Tiara Puglisi

When I speak to people in and out of the media business, they all ask one question: “How did we get here?” https://lnkd.in/ei3p2TNi As we see layoffs at WBD, incoming at Paramount and then so many others, people want to know why did this happen? These are crown jewel companies with valuable IP! What I saw inside one of them was two countervailing forces: 1. The need to for stockholder satisfaction at the expense of customer satisfaction 2. The innovator’s dilemma writ large What does that mean? 1. Once streaming entered the arena, Wall Street valued Netflix at tech company multiples and encouraged legacy media to throw everything at getting into streaming and growing fast. Mergers, consolidation and more prevailed in the race to get bigger. Everyone had the data - only a few of these streamers would survive, because customers didn’t want dozens of services. They wanted 3-4. But in a rush to satisfy Wall Street, everyone got in. And when Wall Street changed their minds in 2022, the companies were left holding the bag. 2. When I started in media in 2007, we all knew streaming and digital was the future. We spent 75-80% of our time working on it. But the money that the cable bundle provided was hard to walk away from. Especially when trying to sell/merge a company. Legacy media could have and many wanted to get into streaming sooner. But it took money and time and a sharing of information company wide that could have been scary. So the end result? Everyone gets into streaming too late, trying to satisfy Wall Street, invests in content over building technology, loses focus on the consumer, loses focus on the brand and hopes for profitability. Whats the solution? Refocus. These are strong brands. Gen Z is the future. And they’ve got some attachment to the IP. But you’ve got to build a brand that works in streaming, linear, YouTube, TikTok, consumer products, theme parks and beyond. Multiple revenue streams, deeper engagement and focus on steady growth and nurturing fandom. Sound familiar? It should. It’s what Disney is doing. Universal has done it. It’s what we were trying to do before I left Warner Bros Discovery. Look at Gen Z. See how they interact with brands, how can you deepen their fandom and how can you monetize multiple touch points. Ignore Wall Street. Focus on growing vs cutting. If you look closely, you’ll see many brands doing this successfully in and outside of legacy media. Want me and talented colleagues to help? DM me. Needmore Stories is open for business and I’m #opentowork for the longer term.

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Proud to support Christine Osazuwa in the salary transparency project. Thanks Music Ally for the coverage. Lots of interesting insights for those in the music industry or music and tech at every stage of their career. 'We feel executives often lack the professional and personal support they need to prosper in their careers and we hope to help address that. We want to explore even more and identify tangible solutions to some of the issues that we know face music executives. Things that we didn’t explore, that we hope to in the future, is number of hours worked, treatment of parents, the interview/hiring process in music, professional development, and much more.' https://lnkd.in/eh-WjY2S

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✅🖥️ New York Times (6/22): “Streaming has long been hailed as a promising business, because companies like Netflix can add additional subscribers at little extra cost. The more paying subs a service has, the more the company’s costs can be spread out over a large base, lowering the cost per sub. But those want lots of options, and the costs of making enough programming can be enormous. As a result, a streaming service’s profitability depends in large part on how many paying subs are needed before those TV shows and movies become cost-effective. There was a time when industry execs hoped that number might be as low as 100MM. But now the consensus among many of the executives interviewed is that the number is at least 200, and possibly more. “If you’re going to be a full entertainment service with live sports and tent-pole blockbusters today, 200MM is a number that can give you the scale with the hope for growth over time,” Amazon (execs have) said. Bob Chapek, Disney’s CEO until 2022, also agreed that 200 was the number that meant “you’re big enough to compete.” Netflix has reached that, and then some, with about 270MM paying subs. Moreover, those pay an industry-leading average of more than $11 per month. Netflix is highly profitable, with operating margins of 28 percent. In the first quarter of 2024, Netflix reported revenue of $9.4B, and $2.3B in net income. No one else comes close. Disney and Amazon are the only other streaming services with more than 200MM subscribers.” ⬇️ #streamingtv #ctvadvertising #avod #svod #ott #fast #upfronts

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The battle against misinformation isn’t just about the looming election—it’s our new, daily reality, and it’s more urgent than ever.   At #AWNY24, industry leaders from Integral Ad Science (IAS) and IPG Mediabrands, in a conversation moderated by Axios’ Sara Fischer, drove home an essential point: misinformation is here to stay, and it’s evolving quickly. As Dave Byrne of IPG Mediabrands warned, “Harmful actors will find new tools, and AI is perfect for them to create misinformation.” He emphasized that “misinformation won’t go away after the November elections.”   Lisa Utzschneider of IAS underscored how pervasive theissue has become: “It’s the new norm now for officials to say ‘This is misinformation, and this is truth.’”   From presidential debates to local hurricane preparations, we’re seeing the impact across all levels of society.   When I counsel CMOs and other C-level executives, I take the position that we can’t afford to be reactive. Leaders and leadership brands must construct the toughest safeguards and navigate this landscape with vigilance and integrity. It’s not just about avoiding association with false information—it’s about actively contributing to a more truthful digital ecosystem.    This is not just a matter of brand safety—it’s about fortifying the foundation of our culture. And marketers have a unique responsibility and opportunity to lead the fight.   How is your organization fighting against misinformation? I’d love to hear your thoughts and to learn about your strategies for handling misinformation and ensuring brand safety.    #AdvertisingWeekNY #Marketing #Brands #Misinformation #BrandSafety #Tech #AI #Ethics #Truth

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The battle against misinformation isn’t just about the looming election—it’s our new, daily reality, and it’s more urgent than ever.   At #AWNY24, industry leaders from Integral Ad Science (IAS) and IPG Mediabrands, in a conversation moderated by Axios’ Sara Fischer, drove home an essential point: misinformation is here to stay, and it’s evolving quickly. As Dave Byrne of IPG Mediabrands warned, “Harmful actors will find new tools, and AI is perfect for them to create misinformation.” He emphasized that “misinformation won’t go away after the November elections.”   Lisa Utzschneider of IAS underscored how pervasive theissue has become: “It’s the new norm now for officials to say ‘This is misinformation, and this is truth.’”   From presidential debates to local hurricane preparations, we’re seeing the impact across all levels of society.   When I counsel CMOs and other C-level executives, I take the position that we can’t afford to be reactive. Leaders and leadership brands must construct the toughest safeguards and navigate this landscape with vigilance and integrity. It’s not just about avoiding association with false information—it’s about actively contributing to a more truthful digital ecosystem.    This is not just a matter of brand safety—it’s about fortifying the foundation of our culture. And marketers have a unique responsibility and opportunity to lead the fight.   How is your organization fighting against misinformation? I’d love to hear your thoughts and to learn about your strategies for handling misinformation and ensuring brand safety.    #AdvertisingWeekNY #Marketing #Brands #Misinformation #BrandSafety #Tech #AI #Ethics #Truth

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Netflix is the latest titan to recognize the value of programmatic advertising with the announcement of its strategy to distribute unsold OTT/CTV ad space across several different providers. The Trade Desk, Google DV360, Magnite are cited as the next batch of providers. Up until now, CTV media buyers had to go through Microsoft Xandr DSP or book with Netflix publisher-direct. It reminds me of the moment when Lamar Advertising Company took the same bold step to ensure their unsold space was programmatically available in top notch, third party SSP platforms like Place Exchange and others. It’s a rite of passage. Expanding the surface area of buy-side and sell-side platforms unlocks massive revenue dollars, when done right. Some of the smartest people in the world of business work at Netflix. This is proof of that. Many hands make light work! This layers on a new dimension for marketers when they say that they can now “Netflix and Chilll”. 📺😎👏🏼 #programmaticadvertising #ctv #innovation #followthemoney https://lnkd.in/gJU9ytZi

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For agencies, an expansion of streamers’ footprints to international markets could translate into an opportunity to access first-to-market opportunities and test new ad formats, but will also mean increased complexity for media buyers and creative work alike. #mediaplanning #mediabuying

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Preach on Jon Hudson. Listen up everyone on how mobile apps give brands 4 benefits: 1. Better Ad experiences 2. Better, Cleaner Supply Path 3. Incremental Reach by capturing more audiences in the places they spend more time 4. Unique 1st-party data for consent-driven targeting.

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✅🖥️ AdExchanger (10/11): “Paramount’s move represents a serious shake-up because TV publishers that use Nielsen alternatives (like VideoAmp, iSpot and Comscore) typically do so in tandem with Nielsen, which has been the foundation of TV ad measurement for decades. In this case, however, Paramount and Nielsen failed to come to an agreement in time for their contract renewal. Despite the strong sentiment, a break from Nielsen’s services isn’t ideal for Paramount. Advertisers and media buyers have leaned on Nielsen ratings since the 1950s. That (fact) has been spurring a lot of conversations on LinkedIn lately. On the one hand, Paramount could be a trendsetter. “If Paramount is able to do business using VideoAmp without [a financial] downside, then other programmers will naturally start considering making the same move,” media measurement vet – and VideoAmp’s former chief measurability officer – Josh Chasin observed on LinkedIn. “This is a critical moment.” Chasin was commenting on a post written by Marshall Cohen, an industry vet and media and marketing consultant. Cohen notes that Nielsen keeps its service fees high not simply out of stubbornness, but because its business model doesn’t leave much room for negotiation. If Nielsen lowers its prices for one client, according to Cohen, they have to lower prices for everyone. “This,” he argues, is very difficult with private equity owners, who don’t understand the business [and just] want better returns.” Still, Cohen writes, it’s likely a renewed contract will – eventually – put an end to the contentious standoff between Paramount and Nielsen. “Rarely, if ever, does a media company go without Nielsen ratings for very long,” Cohen says.” ⬇️ #measurement #streaming #lineartv #ctv #ott #tvos #acr https://lnkd.in/eNaWgx7W

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The shift to streaming isn't happening fast enough to offset declining linear TV ad revenues. This puts major broadcasters and media companies under pressure to innovate and deliver on ad goals. As the industry scrambles for solutions, key questions emerge: How can TV advertisers effectively reach and engage fragmented audiences across platforms? What new measurement and attribution models are needed to account for streaming's unique dynamics? #Advertising #Television #AdRevenue

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🎙️Podcast listening among Black audiences is on the rise! 🎙️A 10% growth from Q2 2023 to Q2 2024 now sees 47% of Black/African-Americans tuning in monthly Podcast Reach continues to lead the way in connecting multicultural audiences with diverse and impactful content. Triton Digital Signal Hill Insights #PodcastReachNetwork #MulticulturalAudience

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Looking forward to this discussion on the future of #measurement & the incredible insights from this amazing panel! #attribution, #MMM, #MTA

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✅🖥️ The Hollywood Reporter (6/26): “By now everyone in Hollywood seems to accept that streaming is a cutthroat business. It may not be zero sum (most studies suggest that consumers will pay for about four streaming services at a time), but it is mighty close to it. And with Netflix holding a secure lock on one of those subscriptions for most consumers, there is increasingly little room for error. But the streaming wars between giant services like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney, Max, Peacock, Paramount+ and others also obscure an entire ecosystem of streaming offerings that are trying to carve out their own niches in an increasingly difficult environment. For all the press that the big streaming platforms get, there is a surprisingly vibrant world of boutique and specialty streamers chasing loyal and engaged fans at a much smaller scale. And new players continue to enter the space. In the world of comedy, there is Dropout, born out of the comedy website College Humor. And BuzzFeed veterans-turned YouTubers The Try Guys and Watcher have launched dedicated subscription streaming offerings of their own in recent weeks in an effort to more effectively monetize the sometimes fleeting audience that YouTube or social platforms deliver. Sony offers CrunchyRoll, an anime-focused service, which boasts 13MM subscribers; AMC Networks operates services like the horror-centric Shudder and the British-focused Acorn TV; and Cineverse operates the horror service Screambox and independent film service Fandor.” ⬇️ #streamingtv #ctvadvertising #avod #svod #fast #ott https://lnkd.in/eyBBAdWE

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The question from the IAB was "in 2025 what's going to tip the scales on viewership from majority linear to majority streaming?" My answer: SPORTS. It probably already has, without a true universal currency who really knows. But I can say the evidence was strong in that there was a waiting list of +100 brands and agencies for our Women's Sports NewFront. Thank you to the IAB and ADWEEK for caring about our perspective on the future of fandom and value of women's sports. https://lnkd.in/euZNcXdP #upfronts #newfronts #womenssports #sportsdata #streaming

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Netflix streaming was one of Amazon Web Services (AWS) early success stories and proofs of concept (I'll drop a link in the comments). "Amy Reinhard, the company’s president of advertising, was clear: Netflix will roll out a proprietary ad tech platform by next year." Could Netflix in-house #adtech be the next Netflix <> AWS collab? There's history there and this could be a major win for proving the value of AWS for Advertising out in the wild... #adtech + #cloud = 🔥

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"Are we really in a final phase in which only a few local media companies will successfully make the digital transition? Gordon & Corey turn to advertising executive Shawn Riegsecker, who foresees the swift demise of two large and popular types of media but also sees a great deal of opportunities arising from it." Listen to this episode of the Borrell Associates Inc. podcast with Gordon Borrell and Corey Elliott. Link is in the comments. Basis Technologies #digitaladvertising #publishers #newspapers

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