As the nature of connected TV platforms evolves, both Bob Bress and Sonia Sharma ensure their teams at Comcast Advertising can keep up with the industry’s transformation by leveraging the power of technology, media and data in their work.
Bress, who serves as VP and head of data science at Comcast Advertising’s FreeWheel business, explained that his team is focused on bringing enhanced data and analytics capabilities to the company’s platforms.
“We use advanced algorithms and insights to drive innovation in the video adtech space with the goal of creating best-in-class technical capabilities for both the buy side and the sell side of the video advertising ecosystem,” he said.
While Bress’ team is largely tasked with creating ad tech solutions, Sharma and her team at Comcast Advertising’s Effectv business are focused on advertising sales.
“Our day-to-day work involves tackling complex problems, deriving actionable insights, and using advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence to turn aggregated data into insights so that our stakeholders can use these analyses for effective decision-making,” Sharma explained.
Together, Bress’ and Sharma’s teams fuel Comcast Advertising’s commitment to connect brands with their target audiences.
3 Brands, 1 Overarching Aim
Comcast Advertising, which includes the FreeWheel, Effectv and AudienceXpress businesses, is governed by three core objectives: “unify, scale and measure.” The organization delivers solutions that enable brands to maximize the value of their advertising efforts, measure the efficacy of their ad campaigns, and identify the right target audiences.
How FreeWheel Maximizes Advertising Impact
Bress believes his team at FreeWheel is driving a pivotal moment in video advertising history.
“We have streaming platforms that historically weren’t running advertising and are now looking to run advertising, and we also have sharing platforms that previously didn’t run live programming and are trying to get more into that,” he explained. “All of this creates opportunities in the industry, because we’re right in the center of how ads get served into those new channels and in ways of viewing what we call TV.”
To deliver meaningful brand-consumer interactions across these various channels, Bress’ team builds products that put greater power in customers’ hands. He shared that, besides developing advanced forecasting capabilities to give clients projected ad campaign performance insights, his team focuses on audience modeling, which allows clients to understand how to reach advanced audience segments efficiently.
When it comes to FreeWheel’s data science team, members leverage the latest technologies — including generative AI. Bress shared that generative AI is used to create metadata from video content, which gives buyers greater contextual targeting capabilities within the brand’s platforms.
“In general, our team is leaning heavily toward development with machine learning and AI, with the goal of driving enhanced ad decisioning and creating workflow efficiencies — all aimed at maximizing advertising spend and impact,” he said.
“Our team is leaning heavily toward development with machine learning and AI, with the goal of driving enhanced ad decisioning and creating workflow efficiencies — all aimed at maximizing advertising impact.”
With so many different elements upholding FreeWheel’s product suite, technologists often rely on each other’s expertise to deliver new solutions.
“At a place like FreeWheel, you have exposure to a broad set of technology applications that come together, and you collaborate with team members who work across those systems to create one comprehensive system that really supports clients,” Bress said.
How Effectv Empowers Advertisers to Optimize their Campaigns
For Sharma, the adtech space is full of complexity and uncertainty — and that’s exactly what makes it so exciting to work in.
“It’s ripe for the type of analysis we can bring to it,” she said.
Sharma and her peers are focused on leveraging insights to create the simplest client experience possible; an achievement that requires the most versatile technologies, including AI, which she considers the “cornerstone” of her team. She explained that, while AI has been a key component of the TV advertising industry for the past several years, its uses have accelerated more quickly than ever before due to the changing pace of media and advertising and the volume of data that currently exists.
“We’re using AI and machine learning to empower advertisers to make informed decisions and optimize their campaigns,” Sharma said. “Whether it’s predictive modeling, audience segmentation, more accurate forecasting, or performance analytics, we’re focused on ensuring that every advertising dollar is spent wisely.”
Sharma noted that she and her peers continuously monitor and analyze emerging trends and viewing behaviors, which enables them to adapt their strategies and embrace new ones. From leveraging new advertising formats to harnessing data insights, her team ensures that every solution drives results.
“In essence, our initiatives aren’t just technological endeavors; they’re strategic imperatives that underpin our mission and vision,” Sharma said.
“In essence, our AI initiatives aren’t just technological endeavors; they’re strategic imperatives that underpin our mission and vision.”
To help her team drive Effectv’s mission to help its clients “reach the right audience with the right message at the right time,” Sharma is committed to understanding the business challenges, inspiring diversity of thought, and removing blockers. In doing so, she strives to give everyone on her team an equal opportunity to work on critical initiatives with the potential to shape the future of video advertising.
A Fast-Paced Industry Surrounded by Innovation
Driving positive change takes many forms across FreeWheel and Effectv, forming the heart of Comcast Advertising’s business.
“There’s an opportunity to combine the latest in tech around AI and other capabilities with the changing nature of the industry, which makes it a really exciting place to work.”
According to Sharma, no one at Comcast Advertising is “complacent with the status quo,” fostering a culture that encourages employees to challenge themselves — and the industry as a whole. Since joining the company, she has been fascinated by the talent, diversity, and dedication of her team, believing that all of these elements fuel the organization’s success. And as the organization continues to drive evolution across the video advertising landscape, she finds herself at a pivotal moment in her career; one that foreshadows even more innovation to come.
“I’m super excited for the journey ahead,” Sharma said.
