Ashley J Swartz

TORONTO—Although Canada is behind the United States in the adoption of addressable linear television advertising—owing largely to inadequate set-top boxes—that’s going to change quickly. “Disruption is here” in the form of Netflix and other OTT providers, says Rich Astley, Global Chief Product Officer of GroupM’s Finecast agency. Canada is a “fascinating market and for many […]

When Ashley J. Swartz hears the word relevance, the term renaissance comes to mind. Having doubled down on television “not only surviving but thriving,” she sees AT&T’s The Relevance Conference as the confluence of TV’s potential future in one place. “I think it’s incredibly exciting to see that some of the leaders in the marketplace […]

There’s so much enthusiasm expressed for the convergence of digital media and traditional television, it’s easy to wonder why targeting and measurement aren’t light years ahead. But given individual business demands, “everybody’s trying to get an edge,” says TiVo’s Walt Horstman. Meanwhile, because linear television hasn’t given up the Upfront negotiating mainstay, it’s still going […]

The melding and pruning of assets within AOL and Yahoo under Oath started a year ago this month. A key indicator of Oath’s priorities arose in March when it shut down ONE TV, the self-serve platform for programmatic linear television, to go all in on addressable TV. “The future of how TV is being delivered […]

Cloud-based media inventory yield management specialist Furious Corp.’s new president, Neil Schaffer, has helped execute business process reengineering to industries as varied as paper and optical products. When he views the television industry, he sees more “reacting more than pro-acting” in the face of platform proliferation. With more than a decade in the media industry, […]

Even as digital and traditional media compete for advertising dollars, some traditions remain resilient. A good example is the ongoing Upfront negotiating season, which began in the last quarter of 2017, during which media buyers make long-term spending commitments. “Time has proven that making the long-term bet is a good idea for both sides in […]

One of the more compelling presentations at last week’s Beet Retreat in the City was given by Nancy Reyes of TBWA\Chiat\Day New York. To show how data can not only inform creative but also actually constitute it, Reyes walked the audience through two campaigns from the Netherlands that sought to comfort lonely people and reduce […]

Video engagement advertising pioneer true[X] is looking to leverage the utility of voice-activated assistants and the power of live programming as it rolls out the next generation of attention-based video capabilities. “Engagement advertising is just the beginning,” says Pooja Midha, who recently joined true[X] as President. At last week’s Beet Retreat in the City, Midha—whose […]

When TiVo and Rovi merged in the fall of 2016, one priority was to pool all of the set-top box viewing data from TiVo’s own hardware and combine it with data from cable and satellite operators. But the combined data were useful only to the extent that software could extract insights. “So when we first […]

Armed with more precise viewer insights, cable television providers are well positioned to help not only their advertisers but their network affiliates as well by raising the value of their inventory. “So the days of us confronting each other I think from an advertising standpoint are over and I think we really are going to […]

Former Starcom CEO Laura Desmond perceives a “full-scale crisis of confidence in marketing” not due to a lack of advertising accountability but to the complicated nature of brand building. “We see it play out with the holding companies and how they’re doing and how they’re under pressure, and that impacts every other part of the […]

The TV industry is looking at outcomes and attributions “in a unique way right now” to fend off digital and social competitors that have claimed advertising results for which they’re not always responsible, says NBCUniversal’s Mike Rosen. “There’s that old movie expression don’t bring a knife to a gunfight,” Rosen adds. Yet so far, that’s […]

MIAMI – If you could change just one thing tomorrow that could speed up the advanced-television business, what would that be? Maybe nothing that would have an immediate impact on the way things were done—inertia being what it is—but it’s good to ponder the question anyway. This was the approach taken by Ashley J. Swartz, […]

MIAMI – A lack of television advertising inventory yield optimization by media companies can lead to “extreme volatility in pricing” to the tune of nearly 10% of topline revenue. “That is ultimately what is driving the opportunity cost of not maximizing yield,” says Furious Corp. CEO Ashley J. Swartz. Furious Corp. began operations in 2014, […]

VIEQUES, PR – Six years ago, the NewFronts were birthed to serve a burgeoning video marketplace. Sellers hoped to cash in on consumer viewing behavioral shifts while charging advertisers broadcast television-like CPM’s. “Guess what happened? Nobody was buying,” recalled Carl Fremont, Global Chief Digital Officer at media agency MEC. That’s because there was no measurement […]

VIEQUES, PR – As the world’s largest international television and broadband company rolls out new set-top boxes to facilitate addressable advertising, Liberty Global is focusing on “attention economics.” This departure from simply looking at content consumption is the outgrowth of the company’s ever-evolving data science capabilities. “The industry has been talking about this around the […]

VIEQUES, PR – Take several dozen “intelligent, ambitious, excited and passionate” advertising, media and technology executives to a sunny island and you get some amazing conversations during panel discussions, over cocktails and dinners. You also get to experience a sense of shared success—whether the topic is television audience guarantees, addressable advertising, or new offerings from […]

MIAMI – When the subject is unified audience measurement across viewing platforms, expect metaphors to abound. “Putting lipstick on a pig,” “Chicken and the egg” and “Push the envelope” are among them. And so it was during a panel discussion at the recent Beet.TV. Retreat 2016 as a panel of experts from across the video […]

LONDON – Ashley J. Swartz’s message to media owners is clear: Be agile, flexible, and get your internal act together. “There’s a lot of value and insight intelligence around audience that is untapped within the enterprise of a seller,” Swartz says in an interview with Beet.tv. “I think there’s a lot of unlocked value that […]

MIAMI – Finding needles in hidden haystacks just might be the best metaphor for the current state of cross-platform targeting. As was evident during a panel discussion during the recent Beet.tv Retreat 2016, approaches vary by company and are limited to the best data sources until better ones come along. For Sorenson Media, which uses […]