Logo

12 to Watch: Michael Steib

Jan 20, 2008  •  Post A Comment

In his inaugural year on the job at Google, Michael Steib launched the first major auction-based system for buying television spots and then guided a partnership between the world’s biggest search engine and the world’s most powerful TV ratings company.
Mr. Steib, the director of TV ads at Google, joined the search giant in January 2007. In the spring Google began testing a commercial ad system for TV with EchoStar and a handful of advertisers, including 1800flowers.com, Intel and eTrade.
Google TV Ads is modeled after Google Ad Words, the auction system that enabled Google to monetize Web search.
Mr. Steib’s job is to bring the same type of efficiency and instant feedback to TV ads, along with more advertisers, TV networks and multichannel partners.
The opportunity is huge. An auction-based system has the potential to shift the traditional ways of buying and selling TV ads, especially as advertisers continue to clamor for better metrics and more accountability in TV buying. Google’s TV ad buying system brings online measurability and metrics to TV ads for the first time.
“There are new advertisers and new budgets coming to television, and that is something I think folks can get really excited about,” he said. “There has been this trend to more online spending, and what we are doing is taking the things that make online spending great, like granular data, and bringing them back to TV. The pendulum is swinging back in a positive direction for TV.”
Mr. Steib doesn’t expect Google TV ads to cut into online ad spending. Rather, Google TV ads can grow the current TV ad business, he said. “This lowers the cost of doing business and lets an agency focus on more of the consultative, high-value stuff they do for clients,” he said.
Google TV ads works best for simple spots. The auctions occur daily and the spots go to the highest bidder, so the Google system won’t work when advertisers need to plan months in advance or make bigger buys that include product placements or interactive components, for instance.
Advertisers are pleased so far. “It’s a very progressive opportunity for mainstream marketers to innovate within an established medium,” said Nick Brien, CEO of Universal McCann, which has placed Intel and other clients in Google TV ads.
“What makes Mike so special is that he is the consummate professional who has a passion for what he does. His desire to excel makes all those who come in contact with him want to do the same,” said Peggy Green, president of broadcast and entertainment at Zenith Media, who also has placed clients in Google TV ads.
Mr. Steib began his TV career at NBC Universal, most recently as general manager for strategic ventures for NBC TV stations. His TV background is appealing to advertisers. “He understands TV so well in the traditional sense and he is able to apply the right context for Google TV, both in terms of how to use it and how to evaluate everything we are doing for our clients,” Mr. Brien said.
Universal McCann will continue to use Google TV Ads in 2008, and Mr. Steib wants to bring new partners to the project. “You will see us open up the platform to accept more advertisers,” Mr. Steib said.
He declined to reveal the growth rate in dollars or ad partners in 2007, but said Google places TV ads for advertisers in every major category, from pharmaceutical to auto to health. “We have some of the largest advertisers in TV ranging all the way to people who have never done TV,” Mr. Steib said.
That includes companies such as Fragrance.net, which experimented with TV for the first time last year using Google’s system. After its Google TV Ads campaign ran, FragranceNet.com saw a 35% increase in visitors to its Web site.
AT A GLANCE
Name: Michael Steib
Title: Director of TV ads at Google
How long in current position: One year
Date of birth: May 28, 1976
Place of birth: Hollywood, Fla.
What to watch for: Google and Nielsen inked a strategic partnership last fall. In 2008, Google should begin to integrate household data from set-top boxes with demographic data from Nielsen.
Who knew? Mr. Steib is on the board of directors for Career Gear, a national nonprofit that helps men in need to get and keep jobs and to become successful fathers and community leaders. Last year the association helped more than 1,100 men return to work.


Michael Steib

54 Comments

  1. Interesting post! Any predictions that you may be able to voice in order to explain your last section a small bit more? thanks

  2. Excellent job.

  3. I was looking out for info about this on Bing and found your piece. I found it to be very interesting. Thanks

  4. The new Zune browser is surprisingly good, but not as good as the iPod’s. It works well, but isn’t as fast as Safari, and has a clunkier interface. If you occasionally plan on using the web browser that’s not an issue, but if you’re planning to browse the web alot from your PMP then the iPod’s larger screen and better browser may be important.

  5. Good post, thanks

  6. Thanks for your visiting this http://www.watchau.com online store.

  7. I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)

  8. Thanks for your visiting this http://www.hello-free.com/freebies online store.

  9. Good post, thanks

  10. This is one of the nicest blogs i have seen in along time i will have to add to my favorites list for sure.

  11. Thanks for this post! However, I had a problem viewing this article in IE. Just wanted to bring that to your attention! Thanks.

  12. Great post!

  13. Hi admin. I have a simple request. I was just googleing for some information on the topic and found this blog. Some really awesome stuff you posted here. Can I please link to this post on my new website I am working on? It would be great:) . I will check back again later to see what you answered. Thanks, Ana Wilson .

  14. Hello admin. I have a simple request. I was just searching for some info on the topic and found this blog. Some really great stuff you wrote here, can I please link to this post on my new website I am currently workin’ on? Pretty please:). I will check back again later to see how you responded. Thank you, David.

  15. I will add this blog as a favorite very informative and i like the overall desighn of this blog thanks for sharing.

  16. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  17. Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.

  18. This is the best blog I’ve ever seen in my life! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to share your this with everyone.

  19. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks

  20. Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

  21. Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.

  22. I would like to start my own blog one day. This was a really nice blog that you made here. Keep up the success 😛

  23. High quality info here! Keep up the great work. I love the feelings being expressed.

  24. Hey how are you doing? I just wanted to stop by and say that it’s been a pleasure reading your blog. I have bookmarked your website so that I can come back & read more in the future as well. plz do keep up the quality writing

  25. Love all the opinions expressed here! How is everyone? Love how everyone expresses whatr they feel 🙂

  26. I really like the colors here on your blog. did you design this yourself or did you outsource it to a professional?

  27. Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

  28. I love the way you write and also the theme on your blog. Did you code this yourself or was it done by a professional? I’m very very impressed.

  29. Is there any part of my life google won’t be in? 🙂

  30. This is the best blog I’ve ever seen in my life! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to share your this with everyone.

  31. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  32. Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

  33. Amazing freakin blog here. I almost cried while reading it!

  34. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  35. Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

  36. Dreamin. I love blogging. You all express your feelings the right way, because they are your feeling, focus on your blog it is great.

  37. Amazing freakin blog here. I almost cried while reading it!

  38. Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care and see you soon

  39. If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.

  40. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  41. Interesting thoughts here. I appreciate you taking the time to share them with us all. It’s people like you that make my day 🙂

  42. High quality info here! Keep up the great work. I love the feelings being expressed.

  43. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks

  44. Very nice items , I found out your web site on google and read a couple of of the other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep on up the great function Look forward to taking special from you in the future. Tiffanys necklace

  45. Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

  46. Kind Regards,

  47. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  48. Thanks for taking the effort and time to jot down some matter that’s very excellent

  49. Dreamin. I love blogging. You all express your feelings the right way, because they are your feeling, focus on your blog it is great.

  50. I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! I’ve bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future.

  51. This is my first time visiting your blog.

  52. Never heard about Michael Steib – That’s my bad luck. After reading the entire post, I am now a really big fan of Michael Steib
    http://freesongspk.in/category/hindi-movie-songs/

  53. My first time reading your blog! I’m impressed. this is my blog. http://www.awesome10.com/

Leave a Reply to Link Building Cancel Reply

Email (will not be published)