Paramount Setting Up Self-Serve Ad Buying for Smaller Businesses

Paramount headquarters in New York
(Image credit: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Paramount Advertising said it is increasing its focus on small and medium-sized advertisers and setting up a self-service platform to make it easier for such businesses to buy ads from Paramount.

In a memo to staff, Paramount Advertising president John Halley announced the company had hired two executives to head its small and midsized client business and launch the self-service platform.

Emily Huo was named senior VP of SMB advertising and will be responsible for the company’s go-to-market strategy. Huo had been global director of SMB advertising at Spotify and previously held posts at Reddit and Twitter. 

Emily Huo (l.) and Luke Peng

Emily Huo (l.) and Luke Peng (Image credit: Paramount)

She is based in San Francisco.

Luke Peng joins Paramount as VP of product, SMB Advertising, reporting to Huo. He will develop and optimize products for the SMB platform. His background includes stints at TikTok, Wish and PayPal.

Hally noted that Paramount’s EyeQ digital ad platform has attracting businesses of all sizes.

“Exponential growth in the advertiser base was always the promise of digital, where impressions are bought one at a time, and there is no minimum threshold for campaign investment,“ Halley said. “And while we have seen the advertiser floodgates open across EyeQ, we now seek to evolve and scale our relationships with the small and medium businesses (SMBs) that are fueling this expansion.”

Hul and Peng will oversee the launch of Paramount's self-service advertising platform, Paramount Ad Manager, to put the power of EyeQ into the hands of SMB advertisers, he said.

“We are one of the few ad-supported streamers with a geo-targeted inventory supply vast enough to connect directly and drive results for the SMB segment, and under the leadership of Emily and Luke, we are doubling down on these efforts, bringing in experienced senior management to drive marketplace expansion,” Halley said.

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.