Scott Ferber
could be considered an early adopter of technology. He explains, “As a child I
was interested in technology and math. I was there for the beginning of gaming,
Pong and personal computers. Because of that I was attuned to technology in
society and had the belief in 1996 that the world would significantly evolve
because of the internet.”
Since then
he has been involved in some form in the digital and data space, first
launching Advertising.com which he sold to AOL in 2006 and then launching Videology
in 2007.
In this
interview Ferber talks about his role in the company, metrics, partnerships,
global differences and challenges in the digital space. He also looks ahead to
the next 3 to 5 years to predict how the video landscape will change.
CW: Tell
me about your current job and your company.
SF: Back in 2007, we saw that the digitization of television
and escalation in the availability of broadband was going to transform the way
that viewers watched content. We set out
to develop a business to meet the unique needs of content convergence across TV
and digital video. That was the genesis of Videology—a software provider that
helps brand advertisers, agencies and media companies drive better results
through cross-screen planning, buying and measurement. While my job as CEO is to
represent the face of the company, it is also to attract and empower a team of
great people. So I recruit, train, motivate and direct a highly skilled team,
and ensure that we have the systems in place to make it sustainable.
CW: What type of metrics do you use?
SF: We are integrated with over 40 third party data providers
such as Nielsen, Oracle, Adobe, comScore, Experian, Axciom, BlueKai, JD Power,
Rentak and Kantar Shopcom—so the range of measurement that we offer our users
is broad and aligns with their overall goals.
That said, increasingly advertisers are interested in measuring for
actual brand metrics ranging from brand awareness to whether a campaign
actually moved product off the shelves.
Much of our innovation is focused on measuring that type of ROI.
CW: What is your opinion of the comScore acquisition of Rentrak?
SF: All
efforts toward innovation in cross-screen measurement in this increasingly
fragmented media landscape are positive for the industry.
CW: With
whom do you partner?
SF: We are a
huge systems integrator. On a high level, we provide software used by advertisers,
agencies and media companies to create and measure effective ad campaigns that
sell more product with greater efficiency. We count some of the largest media
agencies, global brands and media companies as our partners and clients.
CW:
Do you include radio, out of home and print in your cross media system?
SF: Currently
we are focused on television and video.
However, our software can work with any media that can be measured
through digital distribution channels. So for instance, we can measure digital
radio but not terrestrial radio. Outdoor video is also of growing importance
and we can include that. And of course we include digital print publications.
CW: What
is your cross platform unifying metric?
SF: There is
a debate going on right now about the best measurement for digital cross-screen
viewing. Some believe the solution lies
with a more digitally-influenced metric, others believe it should be a more
traditional TV ratings metric. What everyone does agree upon however is the
need for a unifying metric. One example
of how Videology is helping to solve for that is with a direct integration with
Nielsen which allows us to tie television viewing behavior to online viewing
behavior. Ultimately, in many ad
categories, we are then able to help our users drive campaign results by correlating
ad exposure to cross-screen return on investment (ROI) and offline sales. This
type of closed-loop, cross-screen measurement is the end goal that most
advertisers are looking for.
CW:
What are the challenges to your business and how can you overcome them?
SF: One of
the primary factors holding back convergence is legacy systems which were not
built for a cross-platform world. The hard part is to bridge the old and the
new worlds. To do this, we need to unify legacy technology systems, be
respectful of current business models and workflows, and ensure the fluidity of
data across digital and linear video channels, as well as between targeting
parameters on the front end, and measurement metrics on the back end.
CW:
Videology is a global company. Are there differences in the business globally?
SF: The main
difference is the evolution of their convergence. The US and the UK are further
along in planning, measurement and execution than many other countries. But
we’re also seeing significant progress across APAC. It’s also interesting to
note that as convergence spreads into new markets, the cycle for adoption is
becoming faster and faster
CW:
Give me some predictions of how the media landscape will look in the next three
to five years.
SF: Right
now about 7% of the total video ad marketplace—including TV—is automated and
data-driven. Within the next 3-5 years that will increase to around
50%. Keep in mind that automation and data do not equate to “biddable”
which only comprises about 1% of the total video marketplace today and will
likely remain less than 10%. So this means that the majority of growth
will come from bringing automation and data to traditional television workflows
which are primarily focused on scheduled inventory purchased in an upfront, reserved
manner, not from real-time bidding.
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