Podcasts about CTV

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Strong online sales show Black Friday was an ‘omnichannel event' by Alex VuocoloAd revenue is growing faster than expected, per analyst by Ryan BarwickDigiday+ Research: Publishers' programmatic revenue didn't shake out the way they'd hoped, but it's still a bright spot How audience-first creative is amplifying audio and video campaigns for 2024 by Alex Donics…as for the rest of the news: The trailer and IndieGoGo campaign for Age of Audio: A Tale of Modern Audio Storytelling are now live (spoiler alert: Sounds Profitable's own Tom Webster makes an appearance), Magellan AI has published their October 2023 top movers and shakers in podcast advertising, and AdExchanger proposes programmatic CTV is in its ‘consolidation phase' (a phase podcasting has already experienced and matured from).

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Strong online sales show Black Friday was an ‘omnichannel event' by Alex VuocoloAd revenue is growing faster than expected, per analyst by Ryan BarwickDigiday+ Research: Publishers' programmatic revenue didn't shake out the way they'd hoped, but it's still a bright spot How audience-first creative is amplifying audio and video campaigns for 2024 by Alex Donics…as for the rest of the news: The trailer and IndieGoGo campaign for Age of Audio: A Tale of Modern Audio Storytelling are now live (spoiler alert: Sounds Profitable's own Tom Webster makes an appearance), Magellan AI has published their October 2023 top movers and shakers in podcast advertising, and AdExchanger proposes programmatic CTV is in its ‘consolidation phase' (a phase podcasting has already experienced and matured from).

So many people who identify as "creative" struggle to turn their skills into a viable and fulfilling career. While the arts and other creative fields may be tough to break into, learning from those who've found success can help you boost your own chances of getting that big break!  My guest for this episode of The Business of Thinking Big has not only carved out a place for themselves in their chosen creative field, they're now creating work for other talented and aspiring creatives. Anthony Q. Farrell is a BAFTA-winning, Emmy-nominated writer, producer, occasional director, comedian, and actor, and the creator of CTV's delightful workplace comedy Shelved, which follows the lives of the employees and patrons of a fictional library in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood. Anthony's career has taken him to some wonderful places, including writing for (and appearing as an extra in) NBC's HUGELY popular sitcom The Office! During this conversation, Anthony shares the steps that he took along his path to creative success, his thoughts on the origin of creativity, his creative role models, and how he's juggled his multiple interests. As a bonus, he even reveals some behind-the-scenes TV trivia!In‌ ‌this‌ ‌episode,‌ ‌you'll discover:‌ ‌The hidden consequence of giving up your day job while honing your craft The links between trauma and the artistic process How to encourage your child to explore their creativity and follow their dreams Guest bio: Anthony Q. Farrell is an award-winning writer and producer. He is the creator of CTV's Shelved.Timestamps:‌ ‌00:33  Meet Anthony Q. Farrell02:56  Anthony's early path07:09  Where creativity comes from  09:36  Kids & creativity12:21  Vermont summer stock story15:14  Parental encouragement17:20  The creative paradox19:45  Starving artists, trauma & art26:12  Creative flow28:32  Balancing career & family36:31  Creative role models40:17  Tips & conclusionLinks mentioned:‌ ‌Anthony Q. Farrellhttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm1940444 Shelvedhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt21057886The Officehttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386676 The Groundlingshttps://groundlings.com —Learn with me: Mamapreneur Success Path - Free Audio Training  ‌Connect with me:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liannekimcoach  Instagram: @liannekimcoachJoin the Mamas & Co. community to get access to valuable resources and the support of likeminded mompreneurs and mentors: https://www.mamasandco.com Instagram: @mamasandcoPodcasting support:https://theultimatecreative.com https://copymagic.agency 

State Farm's Head of Marketing, Alyson Griffin, breaks down making the company's iconic jingle a bigger deal next year and diving more into retail media. Episode TranscriptPlease note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio. Damian Fowler: (00:01)I'm Damien Fowler. AndIlyse Liffreing: (00:02)I'm EIS Lfr. AndDamian Fowler: (00:03)Welcome to this edition of the current podcast.Ilyse Liffreing: (00:10)This week we're delighted to talk with Allison Griffin, the head of marketing for State Farm.Damian Fowler: (00:15)State Farm Insurance Group has been around for more than a hundred years, but thanks to its high profile marketing campaigns, it remains a household name in the us. Over the years, companies had many entertaining creative campaigns, and the latest of course features the affable character of Jake from State Farm, who was present at a certain NFL game that made headlines in 2023. AndIlyse Liffreing: (00:36)We'll get to that with more than 25 years of experience leading teams at top Tech brands. Allison became head of marketing for the Iconic brand in May, 2021. She has a motto which goes like this, always curious, always learning, always happy to share my insights.Alyson Griffin: (00:59)State Farm is a 100 year old brand. You know, we've gotta try to figure out how to remain relevant, not only to our current big tried and true customer base of all. I'm pointing at myself, I know we're on a podcast, the Gen Xers of the world and older, but also that next generation. And one of the ways we do that is through life stages. And of course, every marketer knows you have to be relevant to the target that you're going after. Look, people don't think about insurance at all, ever. Maybe , if I could say, with a big smile on my face. So we've gotta think about, you know, your first apartment or your first car, or having a baby or buying a home, or those life stages matter because they matter to the person that they're happening to. They're big events. And for us, dissecting who the target is, what stage they're in, and how, you know, what do they care about? That has started to shape our media strategy. It started to shape how we think about capturing current demand, generating future demand, and retention and loyalty for our customer base.Ilyse Liffreing: (02:05)Now there's a lot of strategy, obviously behind your marketing campaigns. For instance, when you're selling auto or life insurance, there's a product for sale. But the genius of your campaigns is that you don't really talk about the product like it's there. Obviously you're selling it, but it's not, you know, in your face. This is auto life insurance. Um, what is the concept you are marketing exactly, would you say? And how does that vary, I guess, based on the demographic?Alyson Griffin: (02:33)Yeah, so it's different than, you know, if you hold up your phone or something, it's different than a product that somebody needs to understand how much it costs. How long is the battery life? I'm sort of making this up, this is different. The, the insurance, what we're selling is in part the policy, but it's also in part a relationship with the agent. We have almost 20,000 agents across the United States who are independent contractors, you know, not State Farm employees, and they're running small businesses and trying to be meaningful and are meaningful in the communities where they live and work and offer basically advice services, et cetera. So for us, from a national campaign perspective, we've gotta make sure the brand is strong and branding is not product advertising. We need to make sure that our assets are known and appreciated. And asset is Jake from State Farm that you already mentioned, but also our jingle or even just the words like a good neighbor State Farm is there. And so we dial up and dial down each of those assets in real life or in the virtual world, depending on the life stage. The person that we're targeting, do they know us or not? Are we trying to bind a policy today or not? And that's, you know, the mix with which we're trying to buy media and showing up in places where these current and potential customers are. It'sDamian Fowler: (03:54)Interesting to hear you talk about big national campaigns and that that awareness that you drive and done it so successfully over the years. And, and the latest iteration of course is is Jake from State Farm, that character, what, why has he proved such a strong character in campaigns?Alyson Griffin: (04:09)He started out over 10 years ago as Jake, a real State Farm employee, and it was back when we were putting agents and employees in our ads. And you may recall the original campaign where it's a middle of the night phone call and the husband is talking on the phone, the wife comes downstairs, who are you talking to? And it's Jake from State Farm. And the question is, what are you wearing? And he says, uh, khakis, . So we got a lot of play out of that for many, many, many years. But that was of real employees, not an actor, doesn't, he has a job and a family and a life and isn't a trained actor. So fast forward to about 2019, um, maybe 2018, the company was looking to say, Hey, we have some equity in the, in the asset or the one word, I'll call it Jake from State Farm, all one word.Alyson Griffin: (04:56)And you know, how do we dial that up and make that asset work harder and be more meaningful for, for us, because we thought it could be the personification of what it means to be a good neighbor. And we're very fortunate, he is thought of as a real person, and he's not a cartoon or a caricature. He's really Jake from State Farm, he's a guy, he's doing good neighbor stuff, he's got a TikTok account just like regular influencer or regular person would. And for us, making him bring to life the values of what it means to help more people in more ways and to be that good neighbor in the country, uh, really mattered to us. And so we put a lot of effort into making that a cultural icon. Yeah,Damian Fowler: (05:43)I mean he really has cut through and he's a very competitive world i, I gather so, and State Farm is very much present in the culture and um, one of the ways that you've done this so successfully is leaning into major sporting personalities, um, over the last several years, uh, including a campaign featuring,Alyson Griffin: (06:03)Uh,Damian Fowler: (06:03)Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey for instance.Alyson Griffin: (06:06)What'sDamian Fowler: (06:07)The playbook there when you, when it comes to partnering with sports stars?Alyson Griffin: (06:11)We've been in sports for a very long time and it's important to us because it's tied to real passion. It's one of the last bastions of eyeballs all watching the same event at the same time. Right? Live television doesn't much exist anymore. If you're watching a Netflix episode and I'm watching one, we might not be at the same spot at the same time, for example. But live sports, you get people who are engaged across generations and, and a lot of viewership also don't forget from an advertising perspective, there's also highlights the replays, et cetera. So for us, sports has been long something we've leaned into and the advertising we realized performs better when, if you're not an endemic brand to sports, and we are not. And so for us, aligning our brand with brand ambassadors who match our values and are at the top of their game, showed us that we could cut through. So we have football, you know, Patrick Mahomes, you mentioned Travis Kelsey, he was with us this current football season. Um, and Coach Reed, you know, in football spots and Chris Paul and other NBA players in basketball spots. We have women for women's sports, et cetera. So the idea is if we match the passion and a relevant player and create a spot that leans into endemically where the ad is showing, it just performs much better.Damian Fowler: (07:31)Hmm, that's interesting.Ilyse Liffreing: (07:33)Now, speaking of sport and Travis Kelsey, let's talk about that viral moment that was created when Jake from State Farm was spotted chatting with who else? The Donna, Kelsey,Alyson Griffin: (07:43)TravisIlyse Liffreing: (07:44)Kelsey's mom, of course in the NFL Suite.Alyson Griffin: (07:47)WhatIlyse Liffreing: (07:47)Kind of reaction did you get from this, like viral moments and seeing all the elements come together? Can you walk us through how you kind of seized the moment?Alyson Griffin: (07:55)Yeah, that was really interesting. So the week before, we know that Travis Kelsey had a special guest in the box with his mom, and that was Taylor Swift. So I like to say we acted swiftly, . And within a week, um, we were able to place Jake from State Farm at Jason Kelsey's game, the Eagles. And we didn't want, you know, Jason, Kelsey's mom not to have a superstar celebrity sit with her. Uh, I say with a big smile on my face, . And it was great. We, we did have to act really fast. We that came together in less than 48 hours and, and for us capturing a cultural moment, and again, we have this asset that looks like and acts like and feels like a real human being. Jake from State Farm, so he could show up in the stands sitting with Mama Ma Otto, I'll call her as a nod to Travis Kelsey playing Mahomes and Mato in our current ads. Um, but with Donna Kelsey and, and him sitting there, you know, he sits, uh, courtside at NBA Allstar games, he shows up at Bravo con Twitch Con, right? Like, so Jake shows up in the world. And, and so the magic of saying we could really capitalize on this quickly and the fact that all the stars aligned and it came together was really, really fun for us.Ilyse Liffreing: (09:12)What does like a viral moment like that though mean for your brand? Because I know you talked about being like culturally resonant brand in insuranceAlyson Griffin: (09:21)AndIlyse Liffreing: (09:21)This would seem like a perfect example ofAlyson Griffin: (09:24)DoingIlyse Liffreing: (09:24)Just thatAlyson Griffin: (09:25)For us. Um, being culturally relevant matters. And it's not that any brand tries to be if you try too hard and for us, it's not that we're trying too hard, it's Hey, Jake would be there and we thought that we would be true to who we are. He shows up in those kinds of, um, situations regularly. And so let's just try it. And it wasn't because we were trying to be culturally iconic, it was because it just fit.Damian Fowler: (09:55)I mean, I wonder how do you measure something like that? I know it is a viral moment and it goes big, but do you see kind of the results of that?Alyson Griffin: (10:02)Yes. You can't pick a viral moment, right? It goes viral because it goes viral. And, and so then all of the, you know, there's the regular stuff you would think the reach, the syndication, the press, the chatter on, you know, X and other social media platforms of course were part of it. Engagement hashtags. That was all obvious. But what we were super excited about is a company EDO does measurement around search volume and correlating the exact second that Jake from State Farm was on camera to search volume was astonishing. Astonishing. And the results of all six of those spots increased in awareness by 15 times because of the viral moment. So it was like something that you wouldn't know, that you can't test and you don't get the opportunity to learn from very often, right? 'cause those don't happen very often. But we saw meaningful increase and value from a very innocent, just let's put Jake from State Farm next to Donna Kelsey.Damian Fowler: (11:12)I know you are exploring other channels as well to reach, you mentioned Gen X and Gen Z, the Gen Z audience, which is obviouslyAlyson Griffin: (11:19)GonnaDamian Fowler: (11:20)Be looking for insurance too. Um, in particular your gamer hood challenge, which launched last year, and I'm interested to talk about gaming and eSports and why is that an important part of your playbook?Alyson Griffin: (11:31)I'm fairly new to State Farm. I've been at State Farm for two and a half years, but I spent almost 30 years in the tech industry. And I say that to say gaming. I was at Hewlett-Packard and Intel for most of my career, and they're endemic to gaming. And so I had a lot of experience in the gaming world when I stepped in the door at State Farm, the insurance category other than maybe a logo sponsorship on a gamer or a game that's pretty much all the insurance industry was doing. And I was like, look, if we can, because the audience mattered these gamers, not eSports teams, but a casual fun gamers, much bigger universe. And we thought if we could tap in for generating future demand, again, these are not people who are buying policies today, but to get and show up at the place they already are with, um, an interest that they already have.Alyson Griffin: (12:23)It's very similar to the playbook of sports, but this is a different kind of audience and showing up for them in gaming. And so we created our own intellectual property around a gaming competition. It's run two years in a row now in the month of June for five episode, five weekly episodes and have gamers competing. And we've got Jake from State Farm in there, our assets and we loosely tie insurable moments. So think the gamers have to cope with distractions and still try to win. And some of the distractions are pipes in the house will burst or um, some of them went on a little road trip and they got a flat tire, right? So just loose and fun. We're not selling anything, we're not trying to shove anything down the throats, but to watch these, I'll call them insurable moments, hinder the forward progress of a gamer in a fun, interesting way. And the gamers had a lot of fun with, it was a really cool experience, uh, for us. And it's done quite well. That'sDamian Fowler: (13:21)Interesting. It goes back to your sort of ways of reaching customers at these different life stages and you're very nuanced about it and, and kind of smart the way you, you're doing it.Alyson Griffin: (13:31)Well, exactly where they are on Twitch and YouTube, right? Mm-Hmm. from a gaming perspective. So be where they are, don't make them come to me. Mm-Hmm. , they're not gonna go seeking out an insurance brand. I better go be there. Mm-Hmm. with something fun, interesting and different. And that's what we attempted to do.Damian Fowler: (13:45)I also noticed that you had created some Pinterest pins aimed at educating viewers around why they should get life insurance.Alyson Griffin: (13:53)CanDamian Fowler: (13:53)You talk a little bit about that campaign as well?Alyson Griffin: (13:55)Yeah. That's another life stage, right? So these media partners of ours are great because we wanna lean in and be, I'm gonna call it, I've never used this before, but endemic to the partner, right? Mm-Hmm. . So a Pinterest board. Mm-Hmm. . And if you can notice what somebody is doing, whether they're redecorating a room, like looks like, oh, this person might be remodeling their bathroom, or oh, this person might be having a baby, or oh, this person might be buying a new house or cars or whatever. Pinterest is such a great, uh, media outlet for passion points. And we thought, well, these are life moments. And as we talked about at the top of the podcast, these life moments, um, are a way in for us to meet a person where they are and not just say, get a quote for auto insurance, but to go offer them up something that's contextually relevant to what they're doing. And because Pinterest is what Pinterest is, we're able to do that in a meaningful way. Now when itIlyse Liffreing: (14:51)Comes to more like big TV buys and like maybe CTV buys, do you think like holistically about campaigns and connect those big TV buys with like more performance driven plays? Oh,Alyson Griffin: (15:05)A hundred percent. So State Farm, you know, is a prolific advertiser, right? Our category demands that. And television was the way, let's say, I don't even know, it's probably wasn't that long ago if I really stopped to think about it. The world's moving so fast.Ilyse Liffreing: (15:18)It is, it is.Alyson Griffin: (15:20)Goes quickly, but we know that digital matters and so do the, the media partners. They know that, um, digital and the even live shows that get streamed for the week after, they know that they can target that there's a lot of value that they can sell to advertisers for that long tail of their own, even a live experience. So we know that we need to do both. We still are big advertisers in live tv, mostly sports, but also working with the media partners who are putting really great content online and targeting. And that data matters so much and we're working more and more and more with partners to figure out how do we catch the right person at the right time with the right message, um, that's contextually relevant and that helps us be relevant to the person at the time that they need it.Damian Fowler: (16:13)Retail data is really come into its own, should we say, and especially for non-endemic brands, again, inside that ecosystem. How has that made a difference? Um, you know, in the last two years,Alyson Griffin: (16:24)A lot, it's funny, and I can say this out loud because Home Depot themselves said it, we're the first non-endemic partner of Home Depot, and we're partnering with them not only for their stores and the environment, they have a lot of small businesses as their customers, as well as home ownership, right? Mm-Hmm. and Car Repair and Home and Auto, yeah. Um, and so we are partnering with the Home Depot who knows very deeply about who their customers are and what matters from a data sharing perspective. And, uh, we think there's nowhere to go but up on that. Of course, we do it with media partners, of course. Uh, Disney being a very big one, right? Just because of all of their properties. It, it's on both levels is my point. So a big media partner that knows their audience, but someone like Home Depot or Walmart, those are really important to us so that we can continue to offer the best message to these customers and around things like small business or home improvement or auto care that matters to us. We sell those products.Ilyse Liffreing: (17:25)How are you thinking about 2024? Do you think you can actually like build upon this year's viral moments,Alyson Griffin: (17:32)? Yeah, I mean, we hope so, right? So Jake from State Farm isn't going anywhere, but we are going to dial up, you'll start seeing, um, more around our jingle. So I'm not saying our jingle is not known like a good neighbor. State Farm is there. I won't sing it here,Ilyse Liffreing: (17:46), although I'llAlyson Griffin: (17:47)Tell you, I'll give you a little fun fact That Jingle was written in 1971 by none other than Barry Manalow.Ilyse Liffreing: (17:53)No, really?Damian Fowler: (17:54)Yes. Does Barry get royalties?Alyson Griffin: (17:55)I don't know. , , probably , but we, you know, it's known and there's a lot of TikTok. You can go out and look at our, look at that jingle and see a lot of people playing with the content. We wanna kind of kick that into high gear again and, um, not only talk about Jake from State Farm, but have some fun playing with our jingles. So the notion of being a good neighbor and being there for people is one part of it. But the actual notes, the song of it is another.Damian Fowler: (18:25)And that's it for the current podcast. We'll be back next week with our guest, Jonathan Stringfield, the VP of Global Research and Marketing at Activision BlizzardJonathan Stringfield:Gaming is increasingly going to be a hobby that is divorced from gaming devices virtually anywhere that there is a screen that's smart, there's probably gonna be an opportunity to play a game. Ilyse Liffreing: (19:02)And if you love this podcast, be sure to subscribe and leave a review While you're at it. Check out our other show, the current report, our weekly roundup of what's happening in the world of digital media. The current podcast is produced by Wonder Media Network. Our theme is by Loving Caliber. The current team includes Chris Brooklier and Kat Vesce.Damian Fowler: (19:31)And remember,Ilyse Liffreing: (18:30)The current podcast is produced by Wondered Network. Our theme is by love and caliber. The current team includes Chris Ley and Cat Feste.Damian Fowler: (18:38)And remember,Alyson Griffin: (18:39)We've gotta make sure the brand is strong and branding is not product advertising. We need to make sure that our assets are known and appreciated.Damian Fowler: (18:49)I'm DamienIlyse Liffreing: (18:50)And I'm Elise.Damian Fowler: (18:51)And that's it for season seven of the current podcast. We'll be back soon for a new season with more great conversations with the world's leading marketers. And if you like what you hear, subscribe, and please leave as a review. Also tune into our other podcast, the current report as we round up the week's biggest marketing headlines from across the open internet. We'll see you soon.

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Podcasting's Multiplatform Imperative by Steven GoldsteinInnovid study examines impact of measurement and optimization gaps across CTV campaigns by Antoinette SiuGoogle's Search Partner network comes under fire in research underlining brand safety vulnerabilities by Ronan ShieldsWhy Chili's brought back its baby back ribs jingle by Alyssa Meyers…as for the rest of the news: MediaPost reports the ad market has grown for its fourth consecutive quarter, the 2023 edition of Spotify Wrapped is here, Signal Hill Insights' Jeff Vidler discusses what makes podcasts a unique ad medium, and we've got a bushel of Apple charts: Podnews has aggregated the top Apple Podcasts show around the world, and Adam Bowie breaks down the U.S. top Apple chart to compare it to similar rankings from other sources.

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Podcasting's Multiplatform Imperative by Steven GoldsteinInnovid study examines impact of measurement and optimization gaps across CTV campaigns by Antoinette SiuGoogle's Search Partner network comes under fire in research underlining brand safety vulnerabilities by Ronan ShieldsWhy Chili's brought back its baby back ribs jingle by Alyssa Meyers…as for the rest of the news: MediaPost reports the ad market has grown for its fourth consecutive quarter, the 2023 edition of Spotify Wrapped is here, Signal Hill Insights' Jeff Vidler discusses what makes podcasts a unique ad medium, and we've got a bushel of Apple charts: Podnews has aggregated the top Apple Podcasts show around the world, and Adam Bowie breaks down the U.S. top Apple chart to compare it to similar rankings from other sources.

In this episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast, I speak with Peter Hamilton, the Senior Director of Ad Innovation at Roku, about the digital advertising opportunity on CTV. Among other topics, Peter and I discuss: The high-level promise of CTV for advertisers Creative strategy for CTV The availability and efficacy of targeting on CTV The verticals that tend to experience the most success with CTV And the most common ways in which CTV inventory is purchased. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts About Peter: Peter Hamilton is the Senior Director of Ad Innovation at Roku, where he leads consumer-facing ad experiences across Roku's OS, The Roku Channel, Mobile, Commerce, and Interactive. Prior to Roku, Peter was the CEO of TUNE, an early mobile advertising attribution company, which exited its mobile measurement business to Constellation Software in 2020.

Next in Media spoke with Ryan Detert, CEO of Influential, one of the top firms helping brands sort through the world of influencers and social platforms. Detert talked about the state of TikTok, and what many marketers miss regarding its power over younger audiences. Detert also talked about whether he sees potential in social shopping in the US, and which influencers are on the rise. Guest: Ryan DetertHost:Mike ShieldsIn Partnership with: Comcast AdvertisingProduced by: Fresh Take

Next in Media spoke with Freewheel's GM Mark McKee about the problem with repetitive, messy ad delivery on FAST channels, and why the TV industry has to clean up its supply chains asap. McKee also talked about whether we're seeing too much CTV ad inventory too soon, and whether this market will be fully programmatic next year. Guest: Mark McKeeHost: Mike ShieldsIn Partnership with: Comcast AdvertisingProduced by: Fresh Take

Graham and Matt are joined by CTV's Matt Skube to get his takes on the Sens, NFL and Santa Claus Parade, then they continue the Sens conversation and sprinkle in some Grey Cup talk.

Graham and Matt are joined by CTV's Matt Skube to get his takes on the Sens, NFL and Santa Claus Parade, then they continue the Sens conversation and sprinkle in some Grey Cup talk.

It's been months of headlines touting tanking polling numbers for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and climbing support for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. But what does a long-term look at party standings show? And, is it too late for the trend lines to turn around?  In the latest episode of CTV's Trend Line, Nanos Research founder Nik Nanos and host Michael Stittle dig in to the "Nanos Party Power Index Tracking for Canada." It offers a composite picture of various public opinion metrics, from the national ballot, to which party Canadians would consider voting for, as well as the top choices for prime minister and each party's leadership qualities.  Michael and Nik also discuss Canadian's growing concerns over their personal finances, and a troubling rise in hate crimes in Canada. CREDITS: Host: Michael Stittle Guest: Nik Nanos Producers: Phil Hahn and Patrick Rail Edited by Patrick Rail

Today on The Marilyn Denis and Jamar show on CHUM 104.5, we asked you what's the biggest secret you've kept or blown?  CTV's Science and Technology expert Dan Riskin joins us to talk about smart glasses, AirTags, and bats.  Azalea Hart is here to tell us what's happening this weekend in the city and GTA with Out and About.  Plus, it's Princess Margaret Home Lottery Day, we kick-off the CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish, and What's Trending with Caitlin Green.

Chris Bruderle is the Vice President of Industry Insights and Content Strategy at the Internal Advertising Bureau (IAB), which empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. As a web analytics, market research, advertising, and content expert, he has over 10 years of experience mining data and collecting insights for various web publishers.  In this episode… Retail media and CTV are the key drivers of growth in the digital advertising ecosystem. However, with consumer privacy regulations hindering targeting efforts, brands must maintain compliance while gathering insights. What should you know about the evolving digital media space, and how can you profit from it? Digital media researcher Chris Bruderle recommends partnering with retail media networks to obtain consumer insights in a privacy-compliant manner. Once you've gathered data from your target demographic, upload the information to a data clean room to remove sensitive material. Retailers can also integrate their first-party data and offer feedback and results-driven metrics. Leveraging CTV advertising is essential for profitability in the digital landscape, so Chris advises developing and adapting shoppable videos, QSR codes, and sponsored ads on streaming networks to encourage action from consumers.  In today's episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes Chris Bruderle, IAB's Vice President of Industry Insights and Content Strategy, for a discussion about the exponential growth of retail media and CTV. Chris addresses the integration of CTV and retail and social media, his predictions for live digital shopping, and how to maximize retail media spend.

Coraz głośniej mówi się o tym, że w Polsce, podobnie jak na innych zagranicznych rynkach, wzrośnie znaczenie Connected TV jako kanału reklamowego. Connected TV to nowe spojrzenie na konsumpcję treści wideo. Terminem tym określa się inteligentny telewizor, który do transmisji treści wideo używa internetu. Connected TV to również atrakcyjne możliwości dla reklamodawców. Mamy możliwość wyświetlania swoich reklam na dużym ekranie, możemy je precyzyjnie targetować, i co najważniejsze, wyświetlać w otoczeniu treści o wysokiej jakości. W jaki sposób wykorzystać Connected TV w strategii marki? O efektywności Connected TV, w rozmowie z Kubą i Martą, opowiada Marcin Wiatr, Senior Marketing Manager w FlixBus.Marcin Wiatr to marketingowy empiryk i pragmatyk – we Flixbus testuje na różnych rynkach szeroki zakres rozwiązań wideo, a m.in. sprzedażą biletów mierzy ich krótko i długoterminową skuteczność. Nie tylko na niej skupia się w ocenie efektywności mediów - ale o tym opowiedział już więcej na VideoWars by ScreenLovers. VideoWars by ScreenLovers to cykliczna impreza dla fachowców z rynku wideo i reklamy. W tym roku już po raz szósty spotkali się eksperci, którzy współtworzą rynek telewizji, wideo i reklamy, a agencja GoldenSubmarine oraz podcast #MamyNaToSlajd były dumnymi patronami medialnymi wydarzenia Golden, Submarine, agencja, ,podcast, video, Wars, screenlovers, konferencja, Jakub, Kwaczyński, Marta, Ulman, Strategia, Strategy, Marketing, digital, screening, Wideo, trendy, Marketingowe, streaming, FAST, VOD, insights, reality, shows, MIPCOM, YouTube, Plum, Research, Warner, Bros, TVN, Flixbus, player.pl, gemius, conncected TV, CTV, Netflix, Disney, plus, HBO, Max,

Can branded entertainment be "bingeable?" If it's engaging and the characters are relatable! What if no one watches? They will if that branded content is made -- then promoted -- by Leap Media. That's what I learned from speaking with Chris Pizzurro, Co-Founder and Principal of Leap Media Group, and Michele Fino, Head of Branded Entertainment at Crackle. Here's how they do it: Chris Pizzurro has had an award-winning career in media, including a dozen years at Turner Broadcasting where he was involved in an early-stage form of branded entertainment. (And, he shared some great stories about working with Ted Turner at TBS!) "We were actually doing branded entertainment in the 2000s with TBS's Dinner and a Movie."  -- Chris Pizzurro For the next dozen years, he was SVP at ad tech services company, Canoe Ventures, which really advanced digital ad insertion, scoring an Emmy® Award and inclusion on five patents while there. From that background, Chris realized that "Clients are willing to pay extra to have their brand associated with entertainment, whether it's in a movie or adjacent to one." He's applying that insight now at Leap Media Group, delivering a brand of their own: the "LFBE" - Long-Form Branded Engagement. Chris describes these "as a subset of branded entertainment and shoppable TV". "In long-form brand engagement, it's about involving brands from the outset, creating narratives around them, and incorporating calls to action for tangible ROI." -- Chris Pizzurro In addition to making branded entertainment that is good quality content, Leap's point of differentiation is putting equal focus on the distribution and promotion of that content to drive awareness, viewership and ROAS -- Return on Ad Spend -- from tune-in ads on Crackle to host-reads in Peter Greenberg's radio and podcast show, Eye on Travel.  After all, even if a show is well-made, if no one sees it -- like “a tree falling in the woods making no sound” -- it doesn't matter how good it is. So, as he has written, "We just don't buy ad inventory on FAST Channels and make shows that are on FAST Channels, we're ON shows that are on FAST Channels." Leap's shows, created in conjunction with major brands and production companies, include "The Next Turn" from Expedia, "Bigger Bolder Baking" with chef Gemma Stafford, VRBO-sponsored “Cabin Culture” and more.    Chris is joined in the second half of this fun and informative 40-minute episode by Crackle's, Michele Fino, who brings her own wealth of experience in creating and promoting quality content – from her time helming branded entertainment at a global production company (hint: she can drop the Ryan Seacrest name!), content strategy at a national retailer and marketing at various highly regarded non-profits. She's crystal clear that: branded entertainment, it's not just about the content; it's about creating an experience that extends beyond the show." "Entertainment is the top of the marketing funnel. It's about creating experiences that live beyond the show, extending the brand's presence organically." -- Michele Fino Michele explained all the industry acronyms like AVOD, TVOD, CTV, and FAST. She talked about the value of long-form branded content and Crackle's role in distributing and promoting shows. But she absolutely emphasized the importance of creating entertaining content that also provides brand messaging. Together, they discussed strategies for ensuring branded entertainment and ads work together, helping brands defray production costs and boost value. She cited the example of featuring DoorDash as a hero brand into their original program, Going From Broke. As always, my guests shared excellent points about personal and brand purpose: Per Michele -- apropos Crackle now being part of the socially conscious company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, companies can easily just incorporate social messaging subtly into a production in a "purple" kind of way.

On today's show, award-winning investigative journalist and author Diane Dimond discusses her most recent book which exposes the abusive and often criminal element within the nation's guardianship/conservatorship system. The culmination of her more than seven years of investigation, “We're Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong,” is a stark look at a system that was designed to protect the nation's at-risk population but, sadly, has morphed into a predatory playground for greedy bad actors. GUEST OVERVIEW: Diane Dimond has enjoyed an award-winning career in radio, television and print. Her expertise is in the crime and justice genre, and she is the author of four books: BE CAREFUL WHO YOU LOVE: INSIDE THE MICHAEL JACKSON CASE (2005), CIRQUE DU SALAHI (2010), THINKING OUTSIDE THE CRIME AND JUSTICE BOX (2016) and WE'RE HERE TO HELP: WHEN GUARDIANSHIP GOES WRONG (2023). Dimond began her journalism career in her hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a radio newscaster and crime reporter for KOB Radio (now KKOB) she exposed corruption within the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department, put a sheriff in jail and won acclaim from the American Bar Association when the association presented her with their coveted Silver Gavel Award for Outstanding Public Service reporting. As a news anchor on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, a Capitol Hill correspondent for the RKO Radio Networks, a correspondent for WCBS-TV in New York and the Senior Investigative correspondent for the syndicated program Hard Copy Dimond built a reputation as a dogged investigative journalist. Her strength is in translating complicated stories and presenting them in conversational and understandable nuggets – be it on television, radio or in print. She also worked for CNBC as co-anchor of UpFront Tonight a nightly news program with Geraldo Rivera; at MSNBC as a political correspondent and anchor; at Fox News as a freelance weekend anchor following the September 11th attacks; and at Court TV Dimond was an anchor of daytime court coverage and Chief Correspondent of the CTV investigative Unit. In 2008, Dimond began writing a weekly syndicated crime and justice column. Distributed by Creators Syndicate and distributed to newspapers nationwide. She prides herself on writing about wide-ranging crime and justice topics designed to raise public awareness and promote outside-the-box thinking. As a long-time contributor for TheDailyBeast.com Dimond covered multiple stories, including several high profile criminal trials. Among them: The Casey Anthony murder trial, the political corruption trial of former Senator John Edwards and the child molestation case against former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. She has also contributed to Newsweek, RealClear Investigations, the Albuquerque Journal and other print publications. Dimond is one of the few journalists who can claim proficiency as a crossover media personality – proficient in radio, television and print. https://dianedimond.com/    

Eight years ago, Justin Trudeau and 30 ecstatic Liberal MPs walked up to Rideau Hall, ready to be sworn in as Canada's next government. But after three elections, the Liberal glow has faded – drastically – as more and more Liberals suggest it's time for the prime minister to step down. This week on “It's Political,” Abacus Data CEO David Coletto, P.E.I. Sen. Percy Downe and Toronto Star reporter Alex Ballingall join me to discuss whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should step down, and what the Liberals could do to address the public's growing fatigue with their leader.  But first, if Trudeau were to step down, what would he be remembered for? We ask several close observers for their thoughts on the prime minister's legacy. Some of their answers may surprise.  2:20 Mini documentary on Justin Trudeau's legacy 31:55 Panel discussion on Justin Trudeau's future as Liberal leader Some of the clips this week were sourced from CBC, CPAC, Global, CTV, and The Guardian. This episode of “It's Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Michal Stein. Kevin Sexton mixed the program. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel. In this episode: Abacus Data CEO David Coletto, Prince Edward Island Sen. Percy Downe, Toronto Star reporter Alex Ballingall, University of Calgary political science professor Lisa Young, UBC economics professor Kevin Milligan, Acadia University politics professor Alex Marland, Queen's University adjunct professor Eugene Lang, the executive director of First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada and McGill University School of Social Work professor Cindy Blackstock, Canadian Climate Institute executive vice-president Dale Beugin, and York University public administration professor Thomas Klassen. Hosted by Althia Raj.

DSPs and SSPs are being graded by TAG TrustNet on whether they comply with a key transparency initiative: sharing log-file data. Find out who's passing and who's failing. Then, we count the ways CTV suppliers are embracing programmatic buying.

Zillow's Beverly Jackson on simplifying the housebuying process through its marketing, and why working at the company has special importance for her as a Black woman. Episode TranscriptPlease note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio.Damian: (00:01)I'm Damian Fowler.Ilyse: (00:02)And I'm Ilyse Liffreing.Damian: (00:04)And welcome to this edition of the current podcast.Ilyse: (00:10)This week we sit down with Beverly Jackson, the VP of Brand and Product Marketing at Real Estate Company Zillow withDamian: (00:17)Over 212 million average monthly users is the country's number one real estate app and a website. In fact, Zillow is becoming a housing super app designed to help people find the home of their dreams.Ilyse: (00:31)Beverly is an award-winning marketer with two decades of experience managing global campaign for companies, including the Recording Academy where she delivered record breaking social engagement for the 54th Grammy Awards, Yahoo, MGM Resorts International and at Twitter before it became X.Damian: (00:50)We started by asking her about this impressive career journeyBeverly: (00:58)As I still like to think that I am always sort of new and fresh faced to digital marketing 'cause I tend to be a digital first storyteller and a digital first brand person. I always think about two things. What is the brand looking to achieve and how are we thinking about growing? And then I think about how does that connect to culture? And so whether it was the Grammys or Yahoo or MG M resource as a hospitality brand or a sports betting band or something like Twitter, it's always about what is the connection to the customer? Is it digital first? How does it play in transforming or growing the brand or the business or its role or impact. Share a voice, share a wallet in the industry vertical. And then the connection to culture. I think it's very important how a brand connects to its customers through culture is such a powerful way to tell brand stories. That was important for all the work that I've done previous and it's certainly the way I think about my role here at Zillow.Ilyse: (01:58)Would you say that was basically the opportunity that Zillow kind of created for you that was so compelling on your end?Beverly: (02:06)The idea that Zillow helps consumers more and more consumers get home and that's what we're sort of working towards. There's not a, not a bigger brand moment in a consumer's life than sort of helping them to figure out what home means. 'cause it's such a personal experience and, and with Zillow sort of being the destination for the real estate industry, it's a beacon for all consumers. And it's sort of getting them from that idea of like idea dreaming about what home they want to actually getting into a home. So the brand is transforming, it's culturally relevant, it's significant to a specific population and to others it makes so much sense to me. So like when we think about like millennial, the millennial consumers, it was not an opportunity that I could easily ignore or walk away from.Damian: (02:52)Now Beverly, I wanna ask you, you know, buying a home has always kind of been a complex process. To what extent would you say that the tech has speeded things up or maybe simplified that whole process?Beverly: (03:02)The idea is that buying a house, especially your first house is gnarly. Like it's so intense, it's so intense, it's so many moving parts, it's so confusing. But then we have this large generation of sort of digital first consumers that expect consumer tech to be a utility. The tech has to be easy and it has to demystify the complicated process. It has to serve the customer's needs to their ultimate goal, but it has to meet them where they are. Zillow as a consumer tech company, as a financial tech company, as a real estate company is making it easier, which is why we're so well situated for this idea of a housing super app where a consumer, regardless of where they are in the process, can come into the Zillow ecosystem and find a way to answer the questions that they need and help guide themselves through the process. 'cause the goal is not just to help them search for a great home or to talk to real estate agents before they find the perfect agent for them, but you've gotta tour a lot of houses. The housing super app concept in addition to financing and figuring out what you can afford and then financing it and then closing the deal, signing all the papers and actually getting into your home. Zillow is ideally situated to do that.Damian: (04:22)Just to break that down a little bit further, you know there are other property search engines out there, but Zillow goes above and beyond that. What is the differentiating factor at Zillow? And you mentioned some of those just nowBeverly: (04:34)Customers are a north star without question. So the idea of customers being the driving force behind what we do and how we serve information back to them, meeting them where they are, offering them real tangible tools, techniques, information and solutions that meet their needs. And then also our partners having access to some of the best real estate agents in the business. The people who are the best of Zillow.Ilyse: (05:02)Now, how would you say like home buying reflects what's going on overall in society? I know right now for instance, interest rates are really high. It's, it's pretty expensive to buy a home. The data must, you know, really tell a story of what's going on overall in the US and around the world. How does Zillow tap into basically that culture too of like home buying?Beverly: (05:24)I think for me, this goes back to sort of the origins of Zillow. What Rich Barton our founder wanted to do was make sure that information was available to everyone. That there was transparency in how the listings were available, who could see them, how, how much a house was being sold for or how much a house was worth. Using transparency and information and access to information to empower consumers to help them better understand what we're doing and to help actually create a seamless, frictionless system for them to get home. I think that's the magic combination that is important to consumers. Whether interest rates are 2.2% or whether they're 8%, unfortunatelyIlyse: (06:12)Now with all that going on is now the right time to buy?Beverly: (06:17)I think now is the right time for the right consumers. We have so many economists and data scientists on staff and they're always looking to monitor the markets to understand what product offerings are right and get that information back out to our customers so that customers are empowered and they can decide for themselves. And then when you partner them with a great agent and you can help get them the best financing for their situations, it becomes more likely that more people will find it the right time for them.Damian: (06:52)I'm curious, you know, there must be some interesting insights into what people want, you know, weird homes, homes with bowling alleys, I think you've talked about. Could you talk a little bit about what the data tells you and why it's fundamental in a way to the way you market? Zillow,Beverly: (07:07)Our latest consumer housing trends report shows that half of the buyers are doing it for the very first time. They need lots of information. And so it's about creating product and information for them. But we also know that the median home buyer in the US are partnered or married. They have at least some college education and they're most likely to buy a home in the southern part of the United States. So making sure that we have the right information and the right tools for those consumers wildly important. But we also know that half of those people have kids under the age, age of 18 and most of them are under the age of five, which means that they need room for those families. And so we have a sense of like the kinds of homes that are going to come up in their search and creating personalized options and search options for them is important. There are no homes with bowling alleys in New York currently on the site that I'm aware of, you know, , but, but I think that there are some bowling alley homes out there.Damian: (08:10)You mentioned your brand campaign. Could you talk about the concept behind the latest one?Beverly: (08:16)It was really a lot of fun for the team at Zillow to lean into this idea that Zillow is a verb and that people are always Zillow and they're on the spot. I mean people spend, I think it's close to like 40 minutes on the app and on the website dreaming and being aspirational. And so the idea was how could we in a fun way, in a disruptive manner, use culture and culturally significant moment to connect people to their dreams and help it become a reality. And so the campaign spends a lot of time of breaking through barriers and noise for consumers about, they're not alone. It's super complicated, it's a complex experience, but Zillow can actually help you do all of these things that you need. And what you can count on us for is finding a weird home with a bowling alley or a wall of uh, , a fish tank and a wall.Beverly: (09:14)But it's also that you're gonna need to figure out what you can afford. You're gonna need to get pre-qualified. You're gonna need to get approved. You need to be able to, on your schedule, find an opportunity to tour the home, um, without having to talk to 15 people when you wanna be able to do it, when you wanna be able to do it. And so bringing that all together and that was making this a digital first storytelling experience and that's how the campaign came to life. Like there's lots of big iconic, thoughtful moments about changing the way consumers think about the concept of Zillow, but also presenting them with a suite of end-to-end solutions. Breaking that up and making it accessible to them. And then I think the piece that I'm super excited about that I was most excited about, about the campaign is how we're showing up in culture in unexpected places. And whether it's the NBA finals or in a movie premiere or through partnerships or your favorite podcast, but it's going where our customers are and having a conversation with them in a way that's meaningful to them. But it breaks through and it sort of disrupts the expectations of who we are and what they want from us.Damian: (10:32)I wanted to ask you off the back of that, you know, about the channels that you're exploring. 'cause clearly, you know, the customers are everywhere from connected TV to social media, to retail media even. So how do you think about those channels as a marketer? And a second part of that is, you know, who are you reaching? Who is your target audience?Beverly: (10:52)This campaign was really targeted at first time home buyers, right? And for them we think about that as a very millennial centric audience. And so we know that millennials are multicultural. We know that they're rooted in purpose. We know that they're mobile, so we know lots of things about millennials. We want it to be in places where those consumers were, right. And so we thought about connected television, we thought about uh, podcasts, we thought about movie premieres, we thought about sports as culture drivers and music as culture drivers. The other thing that's important to this as a concept is not just being national, but being local. I think people were super surprised to see us show up in a big way in a lot of our important local markets. Because remember, home buying and the real estate market is a national concept, right? And technology makes it accessible to everyone, which is Rich's first sort of democratizing information and making it accessible to everyone.Beverly: (11:50)But buying a home is a neighborhood experience. It's a local experience. People move street to street, neighborhood to neighborhood from one dog park to one school district to another. And that's very much a local experience. And so having the content and the creative and the storytelling go from top of funnel awareness to transaction and conversion at the bottom of funnel, and then having it go from national to local to neighborhood where your agent who knows the most about your community can help get you home. That was a really unexpected part of the campaign, I think for most people to see Zillow show up.Damian: (12:30)I also wanted to ask you, as you look across the United States, is there a prime buying season for real estate? And the reason I ask that is because I was looking around the Tri-state area and people were saying, oh, all the houses come on the market in May because people wanna move out of the area once their kids graduate high school and suddenly there's a surge of houses on the market. I wanted to find out if this is anecdotal or whether this is a reality, you know, in other words, , is there a moment in the year when real estate kind of booms?Beverly: (13:02)I think it's not completely anecdotal. There are definitely buying seasons. Um, no one, I'm from Chicago originally. No one wants to move in December. I think. Um, it's the idea of, uh, being in a walkup and having to carry down, uh, a very heavy dresser or an awkward sofa seems, um, not ideal. And if you live in Phoenix, you probably don't wanna move when it's 120 degrees, but people move when it's appropriate for their lives. There is definitely a buying season. And that's why for us, this campaign work that we're doing was so important. That's why it's really important that this work be bold, that it stand out, that it interrupt, that it disrupt so that people see it and know that Zillow is there to help them. And so we've, we've taken every step that we can take to make the cyclical nature of home buying as easy as possible.Ilyse: (13:57)Now let's end by putting, uh, this spotlight back on you a little bit. Um, you put purpose at the center of everything you do. Um, how does this role basically align with your values?Beverly: (14:09)The idea and the very promise of Zillow as a brand to help get more and more consumers home resonated with me at a very deep and meaningful level. Like we do great work, we have access to great data. We're a leading iconic bespoke brand. But as a woman of color and for someone who knows the importance and the significance of home ownership as a way to create generational wealth, as a place to feel safe, as a place to build something significant and rewarding for your life, you want that to be free of discrimination. You wanna have access to the homes that best meet your needs. That's in the core of who Zillow is. It's in their DNA. And so for me it was so personally significant and in addition to that, it was really important for me to want to be a part of evolving this brand.Beverly: (15:04)And I couldn't be more honored and more humbled by the opportunity to lead this brand and to lean into our brand promise. I love the idea of using consumer tech to help make it easy for people. I'm excited about the role that evolving Tech will help. The idea of building a housing Super app and creating an end-to-end connected experience for consumers that need access to information, couldn't be more excited to be a part of that. Um, it is the honor of a lifetime, quite frankly, for somebody like me who lives in a purpose-based marketing environment.Damian: (15:43)And that's it for the current podcast. Stay tuned because next time we'll be speaking with Marissa Solis, the SVP of Global and Consumer Marketing for the NFL.Ilyse: (15:53)It's a really good lesson for marketers. Culture happens at the speed of light and you just have to be ready. You know, we like to say or think we create culture, but culture is organic and embedded. Culture just happens and we just happen to be ready at the moment. The current podcast is produced by Wonder Media Network. Our theme is by love and caliber. And the current team includes Chris Leyer and Catie. And remember,Beverly: (16:20)It's going where our customers are and having a conversation with them in a way that's meaningful to them. But it breaks through and it sort of disrupts the expectations of who we are and what they want from us.Damian: (16:35)I'm Damien andIlyse: (16:37)I'm my lease. AndDamian: (16:38)We'll see you soon.

In a preview of their session at this week's MM+M Media Summit, Jack O'Brien interviews Roku's Chris Schneider about how pharma brands can ride the ad-supported streaming wave. Lecia Bushak explains the FTC's recent crackdown on pharma companies over incorrectly listing patents in the FDA's “Orange book.” And TikTok's skincare craze tops our Trends segment, along with the reason for Brook Shields' recent seizure and a newly launched cancer research fund named after Alex Trebek.Follow us: @MMMnewswww.mmm-online.com Music by  Sixième Son.

In this episode we discuss Canadian Heritage Moments, the BIG ASS news about our BIG ASS Canadian Podcasting nominations, the joys of fork-to-table eating,  the Sbux Christmas lineup, shopping at the nice grocery store like you're Charlot & The Chortlet Factory, whether Americans watch Degrassi as a joke, the Canadian trade embargo on cheer uniforms, the horror of the "talk in between smooches" trope, the inspo of the Drake rags to riches story, buying thongs at mall kiosks, is it the whale tale or the chef souffle hat, a Ma reboot but make it Craig and his stepdad, why the entire cast looks familiar as hell, how hats can be a joyous thing if you're not the one wearing it and SO MUCH MORE!!!

Graham and Matt are joined by CTV to talk about the news around Ottawa, REDBLACKS part ways with their OC Khari Jones, then they get into the Sens discussion after the loss last night, injuries mounting, and time to push the panic button or not.

Here's what you need to know from this week in the business of podcasting:Amazon launches interactive audio adsConsumer Shopping Habits Forecast 2019 NumbersMarketers to spend holiday budgets (mostly) in NovemberThe Implications of Spotify's Audiobook RevampQuick HitsSounds Profitable launches branded podcast directory in partnership with Lower Street by Reem Makari. As announced in Bryan Barletta's article on Wednesday, Sounds Profitable has partnered with branded podcast production company Lower Street to create Brands in Podcasts, a public directory for branded audio.Are my podcast downloads declining because of iOS 17? by Dan Misener. A breakdown of how to answer three important questions about the health of one's Apple Podcasts audience and how to track it as wider iOS17 adoption changes auto-download behaviors.The Jar Audio Podcast Landscape featuring Sounds Profitable Research. JAR Audio breaks down key findings from the Sounds Profitable study The Podcast Landscape, which took a look at how listener perceptions of podcasting. The JAR breakdown looks at the study from the perspective of a marketer working with branded podcasts. Digiday Programmatic Selling Strategies: Navigating identity, deals and making the most of CTV and video. Thursday, November 16th, Digiday Editor-in-Chief Jim Cooper will host a virtual forum with marketing experts to discuss programmatic campaign strategies for 2024. The forum is produced in partnership with U of Digital and registration is free.Startup Series: Introduction to Podcast Advertising by Ossa Collective. On Wednesday, November 8th at 2:00 p.m. CST OSSA will host a live virtual event kicking off their ten-part series demystifying the world of podcast advertising.

Here's what you need to know from this week in the business of podcasting:Amazon launches interactive audio adsConsumer Shopping Habits Forecast 2019 NumbersMarketers to spend holiday budgets (mostly) in NovemberThe Implications of Spotify's Audiobook RevampQuick HitsSounds Profitable launches branded podcast directory in partnership with Lower Street by Reem Makari. As announced in Bryan Barletta's article on Wednesday, Sounds Profitable has partnered with branded podcast production company Lower Street to create Brands in Podcasts, a public directory for branded audio.Are my podcast downloads declining because of iOS 17? by Dan Misener. A breakdown of how to answer three important questions about the health of one's Apple Podcasts audience and how to track it as wider iOS17 adoption changes auto-download behaviors.The Jar Audio Podcast Landscape featuring Sounds Profitable Research. JAR Audio breaks down key findings from the Sounds Profitable study The Podcast Landscape, which took a look at how listener perceptions of podcasting. The JAR breakdown looks at the study from the perspective of a marketer working with branded podcasts. Digiday Programmatic Selling Strategies: Navigating identity, deals and making the most of CTV and video. Thursday, November 16th, Digiday Editor-in-Chief Jim Cooper will host a virtual forum with marketing experts to discuss programmatic campaign strategies for 2024. The forum is produced in partnership with U of Digital and registration is free.Startup Series: Introduction to Podcast Advertising by Ossa Collective. On Wednesday, November 8th at 2:00 p.m. CST OSSA will host a live virtual event kicking off their ten-part series demystifying the world of podcast advertising.

Tamara Cherry, a former crime reporter for CTV television in Canada and also the Toronto Star, discusses her new book, "The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News. Visit the It's All Journalism website to find out how to subscribe to our podcast and weekly email newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sponsored by Nola Simon Advisory: Learn More From This Bonus Podcast Episode Sweta Regmi and I met on Twitter and have been trading media referrals and recommendations.  One day she posted a series of tweets and tagged 2 banks and several high profile journalists and media outlets: "Verbal communication ratings how you evaluate for accent, ESL, immigrants, international students, speech, language barrier, neurodiverse folks etc who is a auditing AI tool?" "Media needs to cover AI one way video interview. Who is auditing AI tools and biases in hiring? Does Canada has compliance or watchdog?" I was the only person to respond. "Yes, agree. AI in recruiting needs attention. Aside from the possible biases, how does it inform human decision making, how does it make candidates feel and what are the legal concerns?" So we decided to do a podcast about the topic.  Please feel free to share and tag your favourite journalists, AI experts, recruiting, DEI and HR leaders and government officials - Ministry of Labour, anyone?  Let's raise awareness for this discussion - more research is needed. Teachndo was officially launched after Sweta Regmi, Founder & CEO, developed Job Search Strategy for her when she was laid off from a leadership role. Sweta Regmi is a seasoned leader, with experience of more than 20 years in corporate mixed with non-profit employment services. Sweta moved up from an entry-level role at the bank to the hiring role with 9 promotions within 12 years. She teaches her lived and tested career strategy to career professionals through Teachndo. Sweta's insights have been featured in CBC News, Global National, CBC online, CTV, City News, MSN, Yahoo, National Post, Toronto Sun, Forbes, LinkedIn News, Canadian Business Canadian Immigrant Magazine and many more.   Sweta Regmi - CEO | Certified Career & Résumé Strategist | Interview & Personal Branding Coach & Career Advisor - Teachndo | LinkedIn Resume Services | Teachndo Career Consultancy | Ontario Looking for a job?  Sign up for Sweta's workshop on November 6. Free 5-Day Career Workshop (linkedin.com) FREE 5-DAY JOB SEARCH & CAREER WORKSHOP | Teachndo

Next in Media spoke to Rich Lehrfeld, SVP & GM Walmart Connect, about how the company built a multibillion dollar, highly profitable ad business in just a few short years. Lehrfeld also talked about the potential to connect Walmart data to TV advertising, and whether the slew of other retail media networks are in for the long haul. Guest: Rich LehrfeldHost: Mike ShieldsIn Partnership with: Comcast AdvertisingProduced by: Fresh Take

The 16:9 PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY SCREENFEED – DIGITAL SIGNAGE CONTENT Bars and restaurants have long been a targeted venue for digital OOH media start-ups, the attraction being scale, dwell time and lots of products and services that could be put in front of people sitting around having a drink or three. But there's been a lot of roadkill through the years, because selling in to these kinds of venues was time-consuming and hard, the cost of installs was substantial, and most of the operators didn't want to pay for anything. Much of that has changed, except for the evergreen fact that venue operators are highly attracted to free, with benefits. A couple of ambitious start-ups have emerged in recent years chasing the space, and arguably the most aggressive has been the LA firm Loop Media, which markets a service called Loop TV. The selling proposition is very straightforward and familiar - qualified venues get a free media player and free video and music content. What's different from the past is Loop's service is all built around streaming, and uses the connectivity and TVs already in a venue. So the capital cost to Loop is just an Android set-top box, and that gets put in a box or envelope and sent to the venue - which then plugs it in, connects to the Internet and uses an activation code to get things rolling. Minimal hardware costs and zero labor. The company is now north of 71,000 screens, with venues in all 50 US states. And it's now expanding beyond the U.S. I had a great chat with CEO and founder Jon Niermann, talking about the company, how ads are sold, what content resonates, and how he found his way from high-level executive jobs with Disney and Electronic Arts into connected TVs in places like bars, health clubs and small retail. Subscribe from wherever you pick up new podcasts. TRANSCRIPT John, thank you for joining me. Can you give me the rundown of what Loop TV is all about?  Jon Niermann: Sure Dave, you bet. We provide streaming TV for businesses. It's free, ad-supported or you could do a subscription if you like, but a majority of the businesses are free ad-supported. Think about what you do at home as a consumer using Roku or perhaps Firestick and then do streaming on that. The difference is you're watching TV series and movies primarily. In public venues, like we support, it's premium short-form content, Think of music videos. We're the largest provider of music videos, for example, across the nation. So very contextualized, customizable type of content.  What's the business model? Jon Niermann: So we provide it for free, it's ad-supported. Especially coming out of the pandemic, a lot of these public venues were looking for ways to cut costs. So what we've done is we've taken the cost of what you might have to provide for cable and satellite, for digital signage if you're doing menu boards for licensing if you're doing it correctly and we've taken that all away and put it into the loop player. If you don't mind showing ads, which a lot of public venues don't, because they're already doing that anyway, you could get this content for free.  Our model then, is the ads that we get for the content that we work with various ad supply partners, or if it's a subscription, then we have a set price per month if you don't want ads to change the vibe of your venue.  I'm guessing a hell of a lot of people are willing to have ads if they don't have to expend the operating expenses on the service.  Jon Niermann: You guessed right, it's over 90%. That's typically the way the model goes and people are more than happy to have that experience because like I said, you're out there anyway, you're partially distracted at a bar and restaurants or the doctor's office, or you're just captive. So they don't really mind it as much as they do at home ironically.  What's the footprint that you have right now?  Jon Niermann: We're in all 50 states. We're in Canada, we're testing in Australia, New Zealand, and soon in the UK. But we started in the US here in 2020, we rolled out and we've got all the major metro areas. So we've got anything as small as a corner pub all the way up to a university campus. Think of everything in between. It could be an airport, it could be a mall, It could be a gymnasium. You think of it as a public venue and that's what we cover.  And does it tend to tilt quite a bit to bars and pubs instead of fitness facilities?  Jon Niermann: The largest percentage of our business for sure are bars and restaurants. But gyms, I'd say are probably one of the top three, doctor's offices are great. For gyms, think of it this way, we provide music. So even if you're at a place where you watch sports and you have multiple screens, chances of having one of those screens on audio is pretty low. So venues will still play music. So why not have a screen showing music videos, you just play it overhead and it covers that aspect of the business. So really anything.  If you could think of changing your oil in a Jiffy Lube, for example, thinking of sick of the junk that they have on some of the TVs, you like sitting there in a bar and having Judge Judy scowl at you, Dave, it's no fun. You don't need that. You're out having a good time. You just don't need Wolf Blitzer, it just doesn't kill the vibe.  And do you hear that from your venue operators, they just want something that's just inoffensive? It's not Fox News. It's not CNN or MSNBC, and it's not Judge Judy or anything. It's just providing passive entertainment.  Jon Niermann: Exactly. It really enhances the environment, so I talked earlier about contextualizing. If you're at an Italian restaurant, and you want nothing but Italian music or Sinatra and drone footage of Italy all day, you could do that. So it really just adds to the atmosphere. And if you've got local news or something playing, a bunch of talking heads. It's not exactly that escapism moment that you're looking for when you're going out and enjoying that time away from reality.  You mentioned that it can cut out some of the costs of digital signage. Do you enable a venue operator to have some time to put in, such as Thursdays are happy hours, starting at three and running until seven or whatever? Jon Niermann: Absolutely, and it's super easy to just get on your laptop. It's very intuitive how to walk through it and throw your logo on the screen. So if you're Billy's bar and Grill. You got the old Billy's logo up at the corner and happy hour, as you said, every Tuesday and Wednesday night, on Saturdays we've got Billy and the Beaters here on Saturday. So everything that you used to do with digital signage, you could have crawlers underneath. You could have full screens. You could have a split screen. You're able to do that with your Loop system, all part of it for free.  That was going to be my question. It's not a fee-based one that's included in what you're doing if you get the media player for free in the whole bit.  Jon Niermann: Exactly. So we provide the media player for free. We try to make it as very low cost and low barrier as possible for people just to plug this Loop player up and get going.  The players are Android boxes, right? Jon Niermann: Yes. Correct.  So low cost. When you do a deployment, all you're really doing is sticking in a UPS envelope or whatever and sending it off to the site and you're done.  Jon Niermann: Yeah, that's it. And if you think about how, a lot of these bars and restaurants, especially worked in the past and still many of them today. You've got these giant AV racks full of computers and big expensive equipment that's bulky, and our players like it a little, it's about the size of a Roku player and Apple TV. You can Velcro it to the back of your screen. You can put it on a rack underneath. It's just something you're used to, and it's odd because this really never existed over the past few years until then because it's just the AV stuff, but everybody's used to using that at home. So it's quite easy for them to take that into their businesses and get it hooked up.  Yeah, if you buy an Apple TV box and plug it into the back of your TV, then it loads and you find the application. In this case, you'd find a Loop app, and then there's probably an activation code or something.  Jon Niermann: Yeah. We have for us, you have to have a specific Loop player. So we don't want to have other types of content or anything that may not be licensed. But yeah you load it, you sign in, you put in your code that you get from us, and you're good to go. And there's a bunch of channels, right? Jon Niermann: Yeah, we've got about a hundred music channels, so think of them as playlists. One of our popular ones, for example, is Beach Country. Who knew, right? Yeah, I don't know what that is, but okay.  Jon Niermann: So you get all these. We have Darcy Fulmer; she is fantastic, just in terms of customizing and putting all the playlists together for us and curating and really on the pulse, long-term time music industry executive, a great relationship with all the labels. So she really knows how to customize these things, and we weekly look at what are popular channels, we could adjust, we put in seasonal channels, we put in celebratory type channels. Obviously, with a bunch of Halloween ones now coming up, Christmas is always a popular time. So the venue has over a hundred of those to choose from, and then you've got about 50 non-music channels.  So if you want everything from Looney Tunes, believe it or not, it is a popular one for people to choose from because again, you are just looking at the visual type of stuff. But for failed videos, viral videos, we got the TikTok channel. So it's a great brand, World Surf League. So if you're at a surfing store, hunting, fishing, anything that, again, is contextual and customizes that environment, if you're in autos and cars and you want that type of playing all day, you can do that too.  So, I'm guessing you have a pretty big content edit team and also have to have folks who specialize in licensing rights and approvals, that sort of thing, right? Jon Niermann: It's funny. Our team is so small. The company itself has about 70 people. I think on the content side, we're between the studio, the creative team, and the curators; it's less than 10, believe it or not. So we're very lucky. I already mentioned Darcy, but we have Justis, who runs our content, and Luke and all the guys who have been with us for a long time who understand. What the customers need. We talk to the venues, we get ideas of what they want, and what's going to be popular, and then we strike deals with these companies. We do the editing, and the customizing and get it all ready to go.  So are you able to say to the surf channel or somebody like that, that here's the format, here's the run times that we would like and so on, and they will send that to you or do you pretty much have to take their stuff and then touch it? Jon Niermann: It's both, so you're right. There are some that could just do an RSS feed and just say, here you go, and we give them the specs, and that works. Others will just dump a bunch of stuff in a folder, and then our editing team goes at it. Are there obvious trends and things that you know that people will like and other ones that you've tried and thought, let's just see, and then you find out it resonates or it doesn't?  Jon Niermann: Yeah, it's funny you say trending-type things like what's popular now; people like to get those headlines. So, if you could picture a screen, it's full of visuals, it's full of subtitles and context because you have to be able to understand what you're looking at without lip reading.  And that's part of the reason we know that talking heads are sitting down, even like you're used to with say, ESPN or some of those shows, it doesn't necessarily work that well if you just got a bunch of people up there talking. So we've gotten that feedback. We understand that it's a very strong visual. It has to be short, like a two or three-minute type thing, and you have to have enough hours per day where it's not repetitive, and that's super important as well.  So, would a three-hour window or whatever run every day for a week or a month or something like that?  Jon Niermann: Yeah. Typically, for us, we'll do at least six hours. Some of these playlists are 20, believe it or not, and then not only that but if it repeats, it'll shuffle. So, the chances of actually seeing it really don't exist. So you can understand if you've got all those files in there and you're shuffling, you won't see the same order again. So it's not only the customers, it's clearly the employees that you don't want to get fatigued.  Do you call this a digital out-of-home, or is it like consumer TV or some sort of segment having to do with fast streaming, or what's the nomenclature for this? Jon Niermann: It's a fantastic question, and I laugh because it's what we're talking about all the time these days because it's trying to define it to the advertising community, especially. For us, it's simple. It's just TV. Just think about where you're watching your TV. If you're on your couch or if you're in a bar, you're watching the same TV, it's different content. This is premium television. This is not just all YouTube user-generated stuff. We've got branded partners.  So for us, we're very much connected to TV, CTV for out of home. So when we talk to the ad partners, they are like, look, you can take your CTV budget, and you can put this towards a Loop because it is premium TV. If you think lots of times when they're thinking out of home or digital out of home, they're thinking of billboards, they're thinking of that type of display, as you know very well. So we're developing and introducing that space of, it's just TV. It really is. It's CTV. So think of Loop that way. Yeah. It's interesting. I've been involved in this space for, God, almost 25 years now, and I can remember when I started a digital out-of-home media network in the early 2000s, going to media planners, and they're looking at me with their heads tilted and going, What the hell are you going on about? At that time, the people who were advising me or I was working with were saying somehow or other we have to tap into the TV bucket and call ourselves in some way TV because there's way more money in that bucket than there certainly was at that time in the out-of-home bucket. But that's changed a lot, but I would imagine that connected TV is still probably a bigger number to tap into than out-of-home. Jon Niermann: For sure. It's significantly higher still. I think both are growing to your point. Digital out of home, the budgets are certainly increasing. It's one of the fastest-growing components of the advertising mix, which is great, but CTV is also that way. People have shifted away from the traditional linear TV, Cable, et cetera. They moved into streaming. So, it's not unlike any evolution. It's something we often try to talk about as well. If you think back to 2007, when Netflix started and then Hulu came on and all these channels, you're like, who the hell are they? I'm used to buying NBC and Fox, and I just wrapped my head around the weather channel and ESPN, and now you're trying to introduce this streaming stuff. Today, of course, most people are buying streaming, and so for us, we're in that same evolution for the businesses with out-of-home, kind of where they were in 2007, and consumers like, look, this is another form of television. So you've got to treat it that way with your funnel of advertising span. Otherwise, you're really missing out on a fantastic mix and opportunity to reach these consumers in a captive way. So it's always a constant education going on when you're introducing something. You're competing against all kinds of media, but more specifically, Samsung TV and LG TV show up in your smart TV, whether you want it or not. Jon Niermann: Yeah. Again, it's about licensing. Many of these companies aren't licensed out of home, believe it or not. It's a whole different set of licenses, especially on the music side. You have to have performance rights. You have to, and venues could get big fines. You cannot plug your phone in and play Spotify, for example. You can't turn YouTube on and play those videos. But they do, and they will continue to do that. Just like people are seeing the 65-mile-an-hour speeding thing, they're going to get away with 75, push it up to 95, and you're pressing your luck. So, if you've got a lot of venues out there, they will do random checks. So for us, it really truly is about, we can't control that side of it, but what we can control is providing a reason for them to use us, and that's typically through the content and just through easy use and affordability. So you can say to your end-user customer base, “Use us, it's going to be reliable. It's stable, and guess what? You won't get a cease and desist letter from YouTube or Spotify or anybody like that.” Jon Niermann: That's right. Yeah, or the associations like ASCAP, BMI, all those guys out there that are just tracking and waiting to find people for public display.  One thing that interested me was how you are doing, I think this happened within the last year or so. You've activated self-serve ads. I'm curious how that works and why you went down that path. I suspect it has a lot to do with somehow tapping into local ads that are really hard to sell unless you've got an army of salespeople. Jon Niermann: That's exactly right. You nailed it on the head. As for your time in this industry, local ads are a big part of it, you've got your national and regional ads, but local ad budgets are large and growing from what we can see. So the ad server that we created, Bob Gruters, who's our chief revenue officer, came from Facebook and Instagram, and he has a lot of experience with the ad server that they used over there. And it's very easy. It's a self-serve type of thing. So we're being innovative and providing this for an ability for you to put your ad on TV that way, where you could go in as any type of business and if you want to have your ad on Loop and across our network, whether it's locally in your town, your County, your state, you'll be able to do that. So it's a very simple way just to go and upload an image or a video and have that play.  Do you give them any help in terms of video production or through templates and things like that? Jon Niermann: Yeah, we do. There are easy templates for people to follow, and again, we try to make it as simple as possible. The closer you can get to plug and play for everybody.  First of all, they don't have time, they don't have patience. If it's too complicated there, they've got 50 other things they'd rather deal with or have to deal with. So you've just gotta make it super simple for them. So, for us to be able to say, if you just want to throw your logo in, we'll do the rest. It's that automatic. You've done this like a third-party partner, right? I think it's Orca TV.  Jon Niermann: Yeah. Orca TV, they're here in Santa Monica with us in the LA area, and they are fantastic partners. They've been a partner with us for a couple of years now, and just some really talented people like Mike Woods over there and their ability to develop, they've just done a great job. I assume this is something you theoretically could have done on your own, but then you have to support it and keep it up and secure and everything else. It's just easier to go with somebody who focuses on that.  Jon Niermann: Yeah, it is. And Liam McCallum, who runs our tech, has been with us from the beginning. In fact, Liam came with me from Electronic Arts. He used to run EA's kind of online gaming out in Asia. So very capable, smart tech guy, but with a small tech team; coming to my point earlier, sometimes we just have to work with others to get it done, and Mike and the Orca team, we had a great relationship with, and they have the capability and the ability to do it now. In terms of sales, are you going direct?  I realize for hyper local, you're using this self-serve platform when you can, but do you have a direct sales force, or are you relying on programmatic partners?  Jon Niermann: We do have a direct sales force. That really only ramped up, I'd say, over the last quarter, so about the last three months. Prior to that, we had to really build our scale. We had to build our distribution. Once we got to about 20,000 venues last fall, we could start to sow the seeds directly. And as you know, that just takes time. So, over six to nine months, we went out there, spread the word, and then the deals started coming across as we continued to grow; we're over 70,000 now. We've had that ability to move from just pure programmatic.  I mean, we were in programmatic, like an open auction, and that was it, and then the bottom kind of fell out of that market, as we all know, the end of last year and the beginning of the year. So having the diversity now of direct sales and local ads is going to be much better for us going forward. Yeah. I was curious about programmatic. I was in New York last week for a couple of days and dipped my head into the DPAA conference and chatted with some people and I got a sense of frustration and disillusionment from them about the promise versus the real return that they're seeing out of programmatic, which is always challenging to me because I don't understand what the hell they're going on about, but I gather that it's not really generating the revenues that operators like you need. Jon Niermann: I think it's a couple of things. I think there was definitely a dip, and people for no fault of the programmatic partners, the advertisers weren't spending as much, but that's come back, and I think the other thing is probably what you were tapping into or hearing because we were also at that conference and we just discussed TV. How do you define where those monies go with programmatic, how did the agencies allocate them, are these programmatic partners doing a good job and really advocating for television, CTV, and digital out-of-home? That's potentially where some of the tension could come from, but we've been very fortunate to have some great programmatic partners step up and then we've also felt like there's some that could do a lot more, and certainly in defining this, the way that we're talking about would benefit them as well as the clients and it would obviously benefit people like us down the stream. Is the right mix having you primarily sell directly and then supplement that with programmatic versus relying on programmatic?  Jon Niermann: I think it just takes a minute to get there. I think it's always going to be probably a best-case, like a 50-50 type thing. I think programmatic is always going to be a big part of it. Direct needs to be built, but programmatic works. It's efficient. There are some great ads, and there are some great dollars that kind of come through that. You have all different types, right? You've got everything you need, but as part of the mix for us, I think direct and local will certainly increase. You're not alone in doing this. There are a handful of other companies currently chasing this kind of business, and it's a medium, so to speak. It's been around since the early 2000s, the whole build it and they will come at that time, it was very expensive to do now as you know more than just about anybody, it's not as expensive to do it. Where are you at with it?  Jon Niermann: It's funny, because where are we ever on the evolutionary scale? It's like you started a business ten years ago. How many times have you heard people say you were just too early? You were just ahead of your time. I think for us, to your point, people have tried. I don't know if the timing has been right. I don't know if the content or the technology has been right, but it feels like it's right now and certainly coming on the success of streaming, and how that blew up, it became huge and “ the streaming wars,” and everybody's talking about it. They completely ignored out-of-home, and I get it; the consumer pie is bigger, but this pie is not small.  So I think the big companies aren't focused on it because if you're those big companies, you've already built your libraries with the content of TVs, and movies, you spent billions of dollars. You'd have to do a whole different thing to build this. With this type of content and targeting, and even if you're a big player consumer, it doesn't mean you can all of a sudden have 50,000 locations overnight. It's a long selling process for a lot of these venues. So, I think we're at a very good place. I think that we're about 2% penetrated in this market between us and the other players, and there are a few private players that are doing this streaming TV either by ad-supported or subscription and if you add us all up, I truly believe that we're about maybe 1%-2% penetrated. So, a great green field ahead of us.  I'm sure you don't want to go on at length about your competitors, but how do you distinguish yourself from them? Jon Niermann: I think if you look at other competitors out there, some will charge an activation fee, some will take a credit card. Those are barriers to entry that we don't think are necessary and not great for customer relations. The minute you throw that credit card down, you feel better as a company, I think, because you think you've got a path to revenue or more secure revenue, but you start having things, where you just disagree with a customer and credit card comes into play. It's not a good thing.  So, I think for us, it's just more of a pure relationship of let's make this work. So, I think people are trying different models. There's nothing wrong with that. Even if it's ad-supported, a subscription, it goes back to the old cable days as well, remember there used to be big activation fees or they waived activation. So, it's just part of the business. So I think for us, we deal in premium content. We, by far, I believe, have the top premium content. We're really the only one that had those music videos with Sony, Warner Universal, and even Disney. We've got all the licenses from the majors. That really sets us apart.  Your background is with Disney, as you just mentioned, and with Electronic Arts. How did you find your way into this back in, I think it was 2016.  Jon Niermann: Yeah, it's funny. I was with Disney for 15 years. I went out to Asia with them at the end. I was actually president of Disney Asia for several years and then went over to Electronic Arts when they were really growing their online and mobile games. In fact, we launched the first online and mobile game for EA out in Asia. That was just a really big and opportunistic time for me to learn about that industry, so I really enjoyed that, but also, you got that entrepreneurial bug.  You see all these companies being built around you, and you're thinking, I really want to do that. I took about 22 years in corporate and decided that I wanted to be linked somehow to entertainment, media, and technology, and we had a couple of different iterations before it ultimately ended up here as Loop.  What did family and friends think about going from pretty substantial companies to a media startup? Jon Niermann: Oh, the typical mix that I lost my mind. Let's just start with that and stop with that, probably. But it was like, why would you leave these jobs? These stable jobs have great titles and access, and it's true. You've got that card, with Disney, EA's President on it, you can open up a lot of doors, and then all of a sudden you become a co-founder, CEO of Loop Media, it's like who, what?  Everything just has to start over, in a sense. But I found that exhilarating, and it's been up and down and sideways and easy and challenging and rewarding and regretting and every emotion that you go through. But to get to where we are today is extremely satisfying. And again, going through bumpy times this past year. The previous year was great. We launched our company. Our revenue went from 5 million to 30 million. We went to the New York Stock Exchange. In this past year, we got hit, but we're fine, and we're coming out of it and looking forward to this coming year. That's a good way to wrap this up. I am curious what we'll see out of the Loop in the next 12 months.  Jon Niermann: I think you will see us be aggressive with distribution. I think a couple of things that we lack awareness of, we're undiscovered. So a lot of people just don't know about us. So you're going to see more marketing. You're going to see more brand building, more partnerships, and more engagement with clients, consumers, and venues. For example, we're launching a new Trivia product that's hosted Trivia. You have the opportunity that'll become interactive soon. We're looking at various other things that'll become interactive within the venues. So I think it's a very exciting year to just increase that engagement and take advantage of connecting with those consumers.  Yeah, it's interesting. You mentioned some of them like doing other things in the venue. That's one of your competitors, maybe not a direct competitor, but it does similar work. They've focused as opposed to just pure entertainment. They've focused on kind of venue operations and helping to sell more stuff and communicate to staff, and everything is you're angling towards that as well. Jon Niermann: Yeah, we do. I mean, you could take your Loop player. We have it right now and use this back at home for staff communications because a lot of staff members are not going to read email, so if you just have this screen with the messaging going back of the house, you can certainly use a Loop system for that. So engagement is definitely a big part of what we're looking at in the future. All right, John. This was terrific, I appreciate spending some time with you  Jon Niermann: Thanks, Dave. I appreciated it.

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Amazon launches interactive audio ads on both ad-supported Amazon Music and Amazon Publisher Direct on Alexa in the U.S. [Source]Consumers are celebrating (and shopping for) the holidays like its 2019 by Alyssa Meyers [Source]Ad-tech firms and political agencies prepare for another year of spending heavily on CTV by Marty Swant [Source]The JAR Audio Podcast Landscape featuring Sounds Profitable Research by Roger Nairn and Laurissa Cebryk [Source]Digiday Programmatic Selling Strategies: Navigating identity, deals and making the most of CTV and video [Source]

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Amazon launches interactive audio ads on both ad-supported Amazon Music and Amazon Publisher Direct on Alexa in the U.S. [Source]Consumers are celebrating (and shopping for) the holidays like its 2019 by Alyssa Meyers [Source]Ad-tech firms and political agencies prepare for another year of spending heavily on CTV by Marty Swant [Source]The JAR Audio Podcast Landscape featuring Sounds Profitable Research by Roger Nairn and Laurissa Cebryk [Source]Digiday Programmatic Selling Strategies: Navigating identity, deals and making the most of CTV and video [Source]

On today's show, Rafe Heydel-Mankoo discusses; BBC Newsround sparks fury over an article teaching children about 'white privilege' which features an academic who called the Queen a 'symbol of white supremacy'. Later, Charlie Bentley-Astor discusses; Accommodation costs take up almost all the average maintenance loan received by university students in England. Students are struggling to survive, a former student Charlie Bentley-Astor will tell us what it's really like to be a student in UK at the moment. Also, Vince Maple discusses Inflation and rising demand for social care are leading to the bankruptcy of English councils with deficits reaching £4bn. GUEST 1 OVERVIEW: Rafe Heydel-Mankoo is one of North America's leading royal commentators and is a popular choice with international media, providing expert analysis, interviews and commentary. An expert in Monarchy, protocol, honours and British traditions, Rafe is the former editor of the critically-acclaimed Burke's World Orders of Knighthood & Merit and has advised various governments on policy matters. He is a trustee of the Canadian Royal Heritage Trust and a Research Associate at the leading public policy think tank ResPublica. Rafe appears regularly on TV, radio and in the print media, including BBC, Fox, Sky and CTV, covering global royal events such as The Queen's Jubilee and the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. GUEST 2 OVERVIEW: Charlie Bentley-Astor is a recent graduate of Cambridge University. GUEST 3 OVERVIEW: Cllr Vince Maple is a Councillor for Chatham Central, Medway Labour Spokesperson for Business Support, and Leader of the Medway Labour Group. Vince has been a councillor for since 2007, and has previous experience working for trade unions. Vince is passionate about equality, social justice, and making local government work for the people it serves. Vince is also the Chair of Governors for St John's Infant's School in Chatham.

Next in Media spoke with Mike O'Donnell, Chief Revenue/ Strategic Growth Officer at Vizio about the company's evolution from a TV manufacturer to an ad sales firm/programmer. O'Donnell talked about the challenges in shifting a company's entire business model while trying to build credibility in a fast changing marketplace. Guest: Mike O'DonnellHost: Mike ShieldsIn Partnership with: Comcast AdvertisingProduced by: Fresh Take

Today on The Richard Syrett Show: Cheryl Chumley, Online Opinion Editor for the Washington Times, has more on an 11-year-old boy in Orlando parading in a princess gown for an LGBTQ Crowd. Plus, claims of Hamas' founder's son being more honest than the White House.Our feature interview for today is Dick Morris, a former Clinton Strategist and Pollster. He shares his new book "CORRUPT: The Inside Story of Biden's Dark Money". He says the real threat to our freedom is corruption. Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington has details on a CTV news writer joining others in calling for an end of the Israeli state. Plus, a Toronto Vigil for Palestine happening tonight at Queen's Park. And then "This Week in Rock History", with Jeremiah Tittle, where we look back at Santana, and Lou Reed.

Kristin Pagano started her career as a media planner with Starcom Worldwide, where she had the opportunity to move back to LA and take on their Walt Disney account. She shifted to the client side at 20th Century Fox but felt a need to broaden her view of the overall marketing mix. After returning to school and graduating with her MBA, she started at Intel and then transferred to Activision. At that point, she had a 6-month-old and was presented with the opportunity to work for Munchkin. Starting as a senior brand manager in 2012, she worked her way up and became VP of Marketing in 2018.As the Vice President of Marketing, Kristin oversees all strategies and tactics designed to grow the Munchkin business. Munchkin was founded in Los Angeles in 1990. Last year, they sold 47 million products in the US, which translates to almost 13 products for every baby born, showing just how massive the brand is today. Operating in over 50 countries with six offices and almost 400 employees worldwide, Munchkin was named #8 on Fortune's list of America's Most Innovative Companies among brands like Alphabet, IBM, and Apple. Recently, they expanded their portfolio by launching Curio, a premium home lifestyle brand. Kristin tells us this is just the beginning of their diversification.In this episode, Alan and Kristin discuss the size and scope of Munchkin, their commitment to CSR and sustainability, and how they are overcoming the challenges of shrinking audience size and shifting distribution channels through innovation. One of the largest challenges Munchkin faces is having a very narrow audience with a limited lifetime value. This causes them to focus on the functionality and innovation of their products to delight their customers and win over a larger portion of this smaller group. With a small consumer base, it doesn't make sense for the brand to spend large amounts of money on traditional marketing. Instead, they make these emotional connections through platforms like podcasts and CTV. With the loss of major distribution partners like Bye Bye Baby and Babies R Us, Kristin and her team are also reworking the way they get their products to consumers and ensuring a better buying experience all around.In this episode, you'll learn:How Munchkin is dealing with a shrinking audience through innovation and alternative marketingHow a commitment to CSR and sustainability factor into Munchkin's business strategyHow Munchkin is innovating their distribution and shifting the way they work with partners to make the buying process better for their consumersKey Highlights: [01:30] A working mom aspiring to be more like her own[03:45] From media planner to marketing VP[06:05] What is Munchkin up to today?[07:50] What does marketing look like at Munchkin?[10:30] How does Munchkin approach product strategy and innovation?[14:10] How does a commitment to CSR and sustainability factor into Munchkin's business strategy?[17:10] Discontinuation of any product under 4 stars[19:25] Working with distribution partners to grow the business[22:30] Looking at new categories and pivoting where it makes sense[23:00] Insights from working at Intel[26:25] Advice to her younger self: Don't be afraid to try new things.[27:15] Staying on track with a rapidly evolving digital landscape: AI and Influencers[30:40] Watching the impending generational shift: Where do your customers fall?[32:40] Anticipating growth in a changing retail landscapeLooking for more?Visit our website for links to resources mentioned in this episode and ways to connect with the guest! Become a member today and listen ad-free, visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Francesca's VP of marketing Traci Graziani shares what she thinks the future of retail will be, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé's effect on sales, and how a Dolly Parton quote influences her perspective. Episode Transcript Francesca's, Traci Graziani Please note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio.Damian Fowler: (00:01)I'm Damian Fowler.Ilyse Liffreing: (00:02)And I'm Ilyse LiffreingDamian Fowler: (00:03)And welcome to this edition of the current podcast.Ilyse Liffreing: (00:10)This week we sit down with Traci Graziani, the VP of Marketing and Brand Partnerships at Francesca's, the fashion retailer specializing in women's jewelry and apparel.Damian Fowler: (00:21)Founded in 1999 in Houston, Francesca has grown into a household name with stores across the U.S. But like many mall-based retailers, the company faced serious challenges during the pandemic when foot traffic stopped.Ilyse Liffreing: (00:34)But since 2020, the company has turned its fortunes around becoming a successful omnichannel business.Damian Fowler: (00:41)Tracy joined the company in 2021 after a more than 15 year career in marketing where she specialized in helping brands identify their purpose, craft their story, and deliver successful campaigns.Traci Graziani: (00:58)I grew up in marketing, I grew up in digital advertising and it was a, I was there with a digital marketing firm called Resource for 11 years in my career. They were an independent women owned agency who was talking about being customer obsessed before anyone else. But I started by answering the phones and getting the flowers and just like learning and absorbing. And so I just fell in love from the beginning. I, I worked with a handful of clients over the years. You name a client or an industry, I've probably worked on that account from a communications or a marketing standpoint and ultimately that's what got me brand side. Damian Fowler: (01:39)I love that it's very entrepreneurial view from the very beginning, from the get go as you would say. And you know, one of your sort of specialties as a marketer is that ability to help brands identify their purpose and craft their story. What's your sort of dynamic when you start that whole process?Traci Graziani: (01:55)Can I quote Dolly Parton who's behind me here on the wall? Damian Fowler: (01:59)Oh yes. Please.Ilyse Liffreing:Yes you can.Traci Graziani: (01:59)Okay. She says Find out who you are and do it on purpose. And I believe that as a human and I believe that as a marketer. And so I think that's really what's carried me through and I think that one of my biggest beliefs is that one of the key KPIs that we all need to be looking at and continue to look at is trust. I mean I think it is more prevalent now than ever is trust with our customer in every interaction. Knowing that why and knowing that trust is so critical. Without it you have nothing that becomes your compass. Damian Fowler: (02:33)Yeah. Now, you joined Francesca's in 2021, you know, let me ask you about their story. What is Francesca's story? Yeah,Traci Graziani: (02:42)Francesca's actually started as one single boutique in Houston, Texas. And our girl Fran has been around since 1999. I think what's really neat and differentiating about it is that it has always been a place of discovery in this one boutique. It started as a collection of different, you know, products that service a very, you know, woman from 18 to 30 as like the core demographic and someone who's always looking for that like kind of something special. We know that we have an occasion shopper and so we cater to that and so that heritage of the brand from the late nineties all the way through has maintained and that is really the platform that we operate now that has turned into our free to Be You platform, which is this idea that our customer and our brand are always looking to discover new things. I mean, Elise, you love the store you go in, you kind of can't walk outta there without something. Um, but you never know what you're gonna find and I think that that has really been a core differentiator for the brand.Ilyse Liffreing: (03:44)Yeah, I mean there's no doubt I fall into that core consumer that 18 to 35, not gonna say my exact age, but yeah, every time I go home, you know, I, I have to go to Francesca's, definitely a fan. It's true, I can't hide that. But can you share any like insights into your target audience? Beyond me of course and how the brand actually like works to like reach and engage them?Traci Graziani: (04:08)We recently, within the last year, really did our homework and we surveyed current customers, non-customers and we have really utilized that in a massive way across the organization because I think a differentiator for us too is our ability to move so quickly with our product. And so being able to understand what the customer is looking for and what she's doing in her life, we really look at it as a psychographic more so even than a demographic. We know the sweet spot in terms of the 24 year old, but we know we scaled down our earrings are a great entryway into the brand and we know our gift selection also allows us to scale up in demo. I keep mentioning occasion because it matters, but she's finding small things to be occasion, whether it's you know, a barbecue or a trip or even just going to a friend's house. She's always looking for like that something special and new. And so we really create our marketing and our product to make sure that we're serving that across the yearIlyse Liffreing: (05:05)Now. So Francesca's also has a real culture of inclusivity. You guys have the whole Free To Be You campaign. When did that come about and was it under CEO Andrew Clark?Traci Graziani: (05:16)Yes, it was, you know, when he joined I, I joined pretty shortly after that and we really were working as a full leadership team on defining, you know, our mission vision values and developing that brand house and what was that greater why and we really did come to that purpose of inspiring Discovery and through that uniting everyone in individuality which comes across in our boutiques in the merchandise assortment that we have, the way that we buy. And I think that that whole idea of Free to Be You, he is definitely a champion for, and I think that has really set us apart in the space. Francesca's also actually means free one the word the name defined. And so there was something core back to that history of who the brand was and where they started that really felt synergistic across everything we're, I think it's 97% of the organization is women and the bulk of that is the field who is our customer and they are just incredible. And so they're another great place in terms of how we define free to be you listening to them, what's happening in their local markets and really utilizing the field and those great associates as a whole nother way to gather customer insights.Ilyse Liffreing: (06:32)That comes with like a lot of learnings. As you mentioned, you've recently even launched a tween collection called Frankie. How is that perceived by the Francesca's audienceTraci Graziani: (06:42)That brand was conceived just a couple years ago and really as an opportunity in a white space in the market? I ironically when Justice sold to Walmart and I actually came from Justice as my previous role and so you know, we had a lot of great leadership on the team that was familiar with that demographic and knowing that that tween demo is shopper is just shy of our Francesca's shopper. So we really saw the opportunity to utilize what we have, right? The customer told us that we needed to shift, that they needed something unique for themselves, that they wanted a little bit more comfortable and cool. And so we have pivoted and it's really exciting. We've just rebranded and launched as Hello Frankie and really excited to create that conversation and that dialogue with the customer.Ilyse Liffreing: (07:28)How does Francesca's leverage those customer data and insights to then enhance its campaigns? From what I hear, it's pretty quick turnarounds.Traci Graziani: (07:38)First. I think listening to the customer reading and reacting to the product that's working and product that's not too right and testing and learning is a big philosophy. This idea of speed and how quickly can we react? Like a lot of other retailers, we saw the Taylor Swift effect happening very quickly, literally everywhere she was traveling, the weeks leading up to that concert we would see a lift in sales in our boutiques. The same actually happened with Beyonce. And so the team was able to pivot really quickly, pull together what we called the B edit. We did that from pulling together a host of existing items but also chasing into product. And then the other is in just marketing, right? Like our Fran Club that is has been a wealth of data for us, increasing the lifetime value of those customers. They shop more often when they buy, they buy more. That is a new program, newer program for the brand that really has been instrumental in, you know, helping us even understand where we show up in the media and marketing space in terms of those are the best customers and we want more of 'em. Damian Fowler: (08:44)Tell me a little bit more about the Fran Club. When did you create that? And I mean I know a lot of retailers have loyalty programs, but what's the sort of unique spin on that loyalty program with the Fran Club.Traci Graziani: (08:55)We knew we needed the program, right? We needed the first party data, we needed to make sure that we were capturing that, you know, we have 460 boutiques across the nation and the ability to capture that information, be able to reward our customers and really increase their visits and their purchase through that communication was key. So that has been tremendous. It's a points program so the more you shop, the more you're rewarded. But there's, you know, other perks like early access being the first to know about things like the B edit . After we had those first learnings in the early fall holiday season, you know, we knew we needed to come back around and expand that program, right? We needed to create more awareness around that program. It was giving us the signs and performing in terms of financial and feedback that was so positive.Traci Graziani: (09:41)So we actually launched a campaign via CTV, uh, campaign as the hero kind of tent pole piece. And what we did is the campaign was about joining the Fran club and being whoever you are, right, free to be you is this idea of exclusive but inclusive. And so what we did is we actually had a party, we threw a Fran Club event on a rooftop in one of our best markets in Miami and we invited Fran Club members and creators and so we were rewarding them through in real life, but then we actually filmed it and turned that into the spot that then really showcases and plays back, this is the customer and we, we want you to come like be part of this club. And that campaign was incredibly successful and we actually have another friend club event coming up in Austin in a new store in a few weeks. So,Ilyse Liffreing: (10:29)And am I wrong in thinking that that was your first time leveraging CTV?Traci Graziani: (10:34)We had done a test um, once before, but not to the scale that we did for the spring.Ilyse Liffreing: (10:39)Is that channel also strategic due to the fact that Francesca's has a lot of locations sprinkled across the U.S.?Traci Graziani: (10:48)Absolutely, yeah. I mean, driving store traffic is a huge lever for our business. We need to do that and we have to do that in creative ways. And so CTV is certainly one of those more top funnel, but that is fueling both boutique traffic as well as digital.Damian Fowler: (11:03)What I'm sort of hearing from you a little bit is, you know, there's a very democratic process here to this sort of circuit as it were of marketing. It's not like you are coming up with these big campaigns. It's like you're using your customer's insights and sharing everything back and it is a sort of virtuous circle or virtuous cycle of kind of marketing that that's interesting.Traci Graziani: (11:24)I love that you gathered that from that. Yeah, I think that's where it's going. That's what we're seeing. I mean I think as marketers it's like the hardest job, right? I mean it's always changing. I think if we think we know something , um, we should guess again and stay curious and learn. And I do think that the world today with digital and social allows us to do that. As long as we are going back to who we are and the trust and that we're building that trust with our customer, I, I want them in the conversation. Without the customer we're nothing. And so how we can work with them, pull them into the campaigns, get the feedback, showcase their content, that's where I think we're seeing success and I hope we can build more of that.Ilyse Liffreing: (12:08)Speaking of fandom, you also have a pretty unique ambassador program. Could you explain how that works a little bit?Traci Graziani: (12:15)Again, back to our best customer, it's a longer term relationship with more micro creators. It's this idea of, I can't claim this quote, but I leverage it a lot, the riches in the niches. And I really believe that, I think that's where fandom starts is in these unique communities. And if you can tap into those audiences and then find more, that's where you win. And that's really what the ambassador program has done for us. It started with about 30 creators and you know, it is more of a white glove where we're really creating direct one-on-one relationships with them, understanding what's going on in their life, if, if they have a bridal shower or whatnot, right? How are we there for them? And then they're creating content with us and for us and then we're sharing that back and celebrating that relationship. We have seen fantastic results. That program and the content that they're creating and posting on their own channels is certainly delivering. And so we are on the move to expand that program in some exciting new ways through some affiliate and different models. SoIlyse Liffreing: (13:16)You also lean into your employees for that program? Traci Graziani: (13:20)We do. Like I mentioned, our field is, is our customer. And so the more we listen to them, they're amazing. They're already doing it. They're already loving the brand and they should be rewarded for that. They're some of our best loyal customers as well. SoDamian Fowler: (13:33)You mentioned at the very beginning the importance of trust around a brand. And one of the issues that comes up in the, in the world of digital media is trust and people sharing their data clearly, you know, you have an audience of people who trust the brand. How do you keep that trust going? How is it maintained every day?Traci Graziani: (13:51)That is a constant, constantly working on that takes the entire organization, it takes the great leadership that we have across the board. It takes constantly looking at the customer experience and every touch point. And we still have work to do. I, I think any brand that says that it was done would be would be lying. Um, and the world is changing so quickly and technology is changing so quickly and social is changing, making changes in that and the customer is making changes in that. It's just coming back to that and asking yourself those questions. Where might we be falling down and how can we find solutions that are making it better for our customer? Because if we disappoint them at any touchpoint in the funnel or in the experience, that's where the trust is last. They have so many other options, you know, they can go other places. And so it's that combination of trust with our differentiated product that I think will continue to set us apart.Damian Fowler: (14:49)You know, the company faced like many retail companies during the pandemic tough times and even faced chapter 11 proceedings, but since then it's turned its fortunes around under the leadership of CEO Andrew Clark and definitely changed its model to become much more successful omni-channel businessTraci Graziani: (15:08)I think. Absolutely. You know, there was, there's tough times. There's a real straight strategy at play there and you know, he came in and I think he was in the seat for 10 days and then Covid hit.Damian Fowler: (15:18)Yeah, poor guyTraci Graziani: (15:20)On top of that . And so it's been a pretty, it's been a pretty incredible story just in terms of, you know, the success over the last couple of years. Our ability to come back to listen to the customer and to really lean omnichannel.Ilyse Liffreing: (15:35)Last question. So Francesca's has become more and more omnichannel basically through the years. How do you see the future of retail evolving and what strategies are in place to adapt to these upcoming changes?Traci Graziani: (15:49)I think I'm gonna be a broken record for this podcast, . I think the future of retail is the customer, the work of the work of marketer and of a brand is trying to influence people's attention and their behaviors. And I think that that there is no certainty in that. It is not a sure thing. And so you have to always be listening and be curious and be willing to test and learn. And that means being obsessed with the customer and pivoting when they're telling you to pivot. Yeah, for me, well I'll go back to Dolly, you know, be who you are and do it on purpose. We've got a really awesome team here and I think that as long as we listen and move fast and stay curious, then we'll be set up for the future of what retail looks like because we're listening to what the customer has to say.Ilyse Liffreing: (16:43)And that's it for The Current. Stay tuned because next time we'll be speaking with John Cook, the global CEO of VMLY&R.Damian Fowler: (17:08)The Current is produced by Wonder Media Network. Our theme is by loving caliber and the current team includes Chris Brooklier and Kat Vesce.Ilyse Liffreing: (17:16)And remember,Traci Graziani: (17:17)As marketers, if we think we know something , um, we should guess again and stay curious.Ilyse Liffreing: (17:23)I'm IlyseDamian Fowler: (17:24)And I'm DamianIlyse Liffreing: (17:25)And we'll see you next time.

Today, we're looking at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' call to deport non-citizens who are publicly backing Hamas and calling for the destruction of Israel. Plus, a survivor of the Hamas terrorists' kidnapping in southern Israel is recounting her experiences being held by militants in tunnels beneath Gaza. And finally, a CTV journalist was exposed for holding anti-Semitic beliefs, which leads us to the question: just how entrenched is antisemitism in the Media Party?

Navi Bliss is the demystifier of personal relationships, cultivator of confidence, certified love and relationship coach, certified inspirational speaker and host of the blissful love podcast. She is a contributing author in two books, Our Yellow Brick Road released in August 2022 and Healing and Growth released in December 2022. She has also been featured on Global News, CTV, A Plus Media and Chicken Soup for the Soul. Navi is also the Chief People Officer at Thriving Women Network. Growing up with a mother who was physically and emotionally abusive left Navi with a tattered sense of self and low self esteem. This sent her on a path of horrible, toxic and abusive relationships until she reached her breaking point in 2016 after walking away from an abusive relationship. After going on a healing journey, Navi was able to flip the script on her own life and is now determined to help others to do the same. As a coach, Navi's mission in life is to help people fall head over heels in love with themselves so that they can effortlessly attract blissful love into their lives. As an inspirational speaker Navi uses her own stories of overcoming childhood abuse and neglect, to inspire others that anything is possible and they too can overcome any obstacles in their way. You can overcome your past heartbreaks and trauma, you can fall in love with yourself completely and learn to feel good in your skin everyday and you can have the most blissful magical relationship too and Navi can show you how! Please connect with Navi: www.naviblisscoaching.com www.instagram.com/navibliss https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/blissful-love-podcast Clubhouse/Twitter/Tiktok: @navibliss Navi Bliss CPO Thriving Women Network Love and Confidence Coach navi@naviblisscoaching.com

Sandra Bueckert-Davison is an industry-recognized, award-winning personal training pioneer in the city of Calgary. In the eighties, unlike now, personal trainers were a luxury for celebrities and movie stars. In 1989, 23-year-old Sandra Bueckert wondered: what if she used her knowledge as an award-winning athlete to show regular, everyday folks how to get better results in the gym—One-On-One? Sandra was no stranger to hard work, and she saw a need. "When I was working out, people would constantly ask me for advice," she says. "Eventually I realized that maybe I could turn my passion for fitness into a business." One of her first clients was a chef who had gained 40 pounds. After helping him to trim down, his wife asked her to help her get her body back post-pregnancy. The referrals kept coming. It didn't hurt that Sandra was funny, finds people fascinating and had a natural way of connecting with them. She also has personal familiarity with her clients' experience. She had had two sons and weighed well over 200 pounds during her pregnancies. Losing the weight allowed her to empathize with her clients. She knows what it's like to run a business, have children and struggle to find time to exercise and eat well. She dropped 70 pounds in 2005 and returned to the competitive arena after a 15-year layoff! Competing also helped her handle her mother's death from breast cancer. She won her class, earned her pro-card and CTV awarded her the Athlete of the Week. Sandra is widely known for her appearances on CTV and for the acclaimed X-weighted television series. "I won't sacrifice someone's health for results," she says. Celebrating 34 years as Calgary's original personal trainer, 57-year-old Sandra and her talented trainers love working with clients who want to fight aging every step of the way. Accolades: Besides being a fitness expert for CTV, Sandra has been interviewed by QR77 Radio, CBC Radio, Breakfast Television, The Globe and Mail, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce magazine, CityScope magazine, Avenue magazine, IMPACT magazine, and the Calgary Sun. One On One Personal Fitness was featured in a twelve-week series by the Calgary Herald. Sandra has also appeared twice on the front page of the Calgary Herald Real Life section. Most people recognize Sandra from the X-weighted television series on the Slice network. She was also featured in the LA Times. In July of 2023 Sandra was the guest on Hit Play Not Pause: Feisty Menopause podcast. Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada's economy. To support Canada's businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Want to stay up-to-date on the latest #entrepreneur podcasts and news? Subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter

Next in Media chatted with Pooja Midha EVP, General Manager at Effectv, a division of Comcast Advertising, about how local advertising is evolving beyond old fashioned spot cable. Midha also gave an update on the state of addressable TV, and why she things the influx of local brands to CTV could lead to a much longer tail for the medium. Guest: Pooja MidhaHost: Mike ShieldsSponsored by: Comcast AdvertisingProduced by: Fresh Take

Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan) is a star neurosurgeon who seemingly has it all, until her business partner is indicted for fraud and she finds herself charged with negligence. Looking to distance herself from the fallout, Maggie decides to leave Boston and return to her childhood home of Sullivan's Crossing, a rustic and remote campground set against the stunning coastline still run by her estranged father, Sully Sullivan (Scott Patterson). There, Maggie rekindles old friendships and builds new ones with the local residents, including a handsome newcomer, Cal Jones (Chad Michael Murray), who only serves to complicate her life further. As Maggie works on clearing her name and reputation, she is forced to confront her painful past, as she attempts to reconnect with a side of herself she had long forgotten. From executive producers Roma Roth and Christopher E. Perry, the team behind the hit series "Virgin River," SULLIVAN'S CROSSING is executive produced by Reel World Management in association with CTV and Fremantle with Roth also acting as showrunner. Mike Volpe and Mark Gingras serve as producers. For Fremantle, Michela Di Mondo and Hilary Martin are executive producing.