BlackArrow Assembles All-Star Group of Industry Experts to Address How Television Advertising will be Bought and Sold in the Future

NEW YORK – BlackArrow, a worldwide provider of advanced advertising solutions for TV platforms, announced the formation of an advisory board that will help the TV and advertising industry better understand and benefit from the opportunities and challenges of emerging advertising technology. Charter members of the advisory board include TV and advertising industry thought leaders, Nancy Hill (4A’s), David Poltrack (CBS), Marcien Jenckes (Comcast), Mike Bologna (GroupM), Marc Krok (AMC) and Bob DeSena (Engagement Marketing Group).

“By working collaboratively with BlackArrow and participating pay-TV providers, we can help to develop strategies for how advertisers can use the already deployed technology to increase the effectiveness of their advertising spend.”

“Advanced advertising provides the industry with a unique opportunity to reach audiences with relevant ads as they watch TV anywhere and at any time,” said Mike Bologna, director of Emerging Communications at GroupM. “By working collaboratively with BlackArrow and participating pay-TV providers, we can help to develop strategies for how advertisers can use the already deployed technology to increase the effectiveness of their advertising spend.”

The board will provide insights and guidance to set a direction and promote the role of advanced advertising in the new reality of television viewing. They will address actionable topics such as: how to mix traditional linear TV buys with new addressable advertising to optimize effectiveness of a marketing spend; how to consider reach and frequency as audiences span multiple TV platforms; how the mix of the right data sources and technology can be used to show TV advertising effectiveness; and how emerging capabilities such as addressability, video on-demand (VOD) advertising, and multiscreen experiences should be factored in the mix.

The BlackArrow Advisory Board brings together TV and advertising industries’ thought leaders to help highlight the market opportunities and benefits that are emerging by virtue of new targeted TV advertising technologies and audience data related platforms. Each board member brings extensive knowledge and experience in the television advertising industry.

• Nancy Hill is the President-CEO of 4A’s. Hill is a veteran of agencies on both coasts, holding positions at Doner/Baltimore, TBWA\Chiat\Day, Goldberg Moser O’Neill (which became Hill | Holliday in 2001) and BBDO, where she was first President of its San Francisco office and then later Executive Vice President and Managing Director for New York.
• David Poltrack is the Chief Research Officer at CBS and oversees all research operations at CBS. Poltrack has also served as a Chairman of the Media Rating Council, Trustee of the Executive Committee for the Marketing Science Institute, President of the Market Research Council and Chairman of the Advertising Research Foundation.
• Marcien Jenckes is the Executive Vice President of Consumer Services at Comcast. Jenckes was previously the CEO of Voxant, has led a variety of teams at AOL, including Strategy & Operations, Web Development, Video Production, Photo Editing and Project Management, and served as Senior Vice President of Messaging, Community and Voice at AOL.
• Mike Bologna is the Director of Emerging Communications at GroupM, assisting clients in the development of marketing and advertising applications on advanced digital platforms. Bologna is known throughout the industry for his expertise in the field of digital communications, including interactive television, video on-demand, DVR and wireless.
• Marc Krok is the Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales at AMC Networks. Krok is a television advertising veteran with more than 15 years of experience, with prior experience as Vice President of Advertising Sales at DISH Network, in ad sales at NBC Universal and MTV Networks, and in national broadcast buying at agencies such as Busch Media, Wieden & Kennedy and Ogilvy & Mather.
• Bob DeSena is CEO and founder of the Engagement Marketing Group. Earlier in his career, he served as Managing Director of Mars Direct at Masterfoods USA, Director of Media and Marketing Services with Wunderman, Executive Vice President and GM of Draft (now DraftFCB), Senior Vice President of Marketing for Time Warner Direct, and Vice President of Digital Media for Time Inc.

“With the TV industry undergoing such a revolutionary change, we felt this distinguished group of individuals could offer unique market and business perspectives to BlackArrow and our partners as the television advertising industry navigates the quickly morphing market,” said Nick Troiano, President of BlackArrow. “We’re extremely excited about the caliber of the charter members that have joined us in this mission and grateful to them for committing the time and expertise to support our efforts in establishing a healthy advanced advertising and TV ecosystem.”

See BlackArrow’s Advisory Board and President, Nick Troiano, address the topics of time shifting, targeting and addressability at Advertising Week in New York City. The event is slated for Thursday, September 26 at 9:00AM EST at B.B. King Blues Club at 237 W 42nd Street, New York City. For more details on this panel, visit http://bit.ly/158tGuO.

About BlackArrow, Inc.

BlackArrow is a leading worldwide provider of advanced advertising technology for New TV platforms. Reaching 30 million homes, BlackArrow’s advanced advertising software platform enables customers to increase revenues by delivering more timely and efficient sales and marketing messages, to extend TV business models and affiliate partnerships to new platforms, and to gain real-time reporting and measurement insights across multiple screens. BlackArrow is privately held, and backed by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Comcast Ventures, Intel Capital (NASDAQ: INTC), Mayfield Fund, Motorola Mobility Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners and Time Warner Cable. The company has offices in New York City and San Jose, California. For more information, please visit www.BlackArrow.tv.