Q&A: IPG SE Asia on Automation, Programmatic and TV

This is the second of a four-part series. Watch for Sears' upcoming interviews with Stephen Tompkins of Publicis' VivaKi and Michel de Rijk ofWPP's Xaxis. Be sure to read his interview with Anna Chan of Dentsu Aegis' Amnet Asia.

Your Name:Yean Cheong

Your Company:Cadreon of IPG Mediabrands

Your Title:Vice President, Market Solutions Asia Pacific

SEARS: What do you read to keep up with politics, art and culture?

CHEONG: TED, Flipboard, Buzzfeed, The Onion, Facebook feed, newspaper apps, BBC, New York Times, CNN, CNA

SEARS: What do you read to keep up with friends?

CHEONG: I read anything that stirs my interest at any point of time. I have a huge diversity of friends with varied interests, we keep one another entertained and updated.

SEARS: What do you read to keep up with our industry?

CHEONG: Industry newsletters from APAC, EMEA and US. Whitepapers, autobiography/biography of prominent industry players or political leaders.

SEARS: What’s your favorite commercial of all time?

CHEONG: I love all the Coke commercials through the years. This is one brand that has lived the test of time and remained relevant to its core values to this day. I was a little girl when I first saw this ad, at a time when sharing a Coke (with my siblings) was an absolute treat. I can never forget the hill-top song.

SEARS: With regards to advertising automation and programmatic, what are Cadreon’s three biggest initiatives in South East Asia in 2015?

CHEONG:

1. Focus on data. It is not new news that we generally lack measurement and brand safety standards and third-party data providers in SEA. This is amidst a climate where marketers are still unraveling the complexities to fully grasp the benefits of programmatic. Notwithstanding, via strong data strategy and implementation, we have successfully developed attribution modelling for some of our clients.
2. Building private marketplaces of premium and relevant inventory for each of our local markets across the region.
3. Developing bespoke DMP solutions for clients, support them in better organization, segmentation and deployment of data.

SEARS: Tell us the about the global advertising operations of Cadreon.

CHEONG: Cadreon has evolved from being a trading desk to the technology engine for Mediabrands whose objective is to create custom solutions for clients at scale. Product engineering and customized data stacks have become key investment priorities as we shifted from scaling programmatic to automation. Strong product development and innovation at the core in combination with embedded client focused trading teams is the best approach to the ecosystem.

SEARS: Please tell us:

• Percentage increase, managed budget (media spend) 2014 vs. expected 2015:
  • CHEONG: More than 100% growth from 2014.
• How many employees are there in your organization?
  • CHEONG:Total: 600+ across Southeast Asia.

SEARS: Draw an analogy between the automation of television and a cricket game. Are we in the pre-game? Still driving to the stadium?

CHEONG: We are already in the stadium with our team warming up to play. For the last 18 months in the US, we’ve been at the forefront of the advanced TV market in collaboration with data partners and with private inventory deals with different publishers. This is a strategy which is creating phenomenal efficiencies gains for our clients. We are co-creating an exclusive Cadreon Advanced TV platform with Tube Mogul to apply our data stack and client data into a TV buying solution. We’ll launch this platform in June.

SEARS: How can advertising automation help the strategy and planning functions (directly or indirectly) at an advertising agency?

CHEONG: Liberates time spent on manual trading functions and reporting to strategic thinking and innovate creative solutions to meet the objectives of client briefs.

SEARS: Can linear TV be automated, yes or no?

CHEONG: Yes! Over the last two years, as programmatic has evolved and scaled, it spawned innovation across all media. Our partnerships with key media houses and tech partners have allowed us to bring automation efficiencies to radio and OOH, which up until now were considered non-digital media channels. Cadreon Advanced TV platform is a great example of leveraging programmatic practices to drive innovation and buying efficiencies in non-digital channels.

SEARS: What two or three events or happenings will accelerate the automation of television?

CHEONG:

1. The changing consumer: Increased consumption of IP enabled content.
2. Technology shifts: New tech such as a rapid uptake of new set top boxes, cable/fiber delivery, tech like SAT > IP making broadcast signals addressable.
3. Top advertisers demand it: Industry becomes less accepting of broadcast advertising and starts to expect the reduced wastage, improved targeting and relevancy that automation brings.

SEARS: Transparency -- on media costs, on data, on inventory -- has become a lightning rod issue. Should transparency be a negotiated benefit for the advertiser client, yes or no?

CHEONG: We prefer to define transparency as being open about how we invest our client’s dollars. In programmatic, the client’s investment is split to pay for media, data, platform fees, technology fees, people, service fees, etc. At times, media or inventory will get more, other times, data or platform fees. This percentage splits and changes depending on the audience we buy and how we go about identifying such audiences. Technologies are still evolving; products are still developing; partners from new entrants, to mergers to those who dropped off the radar. The landscape is still morphing. We should not lose sight of the fact that the chief benefit of programmatic is about effectiveness, not savings. This preoccupation of transparency in the context of costs, to me, is misaligned. It distracts advertisers or clients from the real focus, what is most important, i.e. leveraging programmatic to locate and buy the right audience, at the right time and at the right price.

SEARS: Which of the following will accelerate the automation of site direct (direct orders) budget? Pick all that apply:

1. Dynamic access to all publisher inventory [vs. just “remnant” or “auction”]
2. Ability to leverage publisher first party data
3. Ability to leverage advertiser first party data [against all publisher inventory, especially premium]
4. Availability of rich media, expandable units and larger IAB Rising Star formats
5. Ability to more easily curate audiences for specific advertisers across the premium content of multiple publishers
6. All of the above

CHEONG: All of the above. The more players the better. The less restrictions, the better for market demand and supply dynamics to come into play.

SEARS: If you could go to the airport right now with friends or family and fly anywhere in the world for vacation, who would you take and where would you go?

CHEONG: My partner of 20 years and my entourage of about 30-plus friends would go Eat Play Love throughout Italy.

SEARS: If you could create an endowment to fund any existing non-profit you designated, what lucky non-profit organization would that be?

CHEONG: It’s hard to limit to one, I’ll have to say any non-profit organization that does work to prevent cruelty to animals, provide shelter and re-homing of pets will be top on my list. Just as important if not the most important would be a non-profit that promotes and nurtures compassion and mindful living.

SEARS: What is your favorite restaurant in the world?

CHEONG: Favorite in world would be over-stating it, but whenever my partner and I crave a good steak in Singapore, we head out to Lawry’s The Prime Rib. They never disappoint.

SEARS: Thanks, Yean!

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