Digital & Dirt
00:34:35 · Ian Dallimore, Rob Loftus
[00:34:35] S0: Yeah. And and as as you hear from DSPs, and we won't say which future ones that are you're onboarding, we're really excited about that. But even the ones that that are, the Trade Desk DV is leaning back in. How are you taking what what they're doing and then making sure that it fits in a very complex ecosystem that is digital out of home? Right? If it was just roadside billboards, it would probably feel acting a lot like the Internet. Like, okay. It's just one format. You can go back and forth. But it is a complex world. [00:35:04] S5: It is a complex world. And so I guess a lot of place exchanges job is to take the nuance out of that for them. That's where we provide that value. So it goes into data standardization, protocol standardization, signal standardization, trying to obviously create standards around measurement, things like that. So I think a lot of that takes the nuance out of it. Now there's publishers that want that nuance because those are differentiators and special sauce. But I think from our perspective, it's like we have enough special sauce for everybody. Right. So let us handle that nuance and let us simplify for those guys to buy. [00:35:33] S0: Yeah. I wince because I hate the word special sauce and I know why why you're saying it because the industry is kind of really [00:35:38] S5: Exact sauce, whatever we wanna call it.
00:35:38 · Rob Loftus, Ian Dallimore
[00:35:38] S5: Exact sauce, whatever we wanna call it. [00:35:40] S0: Yeah. No. But but you're right. Right? It's from the traditional side of things that special sauce is local knowledge. It's, you know, how we do things differently to our competitor. But the reality of it is, and the next question is really, as you guys continue to embrace data, you know, it's funny because we have to say AI, it's... You guys have always been learning like an LLM anyway. Sure. So ingesting that data. But where do you continue to evolve from an AI perspective to even faster and then get those lagging publishers to where everybody needs to be? [00:36:11] S5: Yeah. It's a great question. It's it's twofold. So there's a there's a buy side and I guess, like a sell side version of it. So the buy side is we've built an MCP. We've we've established protocols there. Like, you could technically buy an agentic... Totally agentic campaign from soup to nuts on Broadsign today. Like that exists, it's happening in Europe. Yep. So that's that's one bit. Like obviously there's automation that happens there, but a lot of it's on the back end and really helping our immediate planning teams. So putting a ton of AI into their systems to really give them that level of efficiency because at the end of the day, the marketplace is still super curated. Sure. Still super deal driven. And so that team's the one servicing all that. And so putting in those systems pull them forward.
00:36:11 · Rob Loftus, Ian Dallimore
[00:36:11] S5: Yeah. It's a great question. It's it's twofold. So there's a there's a buy side and I guess, like a sell side version of it. So the buy side is we've built an MCP. We've we've established protocols there. Like, you could technically buy an agentic... Totally agentic campaign from soup to nuts on Broadsign today. Like that exists, it's happening in Europe. Yep. So that's that's one bit. Like obviously there's automation that happens there, but a lot of it's on the back end and really helping our immediate planning teams. So putting a ton of AI into their systems to really give them that level of efficiency because at the end of the day, the marketplace is still super curated. Sure. Still super deal driven. And so that team's the one servicing all that. And so putting in those systems pull them forward. [00:36:52] S0: Yeah. One of the things that I've always been most proud of you watching your growth at placing shades and Broadsign. No, seriously, you've done a lot. You know, we've both been a part of committees and now part of another committee. It's exciting, right? But the one thing I've always been most proud of you is your ability to be very forward facing while also being very technical. Sure. So that's a very rare skill. Know, we jokingly say, like, we leave our IT guys behind the curtain. [00:37:18] S5: Well, right. And they were because I was wearing those crappy t shirts. [00:37:21] S0: So there you go. IT guys dress nice and you [00:37:23] S5: could wear jacket.
00:37:23 · Rob Loftus, Ian Dallimore
[00:37:23] S5: could wear jacket. [00:37:24] S0: But but you do... You have this this great way of also bringing technical knowledge to, you know, maybe not the Lamar's because we do have a powerful team, like, shout out to Shirley Faith, Alex, and Lindsey. But those new media owners or lagging media media owners, you always have done a great job of of dumbing down is maybe the right phrase to say about [00:37:43] S5: Layman's terms. [00:37:44] S0: Yeah. Layman's terms of of taking tech and then explaining it in such a way that a billboard operator can understand. [00:37:50] S5: Appreciate that, man. Thank you. [00:37:51] S0: Yeah. So what was that skill? And it's obviously continuing to evolve because then you have to decipher what the vendor is saying and bring it back to the team and say, okay, this is what they're saying. This is what they need. [00:38:01] S5: Yeah. I mean, someone told me early on that I was sort of this master translator. I got my career started in out of home and at ops. And so I was in software and hardware and doing deployments and all that sort of stuff. But always I'm Irish, so I have the gift of the gab and I guess so to speak. But once someone told me that I kind of leaned into it and it was like, there's there's a center point that you can be for people if you can manage both sides of the conversation and be able to translate. At the end of the day, it's being able to meet people where they are, bring them into the conversation so you can help them in their business.
00:38:01 · Rob Loftus, Ian Dallimore, Anthony Scaramucci
[00:38:01] S5: Yeah. I mean, someone told me early on that I was sort of this master translator. I got my career started in out of home and at ops. And so I was in software and hardware and doing deployments and all that sort of stuff. But always I'm Irish, so I have the gift of the gab and I guess so to speak. But once someone told me that I kind of leaned into it and it was like, there's there's a center point that you can be for people if you can manage both sides of the conversation and be able to translate. At the end of the day, it's being able to meet people where they are, bring them into the conversation so you can help them in their business. [00:38:32] S0: Yeah. And there has to be some sort of excitement, right, that happens whenever you guys do implement a new DSP and connect to a media owner that's never been implemented. Of course. And that moment happens. And that... That's probably the the fulfillment moment for you. [00:38:46] S5: Yeah. A 100%. The more media owners on Place Exchange are making more money than ever. Yep. And that's... That means we're doing our job and that means we're bringing more people to the table. We want them all to be successful. So it's... That's exciting bit. Sure. [00:38:57] S4: Yeah. [00:38:58] S0: So as we close here, give me one sentence in your world where you feel advertising's headed. You use the word agentic, which is fun. So you can go down that path or or give me another. Where do you think the next eighteen months were headed?
00:38:58 · Ian Dallimore, Rob Loftus, Doug Zarkin, Raj Lala
[00:38:58] S0: So as we close here, give me one sentence in your world where you feel advertising's headed. You use the word agentic, which is fun. So you can go down that path or or give me another. Where do you think the next eighteen months were headed? [00:39:11] S5: I think it's the physical world. Yeah. I think it's a lot of the conversations we've had. You really sort of see this groundswell effect around media in the physical world. People are looking up from their devices and some of that might be because of agentic and some of the fears there, but it feels like we're getting to our moment in so many different ways. And so I'd I'd say media in the physical world is here and I think it's having its moment. [00:39:33] S0: Yeah. Well, look, I'm excited to see you continue to push us, all of us in the out of home space. I think collectively as as we continue to advance as an industry, thanks to partners like you guys at Broadsign and everything that you do that I'm extremely proud of you, but don't be comfortable. Of course. Continue to push and and push, and we'll do the same [00:39:49] S10: on our [00:39:50] S5: end soon. Thanks, Ian. Alright. Appreciate it, my friend. Bye. [00:39:59] S0: Hi, guy. Raj Lala, VP DP US sales and development at Vistar. My day my day one guy. [00:40:07] S8: Yeah. Love long time. I was just thinking about that this morning. Like, [00:40:12] S5: you... One of [00:40:13] S8: the first people I've met in the industry on the media owner side. So I was a I was a baby in the at home industry at that point.