Blood, Sweat & CPMs

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Chris Kane, Founder of Jounce Media, an industry leader in programmatic supply chain management about why Jounce came to be, what it takes for true supply path optimization, the tipping point of bid jamming.

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Natrian Maxwell, GM of the Emerging Channels at The Trade Desk, about his thoughts on what will be coming to fruition in the next 3-5 years, the value of social, and finding your passion later in life.

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Brandon Caudill, VP of Business Development at Pushly, about his impressive career path, the future of Push notifications, and never acting like the smartest person in the room. 

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Mathieu Roche, Co-founder & CEO at ID5.io, about what 2023 has in store for identity, the death of the cookie, and taking the leap.

Mathieu's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathieuroche/

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Rob Beeler, Founder & CEO of Beeler.Tech, about his two decades in the industry, founding his business, and what publishers can do about the deprivation of cookies right now. 

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Neal Pecchenino, Founder & President of Boxi, the largest truck advertising company in the country about the truck advertising industry, his journey through entrepreneurship and the importance of never overpromising. 

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Lashanne Phang, Senior Director of Mobile, and Nicole Scaglione, VP, of OTT/CTV from Pubmatic about the changes in both the mobile and CTV industries, how buyers are adapting and whether it's best to adopt patience or take the leap.

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Matt Greenberg, SVP, Head of Brand Partnerships at Food52 and one of Freestar's long-term partners, about his shift from digital to events, the rise of influencer marketing, and the power of patience.

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Frank Maggio, CEO & Managing Director of React LLC. Hear how despite being able to retire at the age of 25 after cashing in over 20 million dollars, Frank ultimately decides to live out his mission to change advertising for good. You don't want to miss it!

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Gina Perino, VP of Ad Operations & Strategy at Blavity Inc., about what Blavity is doing for diversity and inclusion in the workplace, the difficulty in delegating that no one speaks about and what makes a team truly successful.

In this special episode of the podcast, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Freestar's Founder, David Freedman about his founder story, including hiring the right people, almost going out of business, and earning the coveted #1 spot on the Inc. 5000 list. 

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Travis Clinger, Senior Vice President of Addressability and Ecosystem at LiveRamp, about international changes relating to consent and privacy, tips for publishers to scale their audience, and the importance of going the extra mile.

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Julian Baring, Adform‘s Regional President of the Americas, about a new shift in the industry, the benefits and challenges of operating overseas, and the importance of a strong company culture. 

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Pilar Prassas, Global Head of Revenue Operations at Reuters, one of the largest news agencies in the world, about the downside to blocklists, the cookieless world from the publisher’s point of view, and choosing the right outsourced partner. 

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with David Leviev, VP of Programmatic at Timehop, a premium memories app as well as Nimbus, a leader in the header bidding space for in-app and CTV advertising, about the state of in-app bidding, monetization shifts in the industry and the benefits of possibly migrating to a four-day workweek. 

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with the Founder of Triple13 and now VP of Product Innovation at Freestar, Matthew Whaley, about becoming the industry-leading company in AMP, running a London-based business, and when he knew it was time to sell the company and partner with Freestar.

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Senior Vice President, Seller Accounts, Heather Carver about her notable tenure in the adtech space, the challenges of living through multiple mergers and acquisitions and we get a sneak peek into her impressive leadership style.

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell chats with Senior Vice President of Video Technology at Xandr, Eric Hoffert about co-founding the QuickTime project during his time at Apple, being the first "video" employee at Spotify, and his honest thoughts on the future of video. 

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell speaks with Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Primis, Rotem Shaul about the ups and downs he faced throughout his journey to co-founding a company and the importance of creating a safe environment in the advertising industry.

In this episode, our host Kurt Donnell speaks with Head of Platforms Strategy, Online Partnerships Group at Google, Julia Reznikov about MCM, myths of our industry, and an exclusive look into the timeline for cookie changes.

In this episode, our new host Kurt Donnell speaks with Chief of Marketplace Development at Index Exchange, Will Doherty about all things CTV, the impending cookie changes, and the bright future for the in-App space.

In this episode, our host Jeff Kudishevich speaks with Advisory Board Chairman at AdMonsters and Founder of Beeler.Tech, Rob Beeler about protecting your schedule, common issues all publishers face, and where the focus should lie for the remainder of 2021. 

In this episode, our host Jeff Kudishevich speaks with Managing Editor at Adexchanger, Sarah Sluis about M&A activity, the direction of identity, and the differences between Google and Apple’s approaches in addressing industry changes. 

In this episode, our host Jeff Kudishevich speaks with Research Director, Latin America & Spain at eMarketer, Matteo Ceurvels about the rise and acceleration around mobile usage, Latin America's response to COVID, and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. 

In this episode, our host Jeff Kudishevich speaks with Chairman at Prebid.org and CTO at Magnite, Tom Kershaw about the Prebid roadmap, the status of AMP, and also diving into Google Ad Manager.

In this episode, our host Jeff Kudishevich speaks with Head of Performance and Product Marketing at Foursquare, Daniela Florio about challenges around merging with a company in the early days of the pandemic, her strategy for creating synergy between teams that typically have friction, and what it truly means for a project to be "Done".

In this first episode of the new season of our podcast, our host Jeff Kudishevich speaks with Director of Precision and Digital Marketing at Molson Coors, Nicole Kane about key insights for 2021, personalization, and being agile in respect to the consumer and brands. 

In the year 2020,  our podcast, "Freestar Presents, Blood Sweat and CPMs" was born. Our hosts, Jeff Kudishevich and Andy Forwark have had the pleasure of speaking with 15 different thought leaders across the industry to get their perspective on what matters most to them and have dived headfirst into the hottest topics in AdOps. There were laughs, lessons learned, friends reunited and memories made. Take a look at our favorite moments from our 2020 episodes in our Year In Review!

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss the negative stigma about working in AdTech, if CPMs will stay elevated, and tips for blocking unwanted advertisers. Later in the episode, Jeff and Andy speak with Chief Strategy Officer at UPROXX, Paul Josephsen about being a Warner Music Group company, catering to your audiences, and adaptability. 

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss their go-to Slack apps, viewability optimizations, and where to stay updated on 3rd party cookies. Later in the episode, Jeff and Andy speak with SVP, Head of Media at L'Oréal, Shenan Reed about being a board member for Miss America and Pinterest and her thoughts on work-life balance.

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss the most suitable ad networks, troubleshooting and the importance of mentorship. Later in the episode, Jeff and Andy speak with Undertone's SVP, National Sales & Content Solutions, Robert DeSalvo about all things sales, coaching and mentoring.

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss the history, the future, and their confidence in the Ad Tech industry. Later in the episode, Jeff and Andy speak with Ad Lightning's Co-Founder & CRO, Kate Reinmiller about all things fraud, brand safety, and being a part of a startup. 

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss ad block options, owning your own ad agency, and why everyone is quitting. Later in the episode, Jeff and Andy speak with TripleLift’s VP of Publisher Client Services, Lara Phippen about all things native advertising and her transition to her current role during COVID.

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss their personal browsing choices, the risks of traffic buying, and ComScore. Later in the episode, Jeff and Andy speak with Amobee's SVP of Marketing, Krista Thomas about her work with AdTechCares and how marketing has shifted in the age of COVID. 

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss the best Sticky-Footer vendors, where to find the best AdTech talent, and industry secrets. Later in the episode, Jeff and Andy speak with Verizon Media's VP, Global Partnerships, Mike Petrella about his leadership strategy and the merging of big-name competing companies. 

In this episode, Jeff and Andy give their two cents on how they feel about AdTech, the state of hiring, and calling out the "BS" in our industry. Later in the episode, Jeff and our producer, Paulo Bautista speak with Minority Report Podcast co-hosts, Kerel Cooper and Erik Requidan about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and actionable steps for companies to start making positive changes.

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss the differences between Advertising & AdTech, protecting your site, and Content Syndication. They also talk to Matt Hogg, Vice President of Publisher Partnerships at Criteo about career growth and development. 

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss Unified Pricing Rules, More Prebid Setup questions, and Viewability. They also talk to Smita Saxena, Founder of the Stanza about the building culture within a startup.

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss Apple’s IDFA announcement, and useful tips for setting up Prebid in Ad Manager. They also talk to Paris Holley, CTO of the Mantis Ad Network about the cannabis ad industry and tips for young developers in the adtech space.

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss Header Bidding Contextual Targeting, some low hanging fruit for optimizations, and weird ads they’ve gotten in the past. They also talk to Chris Hunter, Head of Global Strategy & Business Development at IBM Watson Advertising about his career and how to pay your success forward.

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss US Antitrust regulation targeting Google, how to deal with invalid traffic, and the struggles of being the only ad operations person at your company. They also talk to Veronica Salcido, Founder of AdTalent about the trends in adtech recruiting in the past few years and how job seekers can better market themselves.

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss the effects of the pandemic on the digital advertising industry, how to navigate the “Sales versus Operations” dynamic, and revisit some old stories of trafficking mistakes they’ve made. They also interview Marty Krátký-Katz, Co-Founder and CEO of Blockthrough about the origins of Blockthrough and respectful ad blocking.

In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss Resource Heavy Ads in Chrome, and where the money goes in the programmatic ads funnel. They also interview Ashley Wheeler, Vice President of Seller Accounts at Rubicon Project about her philosophy on customer success in the ad tech industry and how she wrote a term paper to make her break into the industry.

A #PublisherFirst Production

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