Hot Topic: Advertising Strategy Series
Hot Topic: Advertising Strategy Series
Oct. 16, 30; Nov 6
Free events for DCN members.
These hot topic discussions will bring together DCN members to discuss the most pressing issues impacting their ad sales and business teams: From managing a cookie-less future, to brand safety, to tensions between advertising and subscriptions and more – these closed-door, members-only discussions are the best place to share insights with your senior executive peers that will shape and grow your business.
Oct. 16 12:00 - 12:45 PM ET
Unlocking the power of publisher first-party signals: Inside Hearst’s AURA Project
Join Mike Nuzzo, SVP and Head of Data Solutions at Hearst, and Alex Dzegar, Customer Success Director at Permutive, as they unpack the inception and evolution of Hearst’s groundbreaking AURA project. The session includes exclusive insights into Hearst’s first-party data infrastructure, the proprietary content taxonomy AURA leverages, critical metrics from AURA’s beta testing, and how they partner with Permutive’s Audience Activation Platform.
Michael Nuzzo is the senior vice president and head of data at Hearst Magazines, the world’s largest lifestyle publisher with a portfolio of over 25 brands in the U.S., 175 websites, and more than 200 magazine editions worldwide. In his role, Michael leads the democratizing of data intelligence and driving audience activation across the organization. He is also responsible for the development of data monetization and productization strategies, highlighted by the launch of AURA, an innovative first-party ad targeting tool that Hearst Magazines introduced to the market this year.
Before joining Hearst, Nuzzo served as senior program director at Salesforce, where he led high-impact projects and managed cross-functional teams focused on data, privacy and activation initiatives. His career is built on a strong foundation in revenue operations, solutions operations and media planning, with roles at leading companies like Krux, Collective, and Havas.
Nuzzo earned a bachelor's degree in finance and marketing from the Wallace E. Carroll School of Management at Boston College. He currently resides in Manhattan.
Join Mike Nuzzo, SVP and Head of Data Solutions at Hearst, and Alex Dzegar, Customer Success Director at Permutive, as they unpack the inception and evolution of Hearst’s groundbreaking AURA project. The session includes exclusive insights into Hearst’s first-party data infrastructure, the proprietary content taxonomy AURA leverages, critical metrics from AURA’s beta testing, and how they partner with Permutive’s Audience Activation Platform.
A seasoned professional in the advertising and Ad Tech space, Alex Dzegar's career journey spans from media buying at agencies like Universal McCann and Spark Foundry to working at the forefront of viral content at BuzzFeed. He later transitioned to Ad Tech, contributing to global solutions at DoubleVerify. Currently, Alex serves as a Customer Success Director at Permutive, where he partners with major brands across North and South America to achieve their data and advertising goals.
Oct. 30 11:00 - 11:45 AM ET
Unlocking the Power of Enthusiast Verticals: Advertising to the military community through authentic engagement across platforms
The military community represents a significant and influential market segment with substantial spending power, often exceeding that of the general population in key categories. Advertisers need to connect with this community in an authentic and meaningful way, understanding where they over-index and why this matters.
Join Recurrent's VP of Military Partnerships and U.S. Air Force Spouse, Katherine Torres-Pummill as she delves into the importance of authentically engaging with the military community. She will discuss strategies for connecting with this powerful audience across digital, video, and event platforms, and how to build partnerships that resonate within the community. Discover the nuances of effectively selling to the military audience and why authenticity is crucial for long-term success.
Katherine Torres-Pummill is a New York City native and U.S. Air Force veteran spouse with more than 15 years of experience in media management, marketing, and sales.
She is the VP of Military Partnerships at Recurrent Ventures, where she oversees advertising for opportunities across all content extensions of Task & Purpose, The War Zone, and We Are The Mighty. She also oversees sponsorships for the largest Military community event, Military Influencer Conference (MIC), and the only event series geared towards military spouses, MilSpouseFest. In collaboration with partners such as USAA, Kathy also oversees Recurrent’s production of sponsored movie and TV screenings of Military movies, such as “Masters of the Air” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Previously, she was Senior Vice President of Branded Content and Partnerships for the military media company We Are The Mighty based in Los Angeles. In her five years with the company, she developed the advertising business for the media brand as well as MIC, in addition to establishing partnerships and production work with military and veteran organizations. During her tenure, Kathy secured six-figure partnerships, established relationships with key stakeholders, and implemented marketing strategies with brands such as Victory Capital, USAA, Amazon Studios, and Veterans United.
Before her role at We Are The Mighty, Katherine worked as a National Media Executive at the Associated Press, streamlining operations and developing new revenue streams for the world's most trusted nonprofit news outlet.
Katherine earned a M.S. degree in Media Management from The New School. In her spare time, she mentors service members through Veterati, a nonprofit that promotes increased roles for active-duty service members currently transitioning out of the military. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband and son.
Nov. 6 11:00 - 11:45 AM ET
Integrating AI: Monetization at scale
With the rapid introduction of AI-generated content and hyper-personalization, businesses are seeing a massive increase in advertising efforts, leading to higher volumes. The pressure to scale operations to match the pace of content generation is at an all-time high, which requires a robust approach to Ad Operations. Join Theorem’s Head of Global Accounts, Michele Bavitz, and SiriusXM Media’s VP of Ad Product Marketing, Molly Fuard to learn how businesses can synchronize the “right brain” creativity with “left brain” operational efficiency in publishing by strategically leveraging automation-focused technology.
With over 12 years of strategic marketing experience in the digital advertising industry, Molly Fuard is a seasoned leader specializing in driving revenue growth through innovative audio experiences. As the Vice President of Ad Product Marketing at SiriusXM Media, she spearheads the development and execution of comprehensive marketing strategies to maximize the value proposition of the company's advertising solutions.
As Head of Account Management at Theorem, Michele is focused on delivering effective digital media services across campaign management, automation, marketing cloud, data technology, and creative services to some of the biggest brands around the world. Utilizing her 20 years of experience working at agencies and leading in-house marketing teams, Michele understands the complex needs of in-house marketing and operations teams. Working across many industries including publishing, entertainment, CPG and non-profit organizations with a portfolio that includes brands like Pandora, LinkedIn, Pepsi, Disney, Marvel, Random House and Scholastic, Michele brings a deep knowledge of identifying pain points and developing solutions to help driver performance, efficiency and revenue for her clients.