Ad agencies are in the middle of seismic industry changes including keeping up with viewers’ new behaviors, clients’ increased demands and content providers’ evolving business models. All of that is leading to the need for “smarter media buying,” according to Amanda Richman, president of Starcom USA, who was our afternoon keynote guest at the recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit.

In an interview with MediaLink SVP Matt Spiegel, Amanda described how her agency (and its parent company Publicis) is pursuing more holistic discussions in its upfront negotiations with TV networks across TV and digital, how it is using data more extensively to define target audience and how it is refining key performance metrics across screens. Importantly, Amanda discusses how measurement challenges continue to impact the market.

Amanda also digs into the influence both Google and Facebook are having and how content providers are reacting plus how these walled gardens fit into overall media plans. Amanda also talks about opportunities with pay-TV operators, especially locally. She also talks at length about how her agency and others are organizing themselves, including the role of specialists in data and technology.

Overall, it’s a really insightful discussion of both the role of agencies and how media will be bought and sold in a more automated and data-driven era.