Digital Advertising Pioneer Matt Wasserlauf of Blockboard: 5 Things You Should Do To Become a Thought Leader In Your Industry
Find a Mentor — finding a mentor is not only an important strategy to being a thought leader, it’s just a good strategy. Everyone needs a mentor! For me, my boss at CBS.com, Jim DePalma became my mentor and guided me through the past 20 years of my career. He pushed me to become an SME, a subject matter expert in the world of video. Without that advice, I couldn’t have become the thought leader I am today. Finding is a mentor is the very best strategy I can think of.
Digital Advertiser Matt Wasserlauf, the founder and CEO of Blockboard, one of the original disruptors of the TV business, is known as a visionary who revolutionized advertising by enticing television advertisers to invest their marketing dollars online.
In 2020, iMedia recognized Matt with the “Conviction Award” for his unwavering belief and conviction in the future of video beyond TV. In 2004, he founded Broadband Enterprises (BBE), the industry’s first online video company, and co-founded the mobile video platform Torrential in 2013.
He recently sold Torrential to the television company ITN, the leading unwired broadcast network. In May 2019, Wasserlauf launched his newest, and arguably most exciting venture yet, Blockboard; a new digital distribution platform service that utilizes Blockchain technology to distribute videos. In a nutshell, Blockboard is all about “world-class production, premium media, and a blockchain-powered platform.”
As advertisers continue to shift their attention towards OTT and non-linear television, Wasserlauf created Blockboard to ensure trust, full transparency, and verification in the shifting advertising landscape.
He proudly explains that Blockboard exists to remove friction and distance between advertiser and target customer. “We do this by providing multiple key advertiser services in one place; creative production, asset distribution, ad serving, campaign management, verification, and measurement.”
This makes Blockboard the first full-service video accountability company providing marketers advertising distribution with the security of proven blockchain technology. “Blockboard and blockchain technology makes everyone accountable through full transparency and 3rd party validation of advertisement metrics,” says Weisserlauf. “That is why advertisers interested in exploiting the emerging macro industry trends trust Blockboard.”
Matt, can you please share your “backstory” with us?
My “backstory” is simple: I was the guy that put the first video ads on the web. Back in the late 1990s, early 2000s, I was working at CBS.com with the very people I have the pleasure of working with today. The head of Ford Motor Media said he would give me tens of millions of dollars to buy online video on the venerable network’s websites. CBS told me they couldn’t do it. So, I went and built it! My company BBE and video ad server Vindico, laid the foundation for the Video Industry. I’ve been building it ever since.
Can you briefly share with our readers why you are an authority about the topic of thought leadership?
My approach to thought leadership is to stay positive and be persistent. It’s what has allowed me to achieve all the success I’ve had throughout my 30-year career. This is the lesson I teach not only those who work with me, but my kids as well. Positive thinking has allowed me to get into and graduate from the nation’s top schools and build and sell the three companies in the booming Digital Video industry.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
The most interesting story that happened to me in my career was my admittance into the nation’s best graduate business school: The University of Chicago. I didn’t have the undergraduate grades nor the GMAT scores to merit admittance into The University of Chicago, but I was determined. The school had one of the first and only “weekend programs” at the time and given my travel schedule working for Warner Bros., it really was my only option for an MBA.
My first application was rejected. So was my second. At this point, the country had awakened up to a concept called “Emotional Intelligence.” It was a best-selling book, on the cover of Time Magazine and a subject on Oprah.
It’s simply the idea that relationships and the ability to relate to people is a stronger indicator of success than IQ. After my second rejection letter, I appealed to the Dean of Admissions that my success in business was because of Emotional Intelligence rather than my IQ as revealed from my GMAT score. My letters went unanswered. After several months, I picked up the phone and called the Dean. After many calls over several weeks, I finally got the Dean’s assistant on the phone. “The Dean will see you next Friday in Hyde Park.” To Hyde Park, I went.
I remember sitting in the Dean’s reception area for at least an hour before the receptionist let me in. In his cavernous office, I sat as he finished up a call. He sat down next to me at a table in the office and said, “Your scores are a little below our standards.” “I know.” I responded, “but my EQ is what has allowed me to succeed at Time Warner and in the business world. I’ll bring that to your classroom.”
“Ok, send in your Registration check for January,” the Dean said.
“Will do Dean Musil. Thank you.”
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned?
The funniest mistake I made early on is when I started BBE; the first online video network that was representing Mediavest and their client Proctor & Gamble (P&G), thinking that BBE could digitize their TV commercials. We were a company of three people when we signed the P&G Upfront and none of us had the ability to convert their TV commercials into a video format. To that point, we had taken already digitized video from other clients and distributed them to the websites and video players across the web.
A cardboard box of Beta tapes from all the P&G brands arrived at our office door to our astonishment. I think we just brought them to some studio down the block to convert them, but I remember laughing out loud when I saw that box! Lesson learned: get the deal. You’ll figure out the small stuff later.
Ok, thank you. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define what a ‘Thought Leader’ is. How is a thought leader different than a typical leader? How is a thought leader different than an influencer?
A thought leader is someone whose views are taken to be authoritative and influential. As a pioneer in the Online Video space, I’m looked upon as a thought leader in my field. I won the “Conviction Award” in 2020 for my belief in the future of video beyond TV and it’s that vision that has formed me as a leader.
A leader is generally someone who influences others and “leads” those followers to some place. For an industry of video executives, I’ve done just that. Influencers of today are earning money shilling products for those sponsors they attract. I see the influencers of today as very different from the leader I’ve become but they are in their own way leaders. I’m proud of the teams I’ve built, the work we’ve developed, and the general direction of where we’re advancing the Digital Video industry today.
Can you talk to our readers a bit about the benefits of becoming a thought leader? Why do you think it is worthwhile to invest resources and energy into this?
It is important to be a thought leader in today’s world of so much noise and confusion. Any organization needs to have a mantra or a purpose and a thought leader is that person who sees the bigger picture and can lead his or her team to that better place. Leading for leading sake, can get you so far. To see the direction of the marketplace and where things are going allows any organization to pivot properly and make course corrections toward their goals. A thought leader is the best person to navigate toward that goal.
It is my thought leadership that led to opening the doors at Blockboard; my newest venture. Blockboard is the Video Accountability Company. When I learned about the blockchain and its ability to provide a platform for re-establishing trust and transparency, I seized on it. That’s exactly what’s been lost in the Digital Video industry. There is no transparency and trust left in the business. The largest players in the market operate Video ads in a black box. We built Blockboard to solve this. My 20-year experience building the Video space and the thought leadership that comes from that is what led me here.
Let’s talk about business opportunities specifically. Can you share a few examples of how thought leadership can help a business grow or create lucrative opportunities?
Five strategies to become a Thought Leader are the following:
1. Experience — nothing replaces the experience of the work involved in learning your craft. Make mistakes! Fall down! It’s the only way to really learn. Before I started my first company BBE, I worked for a start-up called “The FeedRoom.” I gained the invaluable experience of a start-up that was a little ahead of its time. The amount of money spent to build The FeedRoom and the deals we struck were incredible experiences that allowed me to go off and build BBE, Torrential, and now Blockboard.
2. Passion — you cannot underestimate the importance of passion in whatever you do, so I’m including passion as a strategy. The amount of resistance you’ll experience in anything you pursue is unimaginable. It is the passion to do whatever you do, that will drive you and allow you to persist. If your chosen vocation is not something you’re excited about, it becomes hard to put the work in that’s necessary to become a thought leader. Passion for your work is critical.
3. Curiosity — when you’ve chosen your field and you’re leaning into it, be curious, ask questions. Learn as much as you can about your business, the field, and be a student. It wasn’t enough for me to be a pioneer of the Digital Video industry. I read everything I could get my hands on, became an expert, and ask a lot of questions, and did a lot of listening. Even to those who didn’t know as much as I did!
4. Conversations with other leaders — I mentioned in the above strategy, “curiosity” that listening is key, and having conversations with other leaders is critical to thought leadership. It’s important to bounce your ideas off of those leaders as well as hear others bounce ideas off of you. I remember talking to a guy named Jeremy Allaire who started Brightcove, an early Video start-up. Although his ideas on the business weren’t aligned with mine, I learned a ton from him. Talking to other leaders goes a long way toward helping one become a thought leader.
5. Find a Mentor — finding a mentor is not only an important strategy to being a thought leader, it’s just a good strategy. Everyone needs a mentor! For me, my boss at CBS.com, Jim DePalma became my mentor and guided me through the past 20 years of my career. He pushed me to become an SME, a subject matter expert in the world of video. Without that advice, I couldn’t have become the thought leader I am today. Finding is a mentor is the very best strategy I can think of.
In your opinion, who is an example of someone who has that has done a fantastic job as a thought leader? Which specific things have impressed you about that person? What lessons can we learn from this person’s approach?
Rishad Tobaccowala is the best example of a thought leader in my business. For so many years, Rishad ran Publicis, one of the largest ad firms and led with his thought leadership. His decision to do the very first Online Video Upfront which he called the “Video Embrace” set the market in Digital Video circa 2003. That decision also set my career ablaze. Rishad does public speaking, wrote a best seller, and is a mentor to so many people, including me.
What advice would you give to other leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
The advice I often give other leaders is to take one day at a time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and lose focus. It’s so important to slow things down and if you’ve had a bad day, shut it down, go to sleep and start anew tomorrow. Meditation has become a solution for me and I recommend that as well. Or if you don’t take to meditation, then find so way to regress in a healthful way. Exercise, go for a walk, anything to break up stress and work through challenges.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite Life Lesson Quote is “Don’t worry about someone stealing your idea. If your idea is any good, you’ll have to ram it down people’s throats.” I remember seeing that in the Ogilvy reception area when I was building my first company BBE. I needed to hear that, and I immediately wrote it down.
It was amazing how many people thought they had the best idea in the world of streaming video back in the early ’00s and everyone wanted to conceal their secret sauce, their proprietary information. The truth is it takes persistence to build a company. Sheer will. That quote carried me to success and it’s the one that I hold up whenever asked this question.
How do we find out more about your company?
Please go to: www.blockboard.com
