was a Shoe-maker, and an excellent Crafts-man; but never minded how the Minutes passed. In vain did his Wife inculcate to him, That Time is Money: He had too much Wit to apprehend her;… Continue reading »
Perhaps one of the more taboo topics of discussion amongst us agency folk is the threat that brands will one day buy all their digital media without us. I have encountered a certain amount of defensiveness over the years from peers unwilling to accept that this trend might play out. For the purposes of this… Continue reading »
Last year, after a decade in the media business, I left the world of buying and selling ads to start an enterprise software company. Technically, I am still involved in the media business since the HR software we are building is designed for agencies and media companies. I also write about the industry here on… Continue reading »
Rich Routman is the EVP and GM of Season, a division of the Chicago White Sox-owned Silver Chalice Ventures. Rich is a digital media executive with experience in business strategy, corporate development, marketing and sales at companies including Collegiate Images and the National Football League. We recently spoke with Rich about his current role. The… Continue reading »
Christine Chen has over 12 years of experience in media having started her career at Foote, Cone & Belding. We recently spoke with Christine about her experience and current role. The Makegood: Christine, you started your career at Foote Cone and Belding in media planning, launching new products and brands for Microsoft and Levi’s. Can… Continue reading »
The Makegood is pleased to welcome Jordan Bitterman as a regular contributor. Jordan is currently the SVP and Social Marketing Practice Director at Digitas and has 15+ years working in media on the agency side. TANGIBLE LANDSCAPE COMING INTO FOCUS As we head into the next phase of digital growth – one that might as well be… Continue reading »
Scott Matthews is the CEO of WebCollage, a company that offers SaaS to manufacturers to publish rich product information—videos, interactive tours and enhanced product descriptions—on their retail channel. Scott has 20+ years experience in sales and executive management at companies including Optum, Oracle and Siebel. We recently spoke with Scott about his current role. The… Continue reading »
Morpheus Media, the digital media agency, is a monthly contributor to The Makegood. This column was composed by Ben Beyda, Associate Director, Mobile Strategy. Many studies have demonstrated that smartphone adoption is increasing at a very rapid rate, and that mobile technologies have opened new sales and marketing channels that can outperform traditional “wired” efforts.… Continue reading »
The traditional wisdom has been that all of the ad networks were doomed. Whether it was trading desks, demand side platforms or the fact that there were just so many of them, by now every ad network should be out of business. That hasn’t happened. Sure, the herd may have thinned a bit, but in… Continue reading »
By AJ Vernet, Co-Founder, CEO, Rey Interactive AJ Vernet is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rey Interactive. AJ has 10 years experience building out sales channels and working with direct customers, agencies and creative shops fulfilling their online campaigns. Name your favorite agency from back in the day. Was it Crispin+Porter? Goodby, Silverstein & Partners… Continue reading »
When evaluating and eventually buying private exchanges, there still seems to be considerable confusion from desks, and the DSPs powering buys about the practical usage of this channel. In my view the confusion is fueled by the lack of standards for the usage of the term ‘private exchange.’ There are several widely used tactics that… Continue reading »
Randall Rothenberg, CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), was recently quoted in an article saying that venture capitalists were the biggest obstacle to our industry. “Venture capital has supported and financed a bunch of chaos,” Rothenberg said. Unsurprisingly, the response from the VC industry was swift and harsh. “Randall Rothenberg. What an idiot,” Jerry… Continue reading »
The Makegood is pleased to welcome Tim Nichols as a contributor to The Makegood. Tim is the Principal Media Director at Exact Drive and has been involved with digital media and the online advertising space for nearly 10 years and has been with Exact Drive since its founding. Most recently, Tim played a key role… Continue reading »
Cella Irvine is the CEO of Vibrant Media. Cella has over 25 years of experience in digital, media and technology at companies including The New York Times Company’s About Group, Digitas and Marsh. We recently spoke with Cella about her current role. The Makegood: Cella, you recently became CEO of Vibrant Media after an extensive… Continue reading »
Al Silverstein is the CEO of AudienceFuel, a publisher-to-publisher, house inventory trading platform. Al has worked in media and advertising for 10+ years at companies including OgilvyOne and AtmosphereBBDO. We recently spoke with Al about his current role. The Makegood: Al, you founded AudienceFuel in 2010, the publisher-to-publisher trading platform. What motivated you to do… Continue reading »
Niall McKinney is the Founder & CEO of The Knowledge Engineers, a leading digital training company. Niall has extensive marketing and media experience and has worked at companies including P&G, TimeWarner and Travelocity Europe. We recently spoke with Niall about his current company. The Makegood: Niall, previously you worked in print media at IPC Media/Time… Continue reading »
Julian Baring is the EVP, North America at Facilitate Digital. Julian has extensive experience working in media and advertising, having began his career at Saatchi and Saatchi in the late 1990’s. We recently spoke with Julian about his current role. The Makegood: Julian, you have significant experience in the media buying and planning industry –… Continue reading »
Mark McKinney is the Chief Strategy Officer at MEplusYOU, a strategic and creative agency – previously imc2 – that works with digital and emerging media. Before getting into the digital advertising industry at Tribal DDB in 2004, Mark worked in technology consulting. We recently spoke with Mark about his current role. The Makegood: Mark, you… Continue reading »
No, this is not a column meant to stifle future competition for Prohaska Consulting….It’s just that since opening our practice last fall and writing a couple columns, thanks to some generous space here in The Makegood, I’ve had many good folks, some I knew and some I didn’t, approach me about getting into it themselves.… Continue reading »
I love a good exposé, drama-filled piece of journalism. The New York Times, WSJ, and even Upton Sinclair all hang their hat on blowing the lid on a major issue. The problem I have with our industry doing these provocative pieces is two-fold: 1. they’re ill-informed. 2. they make a mountain out of a mole… Continue reading »
Last week MEC, the global media agency where I worked from 2002-2008, marked its 10th year in business. The agency was the result of a merger between The Media Edge and CIA (Chris Ingram and Associates). To mark MEC’s decade of success, I would like to share 10 things that I learned about media and… Continue reading »
Keith Lorizio is the Vice President, U.S. Sales and Marketing for Microsoft Advertising. He has over two decades of media sales and management experience and has spent the last decade working in digital. Keith joined Microsoft from Yahoo! in 2006 where he was Vice President of Sales. The Makegood: Keith, how has media sales evolved… Continue reading »
Joe Pych is the Founder and President at NextMark, a company that provides tools for media planning and buying industry. We recently spoke with Joe about his experience working in technology and NextMark. The Makegood: Joe, you have been working in technology for the past two decades. What would you say has been the most… Continue reading »
The Makegood is pleased to welcome Nathan Levi as a regular contributor. Look for his column every third Thursday on The Makegood. Nathan has over a decade of experience working in digital media at companies including 24/7 Real Media and Razorfish and is currently the Head of Media at VCCP. Whilst surveying my book recommendations on… Continue reading »
Brian Liebler is the VP, Ad Sales at ooVoo, a social video company. Brian has significant experience in the online industry and we recently spoke with him about his current role. The Makegood: Brian, you have been working in business development and sales for 15+ years at start-ups and leading media companies including Alloy Media… Continue reading »
Recently, Sir James Dyson, the founder of the Dyson Company and the inventor of sleek household appliances, said that he doesn’t believe in branding. “We’re only as good as our latest product,” Dyson said. “I don’t believe in brand at all.” Like a cat coughing up a hairball, Dyson’s comment caused a loud, involuntary response… Continue reading »
Ryan Harwood is the CEO of PureWow, a premiere lifestyle email publication and website for women. We recently spoke with Ryan about his experience founding PureWow and what they are currently working on. The Makegood: Ryan, you started you career in banking working at Goldman Sachs before launching Purewow.com, a lifestyle email publication and website… Continue reading »
Stéphane Pere is the Vice President – Head of Ideas People Media, a business unit of The Economist Group. Stéphane has had a diverse career in the ad industry, having managed online display advertising for Yahoo!, headed up a TV and Print network for Canal+, and worked with Bloomberg Television in international ad sales. We… Continue reading »
“This agreement is a great complement to our pending relationship with The Walt Disney Company and its family of broadcast brands such as Disney, ABC News and ESPN. The convergence of the Internet and television media has the potential to empower the consumer like no other media in history.” That statement was from Harry Motro,… Continue reading »
Undertone, a digital advertising company, recently launched their own marketing campaign, which included a TV buy. We recently spoke with Alan Schanzer, Chief Client Officer at Undertone, about the campaign. The Makegood: It’s safe to say that most digital advertising and technology companies don’t run TV spots. What was Undertone’s motivation for developing and running… Continue reading »
Eric Johnson is the founder and CEO of Ignited, the full service ad agency based in Los Angeles, California. As a former SVP of Marketing at Activision, Eric left to found a company that would re-imagine the ad agency model. The result is Ignited, a 120+ person agency that has expanded its remit well beyond… Continue reading »
Kristian Baek-Mikkelsen is the Senior Partner of Engagement Planning, MEC. Kristian is an experienced media professional that recently moved to New York from Copenhagen, Denmark. There he spent time at major agencies including Mediacom, Grey Communications and Brandhouse. We recently spoke with Kristian about his experience and new role. The Makegood: Kristian, you co-founded MEC’s… Continue reading »
The first wave of private exchanges has been dismissed as marketing rather than reality by some industry insiders. In many cases the model meant charging more for the same buyer experience that the open exchange model already affords. The issue isn’t about the buy side’s willingness to transact through the model. It isn’t about the… Continue reading »
Ophir Tanz is the CEO of GumGum, the largest in-image platform company. Prior to launching GumGum in 2007, Ophir was the CEO and co-founder of Mojungle.com, a mobile media-sharing platform that was sold to Shozu.com in 2007. Before this, Ophir co-founded and sold Fluidesign, an interactive and branding agency. We recently spoke with Ophir about… Continue reading »
I’m old enough to remember the first internet bubble and lately I’ve been having a feeling of déjà vu. While most entrepreneurs and investors seem more disciplined this time around, there are some worrying signs. They include: Billion Dollar Exits. The sale of Instagram to Facebook for a billion dollars when it had no revenue… Continue reading »
Oren Harnevo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Eyeview Digital, a company which provides tools to localize instream advertising. Previously, Oren has worked on product development for an online gaming company that went public. We recently spoke with Oren about his current company. The Makegood: Oren, you previously played a role in leading the product… Continue reading »
Our daughter, Danielle, is in first grade and started working on adding 3 numbers together last week. I’ve been told first graders are not ready for multiplication yet, so being sort of a math dork, I hold back on giving her times tables at home. But I was thinking about her addition worksheets when writing… Continue reading »
I collected baseball cards as a kid as many others did, but I did it a bit differently. I had all the rookie cards of the hot shots – Roger Clemens, Ken Griffey, Jr., Barry Bonds (180lbs. then), etc. However, I had an entire binder dedicated to Nomar Garciaparra. I would give up all my… Continue reading »
Steve Farella is the Chairman and CEO of TargetCast, a full service media agency that was recently acquired by MDC Partners. Previously, Steve spent time at other notable agencies including Benton & Bowles, Y&R and MPG. We recently spoke with Steve about the beginnings at TargetCast and what they are working on now. The Makegood:… Continue reading »
Moat, a SaaS company that is developing tools for brand advertising online, announced today it raised $12 million in a Series B round from Mayfield Fund. In its Angel and Seed rounds, Moat previously raised $4.5 million, which includes a $1.5 million round led by Ron Conway’s SV Angel. Moat was founded in 2010 by… Continue reading »
Dilip Venkatachari is the CEO of Compass Labs, an ad tech company that extracts insights from public social content. Dilip is an entrepreneur who has founded a few companies that have been acquired and has also held a number of management roles at internet companies including Google and Paypal. We recently spoke with Dilip about… Continue reading »
Pam Horan is president of the Online Publishers Association, which represents quality online publishers to advertisers, press, government and the public. Her prior experience fuses technology and publishing. Before landing at OPA, Pam was vice president of marketing for Zinio Systems Inc., which sells print magazines in virtual form online via single issue or subscription.… Continue reading »
Clark Kokich is the Chairman of Razorfish and author of the new book, Do or Die. The book details the transformation that is overtaking advertising and how it is impacting the 300,000 Americans that work in the industry. Clark’s book includes video interviews of some of the top minds in the business and is available… Continue reading »
Last week Instagram was acquired by Facebook for the incredible sum of one billion dollars after just 18 months since founding. Even in the frothy world of internet software startups this was an unusual event. Here are some of the lessons that I took from Instagram’s success: Design Matters. The sheer ugliness of the Web,… Continue reading »
Rob Schmults is the SVP at Intent Media, an ad tech company that enables retail sites to monetize visitors who leave without making a purchase. Rob has over 15 years experience leading and building teams at internet companies. We recently spoke with Rob about his previous experience and talent issues in the tech startup space.… Continue reading »
Morpheus Media, the digital media agency, is a monthly contributor to The Makegood. This column was composed by Dave Surgan, Manager, Digital Media Communications. One of the greatest challenges planning social media strategies has been tracking the investment to a direct ROI. Social is an element that permeates all aspects of the media mix and… Continue reading »
Scene: Client briefs Agency, “We want Facebook fans. Go get us some.” Agency to Client, “Absolutely, Social is so in right now. Brilliant.” Agencies are doing a disservice to themselves and their clients by being Yes Men and Chicken Littles. I’ve sat in meetings where the Account Director mutes the line to comment on a… Continue reading »
Caroline Foster Kenny is the Chief Client Officer, Global at MEC. Caroline has 20+ years of agency experience, specialized in International Client Management and has worked across most sectors in multiple markets and regions. We recently spoke with Caroline about her current role. The Makegood: Caroline, you have a background in International Client Management and… Continue reading »
Last week Digitas released the findings of a recent survey they commissioned on online video. The results show a deepening multi-generational interest in digital video across screens and consumer interest in learning more about brands through online video. We recently spoke with Stephanie Sarofian, Managing Director of The Third Act, the brand content unit of… Continue reading »
Jen Soch is the Managing Partner, Global Account Director at MEC. Previously, Jen was Senior Vice President, Activation Director of Advanced TV at MediaVest USA. We recently spoke with Jen about her current role and previous experience. The Makegood: Jen, you have extensive experience in the media business, having worked with a broad spectrum of… Continue reading »
As publisher sites continue to grow and fill all available page space with ads to the point that some resemble NASCAR cars, media buyers and planners have a reason to be overwhelmed. As I walked around the floor at ad-tech this week, I heard countless times the startling statistic that for real-time bidding (RTB) alone,… Continue reading »
The following guest column is by Chris Senio, Partner and Group Director at MEC, the global media agency. Chris has been with MEC for over five years developing digital media strategies for clients like Macy’s and Cadbury Schweppes. That media consumption continues to fragment is a surprise to no one. As consumers use an ever-proliferating… Continue reading »
We spoke to JT Batson of the newly formed MediaOcean, a merger of Donovan Data Systems and MediaBank, about where the company is headed. The Makegood: Now that Mediaocean is up and running, what kinds of things is the company looking to solve? We created Mediaocean to empower agencies and media vendors to capture full… Continue reading »
Mike Lazerow is a serial entrepreneur who has started a number of successful companies including Buddy Media, the social media enterprise software company. We spoke to Mike recently about his background, the evolution of the company and the recent acquisition of Brighter Option. The Makegood: Mike, your have founded four successful internet-based media companies: Buddy… Continue reading »
Mad Men returned this week after a 17-month hiatus and it is good to have the show back. The hour-long drama has characters and story lines that are deeply compelling. Mad Men has left an indelible imprint on the advertising industry, similar to what The West Wing did for presidential politics. Because I’m a fan… Continue reading »
Tim Nichols is the Principal Media Director at Exact Drive. We recently spoke with Tim about his experience and a newly launched partnership. The Makegood: Tim, how did you get into digital media advertising? TN: Almost 10 years ago I was working at a leading Fortune 500 company. I was working on the operational team given the… Continue reading »
The Makegood is pleased to welcome Matt Prohaska as a regular contributor. Look for his column every fourth Thursday on The Makegood. Matt is a 20-year media veteran and consultant to leading digital media and advertising technology firms and executives. He has held various roles in the industry at companies including BBDO, CNET, [x+1] and AOL.… Continue reading »
I’m moving back to San Francisco after living in London for over a year having witnessed quite a different London in that time than what Paul Carr described in his TechCrunch post discussing the depressing state of the London startup landscape. I remember reading the post in the middle of packing up my ten boxes… Continue reading »
Chia Chen is the Senior Vice President/North American Mobile Practice Lead at Digitas. Chia leads mobile innovation and marketing and works across the Digitas network of clients including Delta Air Lines and P&G. We recently spoke with Chia about his current role. The Makegood: Chia, you are the Senior Vice President/North American Mobile Practice Lead… Continue reading »
Patrick Cartmel is the VP National Accounts, Undertone. Patrick has spent the last 15 years on the agency side, at companies including MEC and Avenue A. We recently spoke with Patrick about his move to Undertone. The Makegood: Patrick, tell us a little bit about your background and experience. PC: For the past 10 years… Continue reading »
The Makegood is pleased to welcome Andrew Casale as a regular contributor. Look for his column the first Thursday of every month. Andrew is the VP of Strategy at Casale Media and we recently spoke with him about his experience working at Casale over the last 11+ years and where the company is headed now.… Continue reading »
Andy Nibley is the CEO of Yieldex, a company that enables online publishers to maximize advertising revenue. Previously, Andy has been a CEO in multiple media industries and has worked at four different media giants: WPP, Vivendi, Bertelsmann and Reuters. We recently spoke with Andy about his current role. The Makegood: Andy, you are a true… Continue reading »
Nancy Hill is the President and CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), the national trade association founded in 1917. Next week the 4A’s holds Transformation LA, the annual event that covers key topics including talent recruitment and retention, regulatory updates, creativity, social media, mobility and growth. We spoke to Nancy recently about… Continue reading »
Andy Monfried is the Founder and CEO of Lotame, a leading Data Management Platform. Prior to founding Lotame in 2006, Andy was responsible for building the New York office of Advertising.com (now AOL Advertising). We recently spoke with Andy about Lotame’s history and the DMP landscape. The Makegood: Andy, tell us a bit about your… Continue reading »
Joey Trotz is the Senior Director, Advertising & Digital Tech Strategy at Turner Broadcasting Systems as well as the Co-Chair, IAB Digital Video Committee. Previously, Joey has held various management level roles at companies incluing CNN, Sports Illustrated.com and The Augusta Chronicle. We recently spoke with Joey about his current role at Turner and IAB… Continue reading »
The recent news that Yahoo! was suing Facebook for patent infringement unleashed a torrent of blog posts and Tweets. Many felt that Yahoo!, once a internet startup itself, had crossed the line by suing another startup. While it may eventually pay dividends, assuming the role of a patent bully has the potential to turn the… Continue reading »
Troy Young is the President of SAY Media and has significant experience working on the buy side at agencies like Organic, as well as the publisher side. We recently spoke with Troy about his current role and where SAY Media is headed. The Makegood: As the President of SAY Media, you oversee many areas of… Continue reading »
Geoff Schiller is the National Sales Director at Hearst Digital Media and the President of 212, New York’s interactive advertising club. We recently spoke with Geoff about his role at 212 and upcoming initiatives. The Makegood: Geoff, why did you decide to become more involved in the New York interactive advertising community and take on… Continue reading »
Everyone is at South by Southwest this year, and by everyone I mean my VC, startup, and media agency friends. SXSW Interactive caught the attention of ad agencies when social media startups started to take off bringing in ad industry dollars and attention. It’s prom for digital startups and agencies with Prom Kings in the… Continue reading »
Last year I resolved to become more active in online networking. While I had worked in digital media for over a decade, I had neglected to build my own brand online. Sure, I was on Facebook and also on LinkedIn, but I didn’t have a Twitter account and had rarely found time to write about… Continue reading »
Tony Nethercutt is the General Manager, NA of Mojiva, one of the largest mobile advertising companies. Tony has over 20 years of experience in sales and operations at major media companies including Yahoo!, DoubleClick and AdMob. We recently spoke with Tony about his previous experience and current role. The Makegood: Tony, you began your career… Continue reading »
Charlie Jones is the President of the Brand Intersection Group, a brand strategy and marketing innovation consultancy. Charlie launched the Brand Intersection Group in 2007 and over the last 20+ years he has worked with over 100 clients, selling over 170 products in multiple countries for some of the world’s most admired brands, leading nonprofits… Continue reading »
Amit Avner is the CEO of Taykey, a company that uses real time trends to improve advertising performance. Amit has extensive experience building software and we recently spoke with him about Taykey’s offering. The Makegood: Amit, you have always had a passion for technology, having started programming at the age of ten. What is it… Continue reading »
Jason Oates is the President of LiveIntent, a company that delivers real-time display advertising within email on any device. Previously, Jason was on the agency side at Razorfish as well as at ad tech companies including Datran Media. We recently spoke with Jason about his previous work and LiveIntent’s offering. The Makegood: Jason, you started… Continue reading »
Kristine Welker is the Chief Revenue Officer for Hearst Digital. We spoke with her recently about her background and how Hearst Digital is preparing for the future. The Makegood: Kristine, in 1999 you began working on CosmoGIRL!, a magazine that was at the forefront of digital. What was it like to be working on, what… Continue reading »
Today SessionM announced the launch of its new mobile platform. Founded by Quattro Wireless co-founder Lars Albright, SessionM addresses the problem of audience engagement with consumers while offering new ad experiences for brands. We spoke with Bill Clifford, Chief Revenue Officer at SessionM, about the launch of the platform. The Makegood: Bill, today SessionM is… Continue reading »
The Makegood was launched six months ago today by Matt Straz. Matt is the CEO of Namely, a platform that enables media, advertising and technology companies to manage their human capital. We spoke to Matt about why he started the The Makegood and where it is headed. The Makegood: Matt, why did you start publishing… Continue reading »
Last week at the IAB Annual Meeting in Miami there was a fascinating presentation by Rob Norman, CEO of GroupM North America, who responded to questions about the future viability of the media agency model in the face of competition posed by ad tech startups. Rob made the case that agencies have recently made their… Continue reading »
Yesterday the Department of Justice formally approved the merger of Donovan Data Systems and MediaBank to form MediaOcean, a company that plans to build the operating system for advertising. We spoke to MediaOcean’s CEO Bill Wise about the merger, what is means for current customers and where the company is headed next. The Makegood: Donovan… Continue reading »
Ben Lerer is the CEO and Co-Founder of Thrillist and a Partner at Lerer Ventures. Ben co-founded Thrillest in 2005 after he recognized the need for a city guide, which eventually developed into a leading men’s digital lifestyle publication. We recently spoke with Ben about the newly launched Thrillest Media Group. The Makegood: Ben, in… Continue reading »
If you’ve ever watched a children’s tee ball game, you know it’s a bit of a mess. Everyone is playing everyone else’s position and there’s that kid out in left field making a crown out of the daisies in the outfield to show his parents that he’s not cut out for the Majors later in… Continue reading »
Today AOL announced the launch of Pictela Enterprise, a self serve version of the software that powers the company’s Project Devil ad units. We spoke with Greg Rogers, CEO of Pictela, about the launch of the platform. The Makegood: What does Pictela Enterprise mean for marketers and agencies? GR: In short, it means that what… Continue reading »
Most people in media advertising are aware that the buy side of the industry receives “perks” from sellers. This may come in the form of a complimentary lunch or a dinner thanks to the expense budgets of the media sellers. Tickets to baseball games, concerts or ski trips are some of the nicer benefits that… Continue reading »
The Internet Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Annual Leadership Meeting kicks off on Sunday in Miami and is one of the most important industry events of the year. We recently spoke to Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB, about the association’s initiatives and the upcoming annual event. The Makegood: Randall, you spent much of your… Continue reading »
The digital ad business is having an excellent quarter according to sales leaders across a range of premium publishers and ad networks. Compared to Q4 where some results were mixed due to unfounded fears of a double dip recession, Q1 looks good–very good in some cases. Ad sales growth was on fire in January and,… Continue reading »
Glam Media recently welcomed Erin Matts, former Chief Digital Officer at OMD and Global Director of Digital Connections for Anheuser-Busch inBev, as its Chief Digital Marketing Officer. Matts believes that media companies should focus on developing sustainable growth, even when they’ve already built a massive audience. The Makegood: So last week was your first at… Continue reading »
Shawn Riegsecker is the CEO of Centro, a technology and media services company. Before forming Centro in 2001, Shawn worked at Real Media and has also led sales and strategic initiatives for start-up Internet companies including Everstream, Cleveland.com and Ohio.com. We recently spoke with Shawn about his career in online media and current Centro initiatives.… Continue reading »
Stephanie Lawrence is a Partner, Group Director at Mediaedge and a seasoned media professional, having worked at major agencies including Dotglu and Optimedia. We recently spoke with Stephanie about her current role and best practices. The Makegood: Stephanie, can you tell us about your role and responsibilities as Partner, Group Media Director at MEC? Where does the… Continue reading »
When I first started out in media planning I used to make fancy slides smothered in Smart Art. The conversion funnel slide showing high impact buys and how it filtered down the funnel to remessaging. Delicious. One of the last slides would always be the snapshot of the media plan and media mix. Usually it… Continue reading »
Jim Norton was recently named Head of AOL Sales. He is a seasoned media professional, having held management roles at companies including Google and WLVI-TV, a Tribune Broadcasting station. We recently spoke with Jim about his new role and expectations for 2012. The Makegood: Jim, you have spent about 20 years in sales and marketing roles, working… Continue reading »
There is a war taking place in advertising, one that will determine what the industry will look like for years to come. This battle is being waged on multiple fronts, but the outcome will be based on one question: What technology will marketers use to create, target, deliver and measure their ads? The winning software… Continue reading »
Samir Arora knows new media. Present at the birth of social media and digital advertising, Arora was founder, CEO and Chairman of the pioneering web development company NetObjects, Inc. from 1995 to 2001 and is the co-founder and CEO of Glam Media. Arora’s 7-year-old Glam Media has successfully built a global audience of more than… Continue reading »
The Makegood is pleased to welcome Jayne Pimentel as a regular contributor. Look for her column every other Wednesday on The Makegood. Jayne is the Head of Display Advertising at Razorfish London and originally from Silicon Valley. She works on driving digital strategy for brands globally and her experience spans from social media strategy for… Continue reading »
Bill Rosolie is the EVP Advertising Sales, Digital and Advanced Platforms at AMC Networks. Bill is a senior sales executive with over 30 years experience working on TV, digital, branded entertainment, event marketing, direct response and VOD for companies including Gemstar-TV Guide and The Weather Channel. We recently spoke with Bill about online branding. The… Continue reading »
Jordan Bitterman is the Senior Vice President and Social Marketing Practice Director at Digitas. Jordan has extensive media agency experience having spent time at agencies including Ammirati Puris Lintas and Foote Cone Belding. We recently spoke with Jordan about his career and his current role. The Makegood: Jordan, you started working in media about 18… Continue reading »
Netscape founder Marc Andreessen says that software is eating the world — and he’s right. All of the necessary ingredients for this revolution are now in place: Programming languages like Ruby make creating software easier and faster than ever before, cloud-based hosting allows software to be served at a global scale, and over two billion… Continue reading »
Charlie Kemper is a Partner at Revel Partners, an early-expansion stage investment group focused on financing disruptive innovation in the areas of digital media and internet technology. Revel Partners was formed in early 2011 by Joe Apprendi, Founder and CEO of Collective, Thomas Falk, CEO of eValue Group, Chris Young, Chairman and CEO of Digital… Continue reading »
John Piccone is the SVP of Sales at Simulmedia, the digital ad targeting platform for linear television. John has extensive experience in digital ad sales, having spent time at 24/7 Real Media and HealthiNation. We recently spoke with John about his current role and Simulmedia. The Makegood: John, can you tell us about your role… Continue reading »
Jonah Goodhart is a New York based entrepreneur who has spent the last 13 years building and investing in digital media companies. Goodhart was a founding investor and board member of Right Media, the online advertising exchange which was acquired by Yahoo! in 2007. Recently, Goodhart co-founded WGI Group, a seed stage fund which invests… Continue reading »
Today’s ad industry is very different from the old one. In this new world, paper and ink have given way to screens and software. Our predecessors used to speak in terms of universal selling propositions and mass markets, but now we use jargon like pay-per-click, engagement, and brand content. But our need to socialize, gossip… Continue reading »
Steven Kaufman is the Executive Vice President of Integrated Media at KSL Media, an independent media services company that specializes in helping entrepreneurial companies and challenger brands to acquire and retain their best customer. Steven has an extensive media background, starting off as a media supervisor at Wunderman Cato Johnson and having held various senior… Continue reading »
Brian Weiser‘s Pivotal Research Group has released a groundbreaking piece of equity research on the major advertising agency holding companies. Highlights include: Top pick is WPP. “We like the company’s long-term exposure to China — possibly the most significant of any western media-related company — its independent digital platform and its dominant media services business.… Continue reading »
Advertising is a massive human enterprise. The top 10 advertising agency holding companies employ a combined 370,000 employees worldwide, with thousands more employed as consultants, freelancers and outsourced team members. All of this talent is a major investment for the agencies. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, estimates that his company spends $9 billion each… Continue reading »
Adam Chandler is the Chief Revenue Officer of Martini Media, an audience buying platform that reaches the affluent online. Previously Adam spent 8 years at Yahoo! and has also spent time at NBC and PointRoll. We recently spoke with Adam about his experience in the media industry and his current role. The Makegood: Adam, you… Continue reading »
From his perch in rural Vermont overlooking the Green Mountains, Doug Weaver joined us by phone to talk about the state of the advertising industry and where it’s headed. Weaver, founder and CEO of Upstream Group, is a consultant and strategist who advises publishers and ad networks such as The New York Times, Yahoo, About.com,… Continue reading »
GroupM’s Mike Bologna, Director of Emerging Communications, provides his exclusive CES 2012 wrap up report to The Makegood’s readers. Click the link below to view the report. CES.Review.2012
This week we launched Namely, a company that is developing a team management system for advertising companies. With billions of dollars being invested in automating the buying and selling of media, our focus on people may seem unusual. But attracting, retaining and expanding advertising’s human resources is the most critical issue facing the industry today.… Continue reading »
Dave Roter is the Senior Director of Digital Sales at ESPN. He is a media veteran having spent his 16 year career at ESPN and MEC. We recently spoke with Dave about his experience on the buy side and the sell side as well as his current role. The Makegood: Dave, you have been part… Continue reading »
Curt Viebranz is the CEO of Korrelate, a company that links digital marketing efforts and product purchases. Before Korrelate, Curt was President of Platform-A, the ad network division of AOL. He was also previously the CEO of TACODA and has held a number of management roles over the course of 17 years at Time Warner.… Continue reading »
Andy Ellenthal is the CEO of Peer39, the company that provides data about web pages to buyers and sellers. We spoke to Andy recently about his background in the digital media business as well as his company. The Makegood: Andy, you have a strong background in digital advertising, having held management and sales roles at… Continue reading »
Kelly Wenzel is the SVP of Marketing at Undertone, a digital advertising company focused on delivering experiences for brands across PCs, mobiles and tablets. Kelly is a seasoned marketing professional with experience in software firms, having spent time at Optum and DataSynapse. We recently spoke with Kelly about online branding. The Makegood: Kelly, how do… Continue reading »
Alvin Bowles is the CEO of Grab Networks, a media company that licenses and distributes short form video online. We spoke to him recently about a number of topics including his background, how online video distribution is becoming more targeted, and the fast growth of Grab over the last year. The Makegood: Alvin you joined… Continue reading »
According to John Durham at CatalystSF, there were only eight business days in 2011 without an industry event. A quick look at the conference calendar confirms this year appears to be no different. Given this onslaught of events, it’s important to prioritize the conferences that are crucial to attend. Otherwise it might be difficult to… Continue reading »
As the director of emerging communications for GroupM, Mike Bologna will be leading a contingent of over 70 clients at CES this year. We spoke to him today about what attendees can expect from the show. The Makegood: Mike, you have attended a number of CES events. What year was your first CES and what… Continue reading »
Ari Brandt, a media veteran with over 18 years of experience, took on the role of CEO of MediaBrix in May 2011. Previously, he was the CEO of Linkstorm, an advertising technology company, and has also held roles at DoubleClick, Yahoo!, SmartMoney and Condé Nast. We recently spoke with Ari about his role and some of… Continue reading »
Dave Marsey is the SVP/Media Practice Lead at Digitas in Chicago. Previously, he has held roles at other major agencies, including ID Media (part of Draftfcb), Avenue A and Scient/iXL. We recently spoke with Dave about his role and current trends. The Makegood: Dave, you have been teaching a Digital Marketing Strategies course at the… Continue reading »
Jason Gross is the Director of Strategy and Marketing for Verifone Media, an out of home advertising network with placements in taxis, transit vehicles and gas stations. Jason has over 20 years of experience in a variety of creative, strategic, and management roles at leading advertising, branding, and media firms, including McCann Erickson and Doremus.… Continue reading »
Despite a tumultuous year for stocks thanks to the European debt crisis and an American debt freak out in August, the major stock indexes ended 2011 virtually unchanged. The same cannot be said for the media advertising industry. Whether it was agencies or media companies, many publicly traded media businesses had a year they would… Continue reading »
There were a number of words and phrases that infected media during 2011. Some made people feel queasy about the state of the industry, while others left people confused about what we actually do for a living. Here are some of the words that we should quarantine immediately: Dead. This year everything from television, apps… Continue reading »
From his perch in rural Vermont overlooking the Green Mountains, Doug Weaver joined us by phone to talk about the state of the advertising industry and where it’s headed. Weaver, founder and CEO of Upstream Group, is a consultant and strategist who advises publishers and ad networks such as The New York Times, Yahoo, About.com,… Continue reading »
Allison Coley will soon be moving from New York to the UK to assume her new position as Managing Partner at MEC London. We spoke to her recently about her expanded role on the Colgate-Palmolive account. The Makegood: Allison can you tell us about your new responsibilities and why you decided to make the leap?… Continue reading »
Janet Balis recently rejoined AOL as Head of Sales Strategy, Marketing and Partnerships for AOL Advertising. This is Janet’s second tour at AOL, having lead sales development from 2004-2007 for the company. We recently spoke with Janet about her new position and her goals for 2012. The Makegood: Janet tell us about some of the… Continue reading »
Recent research tells us what we already know: planning and buying digital media can be highly inefficient. Google opines that 28% of a media buy is soaked up by transactional costs beyond the cost of the media itself. Ad tech firm Nextmark believes that the labor to execute a digital buy comprises 8% of the… Continue reading »
For many people who work in the New York media and advertising industry, the annual word-of-mouth holiday party at El Rio Grande bar is an institution. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the event. We recently spoke to Andy Meyerson, the long-time Time Inc. sales executive and one of the event’s producers, about the… Continue reading »
While our national unemployment rate hovers at around 9%, the rate in our industry is much lower. In fact, some people I speak with now believe that the unemployment rate in media and technology is effectively zero. They may be right. Recruiters in New York tell me that they are having challenges finding talent across… Continue reading »
Jerry Shereshewsky is the former Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Madison Avenue for Yahoo and now Chief GrownUp at GrownUp Marketing. As one of the original Mad Men from advertising’s golden age, he helped to turn Yahoo! into a display ad powerhouse during the 2000′s. We spoke to him recently about his views on the industry and… Continue reading »
Chuck Gafvert is the SVP of Operations and Technology at Undertone. He previously spent 15 years at AOL, most recently he was the Vice President of Advertising Technology at AOL where his global team supported ad sales for all AOL properties and Advertising.com. Chuck also spent time at Discovery Communications. We recently spoke with Chuck… Continue reading »
Tom Deierlein is an American hero. Not only has he been a leader in the digital media space for over 15 years, but he also served his country in Iraq and is an Airborne Ranger, Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient. We recently spoke with him about his new role at Social Media Link. The… Continue reading »
Back in October I predicted that 2012 would be the Year of Television. At the time I believed that Apple would soon release a revolutionary, all-in-one television. Here’s what I said: “The Apple TV of my dreams will have a Siri-enabled voice interface that makes finding, recording and watching your favorite television shows a breeze.… Continue reading »
The TD Foundation’s holiday cocktail party is December 15th at Admeld in New York. This is the sixth year of the event and it is open to all. We recently spoke to Tom Deierlein about the event and his foundation. How did the TD Foundation get started? TD: I was activated in late 2005 to active… Continue reading »
America is a startup nation. Whether it has been manufacturing, whaling or software, one of this country’s defining characteristics seems to be taking unnecessary risks to create markets where none existed previously. As an entrepreneur, I’m a huge fan of startups. Both my parents started their own small businesses, so entrepreneurialism runs in my family.… Continue reading »
Jennifer Heinen is the Associate Director, Social Strategies at Morpheus Media, a full-service provider of interactive marketing solutions to Fortune 500 companies. We recently spoke with her about her current role and recent successful campaigns. The Makegood: What’s are some of the best parts about your role at Morpheus Media? JH: One of the best… Continue reading »
Toby Bodner is an Account Director at Luminate, a technology that makes online images interactive. The company, formerly known as Pixazza, is backed by Google Ventures, among others. Previously, Toby has experience on the publisher and agency sides, having worked at About.com, Hearst Digital and Avenue A. We recently spoke with Toby about her current… Continue reading »
There are a number of brands that have produced outstanding marketing this year. Volkswagen’s “Young Darth Vader” spot was best in show at the February television ad festival also known as the Super Bowl. Companies like Unilever, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, Audi and H&M also did standout work this year—especially in the realm of… Continue reading »
Peter Minnium is the Head of Brand Initiatives at the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). Previously he spent about 12 years at Lowe Worlwide and also worked at other well-known agencies, including Dentsu Y&R and N.W. Ayer. We recently spoke with Peter about his current role and various IAB initiatives. The Makegood: Peter, you had a… Continue reading »
Mario Diez is the CEO of quadrantONE, a company backed by the Tribune Company, Gannet, Hearst Corp., and The New York Times. Prior to landing the CEO position at QuadrantOne, Mario worked at Datran Media, Centro and PointRoll. We recently spoke with Mario about his current role and the evolution of the ad network. The… Continue reading »
Having run advertising for Yahoo and revenue for Microsoft’s media arm, Joanne Bradford now oversees revenue and marketing at a truly digital-native media company, Demand Media. A perfect example of the convergence occurring on the technology and media fronts, Demand Media offers content and software as a service. Its humor, how-to, fitness, golf, and other… Continue reading »
In most respects California’s Silicon Valley has New York City outgunned when it comes to nurturing and growing great technology companies. All of the resources that a startup needs — money, management and engineering talent — are available in abundance in the Valley. But after decades of living in California’s shadow, New York is poised… Continue reading »
Scott Swanson is the CEO of Mobile Theory, a premium mobile ad network. Scott previously founded 47 Media Inc and has held roles at some of the major ad networks, including Glam Media and Tribal Fusion. Recently we spoke with Scott about his role and the mobile advertising landscape. The Makegood: You have been working… Continue reading »
If you live in New York you know that this weekend is one of the most important events of the year for the city. Each year since 1970 the New York City Marathon has drawn thousands of runners and millions of spectators in a 26.2 mile tour of New York’s five boroughs. Ever since I… Continue reading »
Toby Evers is the Director of SEO & Emerging Tech at Morpheus Media, a full-service provider of interactive marketing solutions to Fortune 500 companies. Previously he worked on the technical side as an engineer at Zagat Survey and SPS Technologies. We recently spoke with him about his role and current trends in SEO. The Makegood:… Continue reading »
In just eight years, we will enter the third decade of the 21st century. What will the media advertising industry look like then? Who will be running the media agencies? Will media buying be completely automated? Here are some prognostications: Clouds, screens and agents. By 2020 the media industry will be have moved to cloud-based… Continue reading »
Brian Monahan is the managing partner for MAGNA Global where he and his team literally predict the future of media through data. Brian is also the guest editor for Mediapost’s Media Magazine’s “The Future of Media” issue. We recently asked him about that experience as well as about his role at MAGNA. The Makegood: Brian… Continue reading »
Ben Kartzman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Spongecell, a company that enables advertisers to run rich media creative units in standard placements. Previously he worked in management consulting for Accenture and has held roles at software startups in New York. We recently spoke with Ben about his role and trends in display advertising. The… Continue reading »
As the media industry evolved from a department within the full service ad agencies to a grown up, standalone business, Christine Fuller has played a key role in the evolution of media for over two decades. Today she leads investment strategy for Mediacom, the GroupM agency, and also serves on the Mediacom Executive Committee. The… Continue reading »
Tom Thai is VP of Marketing at Bluefin Labs, a social TV analytics company that works with brand advertisers, advertising agencies, and TV networks. Tom has previously held marketing and strategy roles at AOL, CBS Interactive and Google. We spoke to him recently about the emerging science of social television. The Makegood: There’s been lots… Continue reading »
Twitter allows people to share something of interest — provided it is 140 characters or less — to a global audience. Because of this reach and simplicity, the service is growing like a weed and it is now the fourth most popular online property, according to Quantcast. Twitter is also an invaluable professional tool and… Continue reading »
Greg Rogers is the CEO of Pictela, the next generation display advertising platform that was acquired by AOL last December to power the portal’s Project Devil ads. Greg and I worked together at both MEC and then at Pictela. We spoke recently about his background and how data and brand content are changing the digital… Continue reading »
Despite recent reports that the market size for digital advertising has approached that of television, for some online publishers going door to door pitching banner ads the mood appears somewhat downbeat. Based on my unscientific but detailed conversations with a range of publishers it seems that human-based banner sales may end up flat or even… Continue reading »
A beloved figure in online advertising, Wenda Harris Millard ran sales for Yahoo during its heyday and helped create brand advertising online. She has also been an executive at DoubleClick, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Adweek, and Ziff Davis, plus served as chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, to name only some of her many accomplishments.… Continue reading »
Predicting the future is a fool’s errand, but my gut is telling me that if 2011 was the year of mobile, then next year may be the year when television gets the limelight. Here’s why: Apple TV arrives. The big product announcement of 2012 could be that Apple is getting into the television business. This… Continue reading »
Jeff Rossi is the VP Digital Group Director at Starcom MediaVest Group, one of the largest global media buying companies. Jeff has worked at other major media agencies including MEC, Avenue A and Organic. One of the truly great guys in the industry, we recently spoke with Jeff about his current role and the media… Continue reading »
Lauren Rubin is the Global Director of Advertising at Mashable, the online news source dedicated to digital culture, social media and technology. She has previously worked at GroupM, Mediaedge and Wunderman and we recently spoke with her about her current role and trends in social media. The Makegood: Can you explain a little bit about… Continue reading »
The first full day of GroupM’s inaugural What’s Next conference kicked off under grey skies but to plenty of friendly faces. Welcoming the mix of GroupM agency pros and big brand clients was the brainy and quick-witted Chris Copeland, CEO of GroupM Search. Chris and his St. Louis-based team behind the event appeared to have… Continue reading »
Jay Krihak recently joined Razorfish, one of the world’s largest interactive agencies, as Client Partner, Client Engagement and previously worked at NBC Universal. Prior to that Jay worked for MEC/Y&R for an amazing 16 years. We recently asked him about his new role and current industry trends. The Makegood: You recently joined Razorfish as Client… Continue reading »
Andrea Wolinetz is the Director, Social Media at PHD, the global media planning and buying agency. We recently asked her about her role and some of her favorite brand communities she has helped develop this year. The Makegood: How did you become specialized in social media? Was it planned or something you fell into? AW:… Continue reading »
Shenan Reed started media agency Morpheus Media in the middle of the dot-com bust with two partners, landed the Neiman Marcus account early on, and in June sold to CREATETHE GROUP, the go-to digital agency and ecommerce platform provider for top-tier luxury fashion clients such as Marc Jacobs. Reed, along with her two partners, remains… Continue reading »
Today I’m on an Advertising Week panel. That itself is not unusual — there are hundreds of people participating in this wildly successful, eighth annual event in New York. What is notable is who else is on the panel and the topic itself. Contributing to the discussion will be Rob Norman, CEO of GroupM North… Continue reading »
My evening commute from Manhattan back to Connecticut often takes me by Y&R, the storied New York ad agency that has been located at 285 Madison Avenue for nearly a century. It was at this same agency where Draper Daniels, the real life inspiration for television’s “Mad Men” Don Draper character, got his first job… Continue reading »
Adam Shlachter is the managing director for digital in the U.S. for MEC, the global media planning and buying agency. We recently asked him about his role and some of his favorite digital work the agency has produced this year. The Makegood: Everyone has a unique story about how they got into digital media. What’s… Continue reading »
Adam Shlachter is the managing director for digital in the U.S. for MEC. In his role, Adam meets with hundreds of sellers each year. We asked him about the best (and worst) way to work with an agency. The Makegood: Adam, what are the qualities of a good media seller? I think there are three… Continue reading »
A number of people have made the leap from the buy side to the sell side of the media business. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. Fortunately, there are plenty of examples of buyers that do make for great sellers. Allison Braham, formerly a media supervisor with MEC, joined the sell side in 2007 and now… Continue reading »
“Agencies should act more like tech startups,” a recent article in Fast Company proclaimed. The basic argument was that agencies needed to embrace the culture of creating software to remain relevant. Having worked at both a large media agency as well as a small software startup, I don’t agree. Here’s why: Agencies are the startups… Continue reading »
Next month in New York media agency holding company GroupM will be hosting a first of its kind conference called What’s Next: Platforms, Pipes and Bridges. This invitation-only New York event will bring together four of the world’s largest media agencies along with clients like AT&T and media technology companies like Facebook, Google and others.… Continue reading »
Biff: Pop! I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you! Willie: I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman! Recently I spent some time with a publisher explaining why the glory days of selling banner ads and watching the big RFP’s just roll in has come… Continue reading »
Yesterday we spoke to industry veteran Alan Schanzer about the future of ad networks and trading desks. Today we get a more personal view on his transition from founding and growing MEC’s digital practice to becoming the Chief Client Officer for Undertone. The Makegood: Alan you built a successful digital agency from within a larger… Continue reading »
Sometimes when media technology companies do acquisitions they are disastrous and destructive to shareholder value. Remember when Google bought Slide for $182 million last year and then shut it down this past August? Or when AOL paid a whopping $850 million for UK-based social network Bebo only to sell it off for less than $10… Continue reading »
Alan Schanzer is one of the founding members of New York’s digital media industry. In 1999 Alan started MEC’s digital media practice, The Digital Edge, growing the agency to over two hundred professionals across North America by 2008. Now the Chief Client Officer for Undertone, Alan remains client facing while also driving ad product strategy… Continue reading »
I’m pleased to be the host of the OMMA Global conference that kicks off on Monday, September 26th in New York City at the Marriott Marquis. The emcee gig should provide quite a ring side seat for this two day conference. On Monday morning the keynote presenters will be Jimmy Wales and Fred Wilson. This… Continue reading »
This article originally appeared on MediaPost. We’ve all heard the knocks about working at an agency: low pay, long hours, and that it can be more of a guild than a profession. But I think that everyone in the industry would be well served by working at a media agency for some period of time.… Continue reading »
Mike Bologna sits at the intersection of the media advertising industry’s present and future. Originally a digital media planner at MEC, Mike left the world of ad banners and founded MEC’s emerging communications department where he focused on creating interactive television opportunities for clients. Now the director of emerging communications for GroupM, he has the… Continue reading »
Editor: Mario Diez is the CEO of Quadrant One and has been at the forefront of the New York digital media revolution for over a decade with companies like PointRoll, Centro and Datran. The last few posts on The Makegood have reminded me of conversations I have had with Matt over the years. Jerry’s post… Continue reading »
AOL has been the subject of intense media scrutiny over the past few weeks. The transformation from an internet access business to a media company has not been easy, especially when sideshows like TechCrunch distract from the serious business at hand. Also, there have been reports that AOL is seeking a merger with Yahoo! Will… Continue reading »
This post originally appeared on MediaPost. I moved to New York while lower Manhattan was still smoldering from the terrorist attacks. My digital shop had recently been acquired by WPP and as part of the merger I was offered a position in New York City at a media-buying agency. With New York in tatters, you… Continue reading »
Jerry Shereshewsky is the former Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Madison Avenue for Yahoo and now Chief GrownUp at GrownUp Marketing. As one of the original Mad Men from advertising’s golden age, he helped to turn Yahoo! into a display ad powerhouse during the 2000′s. He authored the following post: A few days ago I saw a… Continue reading »
We launched The Makegood this week with the goal of giving media professionals their own forum to discuss the issues of the day. And the industry has responded. Our site traffic and industry engagement thus far has been great. One person we really wanted to get involved here is Carrie Frolich from Apple. Carrie leads… Continue reading »
Every once in awhile a single article or interview can change the way we look at an entire industry. Yesterday, John Ebbert’s interview with Dave Morgan was one of those moments. I know this because within hours of the article being published I received more than a dozen emails from people (most of them from… Continue reading »
Today is Colleen Soriano’s first day on the job at Universal McCann where she succeeds David Cohen as head of US digital for the Interpublic media agency. Cohen was promoted to the global digital position at UM earlier this year. Colleen previously worked for GroupM’s MEC where she led digital for accounts like Campbell’s, Colgate… Continue reading »
If you worked in digital media during the mid 2000′s the recent fall of Yahoo! under Carol Bartz has been a sad spectacle to watch. Never before has so much goodwill across the buy side of the industry been squandered so quickly. The house that Wenda Harris Millard and her sales and marketing team built… Continue reading »