MediaMonks has named Olivier Koelemij to serve in the new role of managing director for the global production company’s U.S. West Coast operation. Previously executive producer of MediaMonks L.A., Koelemij was responsible for founding the Los Angeles office in 2014 and its successful acquisition and merger with Stopp LA, growing the West Coast base to 26 Monk staffers with eight nationalities.
MediaMonks Los Angeles works with leading brands and agencies including Uber, Google, Wieden + Kennedy and 72 & Sunny. In 2017 alone, the production company was behind work such as Old Spice’s robotic “S.Q.U.I.D” live gaming experience on Twitch, the KFC Zinger space flight experiment, Cannes pick “Quest to LEGOLAND” and band Real Estate’s “Stained Glass” interactive music video.
Koelemij was also a key driver behind MediaMonks Los Angeles’ move to its current “flagship store” on Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice Beach. Koelemij’s new role is effective immediately, as he continues to grow U.S. operations alongside MediaMonks New York managing director Jason Prohaska under co-founder and COO Wesley ter Haar.
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