Shoshana Winter
SVP, Executive Director, Creative, Content & Strategy at Merkle
Website Address: www.merkleinc.com
Each week on “AdTastic,” our host talks to advertising and media experts across the country. This week our host speaks with Shoshana Winter from Merkle. To learn more, check out www.merkleinc.com.
What is the main pain point that you solve for your customers?
I lead a performance creative team that develops messaging and communications strategy and execution that has to drive response. We are living in a time where the line between ‘brand” and demand has collapsed challenging marketers to rethink what a direct response ad vs. a brand/awareness one.
What is the biggest change in the advertising industry that you see coming in the next 2 years?
Not being able to target based on cookies will be a large challenge for marketers especially in retail who have relied on this for ecommerce and remarketing. Marketers are still very behind in building their data platforms and stacks to be prepared for this and to deliver truly personalized/relevant experiences for consumers. Web 3 is early days but it may challenge not only how but where we market and the rules will be/are completely different.
How is the trend towards streaming television (CTV) impacting your advertising strategies?
As a direct response creative shop, we are usually asked for DTV. – but with the rise of streaming services and video pre-roll on those platforms we are being asked for our POV on CTV and how other assets we are using can be adapted to CTV.
What’s your biggest challenge with attracting and hiring talent in the past 2 years?
Firstly, i think this generation has a different idea of what work is and a corporate setting -virtual or not may not fit into that vision. Also, I am not sure that our industry is appealing to younger people given the values-driven focus they seem to have. I teach a class at Fordham with the future ad execs and they are an interesting group – and get more different with each year.
