User-Generated Context and Ad-Funded Connected TV

The Pixability Ad Legends video series is back for episode 2, and this was another fun one for me. The series is all about chatting with some of the best and brightest in the advertising industry, and in this episode I had the great pleasure of sitting down with former Chief Digital Officer of GroupM, and good friend of Pixability, Rob Norman.

Rob has a very unique way of viewing YouTube and Connected TV and their place in the current media landscape. He discussed with me this concept of “user-generated context” — the idea that users on YouTube make a very personal and deliberate decision about which videos to view, which brings with it a certain degree of implied engagement. We also chatted about the idea that many of the major players in CTV (Netflix, etc.), are not ad-supported, and therefore every advertiser needs to understand which ad-supported platforms drive the best reach into their audience. Seems obvious, but some brands go into CTV with a straight programmatic approach, vs. reaching big swaths of their audience in the biggest CTV platforms.

Perhaps even more importantly, this Q&A video session gave me a chance to reunite with Rob’s black miniature schnauzer, Scout. A highlight for sure.

Check out episode two of the Ad Legends series below for some great nuggets from the wise and always entertaining Rob Norman: