Ken Suh on trust, emotions and making Unruly UNstoppable!
This week we sat down with Ken Suh from our New York office to talk about trust in advertising, the power of emotions, and what life is like as a COO at Unruly.
Q: Hi, first of all, could you introduce yourself and tell a bit about what you do here at Unruly?
I am the Global COO at Unruly and am based in New York. I have been with Unruly for four and a half years.
Q: How did you find out about Unruly?
I learned about Unruly online and also from colleagues in the industry. Back then, I met the co-founders and I knew this was a very special place as soon as I met them.
Q: What notable roles did you hold prior to Unruly?
I worked in digital media before Unruly at companies including ABC News, MTV, and AOL. Before I worked in media I obtained my graduate MBA degree. Before that I spent some time working in finance.
Q: What draws you to the type of work you do?
I love the fact that Unruly is on a mission to transform advertising for the better! The team and culture here are the biggest difference makers for me.
Q: With trust being a huge talking point recently what does trust mean to you?
Trust is critical not only with our clients but also within teams. If you trust that I am doing everything I can to my best ability, then I am free to take risks, think big, and execute as best as I can and vice versa. Brands trust that we know more about their audiences than others do given our unique emotional targeting approach.
Publishers trust that we are providing them the most relevant video content for their users. I strongly believe that trust is one of the main driving factors that keeps, both brands and publishers, wanting to work with us again and again. This is what I hear when I’m speaking to publishers in meetings, at conferences and out on the road.
Q: Tell us about something you’ve learned while working at Unruly?
I’ve learnt so much at Unruly and continue to learn everyday! Unruly has taught me to become extremely goal-oriented, the importance of teamwork, and strong accountability. The company’s culture is like nothing I have ever experienced and it’s really great to see how it continues today. People gravitate to Unruly from all over the world and it’s been really amazing to see that.
Q: What are Unruly doing to tackle Fake News?
Unruly is focused on working with premium publishers who create real content. Our Verified Marketplace in UK is a great example of how we partner with quality publishers and promote their offering to brands. Quality continues to be a priority at Unruly as 85% of all video delivery is on Comscore 1000 websites globally!
Q: How are Unruly building trust with their consumers?
I love how Unruly works to provide polite placements to consumers. All our formats are user-controlled and provide the greatest flexibility for consumers to interact if they so desire. Consumers are also all humans who are full of emotions, and continuing to understand emotions, and how it impacts our behaviours, is a fascinating area of exploration that Unruly continues to lead.
Q: It’s the weekend: what do you like to do in your spare time?
My weekends are packed with the family, shuttling them to sports practice, music lessons, and play dates around New York City. I also enjoy following sports of all types (including soccer/football), especially when it comes to my Chicago-based sports teams!
Q: What makes you believe in the work you do at Unruly?
Our mission hasn’t changed from day one, and neither has our culture. Meanwhile our teams have evolved and grown. I truly believe that together we can do anything! My advice is to everyone at Unruly is to keep learning, growing, finding areas of exploration, and most importantly, have fun doing it! If we continue to do this nothing can stop us!
