Wurl, the leading provider of streaming video distribution and advertising services for connected TV (CTV), announced that Kris Johns has been promoted to the newly created position of Vice President, Advertising. Kris has been with Wurl since 2017, first as Vice President of User Experience and subsequently as Vice President of Product. Recently, he has increasingly been focused on the advertising side of the business as Wurl’s monetization services have become more and more important to customers on the growing Wurl Network. To reflect this significance, Wurl has created this new position to ensure strategic focus and investment continue to be dedicated to this explosive area of growth.

Marketing Technology News: FedEx to Acquire ShopRunner to Expand E-Commerce Capabilities

“Kris has dedicated his talents to building up our product offering over the last three years to continually meet the rapidly evolving needs of our customers as we create a new streaming TV model together,” said Sean Doherty, CEO of Wurl. “As ad-supported linear streaming continues to grow in popularity on the Wurl Network, we’re excited to now have Kris focus his efforts on further developing our advertising services and the ecosystem surrounding them, extending our unique monetization capabilities, and building out a robust team to support them.”

Marketing Technology News: Cisco To Acquire IMImobile

Wurl has two advertising products that work together to enable Wurl Network partners to maximize monetization of their linear streaming channels.

• AdSpring is Wurl’s SSAI engine, providing real-time targeting and insertion of mid-roll ads. AdSpring is often described by Wurl customers as the “gold standard” of ad tech for CTV. 
• AdPool is a CTV ad marketplace connecting top-tier advertisers to Wurl customers’ premium inventory, helping maximize yield across any unfilled inventory while still protecting the content value. Free to all video producers on the Wurl Network, AdPool manages 100% of inventory for many Wurl customers.

“AdPool is a one-of-a-kind product that is delivering massive revenue returns to content providers and creating a new model for CTV monetization,” said Kris Johns, Vice President of Advertising for Wurl. “In September alone, content providers utilizing AdPool on the Wurl Network earned a 143% average return on the fees they paid to Wurl – an unprecedented return on investment. I’m excited to focus my attention on this important growth area for Wurl, as we look to expand AdPool inventory in the U.S. to well over 2 billion avails monthly by the end of 2021.”

Recommended: Daily MarTech Roundup