Shashi Seth

The interest around the AI platforms and models race is so hot that industry conventions and norms are getting rewritten. Traditionally, large VC firms have stayed away from backing rival firms operating in the same line of products and solutions. In the AI race, we see iconic VC firms like Sequoia Capital backing multiple leaders in the AI platform ecosystem - OpenAI, xAI and now Anthropic. Perhaps it is a sign of things to come - that we may be seeing the evolution of a multipolar AI ecosystem. https://lnkd.in/gMnAnnbE #aiplatforms #aifirms #aiinvestors #sequoiacapital

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Spent some time with the knowledgeable & keen Dylan Conroy to discuss digital publisher supply side strategies in the era of AI & how Mula is helping our customers reclaim lost revenue & traffic. Having the right tools, talent, understanding of your audience (know thyself) & investing in your brand is the playbook. Publishers become Marketers. Solid summary below; upwards!

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CTV show-level reporting isn’t show-level optimization. Tatari is right about that. We built Denali TV to close the gap. Tatari's Tom Discepola piece on CTV’s transparency gap gets the diagnosis right. Bidstream content data is patchy. Premium streamers rarely share show-level data. Exchanges don’t sell show-level optimization. Privacy rules make household viewing data risky to pass around. His advice is to know where reporting ends and optimization begins. That line is exactly where Denali works. He asks four questions. Here’s how Denali TV answers them: 1. How complete is the data? We don’t rely on bidstream labels. Denali combines where spots actually ran with the advertiser’s own first-party sales data. Program level water marking is coming fast. 2. How fast is it? Denali TV leverages sales lift hour by hour, program by program and optimize while the campaign is running, not in a recap after it ends. 3. Can you transact against it? Yes. Denali is a neutral optimization layer. We’re not a DSP, SSP or data company. Spend shifts toward stronger programs inside the network’s own inventory, with no new trafficking or billing. We are neutral and can work with any SSP, DSP, agency, advertiser or data company. 4. At what scale? Across full day-part rotations on linear and the full list of programs on CTV, not one-off sponsorships. On privacy: we keep linear’s model. We ask “which shows sell or drive the highest number of desired outcomes?” The market is already moving. Program-level transparency is quickly becoming table stakes. Publishers are starting to curate their best-performing programs for performance advertisers who buy on a cost-per-order (CPO) basis. Why so fast? Both sides win. → Performance advertisers get the programs that actually drive orders, at a better CPO.→ TV publishers get paid what their best inventory is really worth.→ It’s free for the buy side. Denali TV’s CTV program curation and pricing optimization is infrastructure for the performance TV marketplace. Publishers and performance advertisers can both benefit, without risking privacy, pricing or the relationship. The gap between reporting and optimization is closing, faster than most people think. #CTV #ConnectedTV #TVAdvertising #AdTech #Programmatic #DenaliTV #LinearTV

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For a select few publishers, subscription revenue growth "isn’t just continuing, it’s speeding up." And the way they're making it happen? Bundling services. While not every publisher is enjoying subscription growth – the article notes that "the median digital publisher has seen flat subscriber volume" – the way the larger publishers are holds lessons for all publishers. Getting to really know your audience is the first step. From there you can better monetize demand and expand your product offering to serve more of their needs. It frequently takes thinking a little outside the box and taking some risks, but remaining stagnant is a risk in its own right. The whole thing is worth a read as it goes into a good amount of detail. https://lnkd.in/eDc3jcmD #mediaindustry #mediabusiness #subscriptions

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The launch model has dominated FinPub for over a decade (for good reason). At this past Financial Marketing Summit we saw how one publisher transitioned away from the eternal launch to a live show model that more resembles a hybrid finpub & traditional television model. Yesterday, I had a great conversation with Niklas Freier, President of FinMC, about the operational side of that transition. The eternal launch model can be exhausting on staff and by their nature bring a lot of volatility to revenue (think big hits & bombs). We saw at FMS how this model smoothed out that volatility and delivered more predictable revenue. But it's a big change to day-to-day operations. Niklas talked through how they handled those changes and a lot more about building a FinPub for the long term. Check it out. https://lnkd.in/eaCzdh_5

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