Helen Lin

BACKGROUND: Helen Lin leads Publicis Media’s investment and negotiations on behalf of the PM network, guiding its participation in industry-leading initiatives. In addition to heading up Publicis Media’s digital investment activity, she is responsible for negotiating the digital elements during annual upfront season with both TV networks and print magazine publishers. Previously, she was managing director, digital & magazine activation at Publicis Groupe’s Zenith, overseeing the planning, buying, integration and analysis of digital media platforms and print properties for clients including Verizon, Chase, Kohl’s and Farmers. She is on PM’s Diversity & Inclusion board and leads the agency’s Women’s Business Resource Group, POW! (Power of Women), and is digital chair at the American Advertising Federation.

2017 HIGHLIGHTS: “2017 was all about educating and delivering, for our clients, unique partner opportunities for better storytelling,” Lin says. Last year, she led Publicis, its agencies and clients in creating “premium on-platform” opportunities. “At the same time, with mobile time being spent heavily within the top social media environments, my team and I spent considerable time guiding and influencing some of the world’s most popular platform companies on the needed controls, policies, and third-party protections to create safer environments for brands to advertise in.”

WHAT’S AHEAD: “One big area of focus is the connected journey and helping our clients activate in spaces that allow for one-to-one relationship building with consumers,” she says. “Whether it’s guiding our clients through voice activation, mobile messaging vehicles or AI, our focus lies on continuing to develop capabilities for the entire Publicis Groupe network that enable our clients to create feedback loops to get closer to their customers. Coming together under the Power of One has great advantages for our clients and our teams. I’m really excited about the work we’re doing.”

Kent Gibbons

Kent has been a journalist, writer and editor at Multichannel News since 1994 and with Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He is a good point of contact for anything editorial at the publications and for Nexttv.com. Before joining Multichannel News he had been a newspaper reporter with publications including The Washington Times, The Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal and North County News.