Ruby Sponsor Session: The Rubicon Project

About the Session:

Session Title: Ad Quality: The Elephant in the Room

Since the introduction of ad networks and indirect sales channels more than a decade ago, online publishers have long faced challenges associated with brand protection.  Be it from competitive ads, malware, or advertisers who pose a risk to direct sales pricing, poor ad quality has long been a gating factor for the overall growth of our industry.  And the move to real time trading, while offering increased capabilities surrounding the management of ad quality, is not a silver bullet.  Almost every other industry has seen significant growth by leveraging third party distribution channels, and arguably, for display to continue on its trajectory and continue to receive its fair share of marketing budget, digital publishers must adopt indirect sales channels in order to maximise overall revenues for their inventory.  In this presentation, we will look for historical analogies in other sectors, identify risks, and look at solutions for maximizing overall yield while mitigating potential conflict.   

About the Speaker: 

Jay Stevens 
Vice-President and General Manager, International

The Rubicon Project 

Charged with overseeing the international expansion efforts for the Rubicon Project, Jay brings more than ten years of interactive marketing and international business experience to his position.  Before joining Rubicon in May of 2009, Jay served as the SVP of Audience at MySpace.  He was the social network’s first hire outside of the US and oversaw operations for 12 of their European territories during the first two years of his tenure with the company.

Prior to joining MySpace in February of 2006, Jay served as the director of International for Silverpop, the leading email marketing software and services provider and greenfielded their business into the UK.  He previously was a member of the founding team and served as the director of marketing for Radical Communication, where he drove the company's day to day marketing operations.   Jay began his career in interactive media in 1998 directing the digital marketing practice for AlexanderOgilvy Public Relations, managing the DoubleClick and RelevantKnowlege accounts for the leading technology marketing communications firm.  

Jay has most been recognized by the Evening Standard as one of the 1000 most influential Londoners, by Revolution Magazine as the 5th most influential person in digital media in the UK and by Advertising Age as one of the top 20 interactive marketers of the year in the United States.  He has also served as a press aide to former President Jimmy Carter and holds a B.A. in History from Emory University.