You may not have heard of David Shing, but you probably know about Shingy. The self-styled “digital prophet” at Oath – the Verizon-owned juggernaut that comprises AOL, Yahoo, the Huffington Post and some 50 media and b-to-b brands – is in Cannes on a mission that seems counterintuitive to what a digital prophet ought to be all about. He wants people to dial down their anxiety-inducing reliance on their phones. On this pop-up Cannes-themed edition of the Ad Lib podcast, we caught up with Shingy, ...
Jun 18, 2018•25 min•Ep. 39
In a challenging time with so much gloom and doom out there, Paul Marobella remains a consummate optimist. The North American Chairman and CEO of Havas creative says the current climate reminds him of the mid-1990s, “when digital was going to change everything.” Marobella joins the Ad Lib podcast today to discuss the advantages of being owned by Vivendi as opposed to a traditional advertising holding company, creating a culture of creativity and what he’s looking forward to in Cannes.
Jun 14, 2018•34 min•Ep. 38
An expansive marketer in an era of the incredible shrinking CMO, Rajamannar joins the Ad Lib podcast to discuss what he calls the CMO existential crisis. We talk about marketing at scale in a time when people hate ads and have the power to block them, the surprising durability of the 20-year-old “Priceless” campaign and increasing gender diversity at his company’s ranks. We also talk about a recent Mastercard campaign that received a bit of social media backlash for promising to donate meals to ...
Jun 07, 2018•48 min•Ep. 37
You're going to be hearing Ken Auletta's name a lot this month. Auletta, who has been writing the Annals of Communication column for The New Yorker since 1992, is the author of a new book about the industry's current existential crisis. "Frenemies" comes out June 5. He'll also be at Cannes at the end of the month interviewing Martin Sorrell on stage. This, however, is our moment to turn the tables on Auletta and interview him for the Ad Lib podcast. We discuss privacy, Sir Martin, platforms, pub...
Jun 05, 2018•36 min•Ep. 36
When Andrew Swinand was tapped to be Leo Burnett’s North America CEO last January, he had a daunting remit. Burnett had long been a flagship Chicago agency, but after losing McDonald’s in September 2016 — and a few other accounts — the legendary creative shop had lost some of its luster. Swinand, who had most recently been at sister Publicis shop Starcom Mediavest, brought in a history of data and analytics to the role of burnishing Burnett. He joins us today to discuss all things Leo Burnett an...
May 31, 2018•29 min•Ep. 35
Terri Meyer and Sandy Greenberg are the co-founders of the New York independent shop Terri & Sandy. Both refugees from the big holding company world — Meyer and Greenberg had worked together as a creative team at both J. Walter Thompson and FCB — the two bring a big sensibility toward small agency life. On this episode of Ad Lib we discuss life as a small agency, building—and maintaining—agency culture, and how to get on the radar of big marketers. (Side note: it’s not too late to buy your t...
May 24, 2018•35 min•Ep. 34
The major broadcast networks wound down the 2018 upfront week Friday. Top-line takeaways: In 2019, look forward to more reboots, shorter ad slots and lots of live sports. If the scripted programming leaves a little to be desired there’s still a staggering amount of money on the table: Roughly $10 billion in advertising for the broadcast networks and an additional $10 billion for cable. Ad Age media reporters Jeanine Poggi and Anthony Crupi break it all down in a spirited special upfront edition ...
May 18, 2018•43 min•Ep. 33
Earlier this year, John Seifert announced that Ogilvy would be undergoing a “refounding,” which he dubbed the shop’s “Next Chapter.” A 39-year veteran of the legendary agency, Seifert joins us to talk about what that entails. “Times are tough” he says in his surprisingly candid fashion. Not just at Ogilvy, but across the board — including for the agency’s clients. We discuss the encroachment of the consultancies into the advertising space. We’ll hear his take on his former boss, Martin Sorrell, ...
May 17, 2018•43 min•Ep. 32
With giant clients like Honda and Farmer’s insurance, independent, LA-based agency RPA punches above its weight. Tim Leake’s mandate, when he joined the shop in 2014, was to nurture a culture of growth and innovation within the agency as it scaled. Having come most recently from Hyper Island, the Swedish school and consultancy, Leake brought with him a zest for business transformation that wasn’t yet quite all the rage it is. Now RPA’s chief marketing officer, Leake discusses the agency take on ...
May 10, 2018•39 min•Ep. 31
When Bonnie Kintzer became president and CEO of Trusted Media Brands in 2014, it was still called the Reader’s Digest Association. Job number one became bolstering the brand, reviving it financially after a series of bad investments and changing just about everything in the way it operates — starting with the name. In addition to Reader’s Digest, the company also publishes Taste of Home, Family Handyman and a number of other titles. Kintzer joins the Ad Lib podcast to explain how Reader’s Digest...
May 03, 2018•38 min•Ep. 30
For almost exactly a year now, Hanya Yanagihara has been molding T Magazine, the New York Times’ lifestyle and culture magazine, in her image. A recent refresh brought in a new logo and typeface, but the full bleed art, smart cultural journalism and yes the ads — so many ads — are still going strong. Hanya is also the author of the critically acclaimed 2015 novel A Little Life. Here, she discusses her tenure as T Magazine’s editor one year in, fiction writing versus non-fiction editing, where th...
Apr 26, 2018•41 min•Ep. 29
Under the hood of the Drudge Report, and other conservative sites like it — including Political Insider, Smith & Wesson Forum and MRC Newscasters — is its advertising marketing firm Intermarkets. And under the hood of Intermarkets is Erik Requidan, vice president of programmatic strategy. In an era when the advertising community likes to talk about inclusivity and embracing divergent viewpoints, Requidan says he feels like the odd man out. He joins us on the Ad Lib podcast today to make the ...
Apr 19, 2018•39 min•Ep. 28
Last year Intel, the PC maker best known to the wider world for its “Intel Inside” tagline, decided to pivot from being a PC-centric to a data-centric company. It invested heavily in artificial intelligence, the internet of things, drones, autonomous cars and more. Those data-centric businesses made up 47 percent of revenues in fiscal 2017, underscoring the diminished importance of the PC to its business. “We need to make sure the future tech buyers of the world understand we’re not just a chip ...
Apr 13, 2018•34 min•Ep. 27
Hyperlocal news has had a rough, ahem, patch in recent years. Undone by Craigslist and Facebook and Google, among others, local news sites have struggled to stay afloat. The end of 2017 alone saw the shuttering of both Gothamist and DNAInfo. Patch CEO and executive editor Warren St. John joins Ad Lib this week to tell us what’s going on at Patch. Among his many accomplishments as a writer and reporter for the New York Times and others, St. John also happens to be the guy who popularized the term...
Apr 05, 2018•40 min•Ep. 26
Synonymous with powerful, rich and usually white male entrepreneurs, Forbes is, like many media companies, being forced to evolve. Randall Lane took over as editor of the 101-year-old publisher in December of 2017, after Lewis D’Vorkin went on to run the LA Times newsroom — leaving behind a large pair of wingtips. Under D’Vorkin, Forbes grew its army of contributors in a bid for scale and led the native advertising charge with its Brand Voice program. Lane joins Ad Lib today to help us get a han...
Mar 29, 2018•31 min•Ep. 25
March Madness is well underway and if you’re a sports fan of a certain age, chances are you’re tracking your decimated bracket on Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report CEO Dave Finocchio joins us on this episode of Ad Lib to discuss its distributed approach to publishing, what makes Bleacher Report connect with younger audiences in an oversaturated sports market — and how it’s been working with Turner Broadcasting, which acquired Bleacher Report in 2012 for a reported $175 to $200 million.
Mar 22, 2018•33 min•Ep. 24
It’s been five years since Troy Young came to Hearst to build out the magazine company’s digital division. Today as the global president of digital for a media empire that includes Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Elle, Good Housekeeping, Town & Country – the list goes on – Young is redefining what it means to be in a 130-year-old publisher with its roots in print.
Mar 15, 2018•33 min•Ep. 23
In this episode of Ad Lib, Sarah Hofstetter, the global CEO of full-service digital-first agency 360i, discusses the agency's new Amazon practice, the future of voice, the best kosher restaurants in Cannes and more. (She also admits to a few regrets about a certain Oreo Super Bowl tweet.)
Mar 08, 2018•35 min•Ep. 22
Last month, a subset of the media world snapped to attention when Jarrod Dicker left the Post, where he built out a lot of pioneering proprietary tech for the company, to become the CEO of something called Po.et, which bills itself as "an open, universal, and immutable ledger for managing the ownership and licensing of the world's creative works." It runs on blockchain, and today Dicker will explain what it is -- and how he hopes to upend the media business model as we know it.
Mar 01, 2018•41 min•Ep. 21
Chas Edwards is a co-founder and publisher of both Pop-Up magazine—a roving circus that brings magazine journalism to life in staged events—and the print publication it spawned, California Sunday Magazine. Taken together, the two represent a new kind of media company. Edwards breaks down of what it all is, how its evolved and how its unique business model is helping the publisher thrive.
Feb 22, 2018•25 min•Ep. 20
You may know Aardman Animation as the creative force behind Wallace and Gromit, “Shaun the Sheep” and “Chicken Run.” This weekend its seventh feature film, “Early Man” comes to our shores. But the recognizably Aardman characters the studio is well known–and beloved–for, only comprise 5 percent of its branded content output. Heather Wright fills us in on the other 95 percent. An executive producer and head of partner content at the studio, Wright works with brands on storytelling in a wide array ...
Feb 14, 2018•31 min•Ep. 19
There’s a lot of talk in the marketing and advertising industries about diversity — but not a ton of walking. Antonio Lucio is one of the walkers. Lucio talks about his diversity drive on today’s podcast and also breaks down his view of the state of marketing in 2018. Along the way, he shares a little of his own personal journey, how his childhood in Spain and Puerto Rico shaped who he is today, and why a diagnosis of depression changed him.
Feb 07, 2018•40 min•Ep. 18
Bryan Buckley has nearly 60 Super Bowl credits to his name, directing spots for a bevy of brands ranging from Monster.com and Cash4Gold to Coca-Cola and Bud Light. In this podcast, Buckley discusses what it’s like working with high-profile celebrities like Alec Baldwin and Martin Scorcese, the Super Bowl ad he wishes he made and his most recent Super Bowl efforts for Febreze.
Feb 01, 2018•53 min•Ep. 17
Kevin Hamilton has experienced first-hand the pressure to pull off a Super Bowl ad. As the senior director of marketing at Avocados From Mexico, Hamilton is charged with promoting the produce on TV’s biggest stage. In this podcast, we explore the continued importance of TV advertising, the gender gap in Super Bowl ads and how he decides what’s funny.
Jan 31, 2018•37 min•Ep. 16
Brian Nolan has a music fan’s dream job. As the senior vice president of Capitol Records’ in-house division focused on brand partnerships and licensing, Nolan is tasked with bringing new or under-exposed music to potentially huge audiences. In this podcast we touch on his work with artists ranging from Sam Smith to Migos to Halsey. We also explore how the music industry has adjusted to and evolved with the rise of streaming—and how he decides what to surface for advertisers, movies and TV shows....
Jan 26, 2018•36 min•Ep. 15
If you’ve spent any time in agency circles, you haven’t seen a lot of people who look or talk like Harry. Tall, bearded, often tie-died and bolo tied, Bernstein, who goes by Harry Bee, is as apt to talk about clean living and guided meditation as he is trap music and Adidas collabs. In September, Havas acquired The 88, the social media and digital shop he founded in 2010, and brought him on as chief creative officer of the New York office. We talk today about his non-traditional approach to adve...
Jan 19, 2018•34 min•Ep. 14
Recent research has found that smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home will be in 55 percent of all U.S. households by 2022. That’s a lot of skills. To help us break down what this all means — for consumers, marketers, content providers, non-profits and more — we’re joined by Doug Robinson, CEO of Fresh Digital Group. Robinson’s team has built some 400 skills for clients ranging from ESPN to BMW and UNICEF to Toys R Us among many others. Robinson breaks down how consumers are using th...
Jan 12, 2018•36 min•Ep. 13
In a note at the end of 2017, Quartz publisher Jay Lauf gave his thanks to readers and advertisers, making it a point of pride that the commercial team at Quartz had been “very deliberate” about never putting its inventory on open exchanges. Sounds a bit in-the-weeds, but in a year where brand safety was top of mind for publishers and brands alike, Quartz’s five-year resistance to go the programmatic route seems downright prescient today. We discuss this perspective, as well as what it means to ...
Jan 04, 2018•43 min•Ep. 12
The co-founder and CEO of the travel media company Skift, Ali is a digital media veteran. We talk about his childhood in India and what made him want to get into media. He takes us on a tour through internet 1.0 with stops at Inside.com and PaidContent, the first company he founded. And we arrive at the here and now, where Ali is an advocate for niche media brands and the pivot to quality.
Dec 29, 2017•33 min•Ep. 11
The Simulmedia CEO helps us make sense of the Disney-Fox deal, breaks down the state (and future) of addressable TV, explains the agency “existential” crisis -- and more.
Dec 18, 2017•41 min•Ep. 10
