In the summer of 2008, Paris-based ad holding Publicis Groupe had started working on CEO Maurice Lévy’s pledge to derive at least 25 percent of the agency’s revenues from digital. The problem was that digital was still a sideline to the main business of creating and buying ads for TV, print and out-of-home. With those […]
Digital marketing has expanded well beyond the realm of paid media, yet the old label “ad tech” persists as a blanket descriptor of this maturing industry. Are we good with this? We asked a handful of execs to answer the question: If the phrase “ad tech” did not exist, what would you call the space […]
Kurt Unkel, President of VivaKi Nerve Center, has been giving Phileas Fogg a run for his money lately as he travels the globe looking to ignite client solutions emanating from his Publicis-owned research and development unit. Last week, he discussed a range of topics with AdExchanger including his group’s agency trading desk solution, Audience on […]
Agency trading desks are understandably eager to ramp up with the Facebook Exchange, which promises to broaden the reach and frequency of their programmatic buying efforts. But right after the FBX launch they weren’t equally able to use it — which has led to some hand wringing. WPP’s Xaxis had a direct seat, while Publicis’s Vivaki […]
Getting so-called “pre-bid” data feeds from ad verification companies is becoming commonplace for ad networks and DSPs. As the name suggests, “pre-bid” verification screens out impressions at the server level prior to bidding, saving money on ad space that is either unacceptable to the buyer or not in view. So far agency trading desks don’t […]
Vivaki’s Nerve Center may have been the brainchild of Curt Hecht, but Kurt Unkel has done as much as anyone to help make it a reality. Unkel, who has worked for Hecht for more than a decade, will now run Publicis’s automated media buying unit as president in the wake of his boss’s departure for […]
VivaKi Nerve Center CEO Curt Hecht discussed his company’s relationship with Google as well as Publicis/VivaKi’s strategy for pursuing this key relationship as it looks to provide audience-driven buying services to VivaKi member media agencies. Hecht also addressed a recent TechCrunch report that intimated rebates may be a part of VivaKi’s deal with Google. AdExchanger.com: […]
Publicis’ VivaKi Nerve Center CEO Curt Hecht recently discussed Vivaki Nerve Center (VNC) momentum and the renewal of VNC’s agreement with Google as reported by The New York Times here last week. AdExchanger.com: What exactly is the agreement VivaKi Nerve Center (VNC) which just renewed with Google? Are there guaranteed minimum spends by VNC, for […]
AdExchanger.com spoke to Kurt Unkel, SVP of Publicis’ VivaKi Nerve Center, about recent events at the company as well as the integration of Razorfish and Atom Systems, Razorfish’s media trading unit. AdExchanger.com: What’s the difference between Vivaki, the VivaKi Nerve Center, and Audience On Demand? KU: Vivaki is the strategic entity created by Publicis Groupe […]
AdExchanger.com recently asked several members of the advertising ecosystem about “Middlemen” and, specifically: “Are there too many parties trying to insert themselves into the online advertising value chain? How do you see this playing out?” The following contribution is an agency perspective from Sean Kegelman, SVP, Partnerships & Ventures, Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi. The question of […]
David Kenny is Managing Partner of VivaKi, which combines the media and digital assets of the Publicis Groupe including Starcom, Zenith, Mediavest, Optimedia, Digitas, Razorfish and Denuo. AdExchanger.com: Everyone is talking about how agencies need to evolve media buying. Every major holding company has announced a media trading desk strategy. What areas of the workflow […]
This is a response to AdExchanger.com’s recent survey, “Industry Reaction: The Impact Of Right Media And The Importance Of Multiple, Large Exchanges.” Publicis’ VivaKi Nerve Center – Kurt Unkel, SVP Being the slacker who didn’t turn in his homework on time on this one has afforded me the opportunity to read the many excellent perspectives […]
Internet entrepreneur and now writer, Michael Wolff, opened today’s ContextWeb event on media trading saying, “This is a desperate time for the media business.” Well…. one person’s desperation is apparently someone else’s opportunity as a full-house invaded the Paley Media Center in New York City. Entitled,”Agency Demand Platforms: Is Everyone a Media Trader?,” the event […]
Kurt Unkel is Senior Vice President of Publicis’ VivaKi Nerve Center. KU: I think volume of impressions and the real-time api of Google’s new exchange are the biggest benefits, as these address the scalability and operational challenges of the original Ad Exchange. These new benefits combined with the quality of participants and simplified billing, key […]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here. VivaKi Rebrands Exchange in India Publicis’ David Kenny continues his globetrotting and tells Kapil Ohri of “afaqs!” in India that “India Media Exchange (IMX) — the consolidated media buying arm of Starcom MediaVest Group, Zenith Optimedia and Solutions Digitas – will be renamed as […]
Read all about it. It’s official today – Publicis has acquired Razorfish for $530 million: Bloomberg, Agence France Presse, The Wall Street Journal, Publicis release (PDF en Francais), and The New York Times. According to Bloomberg, “Razorfish will continue to operate under its own name, and will remain Microsoft’s ‘agency of record’ for online advertising […]
