SPOTLIGHT: WOMEN AT BIDTELLECT Missy Steiner

SPOTLIGHT: WOMEN AT BIDTELLECT Missy Steiner

In this five-part series, we highlight women at Bidtellect nominated by their peers for their inspiration, leadership, and success in the industry. We asked them everything from career advice to juggling teams and personal goals to the perks of being a woman.

Missy Steiner headshot at bidtellect
Missy Steiner is Bidtellect’s Vice President of Marketing. Not only does she oversee the company’s creative vision and go-to-market strategy, she also leads Bidtellect’s unique in-house creative services arm, [b]+studio. Missy’s team loves her bubbly personality and endless support and understanding. She’s the first to dive into any challenge and is always available to work through a task. And as one nominator wrote: “Missy has a passion and a fine-tuned sense of what is cool. She is always smiling and laughing no matter what stressful challenge she is in the middle of completing.”

One thing I’m working on now is the power of “No”. It’s a full sentence. I’m not there yet, but there are times I take on way more than I can do and somehow figure out a way to get it done.

Describe your role at Bidtellect. 

My title is Vice President of Marketing, but I am always changing gears throughout the day, whether it be working on client creative, helping with product marketing, social media, writing, whatever is on my checklist. I sort of think of myself as a “mamabear:” I genuinely care about everyone and want to help with anything. I get energized by the fast-paced, constantly evolving digital space

How long have you worked in the advertising industry?

20 years (OMG!). I started my career at Advertising.com in January 2000. Throughout my tenure, I managed Advertising.com’s Email Network as well as its Affiliate Network. While working during the day, I managed to take evening classes at Johns Hopkins University and received my masters in multimedia design.

While at AOL, my team produced high impact custom videos, content integration solutions, and innovative multi-channel customized presentations while shifting strategy to support two corporate rebrands.

As the Senior Director of Brand Marketing at ShareThis, I successfully managed a corporate rebrand while generating leads through creative content marketing, media buying, social media, event planning, and SEO/SEM strategies. I managed our brand, creative and communications/public relations teams.

What is a struggle or difficulty that you had to overcome in your career – as a woman or otherwise?

I’m a people pleaser. I want everyone to like the outcome of my work, even though I know very well that you will never be able to please everyone. I learned a long time ago that I am my worst critic.

One thing I’m working on now, is the power of “No”. It’s a full sentence. I’m not there yet, but there are times I take on way more than I can do and somehow figure out a way to get it done.

I! Really! Need! To! Stop! Using! Explanation! Points! In! ALL! My! Emails! 😉

What is your greatest strength?

I never miss a deadline. You give me a deadline, I will get it done.

I never miss a deadline. You give me a deadline, I will get it done.

What strengths do you think you have as a woman that are unique to women that make you successful?

I look at a lot of my male counterparts in the industry and I have to say, none of them do everything I do. My experience in creative design, writing, product management and analytics has put me in a bucket of my own. I don’t just delegate, I roll my sleeves up and do the work.

What woman or women do you look up to (in your life, at Bidtellect, your past, or the industry)?

I had this boss while at Advertising.com, her name is Alana Thompkins. She was starting a new custom solutions team (basically presale) and said “I want Missy Steiner on my team”. She taught me how to leverage my strengths and voice. She has an immaculate way of interacting with others, organizing her thoughts, and delegating with power and confidence. And before I became a single mother, I was learning from her the importance of work/life balance and how to simply “have it all” on your own terms.

What does being a team player mean to you?

While working as a team, I do my best to LISTEN. This is when the old saying “pick your battles wisely” comes into place. We are all passionate people, and sometimes, it’s just best to sit back and listen to others and work together rather than delegate. The most important thing is to always remember that we are ALL on the SAME TEAM and share the common goal.

Best Productivity Hack?

Tackle your hardest tasks FIRST! Instead of going about your day dreading and obsessing over that ONE THING that needs to get done, get it done first. Spend the rest of your day feeling energized and filled with a sense of accomplishment rather than dread.

Remember what I like to call “The 5 Minute Rule.” When something bothers you, give yourself five minutes: allow yourself to scream, wallow, internalize it, whatever then let it go. There are days when the tiniest thing will consume you. It will eat away at you until your head explodes.  You can’t change it. Focus on the present and the future.

What advice would you give to other women or girls starting out their careers?

You might wake up tomorrow and the shittiest thing happens to you, maybe you got let go from your job or a terrible breakup and you are struggling to find answers. You have two decisions – crawl under a rock with a pint of ice cream and a gallon of self doubt OR push through and find the end of the rainbow. Fate will only take you so far, do the work and make your magic. Things really do happen for a reason.

It’s also really important to step outside and put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Recognizing that it’s not all about YOU sometimes. As I was leaving the doctors office with my son the other day, I looked over at the nurses who were disheveled, tired and worn out and said “You know, I really appreciate everything you are doing, it really means a lot.” Those simple words led to tears and hugs, they really needed to hear that. Treat everyone you meet with respect until they give you a reason not to. There has to be more uplifting and rejoicing.

The most important thing: don’t dull your shine! If there are factors in your life that are inhibiting you from the joys of sparkling and shining – get rid of them. If there are things in your life that you want to try or explore – do them without fear. I will support you!

 

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Charlotte Otremba is the Director of Marketing Communications at Bidtellect.

Why You Should Factor Diversity Into Your Strategy This Black History Month

How and why you should make diversity your advertising priority.

Behind the Platform: Using Peer39 For Brand Safety & Keyword Targeting

Bidtellect VP of Product Arthur Hainline demonstrates the three key uses for the Peer39 integration in Bidtellect’s DSP, while offering helpful tips for traders and advertisers to get the most out of Bidtellect’s product.

Behind the Platform: Tracking Emissions With Bidtellect Scope3 Integration, Plus What to Know About Supply Path Emissions

Bidtellect VP of Product Arthur Hainline demonstrates the new Scope3 integration in Bidtellect’s platform, how you can take actionable steps to reduce carbon waste, and the current state of the industry’s wasteful supply path emissions.

We Asked Just Global How They’re Preparing for the Cookie-Free Future & More Context News. This Week’s Newsletter: March 26th, 2021

We Asked Just Global How They’re Preparing for the Cookie-Free Future & More Context News. This Week’s Newsletter: March 26th, 2021

Hello Bidtellectuals!

Congratulations to Bidtellectual of the Week Asdrubal Hernandez!

All Contextual Is Not Created Equal: How Just Global Prepares for the Post-Cookie Future

How does top agency Just Global prepare for the impending cookie-free world? Contextual solutions, of course. Bidtellect’s Jonno Burden chats with Just Global’s Kathryn Nassar on preparing for the future while maximizing performance goals for their clients, and why contextual solutions have been in their wheelhouse long before all this cookie-talk.

Read: All Contextual Is Not Created Equal: Just Global and Bidtellect Talk Post-Cookie, Context-First Solutions by Director of Sales Jonno Burden and Just Global’s Kathryn Nassar

The Latest:

• ICYMI: Bidtellect’s Native Report analyzing platform data from Q3 and Q4 2020 is HERE. Key takeaways: Dynamic goal setting consistently leads to max ROI. Consumers prefer relevant recommendation widgets. Pandemic habits led to longer desktop engagement but higher click-throughs on mobile and tablet
. Download the report and quick state one sheet.

• Are you a big nerd for reporting and insights AND/OR saving money on your campaigns? Check out our latest Behind the Platform videos: Advanced User Insights and Bid Shading.

• Still unsure about Google’s announcement? Read VP of Product Arthur Hainline’s op-ed on third-party cookie identifiers and the ad tech industry’s confrontation of reality. Read it here: 3 Possibilities for Cookie Depreciation and the Future of Post-Cookie Identifiers

• And for more on contextual solutions and what they mean, read Bidtellect CTO Mike Conway’s piece in Digiday: Contextual advertising is key to driving performance in a post-cookies world

Case Study of the Week: Bidtellect Top-Performance Partner in IDL Test in Preparation for Cookie-Less Future

As the future of cookie-based identification looms closer, this longstanding technology client decided to “future-proof” their digital strategy with a multi-partner performance test. Read how Bidtellect beat out the competition.

Stay safe,
Charlotte

Response to Google, NEW NATIVE REPORT, & Advanced User Insights Video: This Week’s Newsletter: March 19th, 2021

Response to Google, NEW NATIVE REPORT, & Advanced User Insights Video: This Week’s Newsletter: March 19th, 2021

Hello Bidtellectuals!

Happy Spring Forward! Anyone else’s body clock still off? Congratulations to Bidtellectual of the Week DJ Virtue!

On Google’s Announcement: Time to Confront the Future

Google this, Google that. Google’s in the news again, what’s up with that? Wow, I won’t stick with poetry, but I will stick with plugging Arthur because his op-ed on Google’s latest announcement regarding third-party cookie identifiers and the ad tech industry’s confrontation of reality is spot on and worth your read.

Read: Google’s (Non) Announcement: 3 Possibilities for Cookie Depreciation and the Future of Post-Cookie Identifiers by VP of Product Arthur Hainline

The Native Report You’ve Been Waiting For

IT’S HERE. Our long-awaited Native Report analyzing data from Bidtellect’s platform in Q3 and Q4 of 2020. What a doozy 2020 was, huh? Are we out of the woods yet? Changing consumer habits due to lockdown translated to changes in device behavior, while content recommendations appeal to consumers. Check out the takeaways. Bottom line: we are looking good.

Some Key Takeaways:

  1. Dynamic Goal Setting Leads to Max ROI

  2. Relevant Recommendation Widget Ad Type Sees Highest Engagement

  3. Longer Engagement on Desktop, Higher Click-Throughs on Mobile and Tablet


Plus: Travel and Personal Finance Show Promising Recovery

Download: The Report and the Quick Stat Onesheet

NEW: Behind the Platform

Are you a big nerd for reporting and insights? Curious about Bidtellect’s new Advanced User Insights feature that offers TONS of capabilities in a sleek interface? Love to hear Arthur explain things?

Watch: Our latest Behind the Platform video.

Case Study of the Week: Telecom Tech Industry Pioneer Eager to Drive Traffic to Media Surpasses Benchmark by 330%

The Company was currently working with other partners that fell below their benchmarks, but Bidtellect’s in-house creative studio coupled with behavioral targeting led to success and an always-on partnership. Read more.

Stay safe,
Charlotte

3 Possibilities for Cookie Depreciation and the Future of Post-Cookie Identifiers

3 Possibilities for Cookie Depreciation and the Future of Post-Cookie Identifiers

While Google’s recent press release on the deprecation of third-party cookies offered little in the way of new information, it forced the ad tech world to face the future with a bit more clarity and perspective. Google dashed any last hopes of a silver bullet with regard to unique identifiers (I now realize there was a small part of me still hoping for a browser based Ad ID), and made it clear that they would not involve themselves in any alternative, consent-based identifier framework (though it also seems that they will not obstruct such efforts). The programmatic advertising world is facing their options having heard Google’s qualifications, but for real this time.

Three core tactics present themselves as Chrome depreciates the third-party cookie.

 

1. Consent-based, Cookie-less Identifiers and Strategies

One clear path will be to use consent-based, cookie-less identifiers. Many large players in the industry are working towards these identifiers including but not limited to LiveRamp, The Trade Desk, and Lotame. These solutions seek to preserve the framework by which the Lumascape primarily transacts programmatic advertising –identity–while sourcing identity in a privacy compliant manner. While Google clarified that they will not be investing in this type of solution, these new identity products should still work, with some caveats. The size and scale of the addressable web within the scope of these new identity products remains unknown, and the big question is, what portion of the web are advertisers willing to sacrifice in order to maintain the status quo? Quite a lot, I suspect, especially upon consideration of the investments made into DMP’s, first party data, and other countless data strategies over the years.

The typical tactics of audience targeting, re-marketing, and others will continue to work in some capacity, and agencies and brands will continue to be able to communicate those identities to DSPs and down the line for execution. The scale and addressability will all just be some amount worse, as it is now compared to a year ago, and as it was a year ago compared to the year before that.

 

google chrome no cookies

 

 

2. Google’s Proposal: FLoC Buy In

Another alternative is Google’s proposed set of solutions. The Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) adheres to the rigors of privacy restrictions (self-imposed or otherwise) without requiring user consent. It sounds great, but there are a few trade-offs, most of which remain murky. Google claims “that advertisers can expect to see at least 95% of the conversions per dollar spent when compared to cookie-based advertising,” but the methodology with which they came to that conclusion is not transparent. Google additionally proposed that audience creation and measurement can be accomplished using FLoC; these proposals, however, remain incomplete and subject to change. The lack of clear information and plans from Google makes FLoC difficult to plan for and invest in. No one is clear about how well it’s going to work, and how much work it will take to get it to work.

We can at least say that FLoC will be one solution among three that will make a large portion of the web semi-addressable, with “semi” being a flexible and unknown qualifier for some time. Another large portion of the web (everything but Chrome) will remain non-addressable.

 

3. Just Let All These Post-Cookie Identifiers Go

While staring down the prospects of unique identity and FLoC in the future, one must ask, is it really worth it? Have we strayed too far from the light? Are all these sacrifices and efforts worth hanging on to whatever scraps are left of addressable programmatic media?

Each will have to answer that question for themselves; however, we can say that with a combination of intelligent contextual targeting with aggressive optimization based on non-identity signals, audience targeted programmatic does not have a monopoly on digital performance marketing. In fact, in the grand scheme of targetable audiences that exist in the ecosystem now, very few can justify their price against their performance. Dynamic and algorithmic optimization that goes beyond bid modifiers using non-identity signals reign supreme in performance, and letting go of identity seems like the sustainable bet.

Furthermore, while the addressable web shrinks, the rest of it goes on sale. As buyers concentrate their bidding power on those auctions where the user is known and consented, those auctions where the user is not known will have fewer bidders and ultimately lower media cost.

In the end, the smartest strategy will be one that can make the best use of all the available tools. A programmatic media plan that can work with the addressable web in the new era and understand its limitations while also testing and applying non-identity based programs will be the winner. The best planners and executors will also have a keen understanding of how their different identity and non-identity tactics will interact with their measurement and attribution solutions.

 

arthur hainline bidtellect

Arthur Hainline is the VP of Product at Bidtellect

WFH With Kids, IAB Guidelines, & Groceries. This Week’s Newsletter: March 12th, 2021

WFH With Kids, IAB Guidelines, & Groceries. This Week’s Newsletter: March 12th, 2021

Hello Bidtellectuals!

Happy International Women’s Day to the inspiring and hardworking women at Bidtellect, in our industry, and around the world! Here’s to breaking glass ceilings, challenging assumptions, and celebrating achievements.

Congratulations to Bidtellectuals of the Week Jason Taylor and Helgi Ragnarsson!

WFH With Kids: Women Can Do It All, Even in COVID

Bidtellect’s beloved Terah Bocchi, SVP of Sales, penned an honest assessment of working from home with kids back in April. It all still rings true today. If your kids are still “zooming in” to school full or part-time, Terah’s piece will hit home. She offers key advice for managing what could be conflicting responsibilities, including over-communicating with your team and giving everyone some extra grace. It is generally difficult to maintain constant engagement with your children while working from home. Also, working moms usually do not have sufficient time to cook their children’s favorite meals. When this happens, they usually order them from a nearby restaurant (for example, Dannys Chinese Kitchen), which can keep the kids happy.

As well as that, it might be worthwhile to engage your children in some activities that could enable them to learn something new. Having them engaged in mind-improving activities may also give you enough time to complete your office work. Children can learn how to create games by enrolling in coding for kids programs, for example. Similarly, you can find other educational programs that could be beneficial for your kids. Apart from that, it can be hard sometimes for parents to work from home with their children, especially if they are single parents trying to figure everything out whilst keeping their career going, that is why they will turn to motivational Stay at home mom quotes, supportive friends and family, as well as talk to similar business people in their sector so they can feel that encouragement.

Read: Working From Home With Kids: An Honest Assessment

The Latest: IAB Releases New Privacy Guidelines, Online Grocery is Here to Stay

  • IAB released new technical specifications and best practices in response to changing privacy laws. The goal is to support the development of open-source and proprietary solutions as the “sunset” of third-party cookers across browsers is imminent. The new standards and guidlines are open for comment.
  • Even when everything is “back to normal,” customers will still continue buying groceries online, according to eMarketer’s latest report. US grocery ecommerce sales will increase by 17.8% year over year in 2021, meaning that digital grocery shoppers will buy about 11% more than they did in 2020.
  • How ready are you for post-cookie? According to a July 2020 LiveRamp/Digiday survey, most publishers worldwide (57%) were already using an identity solution that will continue working post-cookie. But 38% planned to get one, and 4% said they had no such plans. Read more in eMarketer’s Publisher Ad Monetization After the Third-Party Cookie

Contextual Advertising = Answer to Post-Cookie World

If you haven’t read Mike Conway’s piece on contextual advertising, what are you wating for? After Google’s announcement, this is one way to manage the shifting climate. How do platforms adjust from third-party cookie identifiers to the cookieless world? How can they reach performance goals? Customers expect personalization and relevant recommendations, but they want to know where their data is going.

Read: Contextual advertising is key to driving performance in a post-cookies world

Case Study of the Week: Leading B2B Tech Company Achieves 201% Lift in Brand Awareness for New Product Line

The company’s primary goal was to build brand awareness and brand favorability for its new product line. Read how Bidtellect achieved its goal.

Stay safe,
Charlotte

Stay safe,
Charlotte