Viacom Names Bryson Gordon Head of Advanced Advertising Group

Viacom named Bryson Gordon as executive VP of a new group dedicated to advanced advertising.

Gordon, who had been in charge of data strategy, will report to Sean Moran, head of marketing and partner solutions at Viacom, and Kern Schireson, chief data officer at the company.

The advanced advertising group will look to create ad innovation and advanced analytics across screens and platforms. It will take advantage of Viacom's team of data scientists, researchers, engineers and product managers.

The team includes specialists in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles who will work with clients to create audience targeting solutions and native advertising.

Related: Upfronts 2017: Advanced Ads, New Leaders Head Viacom Pitch

Gordon will continue to lead Viacom's participation in OpenAP, the consortium Viacom launched with Fox and Turner that aims to standardize audience targeting.

Viacom's advanced advertising units—including Vantage and Velocity—had previously been separate from the advertising sales group.

"Viacom has long established itself as a leader within the data-driven advertising space and with the formation of the Advanced Advertising group, we are furthering our investment in client-focused product innovation," said Moran. "Bryson's background and leadership, not only at Viacom, but also more broadly as a change agent for our industry, will help us continue to lead and deliver transformative advertising solutions for our partners."

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.