Global digital marketing and experience design agency Critical Mass has appointed Valerie Carlson as its chief creative officer. She will report directly to Chris Gokiert, president. (Gokiert will move into the CEO role on January 1.)
Carlson joins Critical Mass after serving as executive creative director at Wunderman Thompson where she led multiple teams across the U.S. Carlson bolstered both creative vision and practice while representing a diverse spectrum of disciplines, channels and craft. Some key clients included Coke, Microsoft, Honda, JP Morgan Chase and Vistaprint.
Prior to Wunderman, Carlson held senior executive positions at Evolution Bureau (EVB), Possible, SapientNitro, and Method.
Gokiert said of Carlson, “She understands the importance of creating work that not only speaks to consumers on a deeply human level, but does so in an immensely innovative way.”
Carlson stated, “There is a solid foundation in place at Critical Mass, and at this moment in time, they are poised to deliver what clients really need right now–true ecosystem thinking and innovative creativity. So many brands are struggling to put the right content in front of the right person with the appropriate context. This is the type of work that I love to lead and have been successfully doing throughout my career. I’m looking forward to bringing that success to the team at Critical Mass and their truly world-class roster of clients.”
Carlson’s appointment comes on the heels of continued momentum for the agency. Despite the industry-wide challenges of the last year, Critical Mass has grown both organically and through new business successes, expanding the agency’s client profile, growing the number of full-time staff, and expanding its executive leadership team.
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