Strategy Days 2023

On the 1st and 2nd of March 2023, we held our third annual “Strategy Days” aimed at sharing updates from within and beyond the company as well as discussing this year’s goals. Although the event was virtual, smartclippers from across Europe met at their respective offices to dial in. We had an exceptional lineup of speakers, including our colleagues from the recently formed RTL AdAlliance and external industry experts.

Day one commenced with a “smartclip Tech Update” by Co-CEO, Thomas Servatius and Senior Director Process Management, Mirjam Naves. Thomas took us a bit down memory lane by discussing smartclip’s journey so far before explaining the strategy for the coming months. 

Mirjam then took over to explain the importance of clear processes in executing the defined strategy.

After 90+ minutes of tech talks and a coffee break, it was time to hear about the latest developments on the media side and the status of RTL AdAlliance. Dr Oliver Vesper, Co-CEO and MD Media at smartclip, discussed the ongoing transformations at RTL AdAlliance and the business opportunities that are driving the company. He also discussed the synergies between smartclip and RTL AdAlliance.

Later that afternoon, we had the pleasure of welcoming Sven Hagemeier — Lead Sr. Director, Inventory Partnerships EMEA at The Trade Desk — to take centre stage and talk about the future of TV advertising. During his presentation, Sven emphasised the critical role played by The Trade Desk as a DSP in providing access to the open internet by ensuring trust, facilitating greater reach, enhancing measurement, and creating unique innovations in the advertising industry.

We concluded the first day with a deviation from the adtech talks to listen to Mirjam Rolfe — founder of Chances in Change — speak about resilience impulse. Mirjam provided valuable insights on individual, team, and organisational resilience and the importance of these factors in overcoming challenges within an organisation. She also shared some resilience hacks that we could use individually or with other team members. Towards the end of the session, Mirjam opened up the floor for questions and provided thoughtful answers, further enriching our understanding of resilience in the workplace.

Stephen Byrne, Managing Director, Nordics & Executive Director, New Partnerships Europe at smartclip, kicked off day two of the event with an update on the Premium Video Alliance. During his talk, he explained the concept and purpose of the Premium Video Alliance and presented an overview of the video market. He went on to share a case study of the Premium Video Alliance in the Nordics and discuss the development plan.

Stephen’s session was immediately followed by a strategy update from our subsidiary, Realytics. During the session, the CEO of the company, Guillaume Belmas, informed us about the current status of the award-winning BEE solution as well as the phases of further development planned for this year. He emphasised that one of the main topics for Realytics in 2023 will be to unify all the different TV measurement solutions they offer.

Next up was an overview of our product initiatives and goals for 2023 presented by the dynamic duo — Björn Münchau, VP Advanced Products, and Gloria Eichler, VP Ad Platform at smartclip. During the session, several members from the product teams took turns highlighting the various product initiatives and goals for the year. Our new VP Audience Products, Frank Plähn, also used the opportunity to give us a rundown of his plans to build a new team and level up our product roadmap.

Moving on with department presentations, our executive directors — Shira Leffel, Christian Osterhues, and Henning Schwandt — led a virtual “Tour de Table” session for their respective teams. In this session, they shared highlights of the activities within their teams and the goals they have for 2023.

After the lunch break, Valerio Motti — VP FAST Channels at Fremantle — shared more on Fremantle’s FAST (Free Ad Supported TV channels) strategy. He explained the pillars of the FAST business and provided an overview of the FAST landscape. 

The event concluded with a presentation by René Wagner — Chief Innovation Officer at smartclip — who discussed our open-source strategy and the benefits that come from using open-source software.

At the end of the day, Thomas Servatius and Dr Oliver Vesper gave their closing remarks, expressing their gratitude to all the organisers and speakers and emphasising the importance of our strong team spirit in driving innovative developments in the adtech industry. 

Now, let the countdown to our 2023 smartweek — another opportunity for the entire company to come together — begin!