Who’s who: Data Management Platforms (DMPs)

I’ve been researching the current state of the Data Management Platform (DMP) market. Rather than keeping that knowledge to myself, I thought I’d share it here. And if I’ve made an error or omission, you can point it out! What is a DMP? Good question. My attempt at distilling it is this: A Data Management […]

What do big brands use for SEM bid management?

I’ve lost touch a little with the paid search bid management market since leaving Adobe. I thought it was time to see what’s going on, and which platforms the big advertisers are using. A bit of digging into the HTML of the Google SERPs gives a good indication of what’s going on. Third party platforms […]

Is it time for Ad Tech 2.0?

Last week I had a chat with Business Insider’s Lara O’Reilly, prompted by the news that Google is locking down access to buying Youtube ads. She wrote that up, and here’s what I said: “Programmatic is meant to be this open way of buying and selling media, but it’s not that, and it hasn’t been […]

Coding to make your sales team better

We all know the power of code, and how software is eating the world. But coding itself seems like such a binary activity — forgive the pun — either you code or you don’t. I’m not a proper coder or a programmer and I don’t claim to be. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy […]

Two tips to shrink your PowerPoint files

How the hell do you manage to make 20 slides 64MB ?!? — Eloi Casali (@Eloi_Casali) March 11, 2015 A familiar cry of anguish, heard in offices around the world. Even with fast connections and near infinite storage, unwieldy PowerPoint files are still not a good thing. They slow down PCs and clog up email […]

Podcasts worth listening to

Podcasts have had a renaissance in the last year. I find them useful for learning, thinking and entertainment. They’re perfect when commuting, driving, showering or doing chores around the house. Here are the podcasts I’m listening to at the moment. I don’t listen to every episode, but there’s always something worth dipping in to. I’ve […]

What is a marketing cloud?

“This doesn’t quite add up? What’s your take?” wrote a friend, when he sent me a copy of Gartner’s ‘Magic Quadrant for Digital Marketing Hubs’. I can understand why he thought Gartner’s report didn’t sit right. To discuss Adobe and Salesforce in the same paper as ad tech vendors, like Rocket Fuel and Turn, does […]

One month with a Pebble smartwatch

About a month ago, I bought a Pebble smartwatch through an Amazon deal for £75 (down from £100). I did want a Microsoft Band. But despite my wife working for Microsoft and visiting the Redmond HQ last month, one couldn’t be found. So a Pebble it was. After a month wearing it I don’t regret […]

Jonathan Beeston

Online advertising, digital marketing, social media and technology