Q&A: ZenithOptimedia Canada on Automation, Programmatic + TV

Your Name Dominik MajkaYour Company ZenithOptimediaYour Title Vice President Head of Programmatic and OperationsSEARS What do you read to keep up with politics art and cultureMAJKA Newspaper sites are the best source of information as well as Pulse on LinkedIn As people have less and less time to be well informed in all areas bite size information pieces are becoming essential TV is also a valuable source for meSEARS What do you read to keep up with friendsMAJKA Mainly sports and current events online My friends in particular are not keen on politics and arts per say which is a blessing Friend conversations are different from industry onesSEARS What do you read to keep up with our industryMAJKA LinkedIn AdExchanger and eMarketer are main sources for me to gain a little perspective In the advertising industry there are also a lot of events that will help you understand the perspective of othersSEARS Whatamp8217s your favorite commercial of all timeMAJKA Iamp8217m not sure if I do have a favorite however one of the commercials Iamp8217ve actually showed and shared in the past is Gears of War with amp8220Mad Worldamp8221 song It was very well done and unique in approachSEARS With regards to advertising automation and programmatic what are Zenithamp8217s three biggest initiatives in Canada in 2015MAJKATransparencyAs we developed Zenith Marketplace for our Canadian clients we did it with full transparency in mind The transparency is on both the inventory and finances as we at Zenith believe in helping the clients decipher the digital space Without the inventory transparency we couldnamp8217t achieve insights which are sorely needed to move a client in the right direction and without financial transparency our clients would not understand the true cost of media purchasedPrivate MarketplaceThe development of private marketplace is the foundation of proper digital execution The open exchange is performance marketing As Zenith Marketplace was developed over a year ago the main focus was on movement from direct purchase to private marketplace as it represented a natural substitution and improvement in the way Zenith executes on behalf of their clients It also represented highest brand safety which has been a concern for the industryCommunication ClarityAlthough it is never discussed with programmatic usage there needs to be clarity in terms of communication At Zenith our mission for the Marketplace is to deliver the best in class execution service as well as communication of results tailored to our client needs and based on our clientsamp8217 marketing goals This will enable a partnership based collaboration which is the driving factor of programmatic adaptation by clientsSEARS On average in the Canadian market out of each 100 spent on media all media not just digital by one of your advertisers how much today in 2015 is spent on automated or programmatic channels MAJKA I would have to say that 05 of all media is spent through programmatic means That is mainly due to TV not being enabled through programmatic means in Canada just yetSEARS What will this number be in 2017MAJKA I am very careful when forecasting for the future For me if the advertisers move 15 to 20 of every dollar into programmatic means of execution that means that weamp8217ve had great acceptance of this avenue for media It all depends on what will happen with TV which in Canada is probably 35 years away at leastSEARS Tell us the about the Canadian operations of Zenith MarketplaceMAJKA Zenith Marketplaceamp8217s vision is to create a custom ecosystem for each client comprised of both premium fully defined publishers otherwise known as private marketplace and open exchange inventory sources to understand media composition in digital and operate more efficiently and effectively for our clientsZenith Marketplace offers a collaborative partnership where our clients and the Marketplace team define KPIs for real time bidding space as well as discuss and agree on the composition of the plans through each avenue desktop mobile social and with each environment premium and open to arrive at the best marketing mixSEARS Please tell usOverall managed budget media spend for your automated trading operations FKA trading desk expected in 2015 for CanadaMAJKA Trade secrets sorry If I gave 5 of all media in the answers above I cannot provide this informationPercentage increase managed budget media spend 2014 vs expected 2015 for CanadaMAJKA 58 depending on the client A lot of clients have stable YoY budgets associated with advertising the composition of media changesHow many employees are there in Canada headcount numberMAJKA amp160Total 120Toronto 110Montreal 10SEARS Draw an analogy between the automation of television and an ice hockey game Are we in the pregame Still driving to the stadiumMAJKA Some companies say that weamp8217re in the stadium right now However I would say that in terms of linear TV in Canada we are driving to it The technology is not yet there at scale and movement from broadcasters is very slow VOD is ahead of the pack however that doesnamp8217t represent majority We need a major broadcaster to invest in new technology to get into the stadiumSEARS How can advertising automation help the strategy and planning functions directly or indirectly at an advertising agencyMAJKA There are two benefits one operational and one strategic Thatamp8217s the starting point The operations benefit is based on technology in place and diminished workload Automation represents operational efficiency for advertisers The strategic benefits are getting to understand audience patterns better and limiting fragmentation of purchases that has been hounding the industry for years By controlling and understanding proper exposure of advertising in front of desired audience we can start to look at message sequencing and prospecting for more moments of receptivity especially in digitalSEARS Can linear TV be automated yes or no MAJKA Everyone says yes Iamp8217m not an expert on broadcast however from what I heard it requires a major update to scheduling systems on the broadcaster side This is where we can begin the mapping of TV advertising to get to automated stateSEARS What twothree events or happenings will accelerate the automation of televisionMAJKAMovement into programmatic in digital If digital can lead the way in terms of automation then TV will quickly follow2 Video investment shifts from TV to digital Again this is connected to digital investment increases Automation in digital represents a major opportunitySEARS 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 noMAJKA Yes and as much as it is a lightning rod itamp8217s actually not an issue for Zenith Optimedia This has been our approach from day 1 transparent on costs data and inventory in order to make best decisions for the client Media agencies and their independent trading desks are in the media purchase on behalf of their clients If there is no transparency on cost and datainventory how can a client and the agency work in a partnership and make best decisionsSEARS Which of the following will accelerate the automation of site direct direct orders budget Pick all that applyDynamic access to all publisher inventory vs just amp8220remnantamp8221 or amp8220auctionamp8221Ability to leverage publisher first party dataAbility to leverage advertiser first party data against all publisher inventory especially premiumAvailability of rich media expandable units and larger IAB Rising Star formatsAbility to more easily curate audiences for specific advertisers across the premium content of multiple publishersAll of the above MAJKA All apply A is the most important one but closely followed by all othersSEARS 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 goMAJKA I would take my girlfriend and go to Barcelona for a soccer game FC Barcelona is my favorite team and Iamp8217d love to see them in action againSEARS If you could create an endowment to fund any existing nonprofit you designated what lucky nonprofit organization would that beMAJKA Champions in Calgary They help people with disabilities find employment and they deeply care about enabling these individuals with a sense of professional purpose Itamp8217s a worthy cause as are many othersSEARS What is your favorite restaurant in the worldMAJKA Oh you wouldnamp8217t know it Itamp8217s in the Silesian region in Poland called Old Tavern They have the best regional foodSEARS Thanks DominikThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage management or associated bloggers

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Q&A: ZenithOptimedia Canada on Automation, Programmatic + TV

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Q&A: ZenithOptimedia Canada on Automation, Programmatic + TV

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