Marketecture Podcast Summary: “Marketecture Live: Bill Wise and Grant Parker on the New Innovid”
Release Date: March 24, 2025
Hosts: Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi
Guests: Bill Wise (CEO of MediaOcean), Grant Parker (President of Innovid), and Zvika (CEO of Innovid)
1. Introduction to the Acquisition
In this episode of the Marketecture Podcast, hosts Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi engage in a live discussion with Bill Wise, CEO of MediaOcean, and Grant Parker, President of Innovid, following their official announcement of the combined company's new name, Innovid. The conversation centers around the strategic merger and its implications for the advertising and marketing ecosystem.
2. The Importance of Scale and Neutrality
Bill Wise initiates the conversation by probing the significance of the acquisition for the broader ad tech landscape.
Bill Wise [01:04]: "Let's start with what does it mean? Maybe Bill, you can tell us what does this acquisition mean for the greater ecosystem?"
Grant Parker emphasizes the necessity of scale and neutrality in competing with industry giants like Google.
Grant Parker [01:35]: “We believe there needs to be neutrality in the ad tech industry and there needs to be scale... you need that level of scale to make the investments necessary to compete with Google.”
He further explains that merging MediaOcean and Innovid achieves a quarter billion plus in revenue and approximately $100 million in EBITDA, providing the financial muscle to rival major players.
3. Name Change and Company Integration
The discussion shifts to the strategic decision behind the company’s name change and how the integration was approached.
Zvika [02:56]: “We chose the name Innovid because it represents innovation and video... Flash Talking and Innovid share the same idea.”
Zvika elaborates on the integration process, highlighting that the best aspects of both MediaOcean and Innovid’s technologies are being unified into a single platform. This merger aims to maintain the strong brand equity of both legacy companies while fostering a cohesive brand identity centered around innovation and video-centric solutions.
4. AI’s Impact on the Agency World
Grant Parker delves into the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within advertising agencies, particularly among large holding companies.
Grant Parker [05:05]: “Shortly after we announced Innovid, we announced that three of the largest four holding companies are actually investing in the combination of MediaOcean and Innovid.”
He highlights that these investments are primarily focused on integrating AI to enhance operational efficiency and tactical execution. Grant asserts that while many companies may overemphasize AI's short-term benefits, the long-term potential—especially in automating campaign management and optimizing operations—is substantial.
5. Future Roadmap and Product Developments
Zvika outlines the future direction of the newly combined Innovid, focusing on creating an omnichannel platform that seamlessly integrates creative, delivery, measurement, and optimization.
Zvika [08:13]: “Our roadmap actually delivers that in more places than ever across an omnichannel kind of platform, whether that's from linear to CTV, all the way to digital audio, social.”
He emphasizes the importance of relevant creative in maximizing ROI and discusses the platform’s capability to optimize outcomes in real-time based on which creative messages resonate most with audiences.
6. Brand Safety and Verification with Protected Media
The conversation addresses the competitive landscape of brand safety and verification, with a focus on Innovid’s subsidiary, Protected Media.
Grant Parker [18:56]: “We acquired a company called Protected and we've given it its own brand because it's that important.”
Grant notes that while dominant players like DoubleVerify (DV) and Integral Ad Science (ISA) currently lead the brand safety market, there is room for new entrants with superior technology and cost-effective solutions. Innovid aims to differentiate itself by offering integrated brand safety verification directly within its ad server, streamlining workflows and reducing manual processes.
7. Competition with Google and Antitrust Considerations
A critical part of the discussion revolves around Innovid’s strategy to compete with Google’s entrenched position in the ad tech ecosystem and the broader implications of antitrust regulations.
Grant Parker [17:39]: “Our take is we actually have a better product... we're going to continue to educate the market on why our solutions are better and they should adopt them.”
Zvika [17:52]: “Google is an incredibly important media partner. So for us, we want to be deeply integrated to Google and we are.”
Grant expresses confidence that despite Google's vast resources and legal defenses, Innovid’s focus on providing superior, neutral solutions for enterprise marketers positions them well to challenge Google's dominance in the buy-side ad server market. Zvika adds that rather than directly competing with Google’s scale, Innovid aims to serve enterprise clients with tailored, high-touch support and deep integrations with key media partners like Google.
8. The DSP Landscape and Future Competition
The discussion concludes with an exploration of the Demand-Side Platform (DSP) landscape, highlighting the fragmentation and emergence of specialized DSPs.
Grant Parker [15:15]: “DSPs are becoming exclusive access to data... advertisers, especially enterprise advertisers, are going to be across 10 to 20 different walled gardens or DSPs.”
Both Grant and Zvika agree that the increasing number of specialized DSPs necessitates a robust operating system to orchestrate these fragmented data and inventory sources effectively. Innovid aims to position its ad server as the strategic linchpin that manages these complexities, offering advertisers comprehensive control and optimization capabilities across diverse DSPs.
Conclusion
The merger of MediaOcean and Innovid signifies a strategic consolidation aimed at enhancing scale, neutrality, and technological prowess in the competitive ad tech landscape. By leveraging AI, integrating comprehensive ad management solutions, and focusing on enterprise-level client needs, the newly formed Innovid seeks to challenge industry giants and redefine standards in media quality assessment, brand safety, and campaign optimization.
Notable Quotes:
- Grant Parker [01:35]: “We need that level of scale to make the investments necessary to compete with Google.”
- Zvika [08:13]: “Whether that's from linear to CTV, all the way to digital audio, social.”
- Grant Parker [17:39]: “We're just going to continue to educate the market on why our solutions are better and they should adopt them.”
- Zvika [17:52]: “We want to be deeply integrated to Google and we are.”
For more insights and detailed discussions, subscribe to the Marketecture Podcast and explore hundreds of executive interviews at marketecture.tv.