Joan Creative has named Alex Kalluf to serve as its chief data officer. In his new role, Kalluf will oversee data and market practices for the agency and its clients. Based in New York, Kalluf will work with Jaime Robinson, chief creative officer, and Lisa Clunie, CEO, to help shape Joan’s data analytics practice and overall approaches to irregular thinking.
“Alex has an incredibly diverse background which, coupled with his depth of experience in data analytics and creative spirit, was something we just couldn’t pass up,” said Clunie. “We felt that Alex’s understanding of market research and industry trends gives him a great edge. He can identify opportunities and cultural connections, coupled with the kind of thinking that challenges the status quo.”
Kalluf joins the agency from Figliulo and Partners, where he led research strategy and analytics. Prior to that, he worked with GroupM where he managed mix modeling projects for major advertisers including Amazon and Mazda. Kalluf was also at Millward Brown where he led research projects for global brands such as Coca-Cola, Intuit, and Unilever. Kalluf is an author and frequent media commentator and speaker.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More