← AdTechGod Pod
AdTechGod Pod
Ep. 86 Climbing the Ranks: Fariba Zamaniyan on Data, Determination, and TiVo’s New Era
00:29:33
Loading summary
Transcript31 lines
- [00:00]
Ech God
A word from our sponsors. Let's be real. Planning across linear, CTV and digital is no small feat. Targeting, buying, optimizing, measuring. It's a lot. That's why Nexon built Nexen U as an online course led by agency and publisher experts who are deep in the converged space. Every single day, they're here to help you get it right. Their biggest module yet, media planning and activation. It's now live and packed with expert tips, campaign walkthroughs and a certification badge to prove your skills. Start learning today by going to you Nexen.com again that's you.n e x e n.com.
- [00:52]
Fariba Zamanian
Now more than ever, Lowe's knows you don't just want a low price, you want the lowest price. And with our lowest price guarantee, you can count on us for competitive prices on all your home improvement projects. If you find a qualifying lower price somewhere else on the same item, we'll match it Lowe's. We help you save price match applies to same item current price at qualifying retailers. Exclusions and terms apply. Learn how we'll match price@lowe's.com lowest price guarantee.
- [01:20]
Ech God
Welcome to the AdTech Godpod, your window into the world of advertising technology and the people behind it. I'm your host, Ech God. Welcome to the ITech God Pod where we speak with the female leaders of our industry. Today we are joined by Fariba Zamanian, Global Vice President, data monetization at TiVo. Fariba has been at TiVo for nearly 15 years. I would love to explain the path, but via acquisitions and mergers, I'm just going to have her run through it during her career journey. It is a super interesting story. She's spent time at Ipsos, Nielsen and more and knows this industry inside and out. She still has no idea who I am, but we briefly crossed paths in Miami, but she can't figure out who I am, which makes this a lot more fun. Feriba, thank you so much for joining me and welcome to the ADTech Godpod.
- [02:15]
Fariba Zamanian
Thank you so much for having me. This is so exciting. And yeah, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out who you might have been during those days in Miami at the possible event. But I'll figure it out at some point.
- [02:29]
Ech God
You know, we, we crossed paths, we spoke very briefly and you're like, thank you. Like, that's so nice. And I'm like, anytime, Take care. Have a great day. And that was the extent of our engagement. But I, I sensed something that was like, very genuine and kind and I think that I have a pretty good radar of, of good people and not so good people. And that just kind of like sparked in my head. I'm like, you know what? She seems really nice. She works at a great company. I'd love to kind of hear about her, her, her story.
- [02:57]
Fariba Zamanian
I love that. And I'm, I'm glad I left that impression because that's what I hope to do. You know, in all of these years spent within this industry and all the different kinds of folks that we've met along the way, it's, you know, the best way is just to be open and honest and, you know, enjoy the moment, which is really what, you know, is super exciting for us in this space.
- [03:20]
Ech God
Fariba, we chatted briefly before the recording. I was trying to write down the story of TiVo and the path. You've been there for quite some time now. I'd love for you to kind of take it back to how you, how you got into the industry with your time at Nielsen or your time at Ipsos. And, you know, what got you to the point where you are today, you know, leading at TiVo.
- [03:41]
Fariba Zamanian
I'm going to steal a little bit of what one of your previous guests started with. You had Mochui not too long ago ago, and he kind of had interjected to say, you know, my path started a little bit. I'm going to go a little bit further back and I'm going to kind of do the same. And similar to he, I come from, you know, an immigrant family. I was born in the U.S. but my parents had immigrated to the U.S. and, you know, had children and lived the, you know, storied life of an immigrant in America. And one of the first things that you absorb is the entertainment that is available and accessible. We were obsessed and glued to our small black and white TV back then, which only had a few channels. And it was truly where I just fell in love with entertainment. And it wasn't just the content, the shows, you know, looking forward to the Sunday night features and the gatherings in the living room, but I also was obsessed with commercials. I loved advertising and was very synonymous with our family. You know, just absorbing everything that was American and that was every type of advertised product positioning and aspirations of wanting it all. And, you know, it's not until you're older and you realize where your passion stems from. And after all these years and having spent so much time within this industry, it really kind of came bubbled to the surface as to why do I like this so much? And I realized that it goes back that far. I went to college at Ithaca. It was a staple for the entertainment industry. I think Bob Iger is one of our most prestigious alums. But I didn't really know what concept of advertising or marketing I really wanted to pursue. And I graduated with a marketing degree, came out of college in deep in a recessionary period. And I wound up fortunately getting a job at Nielsen. And Nielsen introduced me to what I realized that I actually am, which is a very quantitative person. I need answers to questions and problems and then how I take those problems and make them into a less complex solution or story with a resolution that also then takes what we learn and applies it against making what we do better, smarter, faster to overcome those, those issues. And I think that's really been a big part or a storyline of my career, starting with Nielsen and getting exposed to measurement and measuring behavior. And at the time I didn't really know it was because of advertising. I was just very, you know, on a track of just answering the question as to what is the quantific of the results of this many dollars input, did it return X dollars? And you know, I went through Nielsen, they went to the MPD Group, which was also a large research company and was doing something very similar along those lines, really just analyzing the quantitative outcome side of the, the investment equation when it comes to marketing. And the benefit that I had of a company like NPD is they were incredibly entrepreneurial spirited and they allowed us to really kind of find an opportunity and embrace it and put on many hats, which I tend to be somewhat scrappy by nature, so I'll do what it takes and change my hat when needed to solve a problem. And it was when I was introduced to this opportunity to solve this problem because there was this new category of advertising that was coming to market which was for prescription drugs. And that had never been on air before. The thought of advertising prescription drugs, what it was even to me, I knew nothing about the category. I knew a lot about packaged goods and sporting goods and some of the traditionally advertised products. And they were building from scratch the idea of going to television to introduce brands directly to consumers that obviously have real benefits when it comes to healthcare, but on the marketing side, prove the investment. And did that advertising lead to brand switching, acquiring new patients or new customers and so on. And so that was really when I got my first taste for the use of data to solve this problem as it's tied to is advertising translating into incrementality. And that still carries over into today. And it's one that we, in this much more advanced world that leverages digital technology to do the same thing, that we're still trying to solve that problem and we're just doing at a greater scale with incredible tools at our disposal. And so I learned so much by building from scratch this mechanism of trying, trying to close the loop of advertising impact on outcomes with the tools at our disposal, which was very archaic compared to today where we're dealing with consumer panels and survey based research. But it was an eye opening experience because it really brought to light not just the importance of the relevance of the copy, the creative, but also the relevance of the media environment in which those ads are placed. So the combination of the two is what we're still seeking today and has gotten much more compounded and fragmented because, well, the touch points that we have to consumers. And so I back then really built this foundation of wanting to address this critical problem of closing that loop and getting as close to single source and putting accountability not just on creative, but also on media. And so fast forward to today at TiVo and kind of walk you through because it's been a bit of an interesting 15 years of seeing so much change in the industry compounded by, you know, technologies, really, the advancement. So I know this is a really long story, but I think it kind of encapsulates how data has been such a central component of my career is that I joined a company called TRA back in 2010, which was a company that had done some collaborative work with TiVo. TiVo launched the first DVR, debuted it in 1999.
- [10:49]
Ech God
Oh, I had one years ago.
- [10:51]
Fariba Zamanian
I know, isn't that crazy? Everybody, when you kind of have an industry sit down and you talk about TiVo, they're like, oh, I remember my first TiVo, I used to love it. And who didn't? Right.
- [11:02]
Ech God
Did you have. Is it. Okay, so I might be wrong, but wasn't there like a, like a kangaroo button?
- [11:09]
Fariba Zamanian
Well, yeah, I mean like a skip.
- [11:11]
Ech God
Forward button, something like that. Like, and I remember it because I'm like, oh, this is so amazing. I can just record and watch later. This is incredible.
- [11:19]
Fariba Zamanian
And you just kind of summarize why. Like I always kind of remind people that we were the original disruptor. We were like, there's no hapless change, right? We gave control to you and the consumers to be able to decide when they wanted to watch their content. And in addition to that, you had the opportunity when you recorded it to fast forward through commercials. Today we call that svod. Right? But Back then it was revolutionary, but also a real big disruptor. And the industry was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. We spend a lot of money in enabling advertising, and then as a marketer to have my ad, and now you're telling me you're going to fast forward? But we survived. We learned that consumers like me, going back to my roots, we actually find advertising entertaining and informative. And when it's relevant, it can be incredibly impactful in influencing my behavior going forward. So we learned to get past or over that hump with TiVo. But what TiVo was doing was also harnessing the power of data, and that was data that those DVR boxes were incredibly advanced for their time. They were enabling the capture of passively collected data viewership as we started analyzing that data to understand second by second what consumers are watching, if they're actually fast forwarding commercials. And can we find a better way of planning and buying advertising that's not just based on demographics? So that's when I came into the picture, because t had the notion of we're going to be a game changer and go to market with this big data set in collaboration with TiVo to bring this data to the fingertips of the marketplace and let them see for themselves that there's a different way to target advertising and measure it. And that's how it all began.
- [13:27]
Ech God
How has that changed compared to where things were 10 years ago, let's say? And it was more of a television set, you know, desktop box style with a plugin. Right. Because TiVo would integrate or be built in with the, with the desktop box. And now it's streaming devices. How have things changed for TiVo? How does that play a role in the data availability, the scale? And I think most importantly, just you had touched up on it the fragmentation of. No, it's not just a cable box or a cable connection. It's Internet connected. It's various devices. Could be, you know, Amazon, could be Roku, could be a LG More Samsung. So the OS is all very. How has that changed the way you guys are operating and able to utilize the TiVo data set?
- [14:16]
Fariba Zamanian
So we have pivoted. We pivoted from a B2C which at the time was a DVR, sold directly to consumers as hard piece of hardware. And over the last 15 years, the brand has continued to evolve, however pivoting to a B2B. And it's been that foundation of our software and as a curator of content, which has now taken advantage of the digital transmission and so the IP connections that are available to a household where they can access their content through smart TVs and streaming devices. TiVo launched during the pandemic. We took the platform of what was the DVR and the ability to curate content with a search and recommendation. We had a dongle device called the Stream 4K and that has evolved to what is now our independent TV operating system. And we've chosen to take the path as an independent TV operating system because consumers are not just locked into the big box brands. You know, they're buying smart TVs that are at all different price points, shapes and sizes on a global basis. So we recognize as a company that there's an opportunity to power those TVs to bring them to the caliber of what The Samsungs and LGs of the world are providing when it comes to a smart TV experience of streaming capabilities, but also an IP connected device to still be able to get to pay TV services. So that platform is now what we really are embellishing upon on a global scale. We have eight OEM partners that are powering 33 brands globally, starting with Europe and now in the US with Sharp as our first announced OEM partnership. And what that smart TV and the power technology that we are powering, those devices is continuing to enable us to gather viewership data. It's also enabling us to curate and provide target advertising capabilities. So connected TV advertising, whether it be through the AVOD ad supported video on demand or on the homepage with a home screen ad unit, but it's also the data collection combined with our traditional collection, which is through set top boxes, that's providing viewership passively collected. But further is the spine to all of that, which is probably the most overlooked data set of which TiVo brings to market, which is metadata, and that's content metadata, along with programming schedule information, which truly serves as the spine to currency calculations, which is really where we're currently focused on the data monetization side of the business of exploring and moving the industry further, Particularly as we've now entered the actioning of alternative currencies in our space.
- [17:27]
Ech God
How important is that in a, like a cookie less space, like connected television? Like, how important is the context metadata that you're able to collect? And by the way, I think I said, Did I say desktop box earlier? I don't know why I said desktop? I have no idea why I said. I was blanking and you could probably tell I was stuttering. I'm like, that doesn't sound right. I know it's something else, but Set top box. How important is that today in terms of measurement and collecting in a safe and compliant way like that data for you and for your clients to be able to measure against because you know the cookies are back on web. So that's great. Welcome back, cookies. We love you. But you know, we don't have that in connected television. So how important are those data points for what you're doing?
- [18:11]
Fariba Zamanian
Incredibly important. And it's even more so because of the fragmentation is, as we've been seeking on the viewership on the behavioral side, the ability to aggregate and curate. I'm using it quite a bit because that's what we're trying to do here is bringing together viewership across all different device types to understand that behavior and how people are consuming content or consumers are consuming content. But essential to that is defining that piece of content. What is that content and standardizing it with a persistent identification is where metadata becomes increasingly important and even much more so as we enter the applications from a programmatic execution basis. So the machine based exchange of dollars when it comes to buying and placing inventory or advertising across connected devices as well as all other devices such as mobile metadata, is that spine. It's that defining element that isn't as sexy. It doesn't get as much, you know, street cred and headlines because it is not behavioral, it's factual. It's defining the various elements of video content, including what time something that's scheduled to be live is going to air and where it's going to air. These are all critical pieces of information that before you can measure them, you need to know what they are and where they're going to be available for streaming or live viewing. And the metadata discussion is increasing its importance because we're getting smarter as an industry as we think about impactful advertising placement. It's not just about targeting audiences, it's about targeting relevant audiences in relevant content.
- [20:11]
Ech God
Well, there's, there's so much there, right? There's, there's the category information, there's the duration of the content, there's like language, right? Like we want to target Spanish speakers. It's easy to target. But then there's also the fact that, you know, brand safety has become such an important topic across the board. Like being able to know the categorization of the content and understanding that your ad is running in a safe location, a safe spot, not between, let's say violence or something else, news or politically polarizing content one way or another, like you're able to control that and see that is I think Where a massive amount of value is.
- [20:49]
Fariba Zamanian
That's right. It's just part of our evolution. Right. We got excited and you know, it's incredibly exciting for all of us to be a part of an industry where change is happening and we get to be a part of it and it changes every day. Our to do list is, gets varied and it's nice to have something different to look forward to daily. Personally, just interjecting with a little bit of some what keeps me excited about this industry and why I stay here. But it really is one where we're learning and applying forward and we've learned that these are. And because we have data that tells us so. Right. Giving us guardrails, but we also have to have guardrails when it comes to protection of individual privacy in ensuring that we're not violating, you know, what consumer preferences are. Because at the end of the day, consumers are the gods and they are the ones who want to have control not just of what they watch, but ensure that what they're receiving meets their needs.
- [21:55]
Ech God
What truly excites you over the next 12 to 18 months? You know, we chatted about it that a lot of people will focus on the negative. I try to focus on the positive. There's enough to negativity out there in this world like I don't need it. What are you really positive about in terms of the trends that you're seeing, what you're hearing in market? Like I keep hearing agentic and I'm still trying to figure out how that's applicable to our industry. Brand safety is finally like at the forefront and people are talking about it openly and trying to address it. But what, what excites you for the future and, and where, you know, you yourself or TiVo is heading.
- [22:28]
Fariba Zamanian
I think there are three main things. The most immediate is coming out of new fronts and upfronts and really having data kind of center stage and the adoption of alternative currencies. Because look, I came from Nielsen, I understand the importance and the role that it's played. But given the evolution of technology, Nad tech is that there is room for a merit of ways to define audiences and measure them. And I'm excited to see this kind of change happening where we have embraced alternatives. And it's really exciting that it is not just a function of what's happened from a couple of very large players. This is an industry that has enabled small startups, companies of different scales levels of innovation to participate in its evolution. And that is where TiVo, we've been providing data on an open access basis and call it syndication to enable that, where players of all kinds can participate, have access to data and build new and innovative ways to plan, define audiences, measure outcomes. So for me to see coming out of this upfront and the conversations about adoption of alternatives is super exciting because that's just going to continue to keep it interesting. And we're proud to be a part of that by fueling those currencies and measurement companies to take part in it. I'd say the other trends are the global adoption that we're starting to see. I think global is our next phase of really integrating as an industry that's beyond just the us. Europe is rapidly adopting the lessons that we've learned and global brands are going to have the expectations of bridging across the pond and building more seamless solutions that can help them plan, measure, target, place advertising across countries and languages. And then third is really where Tiva was acquired by a company called Xperi in 2020 and one of the brands that experience called DTS and HD radio. So these are immersive audio experiences that enable connected cars and so it's sound but also video. And what I'm really excited about is the extension of ad tech and going beyond in home and moving out of home, specifically in car radio is an untouched kind of. You mentioned print. I don't know if it was before our conversation was started recording, but print having some surge during certain times, but radio has been a mainstay and people are back to work and commuting and so harnessing the power of radio from a data perspective and advertising combined with the video capabilities. Our similar operating system is now enabled and dash in the car through our DTS Auto Stage video product. BMW is our first customer who's launching brands worldwide. Now I'm not saying people are watching full length videos on their dash while they're driving, but we do watch video in our cars on our phones. And so if you're charging your car, you have an opportunity to watch some longer form videos. So I think it's super exciting to see that that's coming next and we're excited to be a part of that transition as soon as the industry is ready to adapt it.
- [26:26]
Ech God
What keeps you here? What keeps you in the space? We started off with you just growing up, immigrant family, mesmerized by ads. I love ads too, to be honest. I mean we just bought a website called Adland TV which is just like the largest repository of ads. You can go and watch ads from from the 80s and 90s and 2000s. And sometimes I do, and it's kind of nostalgic. But what keeps you in the industry? Like, what drives you to stay with TiVo number one for so long? What about their culture or their product? But what drives you forward and what keeps you in the space?
- [27:00]
Fariba Zamanian
I think the first thing, like it said, is going back to my roots. It's entertainment. It's super relatable. It's incredibly creative. You know, this is an industry where we've had the opportunity to embrace change. It's addictive. It enables our creative juices to flow. It's not boring, but it's also super fun when you can talk about the shows you watched last night and they're related to your job in conversation. It's not just something you talk about with friends and family around the dinner table, at social events. It's a part of our job, which is, you know, it's incredible. Not many sectors have that opportunity. And, you know, with TiVo and going back to my roots, what's been really, you know, compelling to me is an environment that is embraced. Individual thinking, the ability to take an idea and run with it. Obviously there are some guardrails, but we are, you know, empowered to bring products to market that can have an impact. And I think going back to the brand TiVo itself, and like I said, it was the original disruptor, catalyst to change, it's exciting that our future is tied to that, given the initiatives that we have underway both in home and on the go in a cars. It's really fulfilling to be a part of it. And data is no longer what seems to be a kind of boring, or you're just a dork sitting in a corner at a desk in front of a computer.
- [28:40]
Ech God
I embrace the full dork.
- [28:42]
Fariba Zamanian
It's cool now, right? Isn't it? Like, we put it in front of everything. It's data driven this, data driven that. And it's like, well, it's been there the whole time. It's now just gotten front and center because of technology. And that makes it even more cool to be a part of it.
- [28:58]
Ech God
Amazing, Vera, but thank you again for being my guest. Didn't. Thank you, TiVo. I really appreciate it. And thank you for the convo.
- [29:06]
Fariba Zamanian
Thank you so much. And hopefully we'll get to unveil your identity sometime soon.
- [29:11]
Ech God
One day. One day. It's part of the fun.
- [29:13]
Fariba Zamanian
It is. I love it. Thank you so much.
- [29:17]
Ech God
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the AdTech Godpod, a podcast for the people about the people stay connected with me for more insights, trends and interviews in the realm of ad tech. Don't miss out on the latest updates, so follow me on X Instagram and connect with me on LinkedIn. Don't forget ATG Slack community has insights, networking opportunities and jobs. Keep the conversation going and stay at the forefront of ad tech innovation.