Legends of Media Research

Episode 12: Paul Donato (former Chief Research Officer at Nielsen and co-founder of Kantar Media)

A fascinating interview with Paul Donato who led research at Nielsen for over 17 years and, before that, was one of the co-founders of Kantar Media.  Currently, Paul serves as Chief Research Officer at the Advertising Research Foundation.   Come discover all about media currencies and why the evolution of common currencies is so challenging... and the strengths and limitations of big data (ACR vs. Set Top Box) vs panel data.  

Episode 11: Robert Atencio (former research leader at P&G, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay/Pepsico, Walmart and Pfizer)

Robert Atencio is a true legend, having served as a research leader at many of our industry's top brands including P&G, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay/Pepsico, Walmart and Pfizer.  Robert is also the recipient of an ARF Great Mind award and EIGHT ARF David Ogilvy Awards for ad effectiveness.

Episode 10:Dr. Scott McDonald - President & CEO, Advertising Research Foundation (ARF)

Scott was the magazine industry's leading researcher, having led research at both Time Warner and Condé Naste.  In this episode he shares stories from the golden age of magazines - with important lessons for the future (particularly around the importance of 'context' which magazines did best).  He also discusses the ARF and its future direction.  Another episode you won't want to miss! 

Episode 09: Colleen Fahey-Rush (CRO - Paramount)

Colleen is a remarkable Legend who survived and thrived as MTV Networks evolved into Viacom, then Viacom-CBS and now Paramount.  Colleen shares fascinating insights about bridging data science and consumer insights, Paramount Plus's global expansion and so much more.

Episode 8: Bryon Schafer (SVP Research -Vevo)

Few leaders in our industry have the breadth of Bryon Schafer who has led research at organizations across the TV value chain: in advertising, broadcasting, distribution, platforms and even investment.  Bryon shares fascinating insights about new ad models, the future and the new TV landscape.

Episode 07: Julie DeTraglia (EVP/Head of Research, Insights & Analytics at Disney & Hulu)

A fascinating discussion about ad innovation, the rise of digital, the recent research team integrations at Disney (in the midst of the pandemic, streaming wars, Disney restructure, Nielsen saga and so much more) and the future of television.

Episode 06: Duane Varan (CEO MediaScience and series host)

To launch our second season, MediaScience SVP Phillip Lomax interviews Legends of Media Research series host, Dr. Duane Varan to introduce the audience to their host.  The episode explores research revealing insights for neuromarketing, innovation, program context effects, attention, leadership and so much more.  A special episode that will help you better contextualize Dr. Varan's interviews with Legends while also sharing exciting and inspiring insights.

Episode 05: Byron Sharp (Director - Ehrenberg Bass Institute)

Fasten your seat belts for this episode as the Director of the Ehrenberg Bass Institute, Professor Byron Sharp, challenges industry conventions around ad targeting, addressability, ad frequency, media flights and so much more!  Byron will get you questioning everything you thought you knew.  An episode you won't soon forget (even if you want to).

Episode 04: Bruce McColl (former CMO Mars)

This episode should be mandatory listening for every CMO, aspiring CMO or for all who interact with CMO's.  Learn from Bruce's remarkable tenure of over a decade in the CMO role at Mars and discover how he came to apply scientific approaches to the marketing functions - and how these became part of everyday culture at Mars.  The approach took Mars from seeing about 40% of its ads working effectively (measured through best-in-class single source data) to well over 70% being effective following the new approaches - delivering benefits on many fronts.  An episode you won't want to miss!

Episode 03: Betsy Frank (former head of research at MTV and Time Inc)

Interview with Betsy Frank who led research at MTV and Time Inc at times when both were facing major industry disruption.  Betsy's career is characterized by her constantly stepping into lead roles in new industries (from advertising to network - then from TV to print), always navigating the tension between centralized and decentralized approaches to the research function, and always characterized by major industry disruption (at MTV with the dawn of digital and at Time Inc with the rise of mobile and tablets).  An interview you won't want to miss.