Robert Andrews

CHICAGO — Serial, the episodic non-fiction crime story in podcast form, has re-energized a medium many had thought flickered out before it ever really caught fire – and now web publishers are set to respond by forming a modern podcast network to capture th enew consumer enthusiasm. “We’re seeing a resurgence – a renaissance, if […]

CHICAGO — Fresh from its deal to run Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Weddings magazines, Family Circle publisher Meredith is busy melding utilitarian content and opportunistic commerce for its legions of followers. “We have seen about a 100% increase on mobile – everything we produce, we’re thinking mobile-first,” according to the company’s video production and […]

MediaVest is loving the new local ad-targeting powers bestowed upon it by new “addressable” TV initiatives offered by Directv, Dish TV, Cablevision and Comcast. In fact, the ad agency has bought over 70 campaigns for more than 30 clients this way. But now the firm wants a bigger footprint. “It is the two minutes of […]

So-called “programmatic” methods of automating and controlling how advertising is bought are making waves in digital display ad circles. But do TV networks have any reason to change decades of ad-selling processes to make way? “A lot of the inventory is remnant, otherwise goes unsold. It’s not the top top tier of national broadcasters,” Xaxis product […]

TubeMogul’s new programmatic TV ad buying platform brings benefits for both national advertisers and local US broadcasters, says an exec from one of the partners involved. PTV, launched last week, works by aggregating relationships with several providers that already offer this functionality, including AudienceXpress, clypd, placemedia and WideOrbit’s WO Programmatic-TV marketplace, from which many local TV stations […]

Online video ad technology vendors are scrambling to get a slice of the much larger, main TV screen ad market by extending their digital buying capabilities to good ‘ol fashioned telly – and the latest to do so is TubeMogul. The Emeryville, California-based outfit has unveiled PTV, allowing data-driven buying of TV advertising. Ad buyers […]

CHICAGO — The internet may have displaced newspapers, magazines and radio in many consumers’ lives. But advertising execs – even those from technology backgrounds – don’t believe TV is about to croak any time soon, a Beet.TV panel heard. DigitasLbi’s programmatic strategy and analysis VP Brian Zaben: “It’s not going anywhere. It will just be more informed. […]

CHICAGO — As young adults increasingly look at their mobile screens instead of their TV screens, advertisers can reconnect with tomorrow’s consumers by delivering video executions, says AOL video sales VP Margee Anderson. “Broadcast is certainly not going to go away (but), with millennials ageing, we’ve got to be able to reach them where they are – […]

CHICAGO — Programmatic digital ad trading techniques have their place in the TV world – but no-one should expect adoption like that which has been seen in online display so far, says one video ad exec. “Digital thinking is, for sure, going to come over to TV,” says Starcom MediaVest Group’s precision video EVP Tracey Scheppach […]

CHICAGO — Digital video can come top of the marketing funnel – but the medium isn’t yet in a position to easily transition to the main screen in the house. “Video is a great first touchpoint (with audiences) – then we start to close them off with some of the display and lower-funnel tactics,” DigitasLbi’s programmatic […]

CHICAGO — She’s has successful consumer tech show on AOL, has more than two million YouTube subscribers, 1.4 Twitter followers  – Internet video host Justine Ezarik “iJustine” is a new-wave internet celebrity. And now she’s also intent on more online video brand partnerships. In the segment, she announces the introduction of her very own pizza, created and […]

CHICAGO — Fast food brand McDonald’s says it has an opportunity to produce marketing video that both educates and entertains consumers, as its online video ambitions evolve from modest origins. “About a year ago, we hired a chief digital officer with intent to build and staff a team,” says the group’s digital brand engagement global […]

CHICAGO — So-called “addressability” promises to make every individual TV set as targetable to advertisers as internet-connected devices are today. But that’s not going to happen at scale without a big shift, says an investment advisor and consultant. “Buying audiences in a more targeted fashion is antithetical to the way television sellers package and sell […]

CHICAGO — Retailer Target reckons its crown has been stolen in conventional TV marketing – but it sees a chance to reclaim it in digital. “We are a very large TV advertiser,” Target digital media VP Brent Rosso tells Beet.TV. “A lot of our approach has been copied in the marketplace. You hear a jingle (in the ad) […]

CHICAGO — AOL sees video as spurring the next web age, but eventual manifestations of that will depend very much on consumption context, says an exec from the company. “The third wave of quantum innovation in the web is going to be driven by sight, sound and motion,” AOL video sales head Marta Martinez tells […]

CHICAGO — In 2014, TV began learning the targeting tricks that digital media have deployed for years. In 2015, those techniques will kick in to high gear, says one ad agency exec. “(In) 2014, I see a marketplace that has essentially gone from zero to $300 million of spend,” according to Starcom MediaVest Group’s precision video […]

CHICAGO — After being named by advertising peers the most creative marketer at this year’s Cannes Lions, McDonald’s is ready to bolster the part video plays in its digital efforts. “We’ve been the definition of  a mass marketer,” the group’s digital brand engagement global director Sosti Ropaitis says in this video interview with Global Online Video Association […]

CHICAGO — The collection of new-wave automated ad targeting and trading techniques known as “programmatic” may have initially been seen as helping advertisers drive down inventory costs – but that is no longer the sole way ad buyers see it. “This is not a CPM crunch where we’re racing to the bottom, but a way […]

Big media companies are increasingly keen on locking in long-term native advertising commitments, if the latest of two big announcements this week is anything to go by. Tribune Media’s broadcast subsidiary Tribune Broadcasting, whose TV stations include KTLA of Los Angeles and WGN-TV of Chicago, is about to announce an exclusive partnership to feature sponsored […]

Mediaocean, which currently helps ad buyers plan, execute and analyze advertising on TV using software, is about to get greater traction in the online video world, through a partnership with Videology. The integration will make online video ad inventory amassed by Videology buyable by Mediaocean‘s customers within their existing dashboard of Mediaocean’s Spectra product. In […]