Norm Johnston to Lead Unruly

Video ad distribution and tracking platform Unruly has named former Mindshare FAST CEO Norm Johnston as its new Chief Executive Officer, replacing co-founder Sarah Wood.

Unruly has tracked 'trillions' of video views using a proprietary measurement platform and analytics dashboard. Its Unruly Pulse tool analyses emotional response to video ads, and the resulting trends, providing marketers with comparative data-driven insight into the cultural, seasonal and demographic drivers of video engagement, and comparing brand metrics with those of their competitors.

In 2015, the firm was acquired by Rupert Murdoch's media group News Corp, and towards the end of last year, its three founders (CEO Sarah Wood, Chief Strategy Officer Scott Button and CTO Matt Cooke) announced they were stepping down from their roles, to become advisors on Unruly's Board. Johnston replaces Wood after a decade at WPP-owned Mindshare, latterly as Global CEO of the FAST business division comprised of 2,000 staff across 115 cities in 82 countries. He was also Mindshare's Global Chief Digital & Strategy Officer, responsible for the launch of the firm's innovation units dedicated to eCommerce and retail. He has been involved in digital marketing since the 1990s, when he joined the industry's first digital agency Modem Media (later acquired by Publicis).

In his new role, Johnston reports to News UK CEO Rebekah Brooks, who thanked the firm's founders for 'their commitment to transforming advertising for the better'. Commenting on Johnston's appointment, she added: 'Norm's data-driven approach and deep understanding of marketers' requirements will be invaluable to Unruly clients and the wider News Corp business. He's a programmatic pioneer with truly global experience and I'm very much looking forward to working with him as we build on the milestones that Unruly has already achieved'.

Web site: www.unrulymedia.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.