
In this exclusive “Masters of Media” series, Integral Ad Science (IAS) speaks to the Movers and Shakers of the APAC advertising industry, on all matters digital.
Vivek Misra is a Senior Director, Data Partnerships at The Trade Desk.
With a Master of Business Administration in Finance Strategy and a career spanning over 16 years of in-depth experience, Vivek specializes in Strategic Partnerships, Programmatic Strategy, Video Advertising, Data Applications, Consultative Selling, Enterprise Account Management, Sales Enablement — with a focus on enabling clients to better leverage data-driven insights, deploy relevant digital assets and adopt programmatic advertising to driver better business outcomes.
Vivek has also spent the last few years working in both commercial and product strategy roles across technology, consulting and early stage startups in APAC.
IAS: Please tell us about your career and your current role at the Trade Desk
Vivek: The unifying theme of my career so far has been my love for problem-solving and data-driven consulting.
After my engineering and MBA programs, I spent a few years in investment banking, trading, and managing financial derivative portfolios for a financial institution. This stint was invaluable in helping me strengthen my analytical and macroeconomics toolkit. Around this time, I had the opportunity to work in data science consulting – I jumped at this chance to pivot and broaden my experiences.
The consulting experience helped me hone a set of invaluable stakeholder management skills along with the formal appreciation of storytelling through insights. It also landed me in Adtech (by accident !) at a time when AppNexus (an adtech firm) was building out their team early on in APAC. From there on, it has been a ride that I have immensely enjoyed while working at the intersection of programmatic, data, commerce, and measurement!
In my current role at The Trade Desk, I get to work at the ‘front and center’ of data-driven advertising by crafting and nurturing a data partners’ ecosystem across retail, measurement, audience, identity, and TV partners. We get to work on exciting ( and often complex ), high-impact challenges every day! These topics are very close to the heart of marketers and help them achieve their business outcomes through advertising.
IAS: What are some of the key 2022 trends that have piqued your interest?
Vivek: This year is a transition into a paradigm where the world gradually learns to live with the pandemic. I think that three themes will be necessary for everyone in the digital advertising ecosystem :
- Focus on First-Party data: Fundamental developments like ‘brand owned’ distribution channels have opened up the possibility of scaled first-party data onboarding. Advertisers are a lot more strategic regarding their consumer touchpoints — industry developments like Unified ID 2.0 will make these efforts more seamless.
- Innovation in Retail Media: As more retail and e-commerce platforms start working closely with marketers, innovation in retail media will accelerate. At The Trade Desk, we work with marketers to run closed-loop measurement and targeting based on online and offline transactions through our retail partners’ ecosystem. We expect more brands to accelerate their investment in this area.
- Scaled experimentation in DOOH: With more people spending time in offices and shopping locations, the allure of DOOH is back. This has always been a fantastic storytelling upper funnel channel for marketers – with the power of programmatic execution; it would be possible to layer in relevant audience targeting and attribution.
IAS: What are some of the initiatives The Trade Desk has undertaken to propagate the wellness and flexibility of its employees in the region?
Vivek: When our people feel their best, they will bring their best to their families, colleagues, and clients. We like to say that our benefits address the “whole person,” physically, mentally, and financially.
We start with a foundation of excellent medical coverage that covers our employees and their dependents. Last year we added a fertility benefit for those needing assistance creating their families. We also offer quarterly reimbursements for fitness and exercise expenses.
We offer all employees direct access to professional coaching, therapy sessions, and informative group discussions to promote good mental health. We introduced unlimited financial wellness consultations with a professional financial partner. We also offer instruction during the workday throughout the year, such as virtual meditation classes, wellness webinars, or virtual fitness classes. All of these provided additional “breathing room” for our employees during the unprecedented time of COVID. As we grow our workforce, we will continue to offer a dynamic benefits program in our commitment to supporting total health and wellness for our people.
IAS: According to you, what will enable CTV to become more mainstream for advertisers? What role will its measurement capabilities play to propel CTV advertising?
Vivek: In 2020, the TV industry saw several years of disruption and innovation compressed into a few short months. ‘The Future of TV’ research study by Kantar and The Trade Desk has revealed the scale of this change in APAC. With 200 million viewers in Southeast Asia consuming 9.7 billion hours of OTT content over the internet every month, viewers are driving a transformation in the TV landscape.
Advertisers are eager to embrace this shift. OTT and CTV can apply data to their massive TV campaigns in ways that are simply not possible with traditional linear TV.
In a genuinely omnichannel setup, like the one offered by The Trade Desk Platform, markets can deploy full-funnel measurement to optimize for incremental reach on CTV/OTT over linear TV. At the same time, the ability to deploy a varied toolkit like brand lift studies, in-store visitation insights, and sales measurement can power a sophisticated value-enhancing advertising approach.
IAS: In your opinion, is the industry doing enough to combat the trust and transparency challenges in the digital supply chain?
Vivek: In recent years, the industry has come together remarkably cohesively to deliver greater trust and transparency in the digital value chain.
In combating fraud, we have made significant positive strides through (i) more technological research to detect and prevent fraud and (ii) industry initiatives like ads.txt sellers.json. These efforts, while not perfect, have made the marketplace a lot more trustworthy and safer over the years.
In terms of transparency, a dichotomy exists between the open web and the walled gardens. Stakeholders in the open internet ecosystem( DSPs, SSP, data providers, verification companies, and others) are more accountable to advertisers for the value they bring to the ecosystem.
On the other hand, this is unfortunately not true for walled gardens, which still operate as black boxes in many aspects. Marketers need to advocate for an open web in every part of their strategic planning.
IAS: What’s your favourite book/podcast/movie, and why?
Vivek: I do listen in to a whole bunch of finance and economics-related podcasts. My favorite one is ‘The All-In’ podcast, a brilliant combination of socio-political commentary combined with elements of investing and macroeconomic analysis by some of the brightest people in the business.
I try to read regularly though it has become harder in recent years: one of my favorite authors is Nassim Nicholas Taleb for his ability to weave complex mathematical ideas into compelling narratives that explore underlying human behavior.
IAS: What is your advice to the fresh talent in the industry?
Vivek: For anyone fresh to the technology and advertising industry, I just cannot overemphasize the importance of continuous learning! Foundational knowledge and credibility built in the early years go a long way! Over the last few years, we have seen such dramatic changes in the industry that it is imperative to embrace the change.
There are lovely industry resources available now: all key industry players and IAB have emphasized education in a big way. Of course, one of my favourite ones is The Edge Academy, which has now become a premier education platform for digital marketers.
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– Masters of Media – Laura Boatman, Zenith Media Australia
– Masters of Media – Kerrie Leary, Director of Digital Operations (TAAG)/GDPR at Publicis Media