This important validation of Amobee’s long-time vision and commitment to being a leader in advertising solutions comes directly on the heels of receiving one of the highest rankings in the Ad Perceptions CTV Study for several categories including integrating linear TV plans, premium, and high-quality content.

Amobee has made significant progress in bringing the power of digital advertising to TV, digital and social channels, providing consolidated access to linear and streaming TV, inventory, and real-time programmatic bidding markets. This latest Gartner win also recognizes Amobee’s strength as a fully integrated TV, digital, and social ad management platform. This validation is a testament to the success of Amobee’s strategy and commitment to driving competitive advantage in the media supply chain.

Other key strengths cited in the Magic Quadrant for adtech include product strategy, a unified tech stack, and a commitment to a converged vision that offers media planning, buying and analytical capabilities across linear TV, OTT/ CTV and a range of digital ad formats.

We believe that Gartner recognized many aspects of our business that could, in turn, be beneficial to the success of yours:

• Unified tech stack for TV and digital campaign measurement
• Connected TV (CTV) allocation
• Consumer goods industry focus

These powerful endorsements of Amobee’s ad tech leadership and ability to put marketers in control of driving better business outcomes with solutions that unify and empower TV, digital, and social advertising strategies. For more details on Amobee’s performance and other Ad Tech companies, you can access the complete report here.

We want to hear from you!

Amobee simplifies cross-screen optimization for both brand and media companies and enables marketers—both broadcast and digital advertisers—to confidently plan, activate, and measure all their TV, digital, and social investments together. Contact us today to learn more about Amobee’s complete suite of unified solutions.

The post Amobee Named a Leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Ad Tech for Second Year in a Row appeared first on Amobee.

Big picture, why did you join Amobee?

I joined Amobee some time ago (I am one of the original Adconion Direct Media folks.)  When I did join, I was looking to stay in the ad tech space, as it fed my need for new learning opportunities, which ad tech does in spades as it changes so quickly.  But early on, there was always the idea of providing a holistic 360, cross-channel view for the consumer. With our acquisition strategy over the years and subsequent product offerings, we are now delivering that view,(while still finding ways to improve), and that to me is exciting. 

What exactly does a VP of Business Development do? What’s an average day like for you?

Business Development works across multiple business units of the company as a whole.  My days can be quite varied depending on the project I’m working on at the time. Reviewing existing contracts to determine if we want to renew or could leverage better commercials for us. Talking with new companies to see if their data sets or services are a fit for our platform, or there could be some coordination with Product, Account teams, Product Marketing, and Finance as to how best to move forward on existing projects.  There is never a dull moment, and never a day I don’t learn something new.

What most excites you about coming to work each day?

It’s a tie between potentially finding that next company or relationship that could usher in a new killer product for the platform or streamlining reporting on our existing products so financially we can get an at-a-glance picture to orient ourselves and understand our next moves based on coming threats or opportunities. Something about effectively streamlining our workflow and communication pathways to get people faster and more accurate information is very satisfying to me.

One of our core values is employee development. How do you keep growing and learning in what you do?

Staying on top of articles from the likes of AdExchanger and AdAge, as well as making use of the people at Amobee, who themselves are very knowledgeable and an incredible resource.  This industry is constantly evolving so it’s impossible to grasp everything at first glance, so always be willing to ask questions, even if you think you’re the only one ‘not getting it.’  There’s a great Chinese proverb I think about often: “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” You have to be willing to be ‘the fool’ for a time in order to grow.  

I stand true to my philosophy of L.E.D (learn every day), and I try to apply this in my professional space as well as my personal life. I truly believe that learning leads to thriving.

What stands out to you about the company’s culture and working environment?

Having been at the company for several years, and through several iterations, I would say the one thing that stands out is the optimistic mentality of our people. People that stay and persist, and even new employees tend to have a positive perspective and a ‘can do’ attitude. That to me is very important as no ad tech company can survive without this mindset.

What would you do for a career if you weren’t doing this?

If we’re saying I’m independently wealthy, then I would love to go back to school and continue my education with more degrees (philosophy, learn Italian so I can read Dante’s Divine Comedy in the original language, and zoology, as I’m a huge animal lover). 

If not independently wealthy, then I think Project Management suits me, as I enjoy seeing how the various groups contribute to any one project and pushing them forward with concrete steps and deadlines to hit.  Oddly enough, my sister is in Project Management so maybe it’s something that runs in the Monian genes.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

My go to answer to this question has always been Leonardo Da Vinci. He was my hero growing up, as I studied the arts, but was equally fascinated by science (and even considered becoming a doctor).  Da Vinci’s artistic, scientific, and overall never ending curiosity about the world around him continues to be an inspiration for me.  

What is the first concert you attended?

My taste in music is very eclectic, so it was either a Canadian Cyberpunk band called Skinny Puppy or Jazz musician Chick Corea. Both were phenomenal but for very different reasons.  I walked away from both with a greater appreciation for what they brought to their artform. 

What are your hobbies or activities that you look forward to doing on the weekends or after work?

I have a stack of books that I am slowly working through on a very mixed set of topics: World View Philosophy, Essays of James Baldwin, The Odyssey, Theory of Magic (sleight of hand…not the card game), and history of Charlemagne. These keep me busy, along with the fact that I’ve always been an animal person (I’ve had about 10+ different species of pets over the years), so currently learning about and taking care of our BichonFrise Poodle name Max, Leopard Gecko named Beatrice, and a Brazilian Black Tarantula named Cleo.

What piece of advice would you give your younger self?

Learn from mistakes, but don’t dwell on them. I came from a perfectionistic household, where mistakes were not tolerated. This resulted in more anxiety and panic over school tests than should be warranted.  This also prevented me from trying new things, out of concern of not being the best at them (even though everyone at one time was not an expert in their field of interest).  I’d also encourage myself to be more open to ambiguity. It is okay to not know every single detail of every situation. 

Any final remarks you’d like to share?

It is important to remember the ad ecosystem space continues to evolve. Things are constantly moving and shifting, but that’s also the excitement that makes this line of work able to push your ingenuity. The key factors are to stay sharp, stay focused, and be ready to tweak and pivot as needed, should the conditions require it.

The post Employee Spotlight: Eric Monian, Vice President of Business Development appeared first on Amobee.

As June comes to an end, it is important to remind ourselves why we celebrate Pride in the first place. Pride Month is about so much more than just rainbow flags and colorful parades. It is about recognizing and remembering the struggles the community has faced throughout history, uplifting LGBTQ+ voices and creating a safe space for everyone, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. 

We celebrate Pride to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 in New York City. In the morning of June 28, a police raid at the Stonewall Inn ignited a series of demonstrations and protests to advocate for gay rights in response to the excessive violence and force exerted by the NYPD. Thanks to organizations like the Society for Human Rights and the Mattachine Society, advances in gay rights had made progress; but the community unfortunately continues to face harassment and social discrimination. 

Fast forward to 2021, businesses all over the world have publicly acknowledged the need for a more inclusive and diverse workplace; however, temporary Pride Month rainbow logos are not enough to fully support employees. As organizations claim to support inclusivity, it is important to foster a community of acceptance, celebration and community awareness, not just in June, but year-round. 

How is Amobee Inclusive?

With the help of our LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group, Amobee is committed to implementing policies that will effectively foster a more diverse and inclusive workplace. We honor Pride Month year round by: 

• Understanding pronouns and when to ask for someone’s preference
• Providing resources and educational materials to create awareness of LGBTQ+ history 
• Matching employee donations to LGBTQ+ organizations such as The Trevor Project, OutRight Action and GLAAD
• Offering intentional hiring training  
• Hosting events such as Drag Bingo, Pride Trivia and other inclusive events

Why is it important to celebrate Pride and be an LGBTQ+ Ally in the workplace?

We asked members and allies to share their thoughts. Here is what they had to say:

“Celebrating Pride at Amobee is important because it shows that our organization has the power to cultivate a safe and welcoming workspace for all of our employees. We have the power to celebrate and showcase diversity in a unique way, which will ultimately empower employees to show up as their full, authentic selves to work every single day and that to me is incredibly important.” – Jack Bamberger, Chief Commercial Officer

“Being a LGBTQ+ ally in the workplace is very important because it allows people to show up to work authentically. Although everyone has a different life journey and their coming out experience is unique to their circumstances, upbringing, and dynamics, allies celebrating events like Pride Month shows to the entire Amobee team and the marketplace that we value all walks of life and appreciate the different perspectives everyone brings to the table. Diversity in a team ignites innovation, authentic connections, and growth, which are wonderful aspects to have in a company culture.” – Daniel Laprea, Team Lead, Engagement Manager 

“Love is love and showing support for our friends in the LGBTQ+ community helps create a culture of inclusiveness at Amobee and demonstrates the importance of standing up and joining our voices together to ensure everyone has equal rights and protections across the board. Celebrating Pride Month as a company shows that we value diversity and are open and welcoming to all employees, clients and partners. “ – Nick Lashinsky, PR + Communications Director 

“To be an ally in the workplace is to be a proponent for inclusion and help normalize conversations around same-sex relationships and non-stereotypical gender norms, both when speaking about work-related topics as well as when conversing with colleagues. State your pronouns even if yours follow the gender “norm.” Use the term “partner” instead of gender specific terms even if you’re non-LGBTQ+. Try addressing a group of people as “ya’ll” instead of “guys.” – Jamie Bloom, Product Training Manager 

“To celebrate Pride and to be an ally in the workplace means to support all of your team members and to provide opportunities for each based on them as individuals. It means lending an ear, standing up for, and being in tune with basic human rights. It means advocating for and sometimes being a confidant, an encourager or a sponsor. Celebrating Pride Month is important because it makes the collective better.“ – Kelsey Sevening, Engagement Manager Director

Amobee is dedicated to celebrating and supporting the LGBTQ+ community. No matter if you identify as LGTBQ+ or an ally, everyone can join the celebration of love.

The post Amobee Celebrates Pride Beyond June appeared first on Amobee.

“So, Mom, you know how you when you browse online, people often know what you buy, where you click, and sometimes you see ads that look like the advertiser read your mind? Well, I run a data supermarket and make sure the shelves are stocked with groupings of behaviors based on people’s online activity (like ‘Moms with Pets’ or ‘Hip Moms,’ like you), and the advertisers buy this data at my store and use it to get their message in front of the right set of eyes online.” —Dini Beretz, VP, Global Business Development

“My company helps our clients execute their marketing campaigns across the different ways people engage with content and entertainment (e.g. TV, social media, across the internet). Our technology is the infrastructure for these clients to run campaigns, so in a way, we are ‘the engine in the car.’ I specifically help to project manage deliverables, ensure our clients are happy, and make sure that we are working in efficient ways to run campaigns.” —Daniel Laprea, Engagement Manager 

“You know those ads you see on TV during Monday Night Football, on Hulu when you’re binging Big Little Lies, or on your phone when you’re buying every product Instagram targets you with? Yeah, my company delivers those ads, with tons of insights as to why you, in that moment, in that place, should receive that brand’s specific message. And then we determine how effective that messaging is at driving products off the shelves, people into stores, or just getting you to buy something on their website. You could say we make the world go ‘round.” —Piper Bledsoe, Head of Growth EMEA

“Amobee is like eBay for advertising. We’re a technology that connects advertisers to broadcasters.” —Amy Hebbel, Senior Product Consultant 

“You know those ads you see on your phone, computer, or TV and wonder how the device knows what you’re interested in, what you’re reading, commenting on, or shopping for? We put those ads there utilizing our technology for our advertising partners.” —Allison Feder, Sales Director

Well, good luck explaining your job to Mom this holiday. But the bottom line is, if you want her to understand your job in ad tech, you can start by finding something from their daily life that they can relate to, such as cars, favorite television shows, or pets. No matter the analogy, the important thing is to spend time with our Moms, and to remind them that they’ve raised some pretty smart and interesting kids. 

From Amobee to our ad tech Moms across the world, Happy Mother’s Day!

The post How to Describe Your Ad Tech Job to Mom appeared first on Amobee.

What exactly does a manager of data center operations do? What’s an average day like for you?

A typical day in the life of data center operations consists of overseeing all break-fix tickets; supporting business partners, for example: engineering, product, finance and their initiatives; project management of new deployments and decommissioning of older hardware. Capacity planning space, power and cooling, inventory management and contract management are also part of our remit. My team manages, monitors and supports over 6,000 servers and network hardware to ensure compliance to data center standards remains operational at all times. 

Big picture, why did you join Amobee?

Over the course of nearly two decades, I devoted myself to three Fortune 500 companies and when the opportunity presented itself to work for a truly innovative company with a start-up mentality, I jumped to the opportunity. I was intrigued with the prospect of building on the founder’s enthusiasm and commitment to the dream.

What makes Amobee the right fit for you?

Bringing my experience and knowledge to figure out the what, when and why, create, take risks and be on the bleeding edge of technology.

What do you enjoy most about working here?

Amobee is opportunity-driven where the focus shifts from ideas to action to implementation. This is very rewarding to me and, as a leader, my role is not to prevent problems or slow the pace of change. Instead, my goal is to focus on accelerating my ability to recognize and resolve problems.

What is it about the company’s vision and mission that motivates you?

I believe we are on the cusp of becoming the industry leader in TV, digital and social advertising, where embracing change and walking the talk aligns between vision, strategy, structure and resources will lead to a high rate of satisfaction for everyone.

At Amobee we value employee development, how do you keep growing and learning in what you do?

Covid-19 only accelerated the need for virtual collaboration. Although I miss face-to-face interaction, Amobee provides the right tools and opportunities to continue expanding my knowledge and staying up-to-date with industry trends, all while staying connected with my peers.

Many global Amobee employees are still working from home. Do you have any work-from-home tips for success you can share?

The key to success is to have a dedicated office space with limited distractions. Once the work day is complete, it is important to literally close the door and enjoy work-life balance.

As someone who has been working remote pre-pandemic, how do you practice  collaboration and staying connected with your colleagues?

I have been working remotely for a while, and the only change the pandemic has created for me is that my colleagues are adjusting to having more video or phone calls and managing their time effectively. 

When you are not hard at work, what do you like to do for fun?

Just about every weekend you can find me on the golf course. I picked up fishing during the pandemic and before Covid-19, I was an avid Chicago Stepper (type of swing dance), but it will be a while before I go back to it.

What are you looking forward to most in the next five years? 

We have a strong entrepreneurial presence and I see Amobee in the adolescence stage teetering on the brink of being in an optimal prime position where change is embraced in order to gain market share from weaker competitors. 

Any final thoughts you’d like to share?

One can argue the U.S was dealing with two distinct pandemics in 2020: Covid-19 and the fight against systemic racism. Amobee sits at a crossroads in its ability to help shape the narrative, illuminate injustice and demand responsibility in journalism. I am proud of the work that we’ve done and continue to do to support causes that matter. I joined Amobee to embrace my entrepreneurial spirit but I’ve gained so much more. I’ve been able to inspire, mentor and create real change. 

The post Employee Spotlight: Randall Wofford, Senior Manager, Data Center Operations appeared first on Amobee.

What exactly does a Director of Programmatic Media do at Amobee? What’s an average day like for you?

The focus of the delivery team has always been to hit our client’s KPIs, ensure their budgets are spent in full, and maximize the margins for Amobee. As the Director of Programmatic Media, it’s my responsibility to ensure my team can achieve these goals. The team and I have revised our best practices for campaign setup and optimizations to adapt to the changing landscape of programmatic media. We’ve created numerous reports and dashboards to keep us more proactive. We constantly alpha/beta test new console features to ensure functionality as well as provide feedback on future features.  

It’s hard to describe an average day since the only part of my day that is consistent is the small book of business I manage. The majority of my day is spent working on projects or escalations that come up. That’s probably the most enjoyable part of the job, no day is the same.

The ACCSS team is fairly new to Amobee, can you briefly explain what prompted the need for this team?

My experience here has always been about focus and innovation. We learned that with our own demand-side platform (DSP), we have two very different customer sets that need to be supported and serviced differently. While ACCSS is a new team, the people that make up the team have decades of industry experience, knowledge, and learning.

Our customer set looks to us to be consultants, masters in the space, and partners in business. It’s fun to be a part of conversations that still push for innovation and solving for changing business challenges for our agency and brand direct clients, all while using the Amobee DSP to deliver on those executions.

You started as an intern at Amobee, can you tell us more about your experience and how you got to where you are now?

I was a senior in college when I applied for a summer internship at Amobee (formerly Frontline Direct). I was in my final semester at San Diego State University and it was a great experience for me. I had my internship for three months and was offered a full-time position once it was completed. It initially started off as just managing suppression files for our email business and that eventually led to getting my own email lists to manage and mail. One of the skills that made my internship successful that is still applicable today is being adaptable. Twelve years ago I was trying to learn as much as possible and being willing to take on any task that was asked of me. That eventually led to other opportunities with delivering social and eventually programmatic media.

What makes Amobee the right fit for you? 

It comes down to a couple of things. The first one is I enjoy working with my team, peers, and manager. We interact consistently and on a daily basis and enjoying who you work with definitely makes things easier and also feels a little less like work at times. The other is opportunity, we work in digital advertising and things are constantly changing. Being able to work my way up from an intern and leading a team of programmatic delivery managers has been a great experience for my professional career. 

At Amobee we value employee development, how do you keep growing and learning in what you do?

One thing that stuck with me, during one of our training seminars is you learn the most when you’re slightly out of your comfort zone, but not in full panic mode. Don’t be afraid to put your hand up when a new opportunity or project comes up that gives you a chance to learn something different or new. Don’t overload yourself but if you, find yourself in a good spot to take on other responsibilities  — see what’s available.

Digital advertising is also always changing and evolving and there are a lot of good resources and communities out there online. I try to browse AdExchanger in my free time or see what’s trending on the adops Reddit.  

Many global Amobee employees are still working from home. Do you have any work-from-home tips for success you can share?

One of the first things I learned was to create a routine. Even though we sometimes do work after hours or weekends, I lost the transition from being at work v being at home. Establishing a schedule helped recreate the transition I would get when working in the office.  

Have you picked up any new hobbies in quarantine? 

I wouldn’t say I got new hobbies, I just go more into my existing hobbies. One of my wife’s favorite foods is steak and I’ve gotten more into cooking because of it. Since restaurant dining seems to be coming and going, I’ve gotten a kit that allows you to replicate some of the dry age steaks you can buy at restaurants at home. This allows us to still have a nice weekend date night until the restaurants allow in-seat dining again. 

As a leader working in adtech, do you have any advice for anyone looking to pursue a career in your field?

Colleges now offer courses that cover online marketing, but there’s still a ton of information available online. There are a lot of videos you can find on people giving demos or training for numerous platforms and a lot of them are free and you can find them by easily searching Google.  

The post Employee Spotlight: Greg Waller, Director Programmatic Media appeared first on Amobee.

Tell us your about role at Amobee

My role at Amobee is VP of Agency Partnerships, where I lead the IPG and Dentsu business. I am focused on solving my clients’ biggest challenges by leveraging Amobee’s award-winning platform solutions, which uniquely helps brands optimize the consumer journey across all audiences and channels—from linear TV and CTV/OTT to social and digital—including cross-channel unification, measurement, insight amplification and much more.

Tell us a little about your experiences prior to joining Amobee and how they have prepared you for your role here?

I spent more than 13 years with large global media agencies in senior leadership roles, working across many functions: strategy, buying and new business, including three and a half years in mainland China. After my agency tenure, I accepted a role with AOL / Verizon Media where I led the Dentsu partnership for three years. Having this ‘hybrid’ experience of global agency and platform business development has truly prepared me for my role at Amobee. I have a deep understanding of how agencies operate. As such, I can often anticipate and recognize areas of opportunity for partnership and mutually beneficial growth. My super-power is simplifying complex issues; I have a knack for quickly getting to the root cause of a problem and uncovering the reasons why it exists. That clarity enables me to identify and customize our solutions to meet our clients’ needs.  

Did you always know you wanted to work in advertising?

I knew I wanted to be in marketing since I was in high school. Then, in college I narrowed it down to advertising. From there I specifically chose media. The funny story is, during undergrad I took a Media Planning class having no idea what it actually was. I worked full-time during college and was happy the class was part of my marketing major and even happier that it fit into my hectic schedule. I immediately loved it, while everyone else hated it…so I knew I was on to something! I joined a media agency a week after graduating, and on day one, it was clear I made the right choice. 

What has been your favorite thing about joining Amobee since you started? 

First and foremost, the team–everyone has been so amazing. You’d think joining a company remotely couldn’t be a warm and welcoming experience; well it is! My onboarding was as seamless as it gets. Everyone has been so gracious and helpful. People took the extra time to get me up to speed, understanding we don’t have the luxury of popping over to one another’s desks. There is a feeling of team and collaboration, no matter what org/group you belong to. Everyone wants to win together. Second, I am impressed with our solutions. Of course I did my homework before joining, but you really don’t know until you dive in. I feel confident about the strategic choices and bets Amobee is making and how much care and passion there is around solving for the industry’s biggest challenges.  

Big picture, why did you join Amobee?

For this next chapter, I knew I wanted to stay close to ad tech given where the industry is headed. As Amobee continues to unify, simplify and optimize the complex and fragmented media planning and buying landscape, I was excited at the opportunity to be part of that journey. It is a unique and interesting time for our industry, and it takes a truly innovative approach to lead the next generation of advertising technology.  And that is exactly what Amobee is doing: moving the industry forward. 

What most excites you about reinventing advertising?

What excites me is the ‘what’  hasn’t really changed. You can pick up a marketing textbook from 40 years ago and the majority of the concepts and strategies still hold true. It is the ‘how’  that is being reinvented. Amobee is thinking about that ‘how’ the most holistically. The reinvention is about moving from this moment of overwhelming complexity, to leveraging technology how it was meant to be: making it easier, faster, and smarter!

What is the best advice you have ever received? 

As a multi-ethnic, NYC inner-city kid with a funny accent and a whole lot of sass, joining our industry almost two decades ago when diversity and inclusion was not as important of a priority, I struggled in the beginning with how to act at work. I was a minority in a number of ways, and was worried about being unfairly judged or type-casted. I then came across this advice: be LIKE yourself in professional settings. This meant, yes, I may need to ‘tone it down’ in certain work situations, but the key word is ‘tone,’ not ‘turn off.’ There is a way to stay authentic to yourself while also balancing your various day to day work dynamics. I decided not to conform, not try to fit in, and have people appreciate me for me.

Have you picked up any new hobbies in quarantine? 

Baking! And trying more sugar free and low carb recipes.  Anyone who knows me would say that sounds completely off-brand; however, with older in-laws nearby we are trying to be healthier. I have ventured into this new sugar-free and low-carb baking world and am really enjoying the creativity and risk involved – I mean will it REALLY taste good?! Good news, most have! 

Any final remarks you’d like to share?

We can all agree, no matter our own personal experience this year, it has been tough and difficult to adjust to on some level. What has helped me best is thinking about what I want the ‘headlines’ to be when I look back at 2020, as we all memories condensed down to quick snippets. And for me, I want the headline to be about having so much more time with my family, time that I would never have otherwise.  
       

The post Employee Spotlight: Andréa Waite, Vice President of Agency Partnerships appeared first on Amobee.

Tell us about yourself and your role at Amobee?

My name is Anand Natrajan, and I currently serve as Amobee’s SVP of Engineering. I first joined Amobee as part of the Videology acquisition nearly two years ago. Prior to that, I was responsible for overall product development and strategy for display and video over PC and mobile channels. 

What are your responsibilities?

I lead the development teams that work on our broadcaster platform. This platform serves digital customers like ITV in the UK, but also linear TV customers like Bell in Canada and Mediacorp in Singapore.  Our platform serves enterprise customers, who tend to have a particularly low tolerance for error or risk, so we have a heightened scrutiny on our quality, but with all of the usual pressures to deliver things quickly. I make sure my team has a balanced workload of items that push our vision, respond to customers, and challenge us. 

What excites you about coming to work each day?

No two days are alike. There is no set template for my workday. Sometimes, I spend time architecting solutions, sometimes explaining business requests to engineers, sometimes negotiating requirements with customers, sometimes coming up with madcap ideas that cause other people to do a lot of work… (:

Big picture, why did you join Amobee?

The vision and strategy we had was and continues to be a compelling one: The convergence of TV and digital advertising. I felt and still feel that Amobee brings a level of maturity, discipline and patience to that vision that is much needed. With Amobee and Singtel at the helm, our vision has a much better chance of coming to fruition.

You sparked the COVID-19 PSA initiative, can you tell us a little bit about what prompted you to kick-off this initiative?

We all have certain abilities, certain skills, certain talents and in the case of our company, we have this amazing technology that can do incredible things for our advertisers. I believe that it is incumbent on us to use this technology for society’s good as well, not just for the current crisis we are facing as a nation but for inevitable natural disasters, amber alerts and other crises that could benefit from our technologies at that time. The most important stakeholder is the public at large, and every responsible company should do its part to contribute to maintain society’s well-being.  

Did you expect the initiative to gain so much traction? If not, what did you expect to achieve when proposing the idea to the larger team?

When I first introduced the idea to the team, I did not have high expectations, nor did I expect the amount of support it immediately received. All I thought was “we can do something about it, it doesn’t cost much, we have the technology, why not?” I believe it was a Saturday when I first made the suggestion and by next day, Sunday, the execs had already agreed to this. The marketing team, led by Krista Thomas, instantly donated $5K. Employees donated their time to draft the campaign, setting up the creatives — these are the guys who are going above and beyond. All I had to do was send some slack messages.  

In your opinion, how does the campaign align with our company’s core values?

This campaign has truly been a reflection of our core values. Most of the people involved don’t even report to me. You have people from different teams coming together to collaborate and build something unique and powerful without hesitation. They do it simply because they’re passionate about the work that they do.

Any final remarks you’d like to share?

I think it is important to remember to continue having FUN while being the best. That’s what I would love to see more of —  people having fun!

The post Employee Spotlight: Anand Natrajan, SVP of Engineering appeared first on Amobee.

• Consumer behavior and sentiment can have a big impact on holiday shopping, especially during a pandemic.
• Advertisers need to quickly adapt their marketing strategies to align with changes in consumer sentiment and emotion.
• A solid data strategy that can monitor content engagement across all channels and devices is a surefire way of staying ahead this holiday season.

Today’s brands understand that pivoting their marketing dollars to respond to the ever-changing consumer landscape is imperative to attracting and retaining new shoppers. But in the era of Covid-19, all bets are off, and the question of how consumer behavior will impact this year’s holiday season remains top-of-mind for every advertiser. 

We sat down with an Amobee Analyst to review recent data from our Brand Intelligence—a proprietary audience intelligence tool that analyzes digital content engagement and consumer sentiment historically and in real-time—to help you navigate consumer sentiment fluctuations and trends that might influence your current and future holiday planning strategy.

The holiday season could extend longer than usual

Historically, consumer behavior has demonstrated that nearly 20% of research and spending starts before November 1. This year, given pandemic-related complexities and the rescheduling of Amazon Prime day from mid-July to October, holiday shopping started early and is well-underway. Here’s what to expect:

• Ecommerce will play a much larger role in consumer spending this season.
• Advertisers need to prepare a data strategy to stay informed of shifting consumer buying intent. 
• Given some of the unknowns in consumer spending, advertisers should plan to spend proportionally during the entire stretch of this unpredictable holiday season.

Kitchen appliances and technology products are still top categories for consumers

Prime Day helped set the stage this holiday season and racked in $30.5 billion for small and midsize businesses, a 60% increase year-over-year. Consumer spending in many traditional gift categories such as jewelry, fitness products, and vehicles have decreased since the onset of Covid-19. But technology and kitchen appliances still remain popular for consumers. Here’s what the data shows:

• Users were more interested in shopping during Prime Day to purchase holiday gifts early, including headphones and work-from-home office products.
• Kitchen appliances such as espresso machines, air fryers, instant pots, and brands like Le Creuset were among the most trending conversations. 
• Online users are relying on technology gift guides this year more than ever for shopping ideas.
• Users are heavily engaged with Amazon sales for their tech gifts, and this reliance is expected to increase as we get further into the season.

Holiday travel is still up in the air

Online engagement with airlines is picking up speed, especially based on some airlines’ commitment to leaving the middle seat empty and ensuring traveler safety. While holiday travel in the U.S. is currently unrestricted, data trends we’re seeing involving holiday travel sentiment include: 

• Because of Covid-19, online users are fastidiously doing their research and learning about safety and the feasibility of holiday travel.
• Domestic airline travel has a higher association with holiday travel than international travel.
• Flight is a top holiday travel association over road trips.
• Safety and social distancing are still top-of-mind concerns for travelers.
• Affordable travel has one of the lowest associations with holiday travel compared to cleanliness, safety, and social distancing. 

Leverage all the consumer intelligence you can get

Get your finger on the pulse of digital trends by monitoring the ebb and flow of 60 billion content engagements a day, across all channels and devices, so you can respond proactively to consumer sentiment as it’s happening.

Contact us today at Solutions@amobee.com to learn more about how Amobee Brand Intelligence can help you better understand the behaviors and trends that are driving this holiday season and beyond.

The post Key Consumer Behaviors and Trends Driving This Holiday Season appeared first on Amobee.