Advertising Week "Moving TV Forward" Panel: Tackling Some of Advertising's Toughest Issues

Ampersand CEO Nicolle Pangis welcomed everyone and reminded the audience that it was only two years ago when Ampersand used Advertising Week as the moment to rebrand and reposition what had been National Cable Communications (NCC), a regional linear TV company. Now it's a national advanced TV advertising sales and technology company.

Ampersand President Andrew Ward moderated the panel of media-buying luminaries, which included Maureen Bosetti, Chief Partnerships Officer, Initiative; Mike Law, President dentsu's Amplifi, and Matt Sweeney, Chief Investment Officer at GroupM.

They discussed consumers' now boundaryless consumption of video content and how agencies are evolving their methods of reaching those consumers. That involves understanding the audience's customer journey and the right moments and touchpoints to reach specific audiences. Bosetti emphasized the need to be "video neutral" as agencies invest in and activate campaigns based on the insights.

The next step is to move "from partners to platforms," Law said. He acknowledged the continued need for subject-matter experts but sees great value in having tech and platforms working together to "make it easier to think of supply more universally."

Ward then turned the focus to the massive investment in data companies that has been made by many of the holding-company-owned media shops. "M1 and Merkle have allowed us to see the full cycle of data," Law commented, referring to data companies within dentsu. "We've had to rebuild our planning tools."

The data is not only a resource to target the actual impression within the demand side platform (DSP), but it's also used to develop insights and act as a function in the planning tools, Law said. He explained that the data focus has actually made partnerships more critical, bringing key media and tech companies together in the product-development process.

Bosetti pointed out that while data and technology are certainly important, "You'll always have the idea that context and content matter with a brand." She also noted that brands are still very interested in creating deeper engagements with media partners and finding deeper connections through sponsorships.

According to Sweeney, we are evolving into a world where context, data and technology co-exist. "We are going back to a world where context does matter," he said, noting that the data can be used to marry the worlds of what you listen to (or watch) and how media platforms can deliver more relevant messaging. "The media tools are more mature, but there is still a lot of work to do," he added. "The problems of a CPG [consumer packaged goods company] are different than those of a financial services company. You have to figure out the right strategy for each of those."

The need for a universal buying currency was also discussed. Law called out the past year as a serendipitous tipping point, where technology, pricing and consumer habits came together to give both buyer and seller the wake-up call that things must change.

"We can turn TV into a cost-per-business outcome on a more progressive, scalable level," Law said.

Sweeney concurred and explained that a cost-per-business outcome doesn't necessarily mean cost per sale, because not every product that's marketed is a direct-to-consumer product.

"We want an independent, fair arbiter of delivery. Someone in whom we can have confidence," Law added. "I don't think we have that yet. If you currently ask both sides, buyer and seller, if what is out there works, each side will say it's unfair to them."

"We cannot have 10-15 measurement sources," Bosetti asserted. "Each client can evaluate their campaigns with various measurement companies, but as an industry we have to have alignment on currency."

The panelists also discussed talent retention. According to Bosetti, 20% - 30% of employees are choosing to leave the industry during the "Great Resignation." She explained that Initiative is using both top-down and bottom-up methods to try to solve the challenge with an emphasis on training.

Sweeney has a glass-half-full attitude about the retention issue. He noted that the experiences of the past two years have given junior and mid-level employees an opportunity to step up. And some employees have trained and received certification for various DSPs on their own. "It's an opportunity to identify future managers and leaders," he said.

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