Programmatic TechBytes with Kerry Bianchi, CEO at Collective

Last month, Collective announced the completion of more than 30+ integrations for its Visto™ Enterprise Advertising Hub. The latest integrations enable buying and management of digital ads across the entire digital media ecosystem through a single user interface, bringing greater clarity, control, and improved campaign performance. Kerry Bianchi, CEO of Collective, spoke to our Tech Bytes Series about Visto’s new integrations that offer a premier full-stack advertising and programmatic solution for brands, agencies and media companies.

MTS: How does Visto offer multi-platform marketers and advertisers more transparency and control over their media campaigns?

Kerry Bianchi: Digital advertising has evolved so quickly – and from so many different directions – that the technology stack is so complex, it’s no wonder we have problems with ad fraud along with viewability. The struggle is that there are too many disparate technologies all working in silos that limit the availability of data while also wasting too much ad spend. This is what Visto is eliminating.

We spent two years developing our technology to unify all the pieces of the ad tech stack into one dashboard, from which brands can view and manage all of their execution, data and measurement partners. It’s a clearer line of sight from which decisions can be made based on apples-to-apples comparisons from a single place.

Ultimately, Visto lets advertisers understand where their budget is going and what’s working so they can drive the best performance from their ad spend.

MTS: Please help us understand how programmatic can be scaled for accurate campaign measurement and audience targeting?

Kerry Bianchi: It comes down to having a unified view and established standards.

When everything is in silos, you can’t see all of your measurements, ad fraud protection, execution partners and data at the same time, plus you don’t know whether all of those vendors and technologies use the same standards. That’s why, earlier this year, brands called for measurement partners to be MRC (Media Ratings Council) accredited, and that all execution partners adopt IAB standards for viewability.

If you’re doing that, you can be confident that you’re hitting the right audience and that they’re seeing your ads.

MTS: How are you preparing against the growing concerns related to Ad Fraud?

Kerry Bianchi: At Collective, we believe the true root of so many ad industry problems like ad fraud are a result of the murky supply chain. With a clearer line of sight comes a greater understanding of just how wisely (or unwisely) their ad dollars are being spent.

P&G Chief Brand Officer Mark Pritchard famously demanded the industry, ‘Clean up the media supply chain’ at this year’s Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Leadership Summit. That’s exactly what we’re doing with Visto.

Our unified interface and analytics finally let advertisers understand exactly where their budget is going and what’s working. No longer can vendors ‘grade their own homework,’ so to speak. We’re plugging the holes that would otherwise let fraudsters sneak in, and we’re opening doors to analytics that support optimized, not wasted, ad spend.

MTS: What would be your advice to CMOs who are yet to invest in programmatic technology/capabilities?

Kerry Bianchi: We as an industry need to step up to ensure the ongoing survival of a diverse targeting and data ecosystem, one that allows ad buyers and publishers to connect and integrate far and wide while using their data in the ways that best serve the consumer. I recommend looking at multiple vendors that can work together. We advocate for a wider range of integrations, but with strong connective tissue between them. This way, CMOs can access the unique features and benefits of their selected partners while also enjoying transparency and the ability to find the combination that works best.

MTS: Finally, how do you see programmatic advertising marketplace evolving in next 12 months? Would AI play a big role in making programmatic advertising more effective and accurate?

Kerry Bianchi: AI is controlled by data, but it also helps us understand data, if we have everything into one place, that is. IT so simple yet is really very complex. As our AI-based systems advance to handle the volume of data that’s now being collected across screen and devices, we’ve begun to lay the foundation for programmatic’s expansion to channels like TV and radio. In the next 12 months, I expect programmatic TV will be the hottest thing around, since those are the big ad dollars so many players in the ecosystem are chasing.

MTS: Thank you, Kerry for answering all the questions. We look forward to having you very soon at MarTech Series for more insights.

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