Media Tech Talk

Media Tech Talk is a weekly video podcast decoding the media industry across commercial, publishing, and marketing technology. Through a uniquely Australian lens - delivering local insights with global perspectives - hosts Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett draw on more than 50 years of combined experience to explore the tools, strategies, and technologies transforming how media is built, distributed, and monetised. Each episode dives into the how and why behind AI, automation, and emerging innovations accelerating change across the sector, with sharp analysis and candid conversations featuring

Media Tech Talk is a technology podcast hosted by Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett, with 36 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett hosts Media Tech Talk, a technology show with 36 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Media Tech Talk

  Tom Dover (Microsoft Advertising) Part 2 — AI, Identity & the Future of Publisher Monetization — Media Tech Talk #036

  Aug 4, 202623 min

  In part two of our conversation with Tom Dover, Senior Director and Head of Monetized Partnerships at Microsoft Advertising, Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett dig into what comes next for publisher technology now that Microsoft Invest has been retired. Tom walks through Microsoft Monetize's new Copilot-powered MCP server, how AI is opening new audience and revenue verticals for publishers, and how curated marketplaces are reshaping supply path optimization. The conversation moves through identity and addressability in a post-cookie world, why trust is the real currency between platforms and publishers, and how a company the size of Microsoft keeps moving fast on AI. Tom closes with career advice for the next generation of ad tech professionals.This conversation is essential viewing for publishers, ad tech leaders, and anyone navigating programmatic advertising, identity resolution, and AI-driven monetization strategy. Chapters:00:00 Welcome Back & Recap: Setting Up Part 200:53 Automating Floor Pricing & the New Monetize MCP Server04:29 How AI Will Reshape Publisher Monetization07:48 Curated Marketplaces & Supply Path Optimization10:05 Content Marketplaces: Programmatic's Next Frontier11:33 Identity & Addressability After the Cookie15:05 Trust, Safeguards & the Microsoft Ecosystem15:31 Moving Fast: AI as Microsoft's Gravitational Pull16:16 Advice to a Younger Tom Dover21:04 Wrap-Up & Thank You21:44 Season Outro: What's Next on Media Tech Talk Guest: Tom Dover, Senior Director & Head of Monetized Partnerships – Microsoft Advertisinghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-dover-9b3a3122/ Hosts:Daevid Richards – https://www.linkedin.com/in/daevidrichards/Paul Luckett – https://www.luckettmediaconsulting.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-luckett/ Links:Microsoft Monetize – https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en #MediaTechTalk #MicrosoftAdvertising #AdTech #ProgrammaticAdvertising #PublisherMonetization #AI #Copilot #SupplyPathOptimization #Identity #DigitalAdvertising

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  Episode #35

  Tom Dover (Microsoft Advertising) AI, Pub. Traffic & Future of Marketplaces — Media Tech Talk #035

  Jul 27, 202630 minS1

  What happens when one of the world's most influential technology companies turns its focus to the future of advertising? For nearly 50 years, Microsoft has helped shape personal computing, enterprise software, search, gaming, and cloud technology — and today it's investing heavily in AI. Our guest has had a front-row seat to that evolution: from AppNexus and the rise of programmatic advertising, to helping build Xandr's video and connected TV business across Asia Pacific, and now leading Microsoft's Monetize Partnerships business across Japan and Asia Pacific. Tom Dover, Senior Director, JAPAC Partner Sales Lead at Microsoft Advertising, joins Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett to trace his 15+ year career across IBM, AppNexus, Xandr and Microsoft — and unpack what Microsoft's advertising stack actually looks like today, from the buy side to the sell side, LinkedIn's data spine, Xbox and gaming monetization, and how Microsoft is helping publishers navigate an AI-driven internet where referral traffic is down and content usage by LLMs is reshaping the economics of publishing. Chapters: 0:00 – Cold Open: Microsoft's Bet on the Future of Advertising0:44 – Meet Tom Dover1:25 – Welcome to Media Tech Talk1:35 – Calling In From North Sydney2:16 – From a Humanities Degree to IBM to AppNexus4:43 – Working Alongside AppNexus Co-Founder Brian O'Kelley6:53 – Inside the Early Days of Programmatic Advertising10:46 – From Servers Under the Desk to Cloud-Scale Data Centers12:17 – Building Xandr's APAC Video & BVOD Business16:50 – One of the Few Ad Server Challengers to Google17:42 – What Microsoft Advertising Actually Does Today20:15 – Xbox, Gaming & In-App Monetization24:10 – What Publishers Are Telling Microsoft Right Now26:38 – Referral Traffic, Microsoft Clarity & the Publisher Content Marketplace29:07 – Microsoft Invest Is Gone — What Comes Next?30:02 – Coming Up in Part 2 Guest: Tom Dover, Senior Director, JAPAC Partner Sales Lead – Microsoft Advertising https://linkedin.com/in/tom-dover-9b3a3122 https://about.ads.microsoft.com/ Hosts: Daevid Richards https://linkedin.com/in/daevidrichards/ Paul Luckett https://linkedin.com/in/paul-luckett Hashtags: #MediaTechTalk #MicrosoftAdvertising #AdTech #Programmatic #Xandr #AppNexus #CTV #Publishing #AI #DigitalAdvertising #Podcast

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  Episode #34

  Adele Wieser (Index Exchange) — AI, Publisher Traffic & the Future of Curated Marketplaces (Part 2) — Media Tech Talk #034

  Jul 20, 202623 minS1

  Adele Wieser (Index Exchange) — AI, Publisher Traffic & the Future of Curated Marketplaces (Part 2) — Media Tech Talk #034 Adele Wieser, Senior Regional Managing Director APAC at Index Exchange, returns to Media Tech Talk for Part 2 of her conversation with host Daevid Richards — this time tackling the challenge she says is reshaping the internet faster than she ever anticipated: the impact of AI on organic traffic and publisher supply. Picking up from Part 1's history of programmatic advertising, Adele and Daevid go deep on how AI-generated search summaries are constricting the flow of organic traffic to publishers — down 30–40% for some partners over the last two years — and why that scarcity is, paradoxically, driving a new premium on trusted, high-affinity supply. The conversation moves through supply path optimisation's evolution beyond cost, the unresolved (and maybe unresolvable) fragmentation of identity and privacy, wearables and the value exchange of personal data, the looming security questions posed by quantum computing, and Adele's five-year outlook for Index Exchange and the wider programmatic ecosystem — including her take on AI turning ad tech teams into "AI translators" who unlock more time for strategy and creativity. Whether you're a publisher grappling with shrinking organic traffic, an advertiser thinking through curated marketplaces, or a technology leader trying to plan for an unpredictable AI-driven future, this episode offers a candid, experienced perspective on where the industry goes next. Chapters 0:00 Recap: Adele Wieser & the Story So Far0:44 The Biggest Change Facing Publishers Right Now0:57 How AI Search Is Disrupting Organic Traffic2:10 Quality Over Scale: The New Publisher Divide4:26 Why Curation Is Filling the Gap5:05 Has Supply Path Optimisation Moved Beyond Cost?5:26 SPO 2.0: Efficiency, Scale & Control6:32 Identity, Privacy & Signal Loss6:54 Why There's No Single Framework for Identity9:59 GDPR, Wearables & the Identity Graph Problem11:15 User Control & the Privacy Value Exchange12:50 AI Assistants, Data Risk & the Quantum "Q-Day" Question14:05 Why Industry Collaboration Is the Only Way Forward15:53 Crystal Ball: Index Exchange & Programmatic in 5 Years16:07 Becoming the "AI Translators"19:41 Automation, Creativity & Where Humans Still Win20:15 Advice to Your Younger Self21:40 Thank You, Adele22:11 Next Time: Tom Dover (Microsoft Advertising) Previews Guest: Adele Wieser, Senior Regional Managing Director APAC – Index Exchange https://www.indexexchange.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelewieser/ Host: Daevid Richards https://www.linkedin.com/in/daevidrichards/ Media Tech Talk explores ad tech, digital media, AI in advertising, programmatic monetisation, audience engagement, and the technologies shaping the future of publishing. #MediaTechTalk #IndexExchange #AdeleWieser #ProgrammaticAdvertising #AdTech #SupplyPathOptimisation #AIinAdvertising #PublisherMonetisation

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  Episode #33

  Adele Wieser (Index Exchange) What's Happening to Programmatic Supply? - Media Tech Talk #033

  Jul 13, 202621 minS1

  Adele Wieser (Index Exchange) What's Happening to Programmatic Supply? - Media Tech Talk #033Adele Wieser, Senior Regional Managing Director APAC at Index Exchange, joins Media Tech Talk to discuss the evolution of programmatic advertising, supply-side platforms (SSPs), transparency, header bidding, supply path optimisation (SPO), publisher monetisation, artificial intelligence, and the future of digital advertising.Adele joins Daevid Richards to reflect on nearly two decades at the forefront of advertising technology. From the early days of Yahoo!7, Right Media and Rubicon Project through to helping establish Index Exchange across the Asia-Pacific region, Adele shares how programmatic advertising evolved from an experimental technology into one of the world's most sophisticated digital marketplaces.The discussion explores the origins of programmatic trading, why transparency and trust remain fundamental to the ecosystem, how Index Exchange built its APAC business from the ground up, and why the next generation of supply-side innovation will be driven by quality, efficiency and stronger publisher outcomes.Whether you're a publisher, advertiser, agency or technology leader, this episode provides a fascinating look at the history of programmatic advertising and the lessons shaping its future.Chapters0:00 The Evolution of Programmatic Advertising0:29 Meet Adele Wieser & Index Exchange1:33 Building Index Exchange Across APAC1:50 The Future of Supply Path Optimisation (SPO)2:05 Adele's Journey into Ad Tech3:31 From Yahoo!7 to Programmatic Advertising4:32 Machine Learning Before AI Became Mainstream5:35 Why Programmatic Was Created6:26 AI, Automation & Human Relationships7:02 Removing Friction Through Technology8:33 The Early Days of Programmatic Trading9:26 Transparency, Trust & Brand Safety10:05 The Wild West of Programmatic11:00 Why Trust Still Matters Today12:04 Building Index Exchange from the Ground Up12:42 Growing from One Person to an APAC Business13:40 Hiring the Right People for Ad Tech14:52 Scaling Across Japan & APAC15:28 Why Local Markets Need Local Strategies16:18 Becoming a Trusted Business Partner16:32 What Index Exchange Actually Does17:39 The Role of a Supply-Side Platform (SSP)18:00 Curated Marketplaces & Supply-Side Innovation18:23 Why Transparency Is Essential19:00 Building Trust Through Data20:13 Part 2 Preview – AI, Publisher Traffic & Curated Marketplaces💬 Guest:Adele Wieser, Senior Regional Managing Director APAC – Index Exchangehttps://www.indexexchange.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelewieser/🎧 Host:Daevid Richards – https://www.linkedin.com/in/daevidrichards/Media Tech Talk explores ad tech, digital media, AI in advertising, programmatic monetisation, audience engagement, and the technologies shaping the future of publishing.#MediaTechTalk #IndexExchange #AdeleWieser #ProgrammaticAdvertising #AdTech #SupplySidePlatform

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  Episode #32

  Joe Lanzerotti & Cam Dinnie (Kargo) Part 2 - AI, Creativity & the Future of Advertising - Media Tech Talk #032

  Jul 6, 202627 minS1

  Joe Lanzerotti, VP of Media Planning, and Cam Dinnie, Managing Director APAC at Kargo, return to Media Tech Talk to explore how AI is transforming creative production, Connected TV, premium media, sustainability, hyper-personalisation, and the future of digital advertising. In Part 2 of this two-part series, Joe and Cam join Daevid Richards and Paul Luckett to discuss how AI is removing creative complexity while keeping human creativity at the centre of modern advertising. The conversation explores how Connected TV is becoming one of the most valuable premium media environments, why advertising is moving beyond standard display formats, and how AI is enabling brands to create personalised experiences at unprecedented scale. The episode also examines Kargo's sustainability initiatives, scaling an advertising business across APAC, the evolution of AI-powered creative optimisation through Project Kara, and why reducing friction—not replacing people—will define the next generation of advertising technology. Chapters 0:00 Connected TV & The Future of Premium Advertising 0:52 Why Connected TV Is Becoming Premium Media's Biggest Opportunity 1:35 The Most Valuable Moments in Connected TV Advertising 2:15 Is AI Ending Standard Ad Formats? 2:52 Why Human Creativity Still Matters in an AI World 3:42 AI-Powered Creative at Scale 4:07 Connected TV, Storytelling & Full-Funnel Advertising 5:24 Sustainability in Digital Advertising 6:06 Measuring & Reducing Advertising's Carbon Footprint 7:31 Inside Kargo's Carbon Neutral Strategy 9:20 Scaling an Ad Tech Business Across APAC 10:53 Why Every APAC Market Is Different 11:43 Lessons from India & Southeast Asia 13:13 Progress Over Perfection in Innovation 14:04 Corporate Thinking vs Entrepreneurial Thinking 15:48 The Next Five Years of AI Advertising 16:27 Hyper-Personalisation at Massive Scale 17:30 Agentic AI & The Future of Creative Automation 18:24 Early Learnings from ChatGPT Advertising 19:28 What Brands Are Learning from OpenAI Campaigns 20:00 Advertising Safely Inside ChatGPT 21:12 Retail Media, AI & Consumer Behaviour 22:30 Kargo's AI Vision & Project Kara 23:11 How AI Makes Great Creative Even Better 24:00 Project Kara & Creative Optimisation 24:52 Why AI Should Reduce Friction, Not Replace People 25:44 Final Thoughts & The Future of Advertising 26:00 Next Episode Preview – Index Exchange 💬 Guests: Joe Lanzarote, VP Media Planning – Kargo https://www.kargo.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelanzerotti/ Cam Dinnie, Managing Director APAC – Kargo https://www.kargo.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/cam-dinnie-0039a629/ 🎧 Hosts: Daevid Richards – https://www.linkedin.com/in/daevidrichards/ Paul Luckett – https://www.luckettmediaconsulting.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-luckett/ Media Tech Talk explores ad tech, digital media, AI in advertising, programmatic monetisation, audience engagement, and the technologies shaping the future of publishing. #MediaTechTalk #Kargo #ArtificialIntelligence #ConnectedTV #CTV #GenerativeAI #AIAdvertising #CreativeAI #ProjectKara #DigitalAdvertising #ProgrammaticAdvertising #AdTech #PremiumMedia #RetailMedia #HyperPersonalisation #FutureOfAdvertising

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