Q: Tell us a bit about your role.

A: I lead the monetization strategy for the web, mobile, and connected media platforms of AccuWeather. That means I direct everything from sales to intelligent ad strategies to trafficking and optimization on the site.

I have a deep background in revenue generation for television and media, and working with the world leader in digital and weather data is a great opportunity to take advantage of our meteoric growth and offer advertisers levels of granularity and control in 1-to-1 marketing campaigns that you just can’t find elsewhere. We have the flexibility, worldwide audience, trusted brand, and massive raw data to make uniquely targeted advertising a reality across multiple platforms.

Q: What is the biggest challenge for you in your role?

A: Programmatic advertising can mean many different things, but some believe it has come to mean a completely back-end-driven ad serving system with very little human involvement. This attitude from agencies and brands has publishers worried about the commoditization of their ad inventories.

We are an advertising partner – not a vendor – that understands that human creativity cannot be replaced by a computer, so while we sell a lot of our inventory programmatically, we also have a team dedicated to meeting the needs of our partners, who need to deliver their message beyond the banner – through unique and custom executions that combine all our data with our best in class content for seamless advertising experiences. Our start-up mentality allows us to be early adopters of new technologies so we’ll always be on the forefront, trying and testing new things. The goal is to provide the easiest, most seamless way possible for advertisers to meet their marketing objectives across our platforms, however they choose to transact.

Q: What do you think is the most important aspect of your job?

A: Building the right team in sales and ad ops is essential to our overall success.

We look for new team members who are natively digital with a strategic ad ops focus. The way digital advertising is bought and sold is very different than traditional media and requires a technical and almost entrepreneurial mindset due to the ever-changing landscape and infinite ad product possibilities when platform, audience, behavior, and weather data are all in the mix.

We have a large global audience, and selling programmatically through both private marketplaces and open exchanges has given us the ability to maximize yield across our non-U.S. inventory while keeping costs to a minimum.

Q: Describe one of the most unusual or most memorable experiences in your career.

A: I’m fortunate to have been on the ground floor of many interesting media ventures, including the early days of the FeedRoom.com, Nickelodeon, Nick @ Nite, and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). But some of the most personally satisfying work I do is with the New York Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICTNY). I believe strongly in its mission to develop women leaders who will transform the media industry. I served three terms as chapter president and continue to serve on the New York board of directors.

Q:  What are you most excited about for the future of AccuWeather?

A: Big Data is opening up whole new ways of defining campaigns and reaching your audience with a personalized message that can follow them throughout their day on multiple touch points.

AccuWeather has continued to grow enormously, and as we launch on exciting new platforms like smartwatches and wearables and of course the new 24/7 AccuWeather Network, my team can offer more value to advertisers across multiple platforms.

In my time with AccuWeather, we’ve achieved 40% growth in digital media revenue generation and established a new record and standard for success for a 53-year-old company. I’m excited to see where advancements in the industry and AccuWeather’s diverse customer data points take us in terms of what we can offer. As new platforms grow, we can offer more value than ever before.

Marie Svet is the Chief Revenue Officer of AccuWeather.