Nickelodeon’s former marketing chief says she can empathize with executives frustrated by the insight they get into their ad spending
Having led marketing teams at Netflix, Hulu and Nickelodeon, Jenny Wall feels a personal connection with the executives who struggle to gain insight into how they spend advertising dollars. Now, in a new role as chief marketing officer for ad measurement tech firm VideoAmp, she thinks she’ll be able to help.
He told TheWrap, “As a CMO and head of marketing for many years, the biggest frustration I had and biggest pain point was how to effectively and efficiently spend my media dollars to get results. be spent.” “I know what it’s like to be a CMO and to be in that position, and I want the world to know that there is a solution.”
The solution, which it’s now tasked with bringing to more companies on all sides of the advertising business, is VideoAmp’s suite of technology and services, which integrate data from television and digital advertising into a single, linear Provides measurement and optimization tools in TV, streaming video and other forms of digital media.
Most importantly, he said, VideoAmp has the ability to link media exposure to advertiser sales.
“I hate waste,” said Wall. “It’s estimated that about $300 billion is wasted in advertising. I want to help people spend their money better and I want to make advertising better, targeting people who Will love your product, whatever it is.
The company has already signed some of the biggest players in advertising, including Omnicom Media Group, Dentsu, IPG, GroupM, Publicis Groupe Horizon and Havas.
Paramount, Fox, Televisa Univision, NBC Universal, Disney and most recently Warner Bros. Discovery have also signed deals with VideoAmp, which is headquartered in both New York and Los Angeles.
Wall joins the audience measurement business at a time when the exponential growth of streaming — more viewers now watch streaming than cable — has caused massive disruption. Many of the industry’s vendors have lost faith in Nielsen, whose data has long provided a universal currency for pricing ads, even though it added streaming data to its connected TVs last year.
Competitors are trampling under Nielsen’s feet, and as marketers face dwindling advertising budgetComprehensive insight into their spending is becoming more important than ever.
VideoAmp has strong backing, having raised $456 million since its 2014 founding, according to crunchbase, It announced the most recent round in October 2021The company raised $275 million in investment from multiple investors, bringing its valuation to $1.4 billion.
Let’s talk about VideoAmp’s vision. Does the company see itself as an alternative to Nielsen or do you hope to work with them?
The market wants options. There is a lot of money stuck in old companies. I don’t think an overnight change will be right for everyone. I think it’s going to be a market with options. There are contracts, there are upfronts that trade on a certain currency and that’s not going to change overnight. Our currency is better, but it will take time to prove it. I really see us as a one-stop shop of an advertising platform that will make buyers and sellers and agencies better partners, and more efficient.
Why move to that side of the market now?
I think we are at a turning point. I think the world has been asking for it. There’s a lot of legacy in this business, and I think it’s ripe for disruption. I guess I’ve been on disruptors before they were disruptors. I like a challenge, and I’m attracted to companies that I think are prepared to take it on. There’s a lot of opportunity in this space, but it’s also really complicated. I can bring empathy, because I’ve been on the other side of the business.
What about VideoAmp’s offering that differentiates it enough to attract the mass customers you want to attract?,
Older models look back and this one looks forward and in real time. We’re not just measuring. We’re able to measure, plan, optimize, attribution with a single audience. I remember as a CMO, you had to look at five or six different tools and try to build insights while the CFO or the board is asking you real-time questions about what your marketing dollars are doing. We bring that together in one place that actually provides information you can use. The goal is to create efficiency and be smarter.
How do you see yourself resonating with potential customers?
I feel I can help educate CMOs and other buyers and sellers in the media. The main thing is I’ve been on both sides of the business and I know the pain points, and I’m really looking forward to growing this industry. Because I believe there is a better way. I think we can expect a lot of sleepless nights for marketers around the world.
