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Former Mindshare CEO Scott Neslund Appointed Red Bricks Media CEO; Discusses Digital Strategy

The former CEO of WPP Group’s Mindshare and President of Publicis Groupe/Starcom MediaVest Group’s StarLink, Scott Neslund, has been named CEO of Red Bricks Media, a search and performance marketing agency.   Read the release.

The allure of digital continues to draw top executives as Neslund's appointment echoes last week's announcement that GroupM's new CEO would be their digital media chief, Rob Norman.

AdExchanger.com spoke to Neslund about his new role, display advertising and the ad holding company world he left behind.

AdExchanger.com: Given RBM's cross-channel aspirations, what do you see as the advantages of an agency like Red Bricks Media with its digital roots in competing with traditional media agencies in areas such as TV, newspaper or radio media buying?

SN: With media moving more into data rich digital formats, and with our background in data driven marketing, we will be at a competitive advantage against agencies with a traditional/offline media planning approaches. We know how to use digital data to target and market to consumers. Traditional media will always exist but we plan to be experts in all the new digital forms of traditional media.

AdExchanger.com: Does RBM see display advertising as an opportunity? Any discussion around leveraging the agency's search specialization to exploit data-driven demand-side platforms for display advertising?

SN: Yes. With more display media going into technology driven ad exchanges and more display media going to behavioral targeting, it is data driven marketers that will be in a great position to compete.

AdExchanger.com: What are your thoughts on the ad holding company model? What will it need to do survive - or should it?

SN:Holding companies need to make sure that they keep their overhead costs down and don’t become just an added expense to advertisers. Holding companies that break down functional silos to work for the benefit of clients and keep overhead costs down will survive in the future. Those that don’t will have a tough time.

By John Ebbert

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