Barry Lowenthal

Barry Lowenthal

MDC Venture Advisor at MDC Partners, New York
New York, 美国

概要

I’ve been working in media since 1988 when I started as a Group Assistant at NW Ayer. I found my first job by identifying a hot list of agencies winning new business and then going to the Advertising Red Books where I found high level staffers with Jewish sounding last names. I figured I’d maximize my chances for good chemistry. My strategy worked. I was interviewed by most of the agencies I sent resumes and offered jobs at more than half. I’ve been refining my targeting skills ever since.

Over the last 25+ years I’ve worked at some of the best agencies in town with some of the most terrific people. In the mid-90’s I project managed k&b’s first client website for Snapple and built four digital media depts. at three different agencies in two cities. I’ve spearheaded communications planning at two agencies and built a network television-buying group. I enjoy building and transforming as much as I enjoy brainstorming.

Since 2006 I’ve been President of The Media Kitchen, which was a homecoming. TMK was spun out of k&b’s media dept., which I led in the 90’s. At TMK I’ve presided over tremendous revenue growth, new account wins (and managed through losses), the transition into digital media, and the birth of Varick Media Management, which I co-founded. In 2014 TMK was named MediaPost’s Programmatic Agency of The Year. In 2015 and 2016 MediaPost named us Mobile Agency of The Year and in 2017 we were named social AOY.

I’ve been published in the industry trades, quoted in all the major periodicals, and speak at conferences. But most importantly I’ve helped hundreds of up and comers claim their place in the media business. And recently I helped the agency implement a daycare benefit.

Specialties: Media planning and buying, media management and operations, advertising, branding, SEM, digital media, social media, creative collaboration, content creation, training and nurturing fantastic talent

Positions

MDC Venture Advisor
New York, 美国
June 2017 - Present (6年9个月)
MDC Ventures is a corporate venture capital fund that invests in early stage, B2B digital media and marketing technology companies addressing the needs of the Modern CMO.. As a Ventures Advisor, I’m responsible for helping to evaluate the strategic fit of prospective investments, identifying collaboration opportunities with startups across The Media Kitchen, mentoring founders, and educating the agency on emerging technology trends. MDC Ventures is the corporate venture arm of global advertising group, MDC Partners [NASDAQ: MDCA].
President
New York, 美国
February 2006 - Present (18年1个月)
The Media Kitchen is a full-service communications planning agency based in NY. There are about 90 staffers who provide broadcast, print and online planning and buying services.

Our largest clients include Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, Windstream, Lane Bryant, DressBarn, Noosa, Combe, and CIT.

When I arrived at TMK in 2001 we didn't have a strong digital capability. Now over a third of our revenue is sourced from digital projects and we have strong credentials in display, mobile, SEM and social. In fact more than 60% of our billings are in digital media, Additionally, further advancing our digital credentials and capabilities, we launched the Test Kitchen, which is our emerging media lab.

In 2008 Varick Media Management, MDC Partner’s trading desk, was born out of The Media Kitchen. VMM is now a very successful standalone programmatic media business.

In 2013 we brought programmatic capabilities back in-house and trained all our SEM chefs to buy media using programmatic tools. Now programmatic is fully integrated throughout the agency and we like to think of ourselves as a programmatic agency.

While I’m very proud of all the innovation coming out of The Media Kitchen, I’m especially proud of the culture we’re building. We give our staffers lots of opportunities, we have great clients and partners throughout the media industry, and we have a lot of fun doing what we’re paid to do.

I tell every new Chef (people who are at The Media Kitchen) that I can’t promise they’ll be happy every day. But I can promise that every day they’ll be more marketable than the preceding day.

In 2014 MediaPost awarded us Programmatic Agency of The Year. In 2015 we were awarded Mobile Agency of The Year.
Media Director
New York, 美国
September 2001 - February 2006 (4年5个月)
BBH is an integrated advertising agency. When I worked there we provided media planning and buying services to Levi’s, Gold Toe Socks and ING Direct. BBH also has a strong account planning capability which helped shape my approach to communications planning, which they now call engagement planning.
Managing Principal
HookMedia
美国
January 2000 - April 2001 (1年3个月)
HookMedia was a digital-only shop. I joined it because digital media was the channel I had become most excited about. Since they were based in Boston I moved up to Boston for a little while and then I moved to Atlanta to open their second office. After a few months in Atlanta I moved back to NY to open their third office. I left when we went bankrupt after the Internet bubble popped. But our core technology, Artemis, still lives on at Havas, which bought Hook Media in bankruptcy and folded it into Media Contacts. What I loved about working at Hook Media was that it was 100% digital. What I missed was a seat at the table where brand management conversations where occurring. At the time digital agencies were not part of those conversations.

Education

MBA

1988 - 1994 (6年)

BGS

1985 - 1987 (2年)

pre-med

1983 - 1984 (1年)

Other professional activities

Hetrick-Martin Institute

Board Member
September 2013 - July 2015 (1年10个月)
I joined the board of the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), an organization that provides a safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. I’ve been involved with HMI for many years but only recently did I accept their invitation to join their board. There were many personal reasons I decided to join, but mostly it was that I felt I finally had the time and the resources to give back and I was ready to do something charitable. I joined only a short time ago and it’s already been incredibly rewarding. At our annual board offsite I got to meet a bunch of the kids that benefit from HMI’s services and I got to hear first hand how the many programs HMI provides affects their lives. A lot of these kids are kicked out of their homes because they’re LGBTQ and forced to live in the streets; a lot of them have no place to live, shower or do laundry- things many of us take for granted. A lot of them are abused. HMI provides a safe space for these kids to be kids. I’ve started to learn how HMI has become their safety net. I’m looking forward to spending a great deal more time with HMI and if any of you would like learn more, feel free to email me or visit their website (http://www.hmi.org).

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