May We Have Your Attention, Please: How Data Is Transforming the Consumer Experience

Bob Pittman (iHeartMedia/Former Clear Channel CEO) on Strategic Shift:

• Pittman initially intended to invest in Clear Channel rather than join operations, but became CEO after recognizing the company's "enormous potential" was severely under-realized.
• The company rebranded from "Clear Channel" to "iHeartMedia" to distance itself from legacy infrastructure (towers/transmitters) and emphasize the "best friend" relationship with consumers.
• Radio listening habits remain stable at 92% of Americans weekly, yet the sector remains "terribly under-monetized" compared to TV, with CPM rates roughly one-third of TV levels.
• iHeartRadio has achieved 80% brand awareness, creating a platform to transition from selling media based on "ratings" to delivering measurable "ROI."
• Pittman predicts a future where media partners guarantee returns to advertisers based on specific targeting (e.g., car buyers, weather triggers) rather than broad demographic guesses.
• The company is leveraging big data from digital listening (currently ~33% of audience) to profile the remaining third of listeners via station taste aggregation.
• Music discovery is evolving from $10 million annual research budgets to real-time "thumbs up/down" data from digital users to predict hits earlier.
• Digital ad formats include interactive billboards acting as "iPads on a stick," such as a British Airways campaign using ADS-B data to trigger ads when planes entered a virtual zone within 0.2 seconds.

Barry Diller (IAC/Expedia) on Business Evolution:

• Diller recounts a pivotal 1985 meeting with John Kluge, Rupert Murdoch, and Mike Milken that led to the $1.6 billion acquisition of 28% of US TV stations, launching the Fox Broadcasting Network.
• He notes that the deal involved a $500 million cash payment to Marvin Davis, who previously held a 20% stake in 20th Century Fox and was shocked by the equity structure.
• Diller's companies, including Expedia and Tinder, operate on massive data scales, with 975 million daily swipes on Tinder alone.
• Expedia, originally a Microsoft spin-off acquired in 2001 just prior to 9/11, now requires $4 billion in technology investment to manage global travel data and create "moats" against competition.
• Diller observes a fundamental shift in advertising: the ability to identify exactly which of the "50% that doesn't work" is failing, moving away from the era where ignorance was preferred.
• He highlights the cyclical nature of the travel business, noting that while hotels need Expedia less during peak seasons, they require the platform more during downturns.
• Machine learning is currently being utilized to tame the vast datasets generated across Diller's diverse virtual business portfolio.

Bobby Kotick (Activision Blizzard) on Gaming and Entertainment:

• Kotick joined the industry early to recreate personal favorites like Pitfall and River Raid, eventually expanding into a global franchise rivaling other media in audience engagement.
• The "Guitar Hero" franchise is being relaunched with GHTV, a new channel streaming interactive music videos playable on consoles, PCs, and mobile devices (iOS/Android).
• Gamers are described as the most committed media audience; BlizzCon tickets sold out in 5 seconds, with a capacity of 20,000.
• Skylanders generated $1 billion in revenue in its first year by embedding RFID chips in physical toys, allowing game powers to be stored on the figurine.
• Development costs vary significantly, with mobile games requiring modest investments while titles like World of Warcraft require billions over long periods across 30+ global data centers.
• Kotick confirms the company prioritizes user privacy, though analytics are used dynamically to adjust in-game experiences for increased satisfaction without revealing player identities.
• He notes that while Activision has been reticent about film adaptations, the World of Warcraft movie is considered "spectacular," signaling a potential shift in strategy.
• Kotick cites that video games are a hit-driven business with an extraordinary success-to-failure ratio sustained over decades.

Panel Consensus on Technology and Data:

• All three panelists agree that the core product experience (radio companionship, travel booking, gaming entertainment) remains constant, even as delivery mechanisms shift to mobile and connected devices.
• The transition from legacy media models to data-driven partnerships is viewed as the primary growth vector for the next two decades.
• The panelists reflect on their non-traditional educational paths (dropping out of college) as predictors of success in rapidly evolving industries, contrasting with the traditional "safe" path.
• The discussion highlights the obsolescence of "inferring value" through ratings in favor of "measuring value" through attribution and specific consumer actions.

Milken Institute University Ceremony:

• The Milken Institute conferred honorary degrees on the panelists for their contributions to media and business:
  • Barry Diller and Bob Pittman were awarded Bachelor of Arts and Science degrees for appearing at four Global Conferences each.
  • Bobby Kotick was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree for appearing at six Global Conferences.
• Kotick humorously noted that the degree would not increase his income, as his compensation structure differs from traditional employment.