As a Principal Product Manager, I managed the design, development, and operational scaling for all video ad formats across AOL’s publisher ecosystem (e.g. Huffington Post, Techcrunch, Tumblr, etc). This role included product management with a core team of 10 including designers, developers and QA engineers. In addition to video ad formats, I managed new ad format engagements with Verizon's product leadership to help ideate, develop, and launch new innovative mobile ad formats. Format experimentation included ad innovations in e-commerce, mobile payments and data sharing.

Problems I worked on:

  • How can we upgrade and advance our existing product line of video ad formats to provide the sales team a more competitive offering for their clients/brands?
  • How can we develop best-in-class products offering compelling new forms of digital advertising taking advantage of Verizon’s unique device and network footprint?
  • How can we grow our mobile footprint generating greater advertising revenue for our first-party publishers while also providing utility and value for the consumer?

Achievements:

  • Oversaw a complete rebuild of AOL’s video and mobile interactive ad format product portfolio including code and design rewrites and significant upgrades in format capability/scale (transitioning from Flash to HTML5).
  • Managed design and development for new interactive video formats including Verizon Media's first interactive 360 Video and non-linear VPAID ads
  • Led engagements with Verizon product leadership testing new innovative mobile ad formats which took advantage of Verizon’s unique device and network footprint. One example is Verizon’s ‘Buy Now Button’, a mobile ad format which provides consumers the ability to connect their VZ account and purchase products or services in one tap on their mobile device. (view demo here on YouTube) These experiments later led to further e-commerce integrations for video.
  • Built and scaled multiple products helping AOL’s sales team advertise and sell additional video inventory. Two industry celebrated examples include AOL’s ‘Player Up’ and ‘Pause Ads. (view demo here on YouTube) Player Up offered consumer’s the ability to opt-in to learn more at any time while leveraging dynamic creative capabilities providing both brands and publishers persistent brand exposure across the lifetime of a video, regardless of which publisher that video was rendered. AOL’s ‘Pause Ad’, another non-intrusive ad format, provided AOL’s sales team additional inventory to both target and sell.

“Player Up delivers a suite of video ad experiences in a customer-friendly way, while aligning directly with premium content. Built with clients in mind, and tested with consumers prior to launch, this launch is a testament to AOL's continued commitment to video innovation.“

– Marla Natoli, Director of Video and Mobile @ AOL

  • Introduced and oversaw consumer-centric product user research programs with AOL’s User Research Lab in Dulles, VA. Working in close coordination with product and design teams, I owned and operated user feedback sessions helping test and validate new ad products.