Talk a bit about yourself and your background.
I’ve been in the industry a long time. I started off as an entrepreneur. My first job in the tech space was doing marketing for a fragrance company, working with Excite and Lycos – companies that aren’t really around today. I started my first company in 1999, and from there I kept on consulting and started doing a lot of my events.
I started PluggedIn in 2009, where, as a way to generate leads, I’ve been bringing founders, CEOs and executives into an intimate conversation to discuss the industry, the present, the future, and to get deals done. I’m working with a number of companies in a range of spaces – video, programmatic, ad tech, audio – helping them get into publishers, generate leads and revenue, and creating a roadmap for them to go out and help.
PluggedIn is primarily focused on the early-stage startup, the one that doesn’t have a big sales team or is looking to generate more revenue quickly. I generally work with my clients for anywhere between six months to two years.
What services do you provide for your clients?
One is producing roundtable events. The events bring together thought leaders from a variety of companies in the industry to have a conversation about what\’s going on. It\’s a way for them to really lead the right people without doing a hard sell, just listening and learning. I organize all the different logistical aspects to it – the people, the venue. The other side is actually doing BD and sales for companies, helping them to generate leads and get established in the industry.
How did you and John meet, and what\’s your relationship?
I met John when he was working with Harrison Wise at Wise PR. Harrison and I did a lot of different events together, and he had clients that needed more visibility, which is what I provided. So we did a lot of events together, and then John and I kept on talking when he left Wise. I have a great working relationship with John, and I’m happy to help him whenever I can, and John knows I’m there to help him if he needs to create for someone.
What are some of the top issues you see facing the AdTech/MarTech industries?
First-party data going cookieless is definitely top-of-mind. A lot of publishers aren\’t sure what to do. At the same time, a lot of people are realizing the value of first party data – collecting it, monetizing it. There’s a lot of commotion and uncertainty going on, and more companies are getting involved in it.
On the popular side, CTVs are blowing up. After COVID and two years of streaming, creating and monetizing content, I think advertisers realized that there are a lot of eyeballs in that space. So a lot of money was pumped into that vertical. And growth is continuing to happen at a very rapid pace.
What are some of your biggest takeaways from your recent roundtable for TVDataNow?
First off, it was a great event, some really great participants. On the ad side, I see advertisers, agencies, and brands all spending more money on CTV advertising. On the content side, it’s just going to blow up. Advertisers are actually willing to fund content to get their brand in front of people, which is something you haven’t really seen before. Controlling data and the knowledge of who’s in front of you are both key – understanding your customer. And it transcends just the click – it’s also what they’re watching, where they’re going.
Roku is a bit ahead of others because they own their box, whereas companies like Crackle are content providers – they’re creating content. They don’t own the customer as much as Roku does, or some others like FrndlyTV, etc. I was somewhat astounded by how fast it’s grown in this time span, and COVID really accelerated the space.