Ex-Carat MD Andrew Norris Emerges As Real Programmatic CEO, Signs NRL Deal

Former Carat and Mitchells managing director Andrew Norris (pictured above middle) has emerged as the CEO of a platform-agnostic programmatic consultancy Real Programmatic.
Norris, who was the managing director of Carat Australia for nearly four years and MD NSW at Mitchell & Partners for more than five years before that left the Dentsu-Aegis Group six months ago.
In something of a good omen for the fledgling group, it has also just secured a contract with the NRL to provide strategic advice on programmatic.
Real Programmatic co-founders Jonathan Despinidic (above, right) and Justin Boersma (left) said that an executive of Andrew Norris’ calibre brought a wealth of senior level advertising and marketing experience to the role.
“Andrew’s leadership qualifications and strategic vision are exactly what we were looking for to take the company from start-up to realising our ambition to become a market leader in the programmatic media consultancy space,” said Jonathan Despinidic.
“With Andrew’s appointment we now have someone with an intimate knowledge of agency practices and key skills spanning C-Suite client relationships and marketing analytics and attribution,” said Justin Boersma.
“I am excited to be joining REAL at a critical point in its evolution and will be looking to put my 25 years of agency experience into the task of growing the business, not just in Australia and New Zealand, but into Asia, Europe, the UK and the US,” said Andrew Norris.
“There is no doubt that industry-wide change is required within the programmatic ecosystem and I support the view that meaningful, structural change will need to be led by brands and marketers.
“I would suggest that one of the greatest fears of an agency is an informed and knowledgeable client. Our job is to help empower brands by unpacking the ‘black box’ of programmatic media.
“The real beneficiaries of greater transparency will be brands and media owners and, ultimately, the consumer who will experience digital advertising that is targeted, creative and has relevancy to their specific needs and wants,” said Andrew Norris.
Real Programmatic’s Despinidic told B&T that he new where the bodies were buried in the programmatic landscape and his consultancy intended to lift the lid on what he said were highly questionable practices “rife within the industry”.
A White Paper produced by Real Programmatic, provides a damning assessment of the programmatic world in which clients interests are put behind those of the agency and that a shift to in-house trading desks by brands was almost inevitable.
“We produced this first White Paper, Programmatic Media: State of the Nation to clearly articulate what we stand for. We intend to research and publish other White Papers on aspects of the programmatic ecosystem.
“We believe the system has to change, and we aim to be one of the agents of that change, advising clients – from the buy-side and sell-side – about all things programmatic,” said REAL Programmatic Co-founder Justin Boersma.
“This business is as much about thinking as it is about doing. The production of this White Paper required extensive research and clarity of thought; Both of which are required to deliver on our mission to lift the lid on the ‘black box’ of programmatic to enable brands, marketers and publishers to take greater control of their programmatic destinies.
Less than three months after establishment, the company has already signed up a significant New Zealand publisher as its first client, and a major Australian brand has just engaged the services of the company’s Sydney office. Others are lining up.
“We’ve been taken a bit by surprise at the interest in our services that has come from word of mouth in the short time we’ve been open for business,” said Despinidic.
“We’ve also been vindicated in our belief that the most important thing brands and marketers need, right now, is an impartial and objective source of expert advice to assist them in making better use of programmatic media tools.
“We have been with programmatic since its entry into the advertising market promising improved marketing Return on Investment, greater efficiencies and the benefits of real-time decision-making on campaign performance,” said Co-founder Jonathan Despinidic.
“Unfortunately, the full benefits of the incredibly sophisticated technology that underpins and supports programmatic media trading are being compromised by an ecosystem that lacks transparency, tolerates fraud and contains too many middlemen clipping the ticket for questionable gain.”
REAL Programmatic’s services include audits of existing programmatic capabilities, providing advice and recommendations on programmatic strategies and tactics through to assistance with implementation and ongoing support, including in-house training and development.
“Brands and marketers have perhaps been too willing to accept the advice of their agencies on strategies and tactics and not confident enough to challenge them on what third-parties they are using, budget allocations, where their money is going and to whom.
“We aim to be that trusted advisor whom they can rely upon to help them realise their programmatic ambitions and to support them in that goal for as long as they need us.”
Please login with linkedin to comment
Advertising Standards Bureau grey group asia pacific philippines talkback TubeMogulLatest News

REVEALED: Australia’s Greatest-Ever Ad!!!
You voted and now B&T can reveal Australia's greatest EVER ad! Yes, Ali Baba Kebabs can feel rightly aggrieved.

The Royals & Ryvalmedia Win Big In B&T’s Top-Performing Agencies For November
Which agency chiefs will be collecting their Christmas bonuses? Discover the truth with this 'who's hot' barometer.

George P. Johnson Announces Leadership Changes
Changes at the top at George P. Johnson today. The middle and the bottom given the order to stand down.

Monday TV Ratings: The 1% Club Scores Seven A Win
Game shows continuing to rate well with TV viewers. Yet, that's not to say we need Andrew O'Keefe back anytime soon.

Free TV Comes Out Swinging Over Sports Rights After Amazon Snares The Cricket
Industry body says free TV sports rights are under threat. Meanwhile Wallabies declare they've all but given up.

Westpac Shows Optus How To Apologise
Westpac delivers on its crisis communication. Also see Westpac board trying to save their collective arses.

Triple J Announces Hottest 100 2023 Dates
This year's Hottest 100 deets announced. With B&T predicting big things for Nollsy's KFC ad.

A Professional Cheese Sculptor Stars For Wacky Ads For US University
Hating the job right now? These uni ads could (A) inspire you to new things or (B) give you a laugh, albeit a brief one.

Don’t Be THAT Perfectionist….Enter B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards, Presented By Vevo, Now!
Work with people who endlessly say "things were better in my day"? Sounds like you're a real contender for 30 Under 30.

We Are Warriors & R/GA To Produce City Of Sydney’s Calling Country & New Year’s Eve Fireworks
Social Indigenous Enterprise We Are Warriors (WAW), supported by creative innovation studio R/GA Australia, has been selected to produce the City of Sydney’s New Year’s Eve Calling Country live performance as part of the 9pm firework show. Lead image L-R: WAW co-founders Ben Miles & Nooky. The performance will feature a special Welcome to Country […]

Data Is King. So How Can Marketers Survive Privacy Reforms?
There's a fine line between proper use of customer data and a $50K fine from the ACCC. Save your cash with this read.

Chery Launches New Tiggo 7 Pro In Australian Market With Creative Campaign Via Chello
Chinese EVs continuing to flood into the Aussie market. Clearly no reciprocal agreement with our wine and barley.

Isuzu UTE Extends A-Leagues Partnership Through To 2026
Isuzu UTE extends its A-Leagues partnership. Also desperately hoping the fans don't behave like dickheads.

Seven Network Unveils New Advanced Advertising Division
Seven unveils its new advanced advertising division. No sign of official scarlet red team tracksuits, however.

“Give An F About the Flags”: Surf Life Saving Australia Launches Summer Campaign Via Banter
Every Australian should know to swim between the flags. That and Bradman's average and most of the words to Khe Sanh.

Toyota & HCLTech To Appear On Aussie Cricketers’ Shirts This Summer
You can almost hear leather on willow with this news. Unless someone's being attacked with a cricket bat in your office.

G Squared Bolsters Paid Media & Search With Key Hires
G Squared announces key hires in its paid search team. Although we appreciate not everyone's a fan of paid search.

“Extinction Greenwashing”: Supermarkets Target Of ACCC Complaint Over Misleading Salmon Claims
Yet again claims about Tasmanian salmon catch watchdog's ire, as chickens declare we're ridgy-didge.

Droga5 London Launches First Campaign For ADV New Motorcycle
Unsure if you're in the throes of a possible midlife crisis? Watch this motorbike ad and learn the horrible truth.

Mediahub Expands Into New Zealand Market
Mediahub unveils its New Zealand plans. And it only took the locals four minutes to mention the rugby.

It Takes A Village: Havas Drives Off With Avis Budget Group’s Media & Earned PR
There are few greater joys in life than flogging the shit out of a rental car, is there?

Amazon Prime Secures Rights To Next Cricket World Cup
Judging by the acrimony, sledging & hatred of last month's Cricket World Cup, the next one's shaping up to be a ripper.

Limited Tickets Still Available For First Ever Industry Pantomime
With just over 24 hours to go until the world premiere of Addy Lala and the Mood Tea Thieves, limited tickets are still available for the pantomime, which will run for one night only at the Everest Theatre in Sydney’s Seymour Centre on December 5th. All in the industry are encouraged to come along to […]

Palin Communications joins GlobalCom PR Network
Specialist Australian health PR agency, Palin Communications, has joined GlobalCom PR Network with a view to delivering meaningful, consistent, impactful, global health campaigns across a range of countries and regions.

Axe-Wielding Eric Andre Stars In Opera GX Campaign, Via Waste Creatives
Irreverent campaign for Opera GX, the browser for gamers, sees actor and comedian Eric Andre confronting people using “boring” browsers

Make it your way at Highpoint Via Cyclone Creative Agency
Highpoint is inviting Melbournians to embrace what makes them different, through their ‘Make it Your Way’ campaign via Cyclone Creative agency.

2045: A New Melbourne-Based Creative Agency Founded by Tim Evans and Nick Auditore
2045, a Melbourne-based creative agency founded by Tim Evans and Nick Auditore has just launched. The agency takes its name from the year futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted organic and artificial intelligence would converge. Lead Image: 2045 Team Evans was formerly a Partner and Executive Strategy Director at DT (now AKQA), before co-founding B.B.E in 2015. […]

Pengu Dances Their Way Through New Film by electriclime°
Production house electriclime° have linked up with Riot Games to create a new film to celebrate the launch of Teamfight Tactics Mobile (“TFT”) in Asia Pacific.

National Breast Cancer Foundation Announced as Charity Partner For NYE Sydney
The National Breast Cancer Foundation has been announced as the Charity Partner for Sydney New Year’s Eve. The Australian not-for-profit organisation is represented by the pink ribbon and raises money to fund world-class research towards its vision of zero deaths from breast cancer. Research that saves lives through a better understanding of how to prevent […]

Sunday TV Ratings: Brits Dominate With Annika, Joanna Lumley And David Attenborough Making Top 10
Sunday night strangely dominated by UK-made content. That said, Piers not getting a heap of love over at Sky.

Emporium Unveils Unique Christmas Campaign: “Every Tradition Starts Somewhere”
This holiday season, Emporium Melbourne has announced its festive creative campaign that celebrates and encourages the Melbourne community to embrace their personal ‘untraditional traditions’ – the unique traditions that make Christmas truly special for them, and their family. The campaign’s tagline, “Every tradition starts somewhere”, reflects Emporium’s commitment to embracing, inspiring and applauding diverse traditions […]

Stop Being A Water Waster! Sydney Schoolboy Urges Everyone To Save Water, Via It’s Friday
Planning a staff dunking booth this Christmas? Not too late to switch to 10-pin bowling with this water save campaign.

Reddit Updates Conversation Placement Ads Formats
Reddit has announced updates to its new ads placement with Carousel Ads and Product Ads. These new units, placed in the heart of Reddit discussions, provide an even more dynamic and compelling way for advertisers to scale to relevant audiences, deliver deeper value to users, and drive stronger, full-funnel performance among the hundreds of thousands […]

Full Throttle Into 2024: Drive.com.au Announces 12 New Products In 2024 Upfronts
Automotive Network Drive has announced its 2024 upfronts, its biggest in more than a decade, with a suite of more than 12 new products that underpin its vision to be the number one automotive network in Australia. Now in its 27th year and with a monthly audience of 2.45 million, Drive is leveraging its reputation […]

Journalist Tegan George Suing Network 10 After Being Left With “Trauma” From Bushfire Reporting
It's been a rocky road for many people & agencies in 2023; however, it's been all sunshine & rainbows for 10's lawyers.

As Big Spenders Flee, X Pivots To SMBs To Fill Ad Dollar Deficit
Elon's halo continues to slip. Joining Albo's, Harry's, Meghan's and Optus' similar downward trajectory.