Rob Rasko of 614 Group: The Ad Automation and Programmatic Confidantes

Rasko serves as an executive advisor to the Interactive Advertising Association Prior to starting 614 Group he was President and COO of CPX InteractiveJAY SEARS What do you read to keep up with politics art and cultureROB RASKO amp160For politics arts and culture I watch not read CNN CNBC PBS and the Food Network You can learn a lot about all of the above watching Anthony BourdainSEARS What do you read to keep up with friendsRASKO amp160Facetoface time I have three kids and lot of friends that I actually see but digitally Facebook and LinkedInamp160 The latter more and more has many posts about the lives of friends I don39t regularly seeSEARS What do you read to keep up with the advertising technology industryRASKO MediaPost AdExchanger and Business Insider are my favorites to understand this industrySEARS Whatamp8217s your favorite commercial of all timeRASKO The whole Burger King amp8220Kingamp8221 series was really funny and the Like a Girl series recently has been really moving I have two daughtersSEARS With regards to advertising automation what are the three biggest trends you expect to impact companies in 2016RASKOData usage BI data Everyone seems to be aggregating now but not actually using it properlyConsolidationamp160 Some companies without profits are going to disappear and therefore some platforms that folks have built automation around will no longer exist and companies will have to scramble to replace those missing elementsA continued understanding of how to leverage programmatic at the major media companies where the majority of their revenue is still direct and traditionalamp160 These companies still donamp8217t have deep strategies on how to operationalize programmaticSEARS With regards to advertising automation what are the three most overblown topics that you wish would just go awayRASKOFacebook and Google Who wins Sorry JayVR Itamp8217s so earlyViewability in individual conversations overall KPIs and measurement in digital is a conversation that needs to be discussed but one single KPI like viewability which is mostly negotiated now anyway is way too narrow of a discussionSEARS Tell us the three most common issues you help clients on with respect to advertising automation and programmatic tradingRASKOWorkflow architecture and optimization regarding the sales channel which includes programmatic and automation for publishersBusiness intelligence and data and how to properly leverage BI in order to increase revenueTactical solutions like campaign management on programmatic campaigns Yes these still need people and we provide themSEARS Tell us about your firmRASKO We are a firm and not a sole proprietorship which means we are not doing this as hobby but to create real value for our clients Our engagements are built to deliver ROI that can be measured There are others companies in this space that agree and are like us but not all of themThe 614 Group is a digital media consultancy that serves media companies in four practice areas Publisher Services Corporate Development Research and Content Development and Business Intelligence We help our clients with a variety of issues from managing outsourced ad operations to gotomarket strategy through customized market research partnershipsAdditionally we have an events company that serves as a platform for driving thought leadership through sharing custom research and educating the market on topics including making money with brand safety viewability fighting ad fraud and ad blockingSEARS What are the most common issues you help clients with regarding automationRASKOTechnology systems selection and integrationBusiness intelligence and reportingBusiness partner review commercial nontechnicalSEARS The majority of ad technology companies have struggled relatively small unprofitable or both amp160Of the poor performers what are the commonalities between them that have contributed to this weakness RASKO The race to early profitability for the winners vs not for the losersamp160 If you are too reliant on funding you have and will continue to have a big challengeSEARS A smaller handful of ad technology companies has achieved scale and performed better than the rest What are the commonalities between them that have contributed to this relative strengthRASKO Besides funding as I mentioned above a diversified product set You need to be able do more than one thing for your clientsSEARS Do we live in a amp8220tale of two citiesamp8221 where Google and Facebook win almost everything advertisers are dictated to and other media companies fight for the scraps RASKO I don39t agree with this statement because I take a macro viewamp160 There are many other major companies albeit some of them smaller marketcap wise that are big enough to compete with these two Verizon ATampampT Disney WPP Time Warner and Charter on the cable side in many cases Google and Facebook have gotten big enough to compete with those guys In the end the next phase of the media company competition is only beginning keep an eye on the connectivity to the consumer wallet that telco has as the next frontierSEARS Please answer the following statements yes or noRASKOSEARS 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 goRASKO South of France Nice or St Tropez I would take my wife only sorry kids you stay homeSEARS If you could create an endowment to fund any existing nonprofit you designated what lucky nonprofit organization would that beRASKO My wife and I have been involved in the autism area for a while her as a 15year therapist and I as an evangelist and fundraiser for the issue Generally we look for cause like Autism Family Services of NJ where the funds go to helping families that work really hard with home care and sometimes deservingly need a breakSEARS What is your favorite restaurant in the worldRASKO Johnny and Hanges in Fair Lawn NJamp160 Hot dogs and chili sauce either you know why or you don39t but you should find outSEARS Thanks RobClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160

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Rob Rasko of 614 Group: The Ad Automation and Programmatic Confidantes

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