LiveRamp, an identity-tracking and measurement company serving the advertising industry, tapped Jay Prasad, formerly chief strategy officer at ad-tech firm VideoAmp, to lead strategy for its LiveRamp TV division.
Prasad had moved into an advisory consulting role for VideoAmp earlier in 2019; he officially starts at LiveRamp this week. He comes on board after LiveRamp’s $150 million acquisition last year of Data Plus Math, a startup that was working to link cross-screen ad exposure with real-world purchasing.
In his new role, Prasad will report to Allison Metcalfe, GM of LiveRamp TV, and John Hocter, president of LiveRamp’s Data Plus Math group.
“My focus is going to be on creating a holistic go-to-market strategy,” Prasad said. “To capture the opportunity in data-driven marketing in the streaming wars, you need a player that supports all parts of the ecosystem.”
LiveRamp and VideoAmp, which helps ad buyers analyze and purchase cross-platform advertising inventory, are partners although they have become more head-to-head competitors with LiveRamp’s Data Plus Math deal.
Prasad is looking to expand LiveRamp’s TV solutions internationally in 2020 as well as looking for potential M&A opportunities. He’ll remain based in L.A. but “I’ll be on the move as per usual… A lot of the TV business is still in New York.”
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Prior to joining VideoAmp in May 2015, Prasad was VP of global business development of TubeMogul (now part of Adobe), director of strategic development at FreeWheel (now owned by Comcast) and strategic account director at Yahoo (now part of Verizon).
Acxiom changed its name to LiveRamp in 2018, after selling off the Acxiom Marketing Solutions business to IPG in a $2.3 billion deal. San Francisco-based LiveRamp says its IdentityLink platform “connects people, data and devices across the digital and physical world” to power consumer-based marketing.