Robert Andrews

SEVILLE — It is a generalization to say, but the usual order of technology adoption goes: US, Europe, Asia-Pacific. In marketing-technology, Europe is certainly lagging the States, according to one analytics supplier. “Compared to US, Europe is one, two, maybe three years behind,” according to Lucien van der Hoeven, the EMEA MD of MarketShare, acquired by […]

SEVILLE — As ad-tech platforms continue to rise up, the lingering question is: Will newly-empowered brands now decide to take on many of the functions they previously outsourced to ad agencies? Whilst that appears to be happening sporadically, it won’t happen so fast in Europe, says one ad-tech exec with a read on the trend. “As we […]

SEVILLE — Data, data everywhere. But now the top priority is making sense of it all. That continues to be one of the biggest challenges for modern marketers, says an agency’s programmatic exec. Group M’s Xaxis data intelligence VP Kedar Patil tells Beet.TV, in this video interview, the top imperative is “how to capture them and tie […]

SEVILLE – Government regulation “FCC 16-18” may sound innocuous enough – but the implications of the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to open up set-top box hardware will be far-reaching. The rule would compel cable companies to offer their programming not just over their own boxes but through those of third-party vendors, too. One ad industry […]

SEVILLE — The click-through rate has long been used as one of the key measures of effectiveness in online advertising. But, for some, that measure is losing its relevance in the new age. “There are some real challenges around fixation on click-through rates,” according to Damien Crittenden, analytics and insights director for Group M’s programmatic division Xaxis, speaking […]

LAS VEGAS — The number of publishers choosing to bar users running ad-blocking software is growing by the day. Ad agency holding group WPP’s digital president has asked more publishers to do the same. Vice Media recognizes the problem – but it doesn’t want to tackle it in quite the same way. “This is troubling for […]

SEVILLE — Kantar Media helps advertising businesses measure the reach of content across many media. The new challenges are measuring digital screens and tying together measurement of multiple screens. Speaking with Beet.TV, CEO Andy Brown explains Kantar Media’s approach to new TV and video platforms: “It’s a process of evolution, there’s a roadmap: “We start with ‘Extended TV’, […]

SEVILLE — Last year, the advertising industry freaked out after hearing that a large proportion of ads being served to consumers were not even feasibly viewable. Now software platforms are helping to identify the “viewability” of ad inventory. But we’re hearing more ad-tech execs begin to call viewability mere “table stakes”. So what’s next? Integral Ad […]

SEVILLE — In the world of ad-tech, advertisers and vendors frequently point at so-called “bad actors” ruining the system. But what if the real “bad actors” were industry executives themselves? For Andreas Cohen, chair of the I-COM, the global marketing data trade body, it’s time professionals started putting consumers first – or they risk letting the […]

SEVILLE — Dozens of ad-tech vendors are gathering around the $70bn+ US TV advertising industry like bees to a honey pot, hoping to enable even a tiny fraction of those ad buys on TV’s journey to a promised programmatic future. But we’re not there yet. That’s why, when Tim Sims imagines the spectrum of things […]

SEVILLE — The ad industry has come a long way in the enablement of trading through digital pipes and automated decisions. Now a new wave in artificial intelligence is bidding to make even smarter decisions on buyers’ behalf – and it’s all about alleviating staff of the boredom of testing out different ad outcomes. “The […]

SEVILLE — The science and the art of advertising may often be talked about as two separate disciplines. But there is a future emerging in which one feeds the other. How will human creativity and maths collide? “Brands need to be relevant. Relevance means powerful, emotional connections. To create those connections, you need data,” ad agency group Wunderman’s chief […]

LAS VEGAS — Over the years, CNN’s online video strategy has ranged from the free to the paid, the locked-down to the open-access, to the in-between. The latest strategy sits in the latter camp, after CNN launched CNNgo – with access to its live stream plus on-demand shows – back in 2014. So how is CNNgo […]

SEVILLE — With consumer web ad blocking seemingly on the rise, data on the practice ranges from the dystopian to the hysterical. New eMarketer data this week puts a more modest assessment on current levels, pegging UK ad blocking at 14% of internet users in 2015. But its forecast rises to 27% in 2017, commenting: “Once seen […]

SEVILLE — The ad-tech world has got pretty good at finding the right audiences and executing the right media buys at the right time. But what’s left on the table? Mobile, measurement and that little matter of creativity, says one exec working at the numbers end of an ad data company. “There’s a surge in people […]

SEVILLE — Discovering whether your ad is actually being seen by a human being is now just “table stakes” – viewability is about to get more sophisticated. That’s according to ad ad-tech exec working on an upgrade. Integral Ad Science CEO Scott Knoll says he sees a problem with current implementations of viewability metrics. “A small percent (of […]

Bloomberg Media wants all its outposts to remain free. That’s going to require continued advertiser finance. So it’s no wonder the company is frustrated with the state of TV ad sales. Bloomberg TV sales head David Bickford wants to teach the old dog of telly some new tricks – namely, the kind of measurement and […]

On the eve of a special digital-only meeting at the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) Show in Las Vegas, one cable operator has urged it to solve TV’s data problem. The NAB is has tabled a Digital Summit, including assembling a board to tackle the issue – namely, how to standardize measurement and reporting mechanisms for quantifying viewership […]

MIAMI — The Washington Post says it is trying hard to show ads that don’t suck – it’s other people’s ads that are the problem. WaPo made headlines late last year, when, like some other publishers, it began serving a range of responses to users running ad blocking software – from email captures to subscription invitations. “At […]

A new world is coming in to view, in which TV broadcasters will be able to help ad buyers target viewers more precisely. The only problem, TV broadcasters may not be in the picture. That’s why the US industry’s umbrella body, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), is convening members to gain control. For the NAB Show at […]