Bringing Synergy to the Media Marketplace An Interview with KINESSO’s Jarrod Martin

The media industry’s increasing complexity demands solutions that more fully drive results. In some cases it is strictly tactical solution but in the case of IPG’s KINESSO, it’s a strategic combination of advanced technology and agency acumen. KINESSO’s Global CEO, Jarrod Martin, explained that his is a, “tech driven performance agency that gives clients the clarity and confidence to make decisions to drive results.” 

Essentially that means that advanced tech, using AI, works seamlessly with three agency divisions, crossing human expertise with data. “That's what we're trying to achieve; a simpler organization that is a combination of media and data and technology that helps to drive results for our clients. Think of us as an intel ship,” he affirmed.

According to Martin, “There's always a compromise between specialism and integration. We've created an agency that is more sustainable and future focused to have complexity where it's needed and simplicity where it's not.” KINESSO is an integration of three separate units that were operating in a coordinated but not in an integrated fashion. “We were building technology that wasn't necessarily being adopted at the scale needed to be to have the maximum impact. By bringing these groups together, there's less distance between the users of the technology and the people who develop the technology, between the people who have hands on keyboards and are running programmatic search and social campaigns and the client,” he added.

KINESSO, he explained, “offers a specific capability that exists within the agency arsenal like a collection of specialists.” This approach can serves clients of all types from a scaled in-house model to an embedded contractor to a traditional approach, depending on how the client’s business is structured. In this way the agency can either build the infrastructure for a client that has their own systems and protocols in-house, or embed as a contractor with certification access to function in a variety of services, or perform as a traditional agency working as a team on behalf of the client. It is in the flexibility and the expansive range of service offerings that gives KINESSO its competitive edge.

When implementing data solutions, privacy is paramount. “Just to be clear on this, we leverage first party data but Axiom handles all of that first party data on our behalf. Axiom has the credentials, the processes to ensure that we don't make mistakes and do things incorrectly,” Martin asserted. From there, “Axiom might merge that with other data to turn that into audiences where we can then access.” At this point it is anonymized and can be used in a variety of ways whether merging with other data sets or directly applying to processes like segmentations to better identify audiences. “And then,” he explained, “we activate those audiences in media. Axiom and Live Ramp get involved to convert that data into something that connects to partners. So we're really playing in a sand box that's privacy compliant to build those audiences to activate for our clients. We use our technologies to create better data that surrounds the client's first party data and give them a full view of what that consumer looks like using multiple onboarding providers.”

KINESSO has organized itself against four key product pillars – audiences, planning and optimization activation and finally, measurement. “The group or product family is used to build the audiences. Then the audience data flows into the planning and optimization module and then into the planning tool. That planning tool is able to calculate cross channel reach and frequency based on the optimized channel mix to deliver an outcome. At that point we go to the partner level where we figure out which partner will deliver on that channel mix and then we activate,” he stated and then admitted, “At the point of activation, things get a bit messy, because you've got all these walled gardens that won't allow you to combine data. But we have a sense during the planning phase of what our expected outcome will be, whether reach, consideration or some other performance outcome. Once it gets to the platforms, we optimize it within those platforms to get the best possible result.” KINESSO also experiments along the way to, “figure out how the results that occur within a platform reflect reality to find out what's the true impact of each platform in generating a sale.”

When it comes to the use of AI and how it will impact jobs in the future, Martin is introspective. “AI can take a lot of the drudgery out of what we do so that we can focus on value, add tasks and build better relationships with clients. What has happened in the last few years with the rise of digital is that we get obsessed with the plumbing, getting the plumbing right and making sure that we don't make mistakes. That's taken the focus away from bigger and better ideas and bigger and better client relationships. That's where the future is for humans inside this ecosystem with AI.”

It is clear that KINESSO has created a synergistic and open approach to today’s media world. “We've created a new positioning, mission, values, manifesto, visual identity, etc., etc., etc. Some people in our organization don't distinguish between the name and the brand. I would say the name is the same but the brand is very different. Where we're looking to move is in a different direction with more simplicity, better integration and being more agile in how we work,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

Working Smart and Preparing for the Future with Nielsen’s David Kenny

Even before the pandemic made the media world an uncertain environment, the explosion of data sources and measurement needs were causing changes and disruptions. But now, with COVID-19 impacting lives, behaviors and businesses, the world of measurement and data collection needs to ascertain what the new normal will look like and how we can go forward.

David Kenny, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Diversity Officer, Nielsen, shared his perspectives on the media landscape in a fascinating MediaVillage Collective Leadership Conversation with Jack Myers. Kenny is an early pioneer in digital with a career that has spanned agencies, networks to technology and data. His current work at Nielsen is an eclectic mix of data, technology and human resources development that, as he explained, will enable Nielsen to “work smart.”

Kenny, as well as others at Nielsen, understands the need to move the industry forward and maintain a leadership position in measurement. But it is not easy. He explained that, “When you are the industry currency and you advance that currency forward, you have some people who lean in and some it affects in a negative way.” He is charged with bringing Nielsen’s innovations to the next level in a massively changing media environment that is becoming, “digital first, streaming first platform.”

The Workplace Shift During COVID-19

How can a company that was launched during the Depression to measure CPG pivot successfully during normal times and now during extraordinary times? “In order to do that I need to allocate resources to the highest opportunity,” Kenny explained, “and the most important resources I allocate are human beings’ amazing talent.” Under his direction, employees are expected to, “contribute to their fullest potential.” Some of this disconnect was the workplace environment, he conceded. Now, with a new work environment, he wants to be able to, “give everyone the best chance to impact the business,” which is why he took on the personal responsibility as Chief Diversity Officer, “to ensure everyone here can bring their whole self to work and contribute their whole self to the work they are doing,”

Interestingly, Kenny noted that the pandemic has shifted the workplace dynamic as more employees work from home, leading to his reassessment of the need for office space. But, he realizes that this has greater ramifications than just square foot rent. “It affects a lot of things because it is not just real estate. If less people are in an office that affects restaurants and public transportation,” he explained.  Yet, until we can be assured that it is safe to be in an office, Kenny remains on the side of caution and Nielsen will adapt to that. Interestingly, Kenny has not been a fan of remote work but has since revised his opinion. “When everybody works this way, we are actually cognizant about everybody being up on the grid view, calling on everybody. We are actually making better, faster and more inclusive decisions in this environment than we were before.” He advocates being, “plan-full about a change of everybody. When everybody is doing this it makes sense. We call it ‘working smart’ … and it will change the way we work with clients as well.”

Measurement Quality During and Beyond COVID-19

Hardware that is pivotal to capturing data sometimes breaks down. How is that handled during a pandemic? According to Kenny, “the quality metric (in-tab rate) in the last two months is at an all-time high. The Nielsen families around the world have risen to the occasion to say, ‘this work matters.’ Their votes matter. They are working with us to keep things operational.”  Nielsen is finding ways to fix meter lapses by troubleshooting remotely with panelists. Sometimes it is just a matter of, “hitting the reset button or put in a new HDMI cable or reset their router.” Kenny added that the MRC has been monitoring this process and has given their seal of approval on it. “I see no issues at all with our ability to get this done because our field organization literally turned, over a weekend, completely how they work,” he concluded.

In data, planning ahead has always been important but never more so than the unpredictable now. “How can you predict that campaign will have that result?” he asked. “It’s great for me to talk about the value of advertising and brand building but those are big investments that CFOs have to look at a period of tight cash flow. I think those decisions will be made with good probabilistic work.”  Kenny explained that when he worked in Weather, they predicted based on probability. “We managed to get 3 billion people a day to make decisions based 80% likelihood of rain or20% likelihood of a hurricane in your location.” What this bodes for Nielsen in an age of attribution is, “giving people a forward view. We measure backwards, we measure what’s happening and then predict the future.” This is a seismic change for Nielsen which has always been a strictly objective data provider. “The more we’re comfortable acting on high probabilities, the smarter we are going to be,” he stated.

Maintaining and Accelerating Innovation

Kenny advocates for encouraging innovation from all levels of the business and has been engaged in what he called, “the Founder Mentality, making sure that everyone at Nielsen thought about the business the way Arthur Nielsen would have thought about it.” This idea launched into an internal campaign called, “Find Your Inner Arthur,” where employees post their innovation ideas on the company’s intranet.

One fascinating area of innovation is the introduction of the nanometer as a replacement for the current hardware to better address the rapid acceleration of streaming consumption. The small and compact nanometer is designed to facilitate a single origination point for cross platform data collection instead of the current process of measuring via parallel panels where the data must be merged. “We are actually able to have a total view of the total audience. Getting one meter that can do everything and have one panel for all of the parts of Nielsen is where we are going.”

This, along with a full range of other innovations in upgraded technology and understanding streaming, was being developed prior to the pandemic with an expected launch data of 2021 and 2022. “We made the decision to go faster, to work with the MRC and auditors Ernst and Young to make sure we advance the industry currency quicker,” he explained, “We pulled things forward.” In fact, the impact of the pandemic has moved things forward much more quickly.

COVID-19 Usage and Media Business Trends

When it comes to programming, Kenny sees an interesting, understandable spike in local news consumption across all platforms, especially in-home. “As folks are dealing with a pandemic, it’s almost like a weather crisis – you go back to local. You want to understand what is happening in your community,” he explained, “There is a lot of trust. It feels de-politicized.” There is also more, “comfort viewing with resurgence in old shows,” and a great adaption by sports networks which are airing, “classic, epic games,” and, “the spectacular,” NFL draft coverage.

Nielsen, as the industry currency, works with both buyers and sellers. Now, the need to better understand changing consumer behavior is critical to the future of the business. “The buyers, the agencies and their client are trying to understand what is going on with the end consumer, not just what she is watching but the mindset,” Kenny noted. So the focus is on attribution in a higher use and much more fragmented viewing environment and, “how we connect that attribution back to the media plans.” Further, it goes without saying that all of this information needs to be easily accessible and easy to use for working from home.

On the sell side, the challenge for the media owners during this unusual upfront is to figure out, “how to value their total portfolio, how to make it to the point that they are selling through this fragmentation, that the content is breaking through and how to get all of the Nielsen data baked into some really advanced media selling systems.”  No matter what side of the business you are on, Kenny sees that the industry is facing the realization that, “we might have to do this – run this whole economy from home for a long time, maybe for a whole other year.”

For both sides of the business equation Nielsen plays a crucial role in making the economy work. “Measuring independently by a third party in the same way so that you can trust each other is going to be key,” he added, “Maintaining trust in the system at a point where we have seen unprecedented cancellations … is a starting point.”

Maintaining Optimism

Kenny referred to the past to fuel his optimism for the future. “More patents were filed right during and after the Great Depression and right after WW2 than ever and so we will get to this point where innovation will really matter and those innovations need to be communicated at scale to people. There will be a solution here… and advertising plays such an important role. You don’t see a really strong economy built without brand building advertising.”

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

The Secret to Increasing Unduplicated Reach. Interview with Dataxu’s Mike Baker

Nine years ago, a group of data scientists from MIT Labs formed a partnership to more fully explore the use of data science in advertising and marketing. 

From this, dataxu was born. “I think what is interesting about our starting premise was the idea that the world of media, marketing and advertising would benefit from stronger data analytics,” explained Mike Baker, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of dataxu. 

In those early days, it was difficult to get upper management at media companies to think beyond the standard datasets because the business model greatly relied on syndicated data research to track the business. But today the use of data science, algorithms and multi-sourced datasets to track the media business has become, as he noted, “orthodox wisdom.”

Dataxu focuses on the value of advanced television, specifically connected TV, to enable advertisers to more fully and tactically reach their audiences across all platforms. His work with agencies has not only accelerated the formation of true cross platform buying and planning but also helps to herald a new way of thinking among digital-only buyers – that TV still has immense value and is vital to any media plan. 

Baker shared some of his candid thoughts on the subject.

Charlene Weisler: What type of company is leading the charge in advanced TV curiosity and adoption?

Mike Baker: The leaders in using technology are mid-market agencies, many of whom are seizing on connected TV in particular as an opportunity to grow a TV practice that they haven’t had previously. Notably, they are doing so through their own self-serve tool which is a do it yourself processing interface for data analysis. It’s powerful for a smaller agency that doesn’t have a large traditional planning and buying department for TV. Mid-market agencies have gotten on board early with self-serve tools that offer sophisticated data analysis and are currently investing aggressively.

The other leading group is direct-to-consumer companies, many of whom have maxed out on Facebook and Google Search. They are looking for new channels and new opportunities to bring their data-driven planning and buying to the richer palette of video and TV. What they find appealing are the digital characteristics of connected TVs, the ability to immediately understand who is exposed to an ad and connect that to sales and to quickly understand Return on Ad Spend. 

Weisler: What is the TV opportunity at large and what should every agency know, whether they are just getting started or currently immersed in Next Gen TV?

Baker: There is a very dramatic transition happening among viewers of TV as to how they’re choosing to watch TV which is increasingly on-demand, done typically through streaming. We talk about connected TVs which are the large TVs typically in the living room connected to a streaming device. So the first thing to note is that traditional linear TV audiences are declining. Which means that simply doing what you did last year will lead to a worse result for your client. 

We now see video as the fastest growing part of the media and digital marketplace. That growth is occurring through mobile devices for short form video and TVs for long form, high quality content. If you are an agency, more and more turns on your capabilities with data analytics for your point of differentiation and your ability to win new clients and retain valuable business. It’s a great opportunity for agencies to build a practice, get new customers and grow their businesses in an area that is up for grabs because data sits between connected TVs, traditional linear TV and digital teams. I find that larger agencies are having a political stand-off between these groups which gives the innovative agencies a leg up – the opportunity to integrate digital and linear to create more competitive solutions to their clients.

Weisler: For agencies just getting started, what's essential for them to know?

Baker: Most agencies aren’t aware that you can target specific audiences on TV. You can take cookie data or DMP data and translate that into streaming devices to import a digital audience over into dynamic ad insertion in long form TV content. But you need a tool to help you with identity management that is privacy compliant. Dataxu offers one, which has become one of the fastest growing parts of our business. It is now possible to translate traditional digital audiences that have been curated by DMPs into the new world of connected TV. 

Agencies just getting started also need to know that there are many premium programming brands available. The premium inventory on connected TVs - those familiar top tier programming names like NBC, Turner and Fox – is available for purchase programmatically. We at dataxu have created a special private marketplace directly with publishers to insure that the volume is there for advertisers who want to buy on a spot basis. This is incredibly easy to do compared to negotiating with a national network or even local scatter buys.

Weisler: For the most sophisticated agencies, what wins and challenges are they sharing?

Baker: What sophisticated agencies are doing is tackling the next key problem as viewership fragments between the set top box, streaming device and mobile phone. We look across the total viewership of TV audiences and understand, with great precision, how to maximize unduplicated reach of an ad message. TV has traditionally been the greatest vehicle for broad reach that makes consumers aware of new products and services. It’s still very powerful, but its power is winnowing as fewer people choose to watch traditional linear TV. So advanced agencies are using analytics to understand the unduplicated reach that can be brought to an overall TV plan by using connected TV. To do that you need to join linear and digital viewership data - something we do through Dataxu’s One View. The results are powerful. We are working with an agency that has a large automotive client. They were able to predict the growth in unduplicated reach of a new model launch ad by about +20% through a connected TV investment. That investment was shown only to households that hadn’t viewed the ad through a traditional TV connection. 

Weisler: Do you see key differences between agencies in TV implementation?

Baker: Definitely. Agencies that have integrated and trained their digital and traditional TV buying teams seem to be ahead of those who are struggling with siloed teams. In 2019 you’ll increasingly see the TV teams re-formed to bring the digital know-how and the traditional linear expertise together.

Weisler: There's been A LOT of Buzz around LiveRamp's Identity Link launch. Can you explain it and how it empowers digital and TV buyers across brands and agencies?  

Baker: Identity Link enables brands and agencies to target specific consumers in a privacy compliant manner with a high degree of confidence. Dataxu’s partnership with LiveRamp makes us the only demand side platform that can translate those identities and execute them in digital and TV without losing any of the audience size. We are seeing a lot of advertiser interest, especially among Retailers and Financial Services companies who have evolved extensive first party databases. Oftentimes these kind of data-driven firms want to use their CRM files to build media audiences whether that’s a one-to-one basis or as a seed for creating lookalike audiences. For these kind of advertisers, the ability to move from data into action with the LiveRamp/dataxu partnership is unique and powerful. We look forward to seeing this initiative continue to scale.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Where Are We in Addressable TV? Myers Polls Agencies and Marketers in a New Study

With addressable television advertising poised to reach $3.04 billion in 2019, the media industry is now beginning to take a fuller look on its impact on the marketplace. But, despite the enthusiasm for addressable TV, a recent MediaVillage survey released by Jack Myers TomorrowToday, found that there is an industry knowledge gap that needs to be bridged to facilitate its adoption progress. 

Myers surveyed of 1200 advertiser and agency executives, asking them to rate their overall knowledge of addressable TV, the importance of it in the future for media generally and TV specifically, the current level of interest and the top performing companies in the landscape.

The industry is working hard to dispel the myths of addressable TV. Brett Hurwitz, Business Lead, Advanced TV, Oath, noted that there is a misconception that addressable is better for marketers with narrow population targets and that addressable TV CPMs carry a premium which makes it too expensive for advertisers with broad targets. But, higher CPMs are actually more efficient considering addressable’s targeting capabilities and its ability to avoid all of the waste in traditional TV advertising. 

Level of Knowledge and the Importance of Addressable TV

But are industry executives sufficiently knowledgeable in the advantages of addressable TV? The Myers study found that, among those polled, 38% of advertisers and 35% of marketers reported that they were sufficiently knowledgeable on the advantages of addressable TV versus linear (top 3 boxes on a 10 point scale). Many fell in the middle range indicating that a little more education could help accelerate addressable TV’s growth.

Notably, addressable’s messaging has penetrated agencies more effectively than at brands. The study found that generally speaking, agency executive felt more secure in their knowledge of the format with only 9% reporting low (bottom three boxes) understanding while 22% of marketers felt that way. There is obviously more work to be done at the brand level.

Yet, no matter what their knowledge comfort level was, both agency executives and marketers recognize the importance and high value of addressable TV for their industry and agree (63% for agency and 49% for marketers) that this format will be important and relevant to their future business. Notably, very few (4% and 8% respectively) felt that this advertising form had low importance. But the differential in high importance between the 63% for agencies and the 49% for marketers indicates that more work needs to be done to reinforce the value of addressable TV among brands and get them off the fence.

“It's logical that agencies are more knowledgeable,” explained Jack Myers, Media Ecologist and Founder of MediaVillage, “But the disconnect among marketers between using addressable and their knowledge is notable.” The industry could be doing more outreach among marketers to insure that they feel confident in their knowledge of addressable that will then reinforce their advertising decisions in the format.

Level of Involvement on Addressable TV

Because of the recognized importance of addressable, the study revealed that more and more of the industry is moving towards this type of advertising with 43% of agencies and 51% of marketers currently highly involved (top two boxes) in it. But there is still a significant percentage of executives (27% and 29% bottom two boxes) who are still on the sidelines which represents an area of opportunity for the industry.

The approach for outreach might be guided by the recruitment of the study itself. “The agency respondents reflect individual executives at different levels so comparisons cannot be made between agencies and marketers. A marketer respondent would represent a company; an agency respondent would be reflecting personal experience,” stated Myers.

The Best Companies in Addressable TV

Which are considered the best companies in the addressable TV space? According to those polled, DirecTV leads the field with 60% of agencies and 51% of marketers ranking them high (top three boxes) in industry leadership.

While actual rankings varied slightly between agencies and marketers the top ten companies were the same for both groups:

Top 3 Boxes

% AGENCY                                          %MARKETER______

DirecTV                60%                        DirecTV                 51%

Comcast/NBCU    55%                        AT&T                     51%

AT&T                    54%                        Verizon/Oath          50%

Verizon/Oath         50%                        Comcast/NBCU     47%

DISH                     47%                        Disney/ABC           46%

Disney/ABC          44%                        Spectrum                45%

Spectrum               37%                        DISH                      44%

FOX TV                36%                        FOX TV                 44%

CBS                       26%                        Charter                    35%

Charter                   24%                        CBS                        34%

The following companies have some work to do in increasing their presence and perception as addressable TV leaders among agencies and marketers. These companies received the highest percentage in the bottom three boxes for leadership:

Bottom 3 Boxes

% AGENCY                                          % MARKETER______          

Altice                     21%                        Altice                     19%       

Sinclair                  19%                        Sinclair                   16%       

Cadent (one2one)         15%                        Cadent (one2one)          17%       

CBS                       12%                        CBS                        13%       

Charter                   12%                        Charter                   13%       

Conclusion

In this first study by Myers, it is clear that there is work to be done in the industry to more clearly state the value of addressable TV and raise the level of knowledge (and therefore comfort) in the advertising format. But overwhelmingly, the industry agrees that addressable TV is the future as a valued and important advertising format. Now we have to work hard to dispel any remaining myths and raise the general level of knowledge.

“As audiences shift to OTT platforms and as advanced technologies accelerate the reach potential of addressable media, television will have a new communications and commerce application across the consumer journey,” explained Myers. “It’s important to understand how effectively the changing value proposition of television is being understood. This initial outreach is the first in a series of studies,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com