Gupshup adds Lorrie Norrington to its Board of Directors
Gupshup, the leading Conversation Cloud platform, announced the addition of tech veteran Lorrie Norrington to its Board of Directors. Norrington brings extensive tech expertise and a proven track record of over four decades in scaling global technology and internet businesses, to Gupshup.
Norrington currently serves on the boards of the global multinational Colgate-Palmolive, and SaaS companies Hubspot and Asana, among others. She previously served in senior executive roles at Ebay, including as President of Ebay International. These are all highly relevant and valuable experiences for a global SaaS company like Gupshup on its private-to-public journey. Her commitment to strong values and integrity aligns well with Gupshup’s goal of building world-class governance structures.
She also serves as an Operating Partner at Lead Edge Capital, where she advises late-stage high-growth companies. Prior to joining Lead Edge in 2012, Lorrie held senior leadership roles at eBay, Shopping.com, Intuit, and General Electric Company. Norrington received her B.S. from the University of Maryland and M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Beerud Sheth, CEO and Co-founder, Gupshup said,
“We are excited to welcome Lorrie to Gupshup’s board. Her vast experience,deep expertise, and inspirational leadership will help accelerate Gupshup’s growth. Her commitment to mentoring executives, her personal values, and positive energy contribute greatly to a very constructive board dynamic.”
Lorrie Norrington, said,
“Gupshup is the market leader in a huge space, with immense potential, led by an experienced management team, and a strong board of directors. I look forward to working with the Gupshup team to help realize the full potential of their ambitious vision”.
Earlier this year, Gupshup announced the Conversation Cloud—a comprehensive suite of SaaS capabilities with built-in Generative AI. It transforms business-to-customer interactions through conversations, enabling conversational relationship management across the customer lifecycle.
About Gupshup
Gupshup is a Conversation Cloud that enables businesses to communicate, advertise, and converse with their customers by leveraging AI and Conversational Messaging. Gupshup’s conversational engagement solutions enable 45,000+ brands across the globe including India, Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the United States to deliver transformative customer experience, accelerated growth, and increased revenue while saving costs. Citibank, AkzoNobel, Unilever, Dream11, Netflix, Flipkart, Khan Academy, and Ola are a few of the brands levering the power of the Gupshup Conversation Cloud. With an industry-trained Conversational AI platform, and real-time conversational intelligence, Gupshup powers over 10 billion messages per month. Gupshup is a Unicorn with marquee investors such as Tiger Global, Fidelity Management and Research Co. LLC, and others on its cap table. For more details, please visit www.gupshup.io.
Read more: Salim Ali Joins Gupshup as Chief Marketing Officer
Channel Factory Hires Three Senior Executives to Further Accelerate Brand Safety and Contextual Solutions
Channel Factory, the global brand suitability and contextual advertising platform, announces three significant additions to its executive team: Luiz Felipe Barros as Global Chief Marketing Officer, Anudit Vikram as Global Chief Product and Technology Officer, and Nerissa Valdellon as Senior Vice President of Media Solutions. These three monumental hires will allow the company to expand its ability to help clients deliver media efficiency, effectiveness, and brand reputation together and expand its mission to drive a positive impact on business performance, people, and the planet.
Luiz Felipe Barros, Global Chief Marketing Officer
In today’s complex media landscape, brands are under unprecedented pressure to deliver short-term growth and drive a measurable impact on their top and bottom lines while protecting their brand reputation and building brand equity in the long run. Following successful stints at AB InBev, Mercado Libre, and as an entrepreneur, Luiz Felipe Barros will work to transform the industry at scale in his Global Chief Marketing Officer role.
“I have long admired Channel Factory for cracking the code to deliver business growth and brand reputation without compromising either,” said Barros. “Our exclusive data and cutting-edge technology enable Channel Factory to deliver outstanding media efficiency and effectiveness on digital video campaigns, ultimately driving a positive impact on business performance. In my time with the company, I’ve witnessed how integral our mission is for the betterment of the industry.”
Read More: Kartikeya Tiwari Appointed as Creative Digital Partner for FCB Group India
Anudit Vikram, Chief Product and Technology Officer
With over two decades of experience in business, advertising, and marketing technology roles, Anudit Vikram now sits as Channel Factory’s Global Chief Product and Technology Officer, where he will be responsible for bringing the product vision to life, driving business and market value, and fostering a world-class technology team. Vikram previously served in leadership positions at MediaMath, Dun & Bradstreet, Merkle, Yahoo!, and Microsoft, among others.
“One of the most important challenges facing the digital advertising industry today is balancing rapid technological advancement with responsible, ethical practices,” shared Vikram. “Channel Factory successfully stands tall amidst these challenges, all while pushing the boundaries of AI, machine learning, and data analytics, with a simple yet powerful mantra: Do Good Business By Doing Good.”
Nerissa Valdellon, Senior Vice President of Media Solutions
As Senior Vice President of Media Solutions, Nerissa Veldellon joins Channel Factory, where she will enhance and diversify its product offerings, focusing on growing omnichannel strategies, driving growth, and guaranteeing outcomes solutions. Valdellon has over 20 years of experience leading operations teams in the digital advertising ecosystem, successfully navigating the ever-evolving landscape of omnichannel marketing at companies like Viant, Specific Media, Adomni, and others.
“As digital advertising continues to grow, protecting brand integrity while achieving targeted and performance-driven, effective reach becomes increasingly crucial. I’ve long since admired Channel Factory’s commitment to brand-safe and conscious advertising,” said Valdellon. “Together, we’ll continue to show genuine care for our customers and explore new opportunities to bring innovation to brand safety along with data-driven performance opportunities.”
“Luiz, Anudit, and Nerissa are incredible additions to our Channel Factory family, and this is a significant moment for us as we continue to grow and support our customers,” said Tony Chen, CEO and Founder of Channel Factory. “Each is an expert in their craft, and these three crucial additions to our already amazing team will allow us to continue delivering excellent media efficiency for our clients, create new innovations, and further transform the media landscape.”
Colgate-Palmolive selects WPP as Amazon agency of record in Europe
Colgate-Palmolive has selected WPP as its Amazon agency of record in its key markets in Europe, consolidating Amazon media activities with a single company.
WPP will support Colgate-Palmolive’s oral care, personal care and home care businesses to adopt a more data-driven, full-funnel approach to Amazon in order to accelerate omnichannel brand and sales impact via Amazon’s Retail, Integrated Amazon Advertising and Amazon cloud-based clean room solutions.
The win reflects Colgate-Palmolive’s continued investment in digital commerce and further enhances its robust omnichannel marketing strategies.
WPP was awarded the business concluding a competitive review to integrate critical Amazon workstreams. A distinct new end-to-end, cross-agency functional model driven and scaled across the region will work in collaboration with local talent. The WPP bespoke solution, led by VML’s Amazon Center of Excellence in Luxembourg, and in partnership with GroupM’s Wavemaker, forges deeper connection between sales, media and brand teams by aligning custom insights and data across the entire customer journey.
The model will utilise WPP’s proprietary Amazon tech stack, which includes its market-leading Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) Insights solution, to help Colgate-Palmolive brands achieve exponential growth on Amazon. A highly operational predictive and data-driven model, AMC Insights naturally sequences Amazon-level insights into clear actions for greater precision and accuracy in reaching audience segments, bringing Colgate-Palmolive brands a competitive edge in their retail media investments. This unified approach to planning and activation across all channels, enabled through WPP Open, the company’s intelligent marketing operating system, will deliver greater visibility into marketing and business performance, along with highly effective, tailored activations across retail, content, media and measurement.
Christy Borrowman, VP Digital Transformation, Europe at Colgate-Palmolive, said:
“As part of our continued digital transformation we want to unlock the growth potential in digital commerce. With their Amazon Centre of Excellence team, VML brings deep Amazon and ecommerce expertise that can proactively enable long-term growth for our brands and optimise our media investment on Amazon. We are data-driven and need to get to better insights on ecommerce. I’m confident this new model with WPP will ensure every Amazon ecosystem touchpoint drives deeper engagement, loyalty and, ultimately, conversion for our brands.”
Gemma Spence, VML Chief Digital Commerce Officer, EMEA and WPP Colgate-Palmolive Commerce Lead, said:
“We are thrilled that Colgate Europe has selected WPP as its agency of record for Amazon. Integrated planning and delivery are essential for modern marketing organisations to achieve transformation and sustainable growth. We are confident that the WPP Open-enabled workflow, driven by our world-class AMC solution, will better equip Colgate-Palmolive’s strong brands to meet the evolving demands of today’s dynamic digital landscape.”
Read more: WPP and IBM Collaborate to Revolutionize B2B Marketing with Gen AI
Mediahub Wins Arla Foods’ Media Account in ANZ
Arla Foods has appointed Mediahub as its strategic media partner in New Zealand, extending the agency’s relationship with the brand; it was previously appointed media agency of record in Australia in 2022. The agency will manage the global dairy cooperative’s brands in New Zealand through full-funnel strategy, planning, and buying across all channels.
Arla Foods awards its media account to Mediahub in ANZ
Strategy and planning have already begun with the first campaign anticipated to launch in the market in early 2025. New Zealand was added to Mediahub’s operational scope last year. Sue Squillace, Mediahub CEO ANZ, said the use of already established, local, performance-focused teams who are able to respond to changing market conditions was part of the agency’s ambitious growth strategy, and its bid to become one of the strongest media brands in ANZ.
Read more: Taboola Introduces Taboola for Audience, AI-Powered Tech for Publishers
Here’s what they said
Sue Squillace, Mediahub CEO ANZ, said the appointment strengthens the agency’s ability to strategically collaborate with global brands regardless of location and its trans-Tasman offering.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to extend our strategic partnership into New Zealand and we look forward to being part of Arla’s ambitious growth journey of all their iconic brands on both sides of the Tasman. Arla Foods joins a growing list of clients who are seeing the benefits that Mediahub’s trans-Tasman model is having on their business, including New Balance and Bosch.”
Marion Roberts, general manager Arla Foods Australia and New Zealand, said,
“Our relationship with Mediahub has gone from strength to strength, they have shown a deep commitment to understanding our consumers and brands and have consistently delivered successful integrated campaigns for Castello Cheese and Lurpak Butter. We look forward to the seeing the benefits of this thinking translated to our New Zealand business.”
Hugo Winter, GM, Mediahub, New Zealand added,
“We are truly excited to welcome Arla Foods as one of our foundation clients at Mediahub New Zealand and supporting our Australian counterparts to deliver local expertise. We look forward to working with Mai and the team to deliver stand out media solutions to help them grow their already iconic brands Lurpak and Castello.”
Read More: Social Panga bags the digital creative & communication mandates for Balaji Wafers
Taboola Introduces Taboola for Audience, AI-Powered Tech for Publishers
Taboola, a global leader in powering recommendations for the open web, announced Taboola for Audience, a new AI-powered technology that empowers publishers to drive significantly more traffic, which is more critical now than ever.
Taboola for Audience allows publishers to future-proof their audience development goals and navigate substantial changes affecting their referral traffic from search and social media. In 2024 alone, publishers have contended with changes to search engine and social media traffic, as well as ongoing uncertainty from cookie deprecation plans.
Publishers are making use of Taboola for Audience capabilities and with it, Taboola has driven nearly 10% more traffic to select publisher sites. making it a top referral source after social media and search. Among select publishers, Taboola for Audience is the single largest traffic referral source after social media and search as well.
Taboola for Audience is an industry-first offering that empowers publishers with technology to attract and retain readers through advanced personalisation and insights, sourced from Taboola’s nearly 600 million daily active users, and massive distribution including across the top mobile device manufacturers in the world.
Taboola for Audience combines AI-powered personalisation capabilities into a single, unified audience development platform, and includes:
- Exclusive acquisition channels such as Android OEM relationships, News aggregators, personalised notifications, and more to reach users wherever they may be.
- Reader experience personalisation that enables editorial teams to combine editorial voice and AI across the entire site, from article pages to the homepage.
- Actionable audience insights that editorial and commercial teams can learn from in real-time to inform content strategies, bringing new loyal audiences to the site.
Adam Singolda, CEO at Taboola said,
“Publishers are facing a new era in which sudden decisions by Big Tech and changes in consumer behaviour are making it harder to survive,”
Further Added,
“Industry giants like Google are changing rules for search, making it harder for publishers to surface content through organic rankings while adding another barrier for site traffic, in the form of Generative AI search. Social platforms like Meta have closed dedicated ‘news’ portals from their apps. Today, publishers need the right technologies to adapt to these changes and to find, grow, and keep audiences. Taboola for Audience gives publishers a single solution, with AI built from years of our successful publisher relationships to thrive in this new era.”
Christian Broughton, CEO, The Independent said,
“Taboola has been a true strategic partner in helping us grow,”
Further Added,
“There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to audience engagement, and Taboola’s ability to power key areas of our homepage, recirculation from within articles, and other sections of our site, their huge amounts of readership data that provide actionable insights, and their valued partnership in working side-by-side with our own editorial team are the unique building blocks in our shared success.”
Read more: Taboola and Yahoo Partner for Native Ads Worldwide
Sanjay Gupta, Country Head for Google India Promoted to President APAC
Sanjay Gupta, Google’s Country Manager for India, has been promoted to President for Asia Pacific, taking over for Scott Beaumont, who will leave the company at the end of the year after 16 years of service.
For the next sixteen years, Gupta worked at Hindustan Unilever, where he started out as a management trainee. He rose through the ranks to become the West Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar area sales manager. From there, he managed a number of brands, including Close-Up, Lux, Vim, and others.
Later on, he rose to the position of Head for Hindustan Unilever’s Western India portfolio. Additionally, Gupta served as CMO for Mobility at Bharti Airtel before departing in 2009 to become Chief Operating Officer of Star India.
Read More: Digital Media Executive, Kerel Cooper, Joins GumGum as Chief Marketing Officer
IAB Europe Releases First Attitudes to Retail Media Report Revealing Key Trends & Growth Areas in Europe
IAB Europe, the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising industry, has today (July 23rd, 2024) released the first Pan-European Attitudes to Retail Media Report for 2024, offering a fully comprehensive overview of the current status and future trends driving Retail Media in Europe as determined by the buyers and sellers in Retail Media advertising.
Key findings reveal that half of buyers are already partnering with Retail Media Networks and are shifting budgets from other marketing channels to fuel Retail Media investment.
The survey developed by IAB Europe’s Retail Media Committee received over 160 respondents from advertisers, agencies, and Retail Media networks in 31 markets. The majority of respondents (80%+) manage annual advertising budgets of €1m (£842k) or above and are investing more than 41% in digital advertising. Many of the respondents were either heads of Retail Media or media directors.
Commenting on the findings from the report, Marie-Clare Puffett, IAB Europe’s industry development & insights director said, “The report reveals that Retail Media is enhancing media planning by leveraging data insights and reaching consumers at their point of purchase. It also highlights the importance of addressing barriers, such as the need for industry collaboration to establish standards. This collaboration is crucial for fostering the growth and professionalisation of Retail Media and IAB Europe plays a vital role in uniting the industry and setting standards for the European market.”
Read more: IAB Europe Releases First Edition of Pan-European Retailer Digital Advertising Capability Map
Key Findings from the Report:
Retail Media adoption is still nascent: The report highlights that while Retail Media is a widely discussed topic, its adoption is still in the early stages. Only 50% of buyers have partnered with a retailer or Retail Media Network for more than one year.
Spend diverted from other marketing budgets: Half of buyers are reallocating funds from other marketing channels to Retail Media, particularly from linear TV and performance marketing budgets.
On-site opportunities dominate investment: Currently, most Retail Media investments focus on on-site opportunities, indicating potential growth in off-site and in-store advertising in the coming year.
Data access and point of sale reach drive investment: Nearly 90% of buyers are motivated by the access to retailer first-party data, and three-quarters of buyers are drawn by the opportunity to reach consumers at the point of sale.
Fragmentation and lack of standards hinder investment: Approximately 60% of buyers cite the fragmentation of Retail Media Networks and the lack of standardisation as significant barriers. Retailers also face challenges with operational elements and technological requirements.
Measurement options and audience reach are key Retail Media Network evaluation criteria: Around 75% of buyers consider measurement options and audience reach crucial when evaluating Retail Media Networks (RMNs) within the same category.
Jason Wescott, chair of IAB Europe’s Retail Media Committee and global head of commerce solutions at GroupM said:
“Market Intelligence is one of the foundational pillars of our Retail Media Committee work plan. Amidst the burgeoning interest in Retail Media, it is imperative we deliver a consistent and authoritative source of truth regarding the European market landscape. Our previous surveys have yielded invaluable insights, guiding critical committee decisions on project prioritisation, exemplified by the publication of our Retail Media Measurement Standards in April. I am delighted to support the release of our inaugural ‘Attitudes to Retail Media’ report, which will unveil pivotal trends and growth opportunities across Europe. I am confident these findings will furnish our committee and members with indispensable strategic insights.”
Developing standards for Retail Media Advertising in Europe is a key focus for IAB Europe’s Retail Media Committee. This multi-stakeholder group brings together retailers alongside leading Retail Media Businesses in Europe to advance and shape the future of this exciting digital advertising space. It has already produced valuable resources including pan-European definitions, the first-ever industry association-led Retailer Digital Advertising Capability Map, and a Retail Media Glossary. You can find these resources and more on IAB Europe’s Retail Media Hub here.
The full report can be downloaded from IAB Europe’s website here
Read more: IAB Tech Lab Launches Working Group to Update India’s DPDPA 2023
Digital Media Executive, Kerel Cooper, Joins GumGum as Chief Marketing Officer
GumGum, the leading contextual-first, global digital advertising platform, is excited to announce the appointment of Kerel Cooper as its new chief marketing officer (CMO).
Phil Schraeder, CEO of GumGum said,
“We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Kerel as our new CMO,”
Further added,
“This is a game-changing moment for us at such a transformational time at GumGum. Kerel’s unparalleled expertise in ad tech is exactly what we need to skyrocket our growth. With his leadership, we’re set to revolutionise our mindset-first approach and turbocharge our ability to help our clients reach and support all audiences.”
Kerel Cooper joins GumGum from Group Black, where he served as president of advertising, driving the advancement of Black-owned media. Before Group Black, Cooper was CMO at LiveIntent, where he ascended through the ranks over seven years from VP of platform development. His extensive experience in the industry also includes his role as an adjunct professor at Kean University, where he teaches sports marketing and digital marketing strategies to undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, Cooper co-founded the Minority Report Podcast.
As CMO, Cooper will be responsible for leading GumGum’s global marketing strategy, fostering brand and agency adoption of GumGum’s innovative advertising solutions, and driving overall growth. His expertise in ad tech will be crucial in navigating the challenges and opportunities in the digital advertising landscape.
Cooper said,
“I’m excited to join GumGum and lead the marketing efforts for a company at the forefront of contextual intelligence and innovation in advertising. GumGum’s unique approach aligns with my vision of creating meaningful and impactful connections for all audiences, everywhere. I look forward to contributing to the company’s continued success and growth while expanding global awareness of mindset-first advertising,”
Read more: GumGum Announces Playground xyz’s Media Portfolio Integration
JCDecaux Macau Renews and Extends its Exclusive Advertising Contract with Macau International Airport
JCDecaux SE, the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, announces that JCDecaux Macau, a joint venture between JCDecaux (80% equity) and HN Group (20% equity), has renewed its exclusive advertising contract with Macau International Airport for a 10-year period, following a competitive tender process.
Running from July 1, 2024, this new contract strengthens JCDecaux’s presence in Macau and follows the award of the 15-year street furniture contract. Together with our Chinese airports concessions, this ensures a strong presence in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area – one of the world’s most dynamic regions, home to over 86 million people.
JCDecaux Macau has managed the advertising sales concession at Macau International Airport since 2003. Under the new contract, JCDecaux will introduce a programme of digitization, deploying innovative technology, creative solutions and airport products to enhance airport services and experiences while generating advertising revenue. Looking ahead, the growth of Macau airport advertising will be driven by digitization and a strong emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles while delivering results for advertisers.
Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen once again by the Macau International Airport Company Limited following our longstanding 21-year partnership. This contract is a further recognition of JCDecaux’s expertise and ability to provide innovative and high-quality solutions for advertisers. Our commitment to excellence and to providing best-in-class service is at the heart of our enduring relationship, and we are proud that this has been recognised by CAM. We would like to thank CAM for their continued trust as we work to provide next-generation airport advertising products and services that can transform the airport environment and enhance the passenger experience. This will create a powerful platform for brand advertisers, promoting growth and innovation over the next decade and beyond.”
![](https://adtechtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/JCDecaux-Airport-Macau-interior-©JCDecaux.jpg)
Image credit- JCDecaux
Read More: Elevision and DWTC Sign Transformative Media and Advertising Partnership
VIOOH & Intersection Partner on Digital Out-of-Home Programmatic Sales Across the US
VIOOH, the leading premium global digital out-of-home (DOOH) supply-side platform, announced a new nationwide programmatic media owner partnership in the US, collaborating with Intersection, the leading experience-driven out-of-home media and technology company with audiences across top US cities.
Operating in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other major US cities, Intersection supplies coverage across thousands of digital screens strategically placed in high density areas, adjacent to some of the largest retail brands, shopping districts, Fortune 500 companies, and key transit hubs – highly visible to pedestrians and traffic alike.
![](https://cdn.exchangewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/VIOOH-x-Intersection-Press-Release-Photo-1024x683.jpeg)
Through this partnership with VIOOH, US and International buyers will be able to programmatically access Intersection’s over 6,500 street and transit screens in 13 designated market areas (DMAs) and 90 airports through VIOOH’s real-time Trading Manager platform.
Jean-Christophe Conti, chief executive officer at VIOOH said,
“This partnership is a great addition to our existing programmatic DOOH offering across the US. We’re always looking for new ways to unlock commercial opportunities for advertisers. Intersection has a wide range of digital screens across major US cities and we’re incredibly pleased to partner with this industry leader. We hope advertisers, both those within the US as well as new overseas buyers looking to better target American audiences, will maximise this new partnership and the opportunities it brings.”
Chris Grosso, chief executive officer at Intersection said,
“We’re pleased to partner with VIOOH to bring prDOOH to more buyers across the US and globally. Our media is located in well-travelled locations and can connect brands with the right audience. The integration with VIOOH will bring even more opportunities for brands to engage with diverse audiences, and buy and measure out-of-home media in the same way as online, mobile, and other digital media.”
Read more: VIOOH Launches Programmatic Sales for Digital Out-of-Home with Beijing Metro