Attention, a global social media agency that is an arm of KBS, has hired Asif Khan, Tim Gunatilaka, and Ben Krantz as VP/strategy & analytics, director of content, and creative director, respectively.
“Asif, Tim and Ben all have deep social and content roots but provide a broader purview of the marketing landscape, which is important to us as we continue to innovate for and with our clients,” said president of Attention, Tom Buontempo.
Kahn will be responsible for bringing a fresh perspective to Attention’s strategy and creative team, and showing the agency how data and creativity are inextricably linked. Prior to joining Attention, Khan led the strategy department at VICE Media’s Carrot Creative where he played an instrumental role in winning several pieces of new business, including Chipotle as its first ever-social AOR and several Unilever brands. He is also responsible for building the Carrot Strategy team from 3 to 15 members. Before joining Carrot, Asif held various strategy roles at branding, experiential and digital agencies after first starting his career in market research.
Gunatilaka’s background in journalism will allow him to bring an audience-first perspective to Attention’s storytelling capabilities. Previously, as associate director of content and social strategy at KBS, he helped launch the digital magazine IQ by Intel, among other branded content platforms. Before that, he served as head of content innovation at OMD where he oversaw GE’s foray into podcasts and virtual reality. Earlier in his career, he was a journalist for publications including Entertainment Weekly, SPIN and Paper Magazine.
Krantz has built a reputation for his ability to create authentic conversations and experiences for brands. As creative director at Attention, he is making an immediate impact on the creative department, including the agency’s own rebranding efforts. For nearly a decade, Krantz has led and developed groundbreaking campaigns across digital, social, traditional and experiential platforms for clients including Mercedes-Benz, American Express, Citibank and P&G. Previously, Krantz served as associate creative director at Tribal Worldwide and Publicis.
Attention recently launched an L.A.-based influencer studio, Meat & Produce, dedicated to leveraging the craft of a raw creator base, fostering brand collaborations and helping the influencer community build a business around their talent.
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