Robert Andrews

If the old age of advertising was about pushing sales messages to viewers, the current one is about involving them in conversations in which they end up really caring about the speaker or cause behind the message. That’s why the McCann agency operates with the mantra: “Creativity is the only way to survive.” It’s one Sean Bryan is on […]

CANNES — The sky is not falling, and TV is not dying. Despite the gloomy predictions of some digitally-focused observers, television still has a healthy life, and is complementing, not caving to, alternative channels. “A lot of people are saying that TV is dying,” says the ad agency group Omnicom Media Group‘s (OMG) Asia-Pacific CEO Cheuk […]

What should a brand be in 2016? “Authentic.” That’s the watchword everyone is using these days, and Omnicom’s OMD media agency is no different. As the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity got underway this week, OMD camped out at what it’s calling its “OMD Oasis“, a terrace on the Croisette where it will host more than […]

The great media thinker Marshall McLuhan once wrote: “Media come in pairs, with one acting as the “content” of the other, obscuring the operation of both.” In times of change, it is this which often means old-media content is rammed in to new media, like square pegs in a round hole. But now it’s time creatives […]

CANNES — The organizer of the increasingly large Cannes Lions festival, which got underway this weekend, has moved to allay rumors it may vacate its eponymous host by relocating to a rival city, by signing a decade-long deal with local politicians. The Lions’ 15,000 attendance swells the Cote D’Azur town’s 73,600 population every year, and is only getting larger, […]

For text-led news publishers, video has been the next big thing for a couple of decades now. Over the years, many have variously launched and shuttered newsroom video studios, alarmed by the cost of a foray in to moving-image. But video has become a quest for higher CPMs for many a publishers, and may finally be […]

With several companies having helped popularize the format, it is testament to the growing position of so-called “out-stream” video ads that there is now a supply-side ad platform (SSP) dedicated to them. ConvertMedia is that SSP, helping publishers deploy video ad units on text web pages and sell to buyers, in 15 different variants. Company chief revenue […]

Viewers don’t like too TV many ads. That’s the realization CNN owner Turner has come to, one of several media organizations now responding to negative consumer sentiment about the way content is funded. Turner’s solution – fewer, longer, better ads. That’s why, in October, it said it will halve the number of prime-time ads on […]

Even as Pandora expands its advertising offering to video, some ad agencies are starting to get excited about the new possibilities for advertising in digital audio. Sure, radio has existed for years. But Serial has ignited new interest for sponsoring podcasts, while new technology is promising programmatic-style ad-buying and targeting in streaming music and radio. While […]

LONDON — Invidi ha already helped US TV operators with customers in 68 million homes to deliver household-level targeted TV ads. Now it is aiming to expand its business overseas – but, first, it has to overcome some challenges. “We are expanding globally and aggressively, and are keeping most of those plans under wraps,” Invidi chief marketer […]

After a flurry during which the “maths men” seemed to be usurping the “mad men”, every ad-tech exec these days takes pains to promise that programmatic can propel creative marketer messages. But one ad woman says that isn’t happening – now, according to the Maxus Global agency’s CEO Lindsay Pattison, it is time to finally unite […]

LONDON — Over the last few years, more and more broadcasters, movie, game and music studios have been flocking to Cannes Lions, the upcoming festival more commonly known for being a celebration of advertising creativity. Well, now advertising and entertainment are blurring in to branded content – so Cannes’ Lions organisers have met demand for a […]

LONDON — Across Europe, many gatekeepers are increasingly concerned that the rise of powerful US, English-language content distributors may pose a long-term threat to the richness and individuality of local-language culture. The risk is not just cultural but economic. But one Belgian operator hopes highly targeted TV ads can help it ward off a new wave […]

LONDON — In the last couple of years, the UK’s leading pay-TV and telco provider, Sky, has become an active investor in ad-tech startups, as it looks to improve its multi-platform offering to advertisers. Investments have included $5m in to native ad tech company Sharethrough in 2014, and, recently, a $10 million round in to DataXu. Now the […]

LONDON — What differentiates prime from sub-prime advertising inventory? Different media platforms can charge for ads in different and unique ways – but, in the end, value all comes back to content, says one ad-tech exec. “You may end up saying ‘my set-top box inventory is worth a lot more valuable than my IP inventory’,” says Thomas […]

LONDON — In a fragmenting media universe, how much budget should advertisers spend on TV versus digital? And what is the effect of that answer? Those are some of the thorny questions ad buyers are wrestling with, as they explore the impact of different channels – and Videology claims to have found the answers. It recently published research […]

LONDON — TV ads targeted through addressable linear platforms made up just 0.1% of total us TV ad spend in 2014, according to eMarketer. But the prospect is now at a “tipping point” that will push it faster and higher, with no turning back, says one exec in the space. Invidi EVP Michael Kubin tells Beet.TV, in this […]

LONDON — He’s a smart cookie who spent eight years running UK commercial broadcast leader ITV’s online commercial products. Now that he’s dedicating himself to the advanced-TV boom with ad-tech vendor Videology, how is Jon Block sizing up the sector? “In this modern fragmented data future … one person is a member of hundreds of different audiences,” Block, […]

Straight from striking an important partnership with Group M’s advanced TV division MODI Media, video ad-tech outfit Innovid is aiming to buddy up with the Goliaths of the industry – whilst challenging some of their more myopic tendencies. Innovid, which helps brands create, deliver and measure video ads for a range of 25 online TV platforms, was […]

LONDON — How many marketers are prepared to uncover the best ad-buying strategies, by stopping buying ads? That’s what Vodafone has done, and it claims to have boosted efficiency by 10%, leading to millions of pounds in spend being returned. The UK mobile carrier had partnered with ad-tech and data platform vendor DataXu to run a gamut of ad […]