Next in Media

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 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