MarTech360 Interview with Piero Pavone, Chief Executive Officer at Preciso

Always keep an eye on, and an open mind about new technology, and try to understand what advances can be useful to your brand both in the short term and the long term.

How has your journey from co-founding Logico to spearheading Preciso shaped your approach  to innovating in programmatic media buying, and what strategic insights have guided your efforts  in democratizing access to high-quality traffic for merchant advertisers?

It was not an easy journey because formulating the algorithm of Logico required all my 15 years-plus experience as an advertiser and media buyer. Logico was my brainchild, and Preciso was born as an ad tech company because I saw a massive need to democratize access to high-quality traffic for advertisers and merchants. There are many DSPs in the market, but none really prioritize advertisers over publishers.

Piero, can you tell us about your professional background and your current role at Preciso. Also tell us how Preciso differentiates itself from other companies in the same space?

I had almost two decades of experience in web marketing when programmatic media buying arrived on the scene, and I witnessed its evolution year-by-year. I founded Preciso, and alongside my role as its CEO, I oversee all the research and development projects and the benchmarking of our newly-developed technical strategies. I would say that Preciso’s main differentiator is that we really prioritize advertisers’ interests in media buying, over those of publishers.

Piero, in the realm of digital advertising, could you elaborate on the distinct advantages in terms of user experience and engagement that native advertising offers compared to traditional display ads? How do these differences impact overall campaign performance and user  interaction, particularly in terms of relevance, interaction rates, and brand perception?

Compared to traditional display advertising, native advertising has the benefit of blending in more naturally with the content around it, so it’s more coherent with the theme of the publisher’s site and the interests of the people who visit it. This results in better engagement and interaction with the brand.

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How does Preciso’s Ultima platform leverage machine learning and AI to enhance the effectiveness of native advertising campaigns, and what specific results or metrics demonstrate its success?

Ultima’s AI engine is geared toward analyzing ad placements to ensure improvements in session duration times and clickthrough rates. Compared with traditional display ads, native ads achieve around 20-30% higher session rates, 20% better clickthrough rates, and 50% lower bounce rate.

Considering the significant growth in native advertising expenditure, what factors are driving this trend, and what are the implications for digital marketers and advertisers in terms of strategy and ROI?

I think one of the key factors that is driving the native advertising trend is its effectiveness in creating a more coherent and seamless advertising experience for both advertisers and publishers.

Reflecting on your leadership journey, can you share a pivotal moment or lesson that has shaped your approach as a leader at Preciso? Additionally, how do you maintain work-life balance in a demanding role like CEO?

Not a moment, more a mantra: focus on creating a solution rather than a product. As for work-life balance, it’s not always easy to maintain in a fast-paced industry like ours, but I guess the key to finding that balance will always be learning how to work smarter, regardless of your role.

What is the biggest problem you or your team is solving this year?

I wouldn’t call it a problem, more of a challenge, but the shift and syncing with GA4 and first-party data, because migrating from one platform and process to another is always laborious.

What advice do you have for other leaders who are looking to drive growth for their brand? 

Always keep an eye on, and an open mind about new technology, and try to understand what advances can be useful to your brand both in the short term and the long term.

Thanks, Piero!