A PODCAST SERIES FEATURING LEADING MEDIA RESEARCHERS
available at all leading podcasts sites
Although media research has changed so much over the last 20 years, a few leaders in the industry have persisted in thier relevance. Dr. Varan interviews these legends to learn how their innovation and boldness allowed them to become legendary.
EPISODE 4: 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 3: Betsy Frank
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.
EPISODE 2: Alan Wurtzel
Interview with former President of NBC Research, Alan Wurtzel. Alan discusses his years at both ABC and NBC including his landmark Olympics research, TAMI cross-platform measurement initiative, NBC lab, and broadcast standards and practices. Alan is another member of the billion dollar club, researchers who added at least a billion dollars in value to their company. Listeners will also be fascinated to hear how he came to lead long-form news and how he was once considered the successor to Bog Iger. An interview you won’t want to miss… with a true media research legend!
EPISODE 1: Artie Bulgrin
Interview with media research legend, Artie Bulgrin, who was head of research at ESPN for over two decades. Includes great stories about how research contributed to the creation of ESPN original content in 2001, Artie’s role in driving the Disney Media & Advertising Lab (subsequently becoming MediaScience), Project Blue Print (a cross-platform measurement solution years ahead of its time) and great insights on research leadership. A GREAT start to the new podcast series…
Episode19: Rick Mandler (Head of Marketing, Insights & Client Experiences – Comcast Advertising)
Rick Mandler shares stories from across his career, exploring the launch of digital at ABC, the 'enhanced TV' era of 'two-screen' TV (where viewers used their thin Internet services to interact from their laptops while watching TV), the ABC Media Player, Disney Lab...
Episode 18: Horst Stipp (EVP Research & Innovation – ARF)
Come and listen as Dr. Horst Stipp shares adventures from his 40 years at NBC and over the past 11 years at the ARF. The episode includes great stories from the pilot testing for Seinfield, numerous social effects studies (including on television violence and copycat...
Episode 17: Gian Fulgoni (Former CEO of both IRI and Comscore)
Gian is, without a doubt, the most decorated of our Legends of Media Research to date, having been awarded just about every marketing research and entrepreneur award under the sun! And his impact on our industry has been massive - particularly with the introduction of...
Episode 16: Barry Blyn
Barry is perhaps the best story-teller in our industry. His presentations weave a narrative that take you on an emotional journey as you discover insights along the way. Come discover the secrets of Barry's craft - and discovery key strategies for delivering bad news....
Episode 15: Natalie Bordes (CRO – Yahoo)
Summary: Join Nathalie's journey leading teams from Dow Jones (Wall Street Journal) to ESPN to CBS Interactive to the ANA and now in her new role as Chief Research & Analytics Officer at Yahoo. Nathalie shares amazing insights around the challenges of cross-platform...
Episode 14: Andrea Zapata (EVP Ad Sales Research, Measurement and Insights – Warner Bros Discovery)
Summary: Unique among our Legends, Andrea's career has crossed back and forth between leading sales teams and research teams across a career that has seen her leadership across ESPN, Vevo, Comcast Spotlight (now Effectv) and now Warner Bros Discovery. Andrea shares...
Episode 13: Lisa Heimann (EVP – Analytics, Insights & Measurement, NBC Universal Media)
Lisa is one of the pioneers of multi-platform measurement (with a patent to boot) and has built a reputation as a true industry collaborator. In this episode she share insights about all things multi-platform and takes us on a journey exploring her career across CBS,...
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. Come discover all about media currencies and why the evolution of common currencies is so challenging! Summary: A...
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...
Episode 10: Dr. Scott McDonald – President & CEO, Advertising Research Foundation (ARF)
Summary: 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...
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...
Episode 08: Bryon Schafer (SVP Research -Vevo)
Summary: 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,...
Episode 07: Julie DeTraglia (EVP/Head of Research, Insights & Analytics at Disney & Hulu)
Summary: 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)
Summary: To launch our second season, MediaScience EVP 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...
Episode 05: Byron Sharp (Director – Ehrenberg Bass Institute)
Summary: 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...
Episode 04: Bruce McColl (former CMO Mars)
Summary: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...
Episode 03: Betsy Frank (former head of research at MTV and Time Inc)
Summary: 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...
Episode 02: Alan Wurtzel (former President of NBC News)
Summary: Interview with former President of NBC Research, Alan Wurtzel. Alan discusses his years at both ABC and NBC including his landmark Olympics research, TAMI cross-platform measurement initiative, NBC lab, and broadcast standards and practices. Alan is another...
Episode 01: Artie Bulgrin (former head of research at ESPN)
Interview with media research legend, Artie Bulgrin, who was head of research at ESPN for over two decades. Includes great stories about how research contributed to the creation of ESPN original content in 2001, Artie's role in driving the Disney Media &...