Financial Times' programmatic head Elli Papadaki departs for Condé Nast's Vogue
Elli Papadaki has vacated her role as the Financial Times’ global head of programmatic to take up a similar (yet newly created) role with fashion bible Vogue, as its publisher Condé Nast International attempts to bolster advertising yield using adtech.
Papadaki speaking at The Drum's Programatic Punch event, will lead Vogue's first concerted effort to employ adtech
Papadaki left the FT, a company she first joined over 10 years ago, for her new role as Vogue's head of programmatic and digital revenue last week.
She first joined the FT in 2005 as a sales executive, quickly rising through the ranks to lead a number of sales and advertising divisions, before she eventually left to join Celtra in April 2014 as agency sales director, only to rejoin the FT in January last year as its first-ever global head of programmatic.
Within the space of six months the publisher claimed to generate the same yield from ad inventory sold using adtech as it was from media sold directly to advertisers, a turning point in its bid to become an automated business. Her tenure as the FT's programmatic chief also saw her make some big decisions on the use of adtech, including electing to steer clear of header bidding technology (arguably one of the big trends of 2016) in favor of adopting a more long-term strategic approach.
Speaking last year to The Drum about her approach to achieving said goals for the FT, Papadaki said: "We’re trying to shift the perception that programmatic is a different product – it isn’t. It’s a smart way to leverage on existing activities."
Papadaki's appointment to Vogue “underlines the importance” of programmatic for publishers, said Jamie Jouning, digital director at parent business Condé Nast, and forms part of its “ongoing commitment to deliver a best in class digital commercial proposition to Vogue’s global advertising partners”.
Jouning added: "Harnessing the reach and power of Vogue’s global digital audience and ensuring its commercial relevance to our advertisers via programmatic, traditional display or branded content channels is a hugely exciting challenge."
Papadaki's arrival follows the appointment of Evan Adlman in February last year as head of programmatic at Condé Nast’s US headquarters, the first position dedicated to the automated buying method. Papadaki's new role also marks the first time Condé Nast has appointed a programmatic lead for an individual magazine brand.