In a captivating episode of "Legends & Leadership," Jack Myers engaged in a thought-provoking discussion with Katy Loria, U.S. Chief Revenue Officer of FreeWheel, a Comcast Company. The conversation, which took place at the FreeWheel Beach during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, covered a wide range of topics from leadership qualities to the impact of generative AI and machine intelligence on the industry. Below are key insights from Katy, emphasizing her leadership philosophy and the strategic directions FreeWheel is pursuing. View the full video above or here.
One of the exciting opportunities Katy discussed was FreeWheel's focus on live events. With major events like the Paris Olympics on the horizon, FreeWheel is leveraging its expertise in ad serving into live broadcasts to create more dynamic advertising opportunities.
"We see a tremendous opportunity in live events as the shift to streaming continues and opens the door for more advertisers to transact programmatically. Live is an area that we're really moving strongly into."
Katy passionately discussed her views on leadership, emphasizing the importance of empathy. She believes that being an empathetic leader involves supporting her team by removing obstacles and allowing them to excel in their roles.
"For me, the word that would capture what good leadership has meant for me is empathy. To be an empathetic leader, to be a supportive leader of the team, I think on my best days, what I do is hopefully clear some obstacles out of the way for the team and then get out of their way so that they can do their thing."
Katy highlighted the critical role of listening in leadership. She stressed that effective leaders must be observant, responsive, and consultative, ensuring they are in tune with both their team's needs and their clients' challenges.
"Listening is perhaps the most important thing. Our business only grows if we're able to grow our partners' business. The only way to do that is to be consultative, to listen to our clients to understand their challenges and meet them."
Generational Shifts and Mentorship
Addressing the generational shifts within the industry, Katy underscored the importance of mentorship. She believes that mentorship should be a two-way street, where both seasoned professionals and newcomers learn from each other.
"Mentorship plays a huge part. We learn from the new generations, and it's also our responsibility to teach and educate. It's the communication and sharing of knowledge that really enables the fastest path to education."
Katy emphasized the importance of diversity and inclusion at FreeWheel and Comcast Advertising. She described a culture where showing up for each other is paramount, fostering an environment that welcomes diverse thoughts and backgrounds.
"We show up for each other. Welcoming all aspects of diversity, whether it's cultural diversity or diversity of thought, is imperative to the business and how we move forward."
Brand Safety and Measurability
On the topic of brand safety, Katy reassured that FreeWheel is dedicated to ensuring ads are served in brand-safe environments. She also highlighted FreeWheel's commitment to providing accurate and accountable measurement through partnerships with various research and data companies.
"We are very keyed in on the tools and processes to continue to assure advertisers a better and safer environment. We are interoperable, working with different types of measurement to meet advertisers and publishers where they want to be."
Scaling Audience Reach
Katy also discussed the rapid growth of addressable advertising, which is increasing the scale of audience reach at a remarkable pace. This growth is making premium content more accessible to a broader range of advertisers.
"The growth of addressability is increasing scale at breakneck speed. There are millions and millions of new impressions across 400 plus different endpoints that are now available for advertisers to connect with premium content."
For those interested in gaining deeper insights into Katy Loria's vision and strategies at FreeWheel, watching the full video of this engaging conversation is highly recommended. The discussion not only provides valuable industry perspectives but also highlights the transformative leadership that is shaping the future of advertising.
Be sure to also watch Jack Myers' Legends & Leadership Conversation from Cannes with Katy's colleague, Melanie Hamilton, SVP of Enterprise Sales for Comcast Advertising here.