JW Player names advertising demand chief for EMEA

Video platform provider JW Player has appointed Elliot MacNay to head up its demand-side ad monetisation initiatives in the EMEA region. 

Elliot MacNay

As advertising demand lead, EMEA, MacNay will work with local advertising agencies and brands to drive more video ad targeting revenue to the 12,000-plus premium publishers using JW Player’s video technology, according to the company.

Earlier this year JW Player launched new advertising solutions to improve the effectiveness of digital video advertising campaigns.  Each video served on a publisher using JW Player technology is classified on a range of data points available only to the player, including player location and viewer engagement, which facilitates precise video ad targeting at scale, according to the company.

In addition, JW Player enables targeted programmatic advertising based on brand safety and analysis of the content of video.

Reporting to the general manager of advertising at JW Player, Michael Schwalb, MacNay will promote these products to advertisers whilst working with the regional team to ensure publisher revenue is maximised.

MacNay joins from Zeotap and prior to that worked in video demand for EMX, part of the Engine Group, driving agency and brand sales across Northern Europe.

Schwaib said: “Elliot MacNay is a proven self-starter having built video demand teams in previous roles. He brings solid experience – including the publisher-side perspective – and a network of strong advertiser-side contacts across EMEA.  He will work with the team to surface new opportunities for video ad buyers to improve the reach and performance of their campaigns whilst addressing the issues created by regulatory changes and the deprecation of third-party cookies’.”

MacNay said: “JW Player is a leader in the video landscape and has built significant presence across EMEA working hand-in-hand with publishers to maximise the  video on their site. The unique data points and scale across the JW Player network of publishers could be game-changing for agencies and brands in EMEA, as this just does not exist elsewhere in the video landscape. I’m excited to build a team helping holding groups and brands benefit from these opportunities and real-time insights, whilst optimising the advertising revenue publishers can make from video advertising.”