President & CEO
Bullitt
1) 2017 is going to be the year in which we see the first wave of customized content which taps into the partitioning power of vast big data networks. It will start small but programmatic advertising will have implications well beyond the confines of media buying. What’s so exciting about that to me as a creator is that we will finally take the first steps towards being able to speak directly to each individual member of the audience in a way that’s personal to them.
2) We founded Bullitt just three years ago with the belief that entertainment would become a central driver for global brand messaging and a mission to provide our partners with the very best the world of entertainment has to offer. We are constantly asking ourselves how we can better accomplish that, but our mission remains the same. As 2017 begins we are excited to see that brands truly are embracing the power of entertainment as a platform to drive brand identity and promote values. These are the two most enduring aspects of a messaging campaign in the eyes of a consumer because they are how your audience connects on an emotional level with what you are saying… Do they identify with who you are? Do they believe the same things? If the answers are “yes” then you have a bond that is incredibly difficult to break.
3) That China is one of the most forward-thinking markets in the world. The country has matured in a fully digital age and is unconstrained by the legacy thinking that, in many ways, still holds other parts of the world back—it’s a perfect example of the leap-frog effect. In 2016 we formed a number of strategic alliances with top tier media and advertising companies within China to expand our presence there.
4) I kind of feel like the New Years resolution is the kiss of death for actually achieving something you want. Achievement comes from a never ending desire to accomplish something. So, I don’t actually have a ‘resolution’ per se, but I would love to run a 6-minute mile again 🙂
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