GroupM hires Brett Poole as local boss for controversial native ad platform Plista
Poole
Media agency group GroupM has hired Brett Poole to head the local arm of its controversial native ad platform Plista.
Poole, a former director of platforms for Yahoo7, will head up the local of arm of the service which is attempting to take on Outbrain in the native and referral content market.
Plista’s launch in the Australian market has drawn concerns from some quarters concerns that pressure could be put on publishers by the media agency holding group to switch from its rival Outbrain, and from other media agencies over whether Plista’s involvement with publishers could give them line of sight over non-client data, all of which GroupM refutes.
Poole, who spent much of his eight years at Yahoo7 leading the search business and broader platform, said he was pleased with the appointment.
“Like elsewhere in the world, recommendations are becoming an increasingly attractive proposition for users, publishers and content creators alike,” he said in a statement. “The Plista platform is a very comprehensive and compelling offering having had great success in Europe, so I’m excited to be joining GroupM and Plista to help grow the business here in Australia and NZ.”
GroupM’s global digital boss Rob Norman last year tried to hose down criticism of the Plista platform telling Mumbrella: “I don’t think its something people should be afraid about.
“If the fantasy notion is that WPP or GroupM uses an insight for an ad that runs on Plista, somehow uncovers an insight and then goes and pitches for a competitor client – when you play that out there is something quite fantastical about that – and therefore unlikely.”
Nic Christensen
