IAB CEO David Cohen and I have been friendly rivals for nearly two decades, even, at one point, sharing digital media leadership duties for Johnson & Johnson at our respective agencies; David at Universal McCann and me at OMD. So, with the backdrop of our both having spent a good bulk of our careers at media agencies pioneering as digital came into existence, our conversation turned towards discussing what has become of digital media, what we've gained, and perhaps what we might have lost as technologists and the efficiency focus took over brand and holistic views of advertising.
Along the way to that discussion, Cohen gives his opinion on the recent ANA report, ANA Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study, that details continued issues with ad fraud and a massive potential leak in the supply chain when it comes to the phenomenon of so-called "Made for Advertising" sites: web pages that have a minimal amount of content while filling up the majority of pixels with ads from the open web programmatic ecosystem.
David and I also discuss the challenge that marketers face in deciding whether or not to include TikTok in their media mix. Without question TikTok has made a huge impact and has massive scale in the U.S., while, at the same time, it is increasingly being banned by government departments and publicly funded universities, with the most recent ban in Florida on school district owned devices. Against the backdrop of geo-political tension between the U.S. and China and a disastrous performance during testimony by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew before the House Energy and Commerce Committee earlier this year.
TikTok is a member of the IAB and has been a major supporter of many of its initiatives as of late.
Don't miss these important discussions, and if you haven't yet watched Part 1 of my discussion with David, it is available here to view.
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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.