Executive Producer/ Owner
Community Films
1) I think the business will continue to be extremely competitive. This makes it very important to do the best creative work possible, and to maintain great relationships with your clients. We value every opportunity to create new relationships, and to make sure we are having fun doing it. We never lose sight of the fact that it goes beyond just exercising our own creativity; we’re helping a client launch a successful campaign.
2) I know this is redundant, but the business is still very competitive, so it’s more important than ever to do the best work possible, and to have solid relationships with clients. We just finished shooting a really nice project that Pam Thomas directed for UC Health. We were introduced to a new agency through an agency producer who is a very good friend of ours. So that’s a perfect example of a strong prior relationship introducing us to a new agency with an incredibly strong piece of creative. Lizzie and I both feel that our favorite part of this business is the people we get to work with, so we really appreciate the chance to make more connections.
3) We made a documentary last year that we are so proud of and that will be in several film festivals this year (should we say this since we don’t know for sure yet?). It was so much fun because everyone at Community got to participate in telling a powerful story, while also meeting new crew and learning how to be more resourceful. This is one of several “outside the box” productions we had a chance to do last year, and we’ve learned that making good content, no matter what form, is the future. Most projects we do now have so many various pieces to them beyond just the traditional TV commercial, and it’s really exciting. Being able to do all kinds of filmmaking and productions opens us up to more business opportunities for sure.
4) Umm, lose some weight hopefully. Oh, and to be more politically active, because…yeah…
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