Philip O’Ferrall, head of commercial innovation, VIMN.
As it looks to better connect advertisers with its brands’ online audiences, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) is forming a new group to help advertisers create customised, content-led campaigns to specifically target digital and social media platforms.
Working with new and existing Viacom clients including MTV, Nickelodeon and comedy Central, the group will aim to deliver “mass consumer engagement” across TV, digital and social media, focusing on developing partnerships with third party social media platforms for advertisers to work with.
Based in London and New York, the team will be led by Philip O’Ferrall, VIMN’s head of commercial innovation, who will work closely with the company’s ad sales team and international brand content, marketing and research team.
O’Ferrall will lead the international roll-out of Viacom Connect, which is expected to combine a number of new multi-platform advertising initiatives, such as the Echo social media measurement platform developed by Viacom in partnership with Mass Relevance.
“The group will build on our proven success driving mass consumer engagement around our tentpole events and bespoke activations, on our own platforms and within our branded presence on partner platforms, ranging from YouTube to Snapchat and Twitter,” said O’Ferrall.
“We will combine data-driven innovation and our search expertise with our core strength of entertainment content in a one stop digital media shop for brands and agencies.”
Bob Bakish, CEO of VIMN, added: “Under Philip’s leadership, we have significantly developed our digital presence and portfolio, and our social and digital media teams have enjoyed great success in driving mass consumer engagement with our content on multiple media platforms.”
