The Fishbowl: Benjamin Loofe, PubMatic
The Fishbowl
The Media Leader’s interview series asks the media industry’s top salespeople 10 revealing questions, drawn from our fishbowl. The questions will be drawn at random and contain some tricky posers set by the commercial chiefs themselves.
This week: Benjamin Loofe, director of advertiser solutions, UK north, at PubMatic.
Loofe joined PubMatic in May and has over 10 years’ experience across agency, publisher and adtech roles.
He spent more than three years at MiQ, where he was senior agency director. Before that, he was an account director at Teads.
Loofe has also worked at The Guardian as programmatic account manager and at PHD as regional account manager on Google.
Why are you passionate about media?
You’re never sitting still! It’s a dynamic, fast-paced industry that constantly challenges and inspires me through innovative trends and opportunities for professional growth.
After over a decade in the industry, I enjoy being on the sell side, connecting buyers with premium supply. There’s nothing more rewarding than taking a campaign brief from concept to activation, watching it come to life and observing how it creates meaningful connections between brands and their audiences.
What is coming up in conversations with clients?
I’m noticing a strong interest in content signal capabilities across connected TV and online video. Our clients are also focused on enhanced targeting and reporting tools to boost campaign effectiveness.
The driving force is efficiency: clients want their campaigns to work smarter, not harder. They are looking to target their desired audience across premium inventory while maximising both impact and scale.
What’s your favourite ad of all time?
This is a tough one. It’s difficult to call out one, but the 2007 Cadbury “Gorilla” ad stands among my favourites. It was simple and bold and, as a consumer, you were thoroughly entertained while watching it, which was helped by a cracking Phil Collins soundtrack.
The second one is the 2002 Nike “Secret Tournament” ad. As a football-obsessed kid, I remember being amazed to see all the top global footballers playing together, including the great Eric Cantona making an appearance. Similar to the example above, the icing on the cake was the brilliant use of Elvis Presley’s A Little Less Conversation.
If you could learn any new skill from scratch, what would it be?
Learning a language. I think it’s such a great skill to be able to transition seamlessly between multiple languages. Although I never really enjoyed learning French at school, I would be interested in learning Spanish or Italian.
What’s your best advice for someone who wants to do your job one day?
My boss will probably laugh at this, as I do it frequently, but I would say never be afraid to ask questions.
This applies internally when seeking product updates and collaborating with our EMEA team. Externally, requesting agency updates and understanding your customers’ needs are key to achieving your commercial goals.
What are three words that people often use to describe you?
It depends on who you ask! But, overall, I think they would probably say: friendly, approachable and golf–obsessed.
If you could change one thing about the industry right now, what would it be?
For me, it’s increasing our industry’s commitment to sustainability. While we’ve made meaningful progress, I believe agencies, advertisers and media owners can take more decisive action towards environmental sustainability.
Our partnership with GroupM and SeenThis demonstrated this potential by achieving two key objectives: reducing carbon emissions from digital creative delivery while improving viewability and carbon metrics.
The campaign successfully minimised carbon emissions by 2.09 tonnes — equivalent to 16,000km driven in a car! Through collaboration, we can create a more sustainable future for our industry.
Peer question: How do you develop, motivate and engage your team in a hybrid working environment?
Working remotely as the first Manchester-based hire reporting to London, I’ve built strong team connections through proactive collaboration. I actively participate in virtual team meetings and seize cross-team opportunities.
My monthly visits to our London office help strengthen these relationships — proving distance doesn’t have to mean distant connections.
Question from Mark Bucknell, chief commercial officer, JCDecaux UK
Peer question: What are the daily habits that make you good at your job?
I like to start each day by taking a quick look at my calendar to familiarise my day and manage my time effectively. I split my daily tasks into two buckets: external tasks such as client meetings, briefs and outreach, and internal tasks such as sales admin and project updates.
This helps me stay organised and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
Question from Pippa Scaife, vice-president, brand partnerships, NBCUniversal
Peer question: From a work perspective, what were you most proud of in the past year?
Without a doubt, it would have to be successfully launching PubMatic’s UK north regional business.
After working in Manchester for the last six years, I knew this role was the next step for both my career growth and development. I feel incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity to contribute towards building a better supply chain for the future and I’m excited for what 2025 brings.
Question from Kelly Williams, managing director, commercial, ITV
Read more Fishbowl interviews here and see what media’s top salespeople say about working in the industry and what concerns their clients. To suggest an interviewee, contact [email protected].