AdExchanger Context(ual) Switching, With Viant CEO Tim Vanderhook
May 27, 2025
Tim Vanderhook, CEO and co-founder of Viant, shares insights from his extensive media experience. He discusses Viant's recent acquisitions, including IRIS.TV and lockr, and how they enhance ad tech. Vanderhook reflects on the nostalgic legacy of MySpace and the evolving landscape of advertising with AI's role in programmatic strategies. He emphasizes the need for creativity over retargeting and critiques data analytics approaches. The conversation also highlights challenges in the Connected TV arena and the importance of adapting to digital marketing's rapid changes.
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Tim's Family Business Anecdote
- Tim Vanderhook and his brothers founded Zumo and acquired MySpace in 2011 with Justin Timberlake as a partner.
- They still own MySpace, which mostly hosts 15 billion photos from its peak years, but it is no longer focused on advertising.
Viant's Autonomous Advertising Vision
- Viant's AI strategy aims for autonomous advertising with minimal human tweaking.
- The goal is to quickly generate campaign strategy and media plans based on marketer goals, increasing transparency and efficiency.
AI Innovation Focus: Automate & Create
- The key AI innovation in ad tech lies in automation to solve complexity and time issues.
- Creative development, especially dynamic creative optimization, is the next frontier for AI-driven advertising innovation.