Robert Andrews

The US TV business has moved another step closer to selling its advertising programmatically, with 15 small broadcast networks signing up to allow programmatic buying by clients of IPG Mediabrands’ Magna Global investment unit. Its data-driven ad targeting capabilities will be used by small networks whose ratings are not typically captured by measurement agencies, to […]

French video ad tech company Teads has lately been shouting about the performance of its ad format InRead, which inserts auto-playing video ads between text paragraphs on major publisher sites. Now it is using a study commissioned from Nielsen to claim it outperforms its competitive video ad format technology. According to Nielsen’s comparison, more viewers of […]

It is often said that the “programmatic” shift from manual ad-buying to automated mechanisms will do for Madison Avenue what computer trading did to Wall Street. But, on one measure, it’s already bigger than that. “The number of transactions now on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, if you add them together, is larger than every stock […]

PHOENIX — The rash of new ad tech platforms we have seen over the last couple of years is designed to wring greater efficiency, better targeting and lower costs out of ad buying. All of that appears to be stacked in favor of ad buyers, not ad sellers – so is the sell side disadvantaged […]

PHOENIX — What’s the future of “programmatic”, the collection of targeting and trading technologies currently revolutionizing display advertising, when it comes to television and video? It boils down to “four buckets”, says video ad tech platform SpotXchange’s programmatic TV VP Randy Cooke: “Linear stream is going to benefit from a tremendous amount of optimization.” “Addressability.” “Dynamic […]

PHOENIX — Rocket Fuel’s acquisition of data management platform X+1 was one of the more talked-about M&A deals in 2014. So why did the programmatic platform do the deal? To give customers a single, constantly-connected platform, says Rocket Fuel’s global partnerships VP David Skinner. “The rationale for the acquisition was that Rocket Fuel really sees […]

For an ad tech industry used to talking so much about “data” these days, it may seem counterintuitive to suggest that there is insufficient data around. But that’s the reality when it comes to video, says one video ad tech exec. “There’s a paucity of data,” says Irfon Watkins, CEO and co-founder of Coull, a Bristol, UK-based company whose […]

FORT LAUDERDALE — Online ads aren’t just banners anymore. Recent developments in digital marketing mean the discipline is beginning to create richer, more engaging advertising experiences, says an AOL ad exec. “There is already a renaissance of creative,” Marta Martinez, Global Head Video Sales at AOL Platforms, tells Beet.TV in this video interview. “Advertisers are going in […]

FORT LAUDERDALE — There are now all manner of ways advertisers and editors can try making from video assets. But, with so many options and devices available in the palette, what are the core considerations? Ad tech platform Videology’s north America MD Tim Castree boiled it down during a panel interview with Beet.TV, saying return on […]

FORT LAUDERDALE — Recent reorganisations within Publicis’ Vivaki unit see digital expertise built up over the latter group’s existence moved from its Audience On Demand division to other agencies within the sister SMG group. The Drum reports on the changes here. “The largest group within AOD – the client services group … those individuals are […]

FORT LAUDERDALE — Mexican viewers are flocking to mobile screens – but not all advertisers are following suit, according to one leading broadcaster. “We see between 60% and 70% of the traffic coming through mobile,” says Azteca chief digital officer Diego Leonel De Cervantes. “The government is pushing a lot to have broadband for people – […]

FORT LAUDERDALE — Dave Morgan’s latest advertising technology venture, Simulmedia, has already been helping advertisers buy ads on linear TV using digital data. Now it is also helping them close the loop, showing how TV ads lead to confirmed purchase behavior. “We have access to set-top box data,” Simulmedia business development manager Michael Glantz tells Beet.TV […]

PHOENIX — Dailymotion, the big global video platform tried open programmatic exchanges to sell its video advertising – but soon constrained its dealings to a smaller pool of buyers. “At the end, we could not manage it – we could not set the rules by ourselves,” according to chief revenue officer Damien Pigasse. “So we decided, a […]

PHOENIX — Over the last year, the reality that many web ads are viewed not by consumers but by automated scripts, or are otherwise out of view, has gained visibility. Some estimates on the topic gloomily suggest the sky is falling over digital advertising. But that’s far from the truth – at least, if you […]

BERLIN — In an industry long dominated by Youku and Tudou, Baidu-backed iQiyi has risen to become the most popular VOD service in China. Speaking with Beet.TV at this week’s Berlinale (Berlin Film Festival), iQiyi Motion Pictures president Li Yansong said this is despite three problems that have previously inhibited the market in China: Piracy: “In the […]

PHOENIX — Since founding in 2006, Outbrain has built up to serving 200bn content recommendations on publisher sites every month, most as suggestions at the bottom of online articles. Now it wants use some of that breadth to improve the relevance of those recommendations. “As publishers get smarter in content recommendation, we’re able to better understand the […]

FORT LAUDERDALE — The emerging opportunity of connected TVs with household-level targeting capability may not be met without the kind of ad standardisation that the IAB’s inception brought to display, says one ad tech exec. “Everyone does something a little bit differently – each of the (TV) operators has different decks, data,” says Jamie Power, senior partner  for addressable […]

FORD LAUDERDALE — It has been a whirlwind couple of years in digital ad technology platforms, with the onset of “programmatic” quickly shaking up the sector. What are the views from one company whose input to the space endures? “We are in an uncertain time,” according to Nielsen Digital MD Andrew Feigenson. “There’s a lot of […]

FORT LAUDERDALE — What’s a magazine anymore? A video series, an app, or a cross-portfolio digital aggregation, according to publisher Time Inc’s video SVP JR McCabe. “I look at the portfolio as brands, not as magazines,” McCabe tells Beet.TV. Case in point is recently-launched Daily Cut, which scoops up video from across Time Inc titles. […]

FORT LAUDERDALE — Original commissions have become the creative differentiators for video-on-demand platforms. TV aggregator Hulu is taking a range of new programming to the upcoming April/May NewFronts, a week when platforms try to secure upfront ad bookings. “One of our better shows is The Awesomes, an animated series by Seth Myers,” Hulu ad sales SVP Peter […]