Interview with Marc Guldimann, Founder and CEO, Parsec

What inspired you to launch a mobile advertising technology platform?

I’ve been in digital advertising for a little over 10 years. My first company, Spongecell, pivoted into display advertising after raising money from IPG and I’ve been fascinated with the industry ever since.

What are the core tenets of time-based advertising in 2018?

We start with the belief that advertisers should only have to pay for media that captures audience attention, and publishers should know the quality and relevance of ads running on their site. Most importantly, the entire industry is aligned around showing people ads that they actually want to see.

How do you see media buying models for mobile evolving with the availability of cross-device measurement technologies?

The promise of cross-device technologies is appealing to every brand, but the accuracy of most probabilistic models is pretty iffy. So for now, I don’t see media buying evolving in very meaningful ways due to cross-device.

How has the maturity of data science and analytics influenced the creation of real-time customized experiences for mobile?

Real-time personalization is still nascent. It’s never been about a lack of data science or analytics, rather the biggest factor slowing customization down is an outcome to optimize towards. How does one judge a relevant ad from an irrelevant one? This is one of the most exciting applications of attention data — when you put consumers in charge of how long they spend with advertising, that duration becomes a quantifiable measure of relevance and quality.

Which startups in the martech/ad tech industry are you watching/keen on right now?

I’m most interested in what the different identity federations like DigiTrust and the Advertising ID Consortium are doing and projects in the blockchain + media space.

Would you tell us about your standout digital campaign or a unique customer success story at Parsec?

In February 2017, we worked with BMW to raise awareness for the M760i. Across the entire campaign, we were able to increase awareness by 70%. Specifically, we saw a 6% lift in awareness per second that consumers chose to spend on the ad.

How do you prepare for an AI-centric world as a business leader?

Investing in people and systems that can better leverage data. AI is no different than any data-driven technology.

How do you bring people and technology together at Parsec?

We use chat, voice and video calls to bring our offices together as a tightly knit team while allowing our employees to work remotely.

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

Slack and email

What’s your smartest work related shortcut or productivity hack?

Send shorter emails.

What are you currently reading? 

Lots of Dan Pink – I just gave a copy of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us to everyone on Parsec’s management team.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Willpower isn’t a thing. Life is just a series of decisions.

Thank you Marc! That was fun and hope to see you back on MarTech Series soon.