Media Tech Talk #009 - Pamela Slea (Boltive)
Pamela Slea, President of Boltive, joins Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett to unpack one of the most under-discussed problems in digital advertising: bad ads. From malvertising and celebrity-impersonation scams to privacy compliance and AI-driven detection, this episode explores how publishers can protect users in real time.
In this episode:
(00:00) – Intro: The invisible problem of bad ads
(02:00) – Pamela’s career: Google, AppNexus & purpose-driven ad tech
(06:00) – What Boltive does and why it exists
(09:30) – How prevalent malicious and miscategorised ads really are
(14:00) – How bad actors evade detection
(18:00) – AI, synthetic users & real-time threat detection
(23:00) – Privacy Guard, CMP gaps & compliance challenges
(30:00) – How ads are scanned before they render
(38:00) – Publisher risk, legal exposure & brand trust
(50:00) – Leadership, ethics & Boltive’s mission
💬 Guest: Pamela Slea – https://boltive.com | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelaslea/
🎧 Hosts:Daevid Richards – https://www.linkedin.com/in/daevidrichards/
Paul Luckett – https://www.luckettmediaconsulting.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-luckett/
Media Tech Talk explores the intersection of media, technology, and innovation through candid conversations with the people shaping the future of digital advertising.
#MediaTechTalk #Boltive #AdSecurity #Programmatic #PublisherTech #Privacy #FraudPrevention #MediaInnovation
Media Tech Talk #008 - Georgia Brammer (Innovid)
Georgia Brammer - GM APAC at Innovid - joins Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett to break down the future of CTV, dynamic creative, and AI-powered personalisation. From real-time sport-triggered video to creative intelligence and leadership in tech, this episode explores how creativity and data are finally converging.
In this episode:
(00:00) – Intro: The evolution of personalised TV
(02:00) – Georgia’s journey: Fairfax → London → Innovid
(07:00) – Why Innovid × Flashtalking matters for advertisers
(14:00) – CTV personalisation, interactivity & shoppable formats
(20:00) – Mobile vs TV: APAC viewing and cultural behaviour
(25:00) – Retail feeds, sports feeds & real-time video rendering
(33:00) – Creative Intelligence: AI’s role in creative optimisation
(42:00) – How AI writes insights & accelerates strategy
(46:00) – Case studies: banks, retail, alcohol & localisation at scale
(53:00) – Leadership, women in tech & Georgia’s philosophy
(55:00) – What “It’s Personal” really means in modern advertising
💬 Guest: Georgia Brammer – https://www.innovid.com | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgia-brammer-9a557658/
🎧 Hosts:
Daevid Richards – https://www.linkedin.com/in/daevidrichards/
Paul Luckett – https://www.luckettmediaconsulting.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-luckett/
Media Tech Talk explores the intersection of media, technology, and innovation through candid conversations with the people shaping the future of digital advertising.
Media Tech Talk #007 - Jonah Goodhart (Mobian)
Jonah Goodhart - Co-Founder & CEO of Mobian and Co-Founder of Moat - joins Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett for a deep dive into the future of measurement, contextual intelligence, and AI-powered media transparency.
In this episode:
(02:00) - Jonah’s 27-year journey: Cornell → Right Media → Moat
(14:00) - DoubleClick, prioritisation hacks & the birth of programmatic
(20:00) - How Moat evolved & the philosophy of independent measurement
(29:00) - Why measurement matters more with $700B+ in digital spend
(34:00) - Rethinking walled gardens, content & distribution
(40:00) - Mobian: AI-powered contextual intelligence explained
(42:00) - The Taylor Swift & “violent star” problem with legacy models
(46:00) - Multimodal AI: text, audio, video, frames, sentiment & emotion
(53:00) - Fox & Prudential: real results and industry signals
(59:00) - Will measurement ever be solved? Jonah’s prediction
(01:04:00) - Final advice: technology fades, people remain
💬 Guest: Jonah Goodhart - https://mobian.com | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonahgoodhart/
🎧 Hosts:Daevid Richards - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daevidrichards/Paul Luckett - https://www.luckettmediaconsulting.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-luckett/
Media Tech Talk explores the intersection of media, technology, and innovation through candid conversations with the people shaping the future of digital advertising.
Media Tech Talk #006 - Brian O’Kelley (Scope3)
Brian O’Kelley - Co-Founder & CEO of Scope3 and the architect behind AppNexus - joins Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett to explore how AI, sustainability, and open standards are transforming advertising into a force for good.
In this episode:
(02:00) - From AppNexus to Carbon Accounting in Ad Tech
(08:30) - Agentic Advertising Explained & Why It Uses Less Carbon
(13:50) - Fixing Incentives in Programmatic Markets
(20:00) - The AppNexus Legacy and Xandr Transition
(24:40) - AI as the New Operating System for Media
(35:10) - Hiring, Productivity & the AI Workforce Shift
(40:00) - How Scope3 Models Carbon Across the Supply Chain
(47:00) - Open Protocols vs Walled Gardens in AI-Native Ad Tech
(55:00) - Brian’s Advice for Leaders in an Agentic World
💬 Guest: Brian O’Kelley - https://www.scope3.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianokelley/
🎧 Hosts: Daevid Richards & Paul Luckett
Media Tech Talk explores the intersection of media, technology, and innovation through candid conversations with the people shaping the future of digital advertising.
#MediaTechTalk #BrianOKelley #Scope3 #AppNexus #AdTech #Sustainability #Programmatic #AIAdvertising #OpenStandards #DigitalCarbon #MediaInnovation #AgenticAI #PublisherTech #AdOperations #FutureofMedia #AdContextProtocol
Media Tech Talk #005 - Ben Pheloung (Mantis)
Ben Pheloung - General Manager at Mantis, the AI brand safety and contextual advertising platform used by Nine Entertainment, LADbible Group and Reach PLC - joins Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett to discuss the future of contextual targeting, and how AI is helping publishers reclaim blocked inventory, improve transparency, and build trust with advertisers in a post-cookie world.
In this episode:
(00:00) - Intro and Mantis overview
(02:20) - How AI reads pages for brand safety & context
(05:05) - Real-world examples: The Independent & “safe hard news”
(07:10) - Fixing keyword misfires like “chicken breast” and “shoot out”
(09:25) - The evolution of contextual vs verification vendors
(13:50) - Can AI make contextual tools obsolete or democratise them?
(16:30) - Video and broadcast AI challenges + Nine partnership
(24:29) - Data feeds and how publishers use Mantis signals
(31:32) - Transparency & custom brand safety profiles
(44:30) - AI roadmap and next-gen publisher tools
Guest: Ben Pheloung - General Manager, Mantis | https://www.mantissolutions.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-pheloung-2a0b302b/
Hosts: Daevid Richards & Paul Luckett
🎧 Media Tech Talk explores the intersection of media, technology, and innovation through candid conversations with the people shaping the future of digital advertising.
#MediaTechTalk #BenPheloung #Mantis #AdTech #BrandSafety #ContextualAdvertising #NineEntertainment #ReachPLC #Programmatic #AIinAdvertising #DigitalPublishing #Transparency #PublisherTech #MediaInnovation #AIContextual #AdOperations #MediaTechnology
Media Tech Talk #004 - Tony Abrahams (AI-Media)
Tony Abrahams - Co-Founder and CEO of AI-Media, one of Australia’s most successful media technology exports - joins Daevid Richards for a conversation about the evolution of accessibility in media, the power of AI-driven captioning, and what it takes to build a global company at the intersection of technology and inclusion.
In this episode:
(00:00) – Introduction & the question that started AI-Media
(02:00) – Meeting Foxtel and pitching accessibility as opportunity
(06:00) – The science behind why captions improve comprehension
(07:00) – Launching live captioning and Facebook partnership
(10:00) – From respeakers to real-time AI captioning
(12:00) – “AI is like water” – the ubiquity and economics of automation
(14:00) – Founding leap of faith and early partnerships
(16:00) – Co-founders Alex Jones & Leonie Jackson’s impact and legacy
(18:00) – Regulation, inclusion, and Australia’s accessibility advantage
(20:00) – The EEG acquisition and building global infrastructure
(26:00) – Shifting from human to AI-driven models
(28:00) – Lexi Voice: the “Babel fish” for real-time translation
(32:00) – The power of being closest to the data
(33:00) – Scaling Lexi products worldwide
(36:00) – Balancing innovation and responsibility
(37:00) – Introducing Lexi AI and internal “dogfooding”
(39:00) – Leonie Jackson’s message: accessibility benefits everyone
(41:00) – Closing reflections
💬 Guest: Tony Abrahams - https://www.ai-media.tv | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyabrahams/
Host: Daevid Richards & Paul Luckett (Paul was unable to make this episode)
🎧 Media Tech Talk explores the intersection of media, technology, and innovation through candid conversations with the people shaping the future of digital advertising.
#MediaTechTalk #TonyAbrahams #AIMedia #AccessibilityTech #Captioning #AdTech #MediaTechnology #AI #BroadcastTechnology #DigitalInclusion #SpeechAI #Automation #MediaInnovation #AustraliaTech
Media Tech Talk #003 – Ari Paparo (Marketecture Media)
Ari Paparo - founder of Markitecture, former CEO of Beeswax, and author of Yield: How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance, joins Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett for a deep dive into how Google came to dominate ad tech, what the DOJ trial could change, and how AI is shaping the next phase of media automation.
In this episode:
(00:00) – Origins at DoubleClick & creating VAST0
(07:00) – The rise of RTB and AppNexus
(12:00) – Building Beeswax and the Bidder-as-a-Service model
(20:00) – Launching Marketecture & making ad tech make sense
(27:00) – AI hype, fatigue, and where the value really is
(33:00) – The DOJ vs Google AdX/GAM trial explained
(46:00) – Yield: the inside story of Google’s dominance
(56:00) – Lessons for publishers, platforms, and the open web
💬 Guest: Ari Paparo – https://markitecture.tv | https://aripaparo.com
Yield: How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance - https://www.amazon.com/Yield-Google-Bullied-Advertising-Dominance/dp/B0F67HV2BB/
Hosts: Daevid Richards & Paul Luckett
🎧 Media Tech Talk explores the intersection of media, technology, and innovation through candid conversations with the people shaping the future of digital advertising.
#MediaTechTalk #AriPaparo #AdTech #Markitecture #Programmatic #DigitalAdvertising #Beeswax #Yield #GoogleAdTech #PublisherTech #AIinAdvertising #DOJTrial #AdOperations #MediaTechnology
From New York to Sydney, Tess O’Brien has built a global career across the intersection of media, technology, and strategy. Now leading FreeWheel’s expansion in APAC, she joins us to discuss the evolution of streaming TV, the future of programmatic, and how the balance between automation, transparency, and creativity continues to define the next era of advertising.In this episode, Tess talks about:- The differences between the US and Australian TV ecosystems- How FreeWheel is driving innovation across live sports and programmatic streaming- Building trust with broadcasters for large-scale live events like the Olympics- Universal Ads and opening TV to new SMB advertisers- The role of AI in decisioning and creative automation- Leadership, mentorship, and advice for the next generation in media techHosted by Paul Luckett and Daevid Richards, Media Tech Talk brings together voices from across the industry to explore the people, products, and ideas shaping the future of media and technology.
In our debut episode, we sit down with Jonas Jaanimagi, Technology Lead at IAB Australia, to unpack how the IAB helps shape Australia’s digital-media standards and where the industry is heading next.Jonas shares stories from his career journey - from early startups in the UK to leading technology collaboration at the IAB - and reflects on how curiosity, connection, and community have guided his path.We explore:- The evolving role of the IAB and its relationship with Tech Lab- The future of open standards, measurement, and industry collaboration- How AI is transforming the publisher ecosystem and creating new commercial models- Mentorship, leadership, and why positivity matters in a fast-moving industryMedia Tech Talk is a new series exploring the intersection of media, technology, and the people shaping its future, hosted by Paul Luckett and Daevid Richards.