The Women In Programmatic Network was set up to represent women in the programmatic industry. To celebrate its work and its members, NDA will be running a series of interviews with its members. Next up is Kinga Incze, Founder of Whitereport & Mediaspace Global
Why did you join the Women in Programmatic network and what do you hope to get out of it?
As the former CEO of Universal McCann Budapest, media expert and the founder of at Mediaspace.global, the new independent social platform for professionals in media, marketing, tech and regulation, I find the adtech sector one of the most exciting ones.
Before I virtually met the network’s co-founders Sopie and Emily, Mediaspace had already been discussing both adtech and women-in-media/advertising/tech topics with our members. I also experienced challenges of our female professionals even in leading positions.
So it was a no-brainer to invite the Women in Programmatic Network to our growing global platform to provide a digital space for them and start a collaboration as we share similar values.
What are the biggest challenges, and opportunities for women in the programmatic industry today?
Beside the transforming industry that you need to keep up with, the post-pandemic impacts are also significant. Nearly two-thirds of women (60%) in marketing, 57% in the creative industries, 50% in IT have either left the industry or seriously thought about doing so – either permanently or temporarily – during the pandemic according to a Linkedin research on an international sample.
Based on this research we understood why we need to invite 3-4x more women than men when it comes to interviews and other speaking opportunities. But we try to provide equal visibility despite the extra efforts required to feature women – it’s one of the collaboration areas we have with the WIPN.
What does the industry need to do to champion women in the programmatic industry better?
One of the Mediaspace.global members, Alana Karen, search director for Google in Palo Alto, gave one key advice at our MembersTalk event: ’Ask’.
But asking for promotion, support, visibility is hard for many women because it means you’re too honest, weak, agressive etc.
That’s why professional media and professional communities might play an important role to provide visibility and networks to connect with to build social capital.
What are the biggest challenges, and opportunities overall for programmatic advertising this year?
The upcoming changes related to privacy and competition laws, cross-media measurements, transparency issues and initiatives, adtech innovations etc. bring a turbulent year again. Our data suggests a K-shape post-COVID recovery where online platforms are thriving while many publishers have revenue challenges, that further grows the competition gap. The need for digital transformation and an increased regulatory attention provide challenges new opportunities, as well.
It’s all very exciting and requires additional energies to deal with. We need more ambitious women like the WIPN network to get the best of it all.
What is your biggest achievement in programmatic to date?
We hope to be able to contribute to an independent, professional conversation at Mediaspace.global on the market and regulation transformation, using the power of our global network and also our proprietary insights.
