Next in Media spoke with Sean Cunningham, president and CEO of the Video Advertising Bureau, on the industries debate over what constitutes premium content, and why in his view brands should demand far more control and transparency for their campaigns on social platforms.

Takeaways:

• State of the TV Ad Market: The TV ad market is in flux, influenced by shifts to streaming, social video, and significant changes in major players and distribution formats.

• Importance of Premium Content: Premium video content is defined by being professionally produced, long-form, significantly engaging, and brand-safe, which distinguishes it from user-generated content and social videos.

• Brand Safety Concerns: There is a growing emphasis on brand safety, with many advertisers becoming increasingly cautious about where their ads are placed, particularly on platforms that lack transparency.

• Role of AI in Media Buying: AI and automation are becoming more integrated into media buying and planning, raising concerns about transparency and the potential for decreased brand safety.

• Granularity in Ad Placement: Advertisers are demanding greater granularity and transparency in ad placement, including details about platform type, device, content length, and the nature of the content.

• Trust and Partnership: The trust between marketers and media partners is crucial, particularly in ensuring that investments lead to effective advertising and that there is a clear path to remedy any issues that arise.

• Evolving Role of Media Agencies: Media agencies must continue to evolve, offering sophisticated tools and strategies that go beyond traditional media buying to thrive in the changing landscape.

• Dual Focus on Brand and Performance: Successful marketing strategies should balance long-term brand-building efforts with short-term performance goals.

• Future of Premium Advertising: The industry needs to clearly define what constitutes a premium advertising experience to avoid commoditization and ensure continued investment in high-quality content.

Guest: Sean Cunningham

Host: Mike Shields

Sponsored by: Acast & Precise TV

Produced by: FEL Creative

Next in Media spoke with Daniel Folkman, Gopuff's SVP of business, about the company's growing footprint in the ad business despite the fact that he thinks there are way too many retail media networks.

Takeaways:

• Business Overview and Evolution: Gopuff started over 10 years ago, focusing on delivering convenience products like snacks and drinks. It has since evolved to carry over 5,000 SKUs, including groceries, home essentials, and alcohol.  

• Target Customer Demographics: Gopuff’s primary demographic is 18-35 year olds, with a strong focus on young parents.  

• Sustainable Business Model: The company uses its funds to build infrastructure, technology, and fulfillment centers, focusing on long-term sustainability rather than short-term customer acquisition​.

• Retail Media and Advertising: Gopuff entered the retail media space with its own advertising platform, which leverages the company’s unique selling points: instant delivery, a young and targeted demographic, and specialized consumer data.  

• In-house Ad Platform: Gopuff decided to build its ad platform internally to maintain control over its unique consumer data and optimize targeting.  

• Future of Retail Media: The company sees consolidation challenges in the retail media space, arguing that many current retail media networks are not sustainable long-term.  

• Customer-Centric Advertising: Gopuff focuses on delivering ads that feel like relevant content rather than spam. This strategy aims to enhance user experience while also improving ad performance and profitability​.

Guest: Daniel Folkman

Host: Mike Shields

Sponsored by: Acast & Precise TV

Produced by: FEL Creative

Next in Media spoke with U of Digital Founder Shiv Gupta about the Trade Desk's recent ranking of the top 100 publishers, why he thinks Nextflix has moved too slowly into advertising, and whether ad tech is really contracting.

Takeaways

• Salespeople in the digital advertising industry often struggle to contextualize their products within the larger industry landscape.

• There is a need for scaled structured enablement to help people in the industry stay ahead of the rapidly changing landscape.

• The ad tech industry may experience a contraction as the internet becomes more dominated by walled gardens.

• The post-cookie world presents challenges for the industry, including limitations on addressability.

• The integration of advertising in streaming platforms varies, with Disney taking a more proactive approach and Netflix being more cautious.

• Addressability in television is limited due to the lack of rich data and the challenges of identity mapping.

Guest: Shiv Gupta

Host: Mike Shields

Sponsored by: Epsilon

Produced by: Fresh Take

Next in Marketing spoke with Luke Kigel, who is both VP, Walgreens Media & Head of Walgreens Advertising Group, which means he oversees Walgreens' push into selling ads, while also overseeing its spending as a big advertiser. Luke said that the company's new role as a seller is dramatically changing how it operates as a marketer, as it looks to treat TV far more like digital media. That's because, in his view, many of the traditional ways of planning and buying TV have be become "antithetical to the way people live their lives".

Guest: Luke Kigel

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing talked to Krystal Olivieri Global Chief Innovation Officer at GroupM & Choreograph, about her worry that the ad industry has created a 'panic' among brands angling for more first party data in a post-cookie future. And while she has high hopes for the metaverse if and when it arrives, she warns against marketers using new identifiers such as crypto wallets to target consumers. In the meantime, Olivieri is bullish on marketers employing different signals, including contextual and retail data, to better service consumers.

Guest: Krystal Olivieri

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing spoke to IAB CEO David Cohen about the state of ad-supported streaming, and why he's pushing traditional TV advertisers to shift their mindsets when it comes to pricing strategy, measurement and what role the medium will play over time. Cohen also spoke about how many brands have been dragging their feet when it comes to preparing for massive changes in ad targeting, and what he thinks the prospects are for a national data privacy law.

Guest: David Cohen

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing spoke to Donna Speciale President Sales and Marketing at TelevisaUnivision about what's happening in the TV ad market as Nielsen faces a number of new challengers. Not only does Speciale question whether any one company will be able to claim the measurement mantle - she believes that TelevisaUnivision's Hispanic American audience is being severely undercounted - which is why the company is going it alone in building a proprietary Hispanic audience graph.

Guest: Donna Speciale

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing spoke with Sarah Iooss Head of Sales, Americas at Twitch about how the Amazon-owned property is helping brands like Pringles connect with fans of huge video games. Iooss talked about the different ways marketers can engage with popular gaming influencers,  and how Twitch is also seeing huge growth in viewership of live music, fine arts and even chess competitions. The result is a company with an audience that is consistently comparable to TV.

Guest: Sarah Iooss

Host: Mike Shields

YuJung Kim, president of the animal focused media brand, spoke to Next in Marketing about the path from starting out as a Facebook centric brand to a company that produces content for Netflix, TikTok, Animal Planet and even a series of children's books.

Guest: YuJung Kim

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing spoke to Aaron Debevoise, founder and CEO of Spotter, a company that is paying YouTube stars hundreds of millions for the rights to their older videos. Creators like Mr. Beast are using this funding to launch ambitious new content ventures, including an initiative to clean the ocean of pollution. Meanwhile Spotter is packaging this still popular content up for TV advertisers looking for big reach.

Guest: Aaron Debevoise

Host: Mike Shields

Todd Braverman Senior Vice President, WarnerMedia Portfolio Sales & Client Partnerships, talked about his company's experience in launching HBO Max with Ads over the past year, and how consumers have responded positively to its very customized, limited approach. Todd also spoke about the ongoing debate over whether TV needs a new ad currency - or currencies - as a slew of measurement upstarts look to challenge Nielsen

Guest: Todd Braverman

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing speaks with Ari Lewine, co-founder and chief strategy officer at TripleLift about how his company is trying to help publishers make more out of their first party data. Lewine is surprised that so many advertisers have yet to explore any targeting alternatives, despite all the huge changes in digital identity. Lewine also talks about why he thinks Facebook's business model is taking such a hit, and what steps the company must take to regain its attribution mojo.

Guest: Ari Lewine

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing spoke to David Levy, CEO of OpenAP, a joint venture between NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS Fox and Discovery, about how the company is trying to help brands target audiences consistently across networks and platforms - and why he's worried that too many media companies are discounting consumer experience with ads as Connected TV explodes.

Guest: David Levy

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Media spoke to Jason Mitchell, Founder and CEO of social media agency Movement Strategy about why his team is constantly pushing brands to put their own social media output at the center of their strategies. Mitchell also gave his take on which platforms are up and down of late, and whether brands need a plan B for a possible TikTok ban.

Takeaways

• The evolution of social media marketing has shifted the focus to organic social presence and the importance of getting people to talk about brands on social media.

• AI has a significant impact on content creation, with behind-the-scenes AI being incredibly impactful in optimizing media and improving efficiency.

• Convergence in marketing teams and the role of creators are crucial in building trust in the AI-driven content landscape.

• Linear TV is facing challenges in adapting to the changing media landscape and the rise of AI-driven content.

• The creator economy is expected to continue growing, fueled by AI tools and technologies.

Guest: Jason Mitchell

Host: Mike Shields

Sponsored by: Epsilon

Produced by: Fresh Take

Next in Marketing spoke to Action Network CEO Patrick Keane about the furious competition on search engines, social networks and in app stores to drive more downloads of the company's sports betting informational platform. Patrick also talked about what it was like when gambling became legal in New York earlier this year, which he likened to "Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years" combined.

Guest: Patrick Keane

Host: Mike Shields

Scott Schiller spent a few decades on the sales side of the media business, including a long stint at NBCUniversal. Now he's focused on helping big advertisers navigate programmatic ad buying and particularly fast emerging platforms like Connected TV. Scott talked the current upheaval in TV measurement, and why it's unlikely we'll see a perfect replacement for Nielsen emerge.

Guest: Scott Schiller

Host: Mike Shields

This week on Next in Marketing, we spoke with Cara Pratt SVP Kroger Precision Marketing about the grocery giant's journey over the past few years in building out an ad business from scratch. The company, which boasts of stores in 35 states, has already delivered ads for 1300 brands. And its ace in the hole is that 95% of its customers also utilize in-store loyalty cards- allowing for true online to offline media measurement.

Guest: Cara Pratt

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing spoke with Brian Morrissey, founder of The Rebooting about why 2022 is going to be a year of level setting in the digital ad world, as marketers face inflation when it comes to paying to acquire customers and digital publishers continue to band together to ensure they can build sustainable businesses. That said, he's fully confident that brands will adapt, as evidenced by the surging valuations in ad tech.

Guest: Brian Morrissey

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing spoke with Jim Keller, Executive Vice President, Digital Ad Sales and Advanced Advertising at Discovery about how measuring and evaluating TV advertising is becoming immensely complicated, and why it's not realistic to expect the ad industry will settle on a single measurement or attribution method. According to Keller, TV is becoming a bespoke business, which will be challenging for agencies and sales teams.

Guest: Jim Keller

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing speaks with Ana Andjelic, one of Forbes's Most Influential CMOs and former Chief Brand Officer at Banana Republic, Rebecca Minkoff, and others. Ana talks about why she thinks NFTs may be a fad, but that doesn't mean marketers shouldn't put off laying the groundwork for figuring out how decentralized ownership, blockchain and the metaverse will completely change how they interact with customers. Andjelic also discusses the future of retail, how brands should approach influencers, and plans for a sequel to her most recent book.

Guest: Ana Andjelic

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing spoke with Melissa Burdick, president and co-founder of Pacvue, a technology company that specializes in buying ads on retail properties, including Amazon. Burdick discussed how differently Amazon views Madison Avenue versus other tech leaders, and how the company is systematically moving to disrupt TV advertising and measurement.

Guest: Melissa Burdick

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing talked to ex ABC and Hulu ad exec Justin Fromm, who now runs research for LG Ads, about why TV makers are suddenly so well positioned to play a role in how ads get to TV screens, and how marketers connect with digital households overall.

Fromm also discussed why streaming has such a problem with repetitive ads, and how TV device companies can help marketers tie TV ads to real world sales.

Guest: Justin Fromm

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing speaks with former GroupM North America CEO Brian Lesser about the state of digital advertising amidst increased scrutiny, and why he thinks programmatic advertising has only just begun to grapple with the ramifications. Lesser, who's now chairman and CEO of InfoSum, also explains why he doubts that Apple will push further into the ad business, and why he hopes lawmakers finally force some real change at Facebook.

Guest: Brian Lesser

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Marketing talks with Christina Wootton Vice President, Brand Partnerships at Roblox about how brands are building full digital experiences for a generation of consumers raised in immersive gaming environments, and how that will shape the future of media and entertainment. Christina also discusses what executives should be thinking about when trying to understand the metaverse.

Guest: Christina Wootton

Host: Mike Shields

Next in Media spoke with Ashley McCollum, Head of Immersive Media Solutions at Roblox about the company's recent push into ad tech, and why brands need to get to know creators on the platform. McCollum also talked about some recent success stories among brands building immersive experiences via Roblox, and what a generation raised in these environments wants from brand and media companies.

Takeaways

• Roblox is a unique platform that combines social interaction with gaming mechanics in 3D virtual worlds.

• The platform has a strong focus on music, artists, and intellectual property, and offers a variety of experiences beyond traditional gaming.

• Roblox is expanding its advertising business and aims to build a new market around immersive media.

• The company is committed to maintaining a high bar for content and user experience while monetizing the platform.

• Roblox provides opportunities for brands to collaborate with creators and reach a highly engaged audience.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Ashley's Role at Roblox

04:12 - Evolution of Advertising on Roblox

08:51 - Balancing Advertising and User Experience

11:32 - Navigating the Organization and Industry

13:46 - Impact on Media Habits and Expectations

24:11 - Ashley's Journey to Roblox

Guest: Ashley McCollum

Host: Mike Shields

Sponsored by: Epsilon

Produced by: Fresh Take

LiveIntent was built as an ad tech company that specialized in monetizing newsletters for publishers. CMO Kerel Cooper talks to Next in Marketing about how the company's data culled from millions of people's inboxes is now suddenly the basis of a potential solution to the elimination of cookies. Kerel also discusses why publishers are putting so much more editorial investment toward newsletter products, and why several niche direct-to-consumer brands are also having success in this medium.

Guest: Kerel Cooper

Host: Mike Shields

Tal Chalozin, CTO of Innovid, talks about why the software company could be the heir apparent to classic third-party measurement firms such as Nielsen and comScore in the digital era. Chalozin also weighs in on why marketers are going to have to accept a certain level of fragmentation, which will make ad targeting via identity data challenging. Yet in his mind, the idea that targeting was perfect during the cookie era has "always been a pipe dream."

Guest: Tal Chalozin

Host: Mike Shields

David Temkin, Senior Director, Product Management, Ads Privacy & User Trust at Google explains why he thinks the broader ad industry so badly missed the mark on respecting consumer privacy online, and why the shift away from tracking users across the web is vital. He also discusses Google's rationale for delaying the elimination of cookies, and why he sees email-based alternatives as 'unnecessary workarounds.'

Guest: David Temkin

Host: Mike Shields

Mondelēz International’s Global Vice President, Consumer Experience, Jonathan Halvorson discussed how the company behind brands like Ritz, Oreos, and Cadbury has blown up many of its core strategies by producing thousands of pieces of creative for each campaign, moving the bulk of its spending to digital channels, and investing in software that makes ad buying smarter.

Guest: Jonathan Halvorson

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

The Trade Desk’s Chief Operating Officer, Michelle Hulst discusses the ‘real anxiety’ marketers felt upon learning of the upcoming deprecation of third-party cookies, and why she was initially frustrated when Google delayed the timeline. At the same time, Hulst believes this period of adjustment is exactly what digital marketers needed to rethink how they connect with consumers, and the need to reaffirm the 'quid pro quo' between advertising and customers.

Guest: Michelle Hulst

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Aimee Johnson, CMO of Zillow Group, and Anda Gansca, CEO and Founder of Knotch, discuss how marketers are trying to balance their urgent need to acquire first-party data versus actually servicing customers. Aimee and Anda also dive into how brands that may have overinvested in content, must now find ways to prove its value alongside the rest of their marketing spend. The two executives also predict that some brands may see Google's delay on cookie deprecation as an excuse to slow down, while others are racing ahead to revamp their data strategies.

Guests: Aimee Johnson, Anda Gansca

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Ryan Stern and Alexa Tonner, co-founders of the influencer marketing agency Collectively, share why they think influencer marketing still carries a stigma in some circles, resulting in healthy creative tension between marketers and creators. They believe marketers need to get past treating influencer marketing as just another ad channel.  Alexa and Ryan also discuss how brands are looking at influencer marketing through a paid media ROI lens, even as they aim to harness new forms of organic product placement and weigh in on whether they think Facebook has a shot at fostering a true creator community.

Guests: Ryan Stern and Alexa Tonner

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Kabir Ahuja, Partner and leader of the European Marketing Practice at McKinsey & Company, says many marketers are still worried about the strength of their relationships with consumers. Based on McKinsey's research, 75% of consumers took on a new behavior or brand last year and according to Ahuja, as a result, CMOs are pushing harder than ever to prove the value of marketing to their organizations, from driving sales to deciding what businesses to enter.

Guest: Kabir Ahuja

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Scott Brinker, Vice President of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot and Chiefmartech.com blog Editor, believes that the eventual elimination of targeting mechanisms such as cookies and mobile IDs is forcing CMOs to focus on improving other aspects of their marketing efforts - which he says have been neglected as brands fixated on ad targeting. Brinker also discusses why he's seeing more startups and money pour into marketing technology than ever before despite all the changes within the ecosystem.

Guest: Scott Brinker

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Krishan Bhatia, President & Chief Business Officer at NBCUniversal explains how his company expects half of its video consumption to occur on digital platforms in only a few years. And while brands are ready to adjust to that reality in terms of how they buy and measure TV ads - too many agencies are clinging to the old ways of doing things. Krishan also covers the latest on Peacock and what role it played during the most recent Upfront, and why he expects dozens of new brands to find their way onto network TV by the end of the year.

Guest: Krishan Bhatia

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Next in Media spoke with Alison Levin, President, Advertising and Partnerships at NBCUniversal, about how the company is opening up the Olympics to a whole new crop of advertisers while trying to cater to Gen Z's viewing habits. Levin also talked about TV's attribution challenge and whether this is the year of "T-Commerce."

Takeaways

• Brands are leaning in to tell bigger stories and are interested in surrounding content with meaningful narratives.

• Strategic audiences and attribution are top of mind for advertisers, as they seek to move beyond age and gender targeting.

• The Olympics on Peacock will offer new advertising opportunities, including programmatic buying and shoppable ad units.

• Live sports continue to be a valuable asset for NBCU, with high viewership and co-viewing.

• The TV market is evolving, and NBCU is focused on proving the value of its full portfolio and driving purchase behavior.

• Attribution and measurement are key challenges, but NBCU is working on partnerships and tools to address them.

• Clean rooms and programmatic buying are growing in importance, attracting both big advertisers and new brands.

• Programmatic buying in live sports has seen significant growth, fueling client diversity and increasing spend.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Upfront Season

02:46 - Strategic Audiences and Attribution: Moving Beyond Age and Gender

05:36 - Reimagining the Olympics on Peacock

07:33 - The Value of Live Sports

11:26 - Challenges and Opportunities in the TV Market

15:02 - The Need for Better Attribution and Measurement

25:58 - Programmatic Growth in Live Sports

Guest: Alison Levin

Host: Mike Shields

Sponsored by: Epsilon

Produced by: Fresh Take

JP Evangelista, Senior Vice President Content, Programming & Marketing at Vevo discusses how the music video platform saw a huge jump in connected TV viewing during the pandemic, leading to longer viewing sessions and more advertising demand. Evangelista believes there’s been a fundamental shift and Vevo is now positioned squarely against prime time TV. He expects half of Vevo's US revenue to soon come from CTV, thanks in large part to the massive popularity of young artists like Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo.

Guest: JP Evangelista

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

After more than a decade in prominent marketing roles at Viacom, Ross Martin has spent the last year launching Known. His latest venture aspires to disrupt the traditional ad agency sector by taking advantage of what he sees as growing mistrust between brands and their partners. Ross discusses why some marketers are expected to struggle to adjust to a post-Covid, post-cookie reality, unless they significantly up their investment in true data science - and not just hiring someone “who is good at Excel".

Guest: Ross Martin

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Jessica Peltz-Zatulove, Founding Partner of the venture capital firm Hannah Grey, says that marketers have no choice but to dive deeper into the creator universe, even if they find it 'terrifying." According to Jessica, if marketers don't take the leap, they may find themselves in direct competition with influencers. Jessica also highlights what she looks for as a potential investor in ad tech, and how she's working to support more female founders.

Guest: Jessica Peltz-Zatulove

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Dedicated to the memory of our editor, Daniel Gluckman.

Lee Brown, Vice President of Global Advertising at Spotify discusses why brands that have leaned into programmatic advertising have been hesitant to move more dollars into podcasting -  until recently. Brown says that thanks to recent acquisitions and product launches - such as the Spotify Audience Network and a dynamic ad serving tool - the plan is to make audio ads more scalable and data-driven - just like the rest of digital.

Guest: Lee Brown

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Jerry Dischler, Vice President and General Manager, Ads at Google, shares why the company thinks the digital ad industry can't afford to be timid in rethinking its relationship with consumers. Dischler also discusses why Google doesn't believe any of the proposed cookie alternatives, such as the Trade Desk's UID, are fundamentally different enough or will work long term. In the case of FLoC, Jerry predicts that while the solution may not be perfect - the open web will be better because of it.

Guest: Jerry Dischler

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Roku's Vice President of Ads Marketing, Dan Robbins discusses why he believes the decline in linear TV ratings coupled with increased prices for TV ads gives Roku a wide opening. For top traditional brands, "that equation is no longer going to work” according to Robbins. He also dives into Roku's evolution from a device manufacturer to the leading ad platform in connected TV and why he sees a huge opportunity for dynamic ad insertion in live TV in the near future.

Guest: Dan Robbins

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Media Executive, John Kosner, who spent two decades at ESPN, discusses sports media’s challenge of catering to younger viewers, who have grown up with mobile devices and video games. Kosner sees Amazon's exclusive deal to stream Thursday Night NFL games as an opportunity to completely reinvent how leagues engage fans- think Twitch- and is betting on other tech giants to follow.

Guest: John Kosner

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

The restaurant industry was already adopting digital tools before COVID. Mobile ordering, third-party delivery services, and digital loyalty programs were becoming brand differentiators, according to Alicia Kelso, Senior Contributor for Forbes.com where she covers the restaurant industry. But the pandemic accelerated the digitization of the restaurant industry, forcing proprietors to choose between battling for space on delivery aggregation apps or diving head-first into the world of direct to consumer and mobile marketing. Kelso, along with Sam Oches, Editorial Director at Nation’s Restaurant News discuss the prospects of a big industry recovery during the second half of the year, and how AI technology promises to revolutionize kitchens, drive-throughs and even contribute to deciding what people want to eat.

Guests: Alicia Kelso, Sam Oches

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Erin Matts, Global Chief Experience Officer at OPMG (Omnicom Precision Marketing Group), dives into the ongoing industry battles regarding how digital ad targeting will operate thanks to Google and Apple’s recent update to privacy guidelines. Matts believes that media buying agencies shouldn’t be counted out, especially based on their proximity to clients’ businesses and their deep investments in data science.

Guest: Erin Matts

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

The Chief Growth Officer at Triller believes that the future of marketing rests in brands communicating directly with consumers via mobile phones. Meanwhile Bonin talked about why Triller is investing so much in original series as he looks to build what he sees as the ultimate culture-defining video app.

Guest: Bonin Bough

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Next in Media spoke with Tim Natividad, US Head of Enterprise Sales at TikTok, about how the company is trying to vie for traditional TV dollars - while also helping brands embrace a whole new form of marketing on what he calls a "participation engine.'

Guest: Tim Natividad

Host: Mike Shields

Sponsored by: Epsilon

Produced by: Fresh Take

Gabby Cohen is Head of Brand Marketing at Harry's, the razor and expanding personal care brand that also includes Flamingo, Cat Person and Headquarters product lines. Cohen discusses how CMOs are likely to be looking to tap into pent-up consumer demand this summer as vaccines are distributed more widely - and that marketers have the perfect opportunity to play a role in bringing back branded experiences. Cohen also thinks that the pandemic-driven trend toward self-care will continue as the company looks to build out a portfolio centered on holistic wellness.

Guest: Gabby Cohen

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

Bob Lord, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Ecosystems and Blockchain at IBM, discusses how the advertising industry must come to grips with the fact that digital ad targeting as we've known it is vanishing - and why he's actually okay with testing Google's Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) alternative. In the meantime, Lord believes it's imperative for publishers to work together and embrace AI.

Guest: Bob Lord

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes

YouTube Ads’ Nicky Rettke, Director of Product Management, discusses how YouTube is working with retailers to develop ads that feature highly personalized lists of products for sale - even as its parent company is leaning away from supporting highly targeted ad messaging across the web. Rettke also shares that the video platform has received a large influx of eCommerce spending during the pandemic.

Guest: Nicky Rettke

Host: Mike Shields

Producer: Kenya Hayes