Rubicon Project snaps up CBS Interactive VP Steve Wing to drive programmatic-guaranteed offering
Rubicon Project has hired CBS Interactive’s vice president (VP) for EMEA Steve Wing to head up its new automated guaranteed offering in the role of VP of mobile and marketplace.
The adtech firm is looking to dominate the automated guaranteed programmatic advertising market, and has already rolled out the new service in the US, striking deals with the likes of Condé Nast, Daily Mail, eBay, Immediate Media co, The Economist, The Guardian, Trinity Mirror and Viacom.
Rubicon has brought Wing on board to drive the offering as well as its mobile services across the UK and other international markets, reporting to Oliver Whitten, senior VP, Europe.
Previously Wing spent two and a half years at CBS Interactive, and prior to that he held a number of senior roles at the Guardian, including director for mobile, head of advertising strategy and head of digital marketing.
Wing said: “Up to this point, automation has focused largely on non-guaranteed, 'real-time' inventory, but Guaranteed Orders offers the functionality to allow buyers and sellers to plan, forecast and trade advertising on a guaranteed delivery basis. This puts Rubicon Project at the forefront of the next step in the evolution of programmatic trading, where all inventory across all screens can be bought and sold more efficiently”.
Whitten added that Wing’s publishing experience will prove invaluable in helping cultivate and maintain good relationships with media owners and advertisers for the new service.
“The launch of Rubicon Project’s Guaranteed Orders is a significant milestone in the UK market. The rapid adoption by these fantastic publishing brands shows just how ready the market is for direct order automation and we foresee a bright future for buyers and sellers to transact direct deals through our Orders platform,” he said.
Rubicon Project forms the adtech backbone of the global publisher premium programmatic alliance Pangaea, involving the Guardian, the Financial Times, CNN International, The Economist and Reuters.