Former head of production to lead Commercial and VR divisions
Digital studio Reel FX, Dallas/Santa Monica, has brought back its former head of production David Bates as general manager. Bates spent nearly eight years with Reel FX from 2002-2010, and will leverage his recent executive experience curating talent for creative roles at a wide range of companies to assemble top tier in-house teams for projects across Reel FX’s short form and VR divisions.
Bates' hiring comes on the heels of the recent success of Reel FX’s virtual reality division, Reel FX VR. After opening in September 2014, the division has a slate of immersive experiences, including a recent The Hunger Games 360-degree narrative experience exploring key moments from throughout Katniss’ journey across all films, a fully-integrated recruiting experience for the U.S. Air Force out of GSD&M, and an impactful VR experience for AT&T’s “It Can Wait” campaign with BBDO New York.
Bates got his start in creative marketing for FOSSIL, spending nearly a decade in multiple roles, including serving as director of the graphics team for a re-launch of the brand’s apparel line as well as leading the creative vision of the in-store experience for stores worldwide. He left FOSSIL to join Reel FX in 2002 as creative director and art department manager, evolving the creative breadth of the department. He transitioned to become the SVP/head of commercial production, bolstering in-house talent, broadening the scope of branded projects, overseeing the build out of the Santa Monica space as well as managing sales, project management and operations. He left in 2010 to apply his creative management skills to a diversified range of companies at Plano, TX-based Bedrock Manufacturing for brands such as Shinola, and Filson, and others such as Marissa Webb and Clare Vivier.
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