Robert Andrews

CANNES — In the year of its tenth anniversary, and after five years working on the technology, Nielsen Catalina Solutions (NCS) is bolting on machine learning to some of its existing services. NCS is the unit which uses consumer data to help consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies target ads more effectively. Coinciding with Cannes Lions, […]

CANNES – Over-the-top (OTT) TV viewing is exploding. Now OTT operators need to see their advertising revenue increase at the same pace. In this video interview with Beet.TV, Tariq Mahmoud, Roku head of international sales and strategy, describes a disconnect he expects will be closed in the next few years. ‘There’s this delta right now […]

The collection of modern, automated ad trading practices known as “programmatic” may seem to sit squarely with natively digital media and with on-demand video. But, little by little, other platforms are getting lit up with these new tricks, too – even good ‘ol linear TV. “On the linear side, (we) really have been focused on […]

CANNES — When Comcast acquired European satellite TV provider Sky last year, it didn’t just get a leading continental telco and TV operator; it also got one of the world’s earliest addressable TV pioneers. Sky launched AdSmart back in 2014, using its own customer data to analyze viewers on advertisers’ behalf and sending household-specific linear TV ads […]

CANNES — Over the last year, one new set of technology has risen in ad-tech buzzphrase prominence – the “identity graph’. But, what is an identity graph and why does it matter? Simply, an identity graph is the collection of data points from disparate devices that, when pieced together, add up to indicate a single […]

CANNES — In the rapidly-expanding kingdom of AT&T, Xandr, its unit for facilitating advanced TV ad buying, is playing a stronger role. Almost exactly a year after AT&T acquired ad-tech platform AppNexus, it has just rebadged AppNexus’ demand-side platform (DSP) as “Xandr Invest”, and allowed ad buyers to to target viewers using AT&T’s first-party data […]

CANNES — If you thought that putting up a news paywall shut out advertisers, think again. Time after time, newspapers which have made the switch – at least, the big ones – have hailed a stronger offering for advertising brands, not a diluted one. That has been one discovery of Joy Robins, four months after joining […]

CANNES — In 2019, “brand safety” is still a watchword for ad buyers who want to place their ads against the right kinds of content, and not get tripped up by cringeworthy juxtapositions. That is why MediaMath, a digital ad-buying platform, has just teamed up with IRIS.TV, a video technology vendor, to provide a “sentiment […]

Most viewers have never heard of it, but it is one of the biggest TV production houses in the world – and now Fremantle Media is also becoming an ad sales vehicle. Fremantle, owned by the RTL Group of Europe, produces hit entertainment franchises like American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent and The X-Factor. Mostly, of course, those shows […]

The UK’s leading commercial TV broadcaster has upped its commitment to programmatic TV and video ad sales, in a move that sees it partner with a big ad-tech supplier. The broadcaster, which airs Downton Abbey and Coronation Street in the UK, recently picked Amobee as the platform through which it will distribute its digital ad inventory. The UK’s […]

CANNES – Building the infrastructure required to deliver addressable TV ad campaigns at scale is a “10-year sprint” for the man charged with doing that for the world’s biggest media agency holding group. But Jakob Nielsen is having the time of his life. In 2017, WPP’s GroupM launched Finecast, aiming to “help advertisers address hard-to-reach […]

CANNES  — In the age when brand marketers can use cloud-based tools to carry out many of the functions of their media agencies, the prospect of disintermediation seems to pose a risk to the historic agency model. Omnicom Group media agency OMD understands that risk. Its global CEO Florian Adamski raised eyebrows around his company […]

CANNES — You don’t have to be operating digital media to benefit from digital advertising optimization. US Spanish-language broadcaster Univision is finding that there is still plenty more value to be mined from live linear TV, after refocusing on the medium following an earlier expansion in to digital and English-language content. “What’s unique about our […]

If advertising agencies were getting nervous about being disintermediated by brands in-housing their traditional agency functions, there may be some solace found on the Croisette. The rise of direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands apparently plays right in to agencies’ strengths, because D2C brands need strong opinions and they thrive on TV exposure. So says Malcolm Devoy, PHD […]

Television is ready to step in to the future to embrace the new audience targeting opportunities in front of it. But, to do so, TV is going to need to learn some new tricks – chiefly, how to identify viewers in order to stop serving them repetitive ads. That is according to one executive whose […]

In the emerging world of advanced measurement for digital ad campaigns, the currencies and metrics on which buying and selling decisions are made are shifting sands. Many ad buyers, of course, want specific metrics to indicate real viewership and attribution of consequential purchase actions. But many brands, even digital ones, are now getting frustrated by […]

CANNES – If you needed any indication that the big consulting firms were making an entry in the world of advertising services, look back to Accenture’s appointment of Omnicom veteran Nikki Mendonça in October 2017. With the group for 16 years, Mendonça had been president of OMD Worldwide’s EMEA region, responsible for 6,500 marketers running […]

If you thought Acxiom’s sale of its data warehousing business to InterPublic Group (IPG) indicated it was out of the advertising data game, think again. Now named LiveRamp after its key remaining asset, the company says it plans to acquire Boston-based Data Plus Math, whose technology helps match up audience profiles and map ad exposure […]

Consumer privacy issues and the relative value they perceive from media and advertising are a “carpe diem” (“seize the day”) moment for the advertising industry. Thast is according to one agency exec speaking amid the discussion at the Cannes Lions ad industry gathering. “With ITP and ITP 2.0 (Intelligent Tracking Prevention), I think we’re seeing […]

The more that US ad-tech vendors get consolidated in to larger European media owners, the more we hear about the relative simplicity of the European system. Whilst the European market, like the continent itself, is fragmented, its broadcast ecosystem is far less so. Furthermore, initiatives like HbbTV have seen the entire chain of electronics manufacturers […]