Executive Dialogues

Objective

The Executive Dialogues series is PubMatic's flagship thought leadership video program — Co-founder & CEO Rajeev Goel in conversation with key customers, covering AI, agentic advertising, and the future of programmatic. Creative owns the full pipeline: studio concept and setup, shoot logistics, post-production, social distribution, and the dedicated hub that houses it all on pubmatic.com. What started as a scrappy side operation bolted onto GSC has grown into a multi-location, multi-continent production program — with 12 published dialogues, an international shoot managed remotely from New York, a purpose-built website destination, and a growing library of social shorts timed to trending industry conversations.

GSC 2025, Scottsdale

The Executive Dialogues series wasn't new — but Scottsdale was the first time I had full creative control over the direction and production talent. And the timing couldn't have been tighter. The shoot had to fit inside GSC while the creative team was simultaneously running the full conference production. Environmental graphics, presentations, photoshoot, motion, badges, print — all of it already in motion when the video studio was added to the mix.

There were no dedicated crew days, no separate location, no buffer. The video setup ran alongside the corporate headshot program in the same space, sharing crew, logistics, and creative bandwidth — hair and makeup, a stylist, 10-minute headshot slots, environmental installs, and deck production all happening at once. The studio format was minimal by necessity: a single walk-by setup, controlled environment, branded backdrop — turning a drab beige room into a first-rate studio using borrowed furniture and decor, including plants. What it produced was broadcast-quality thought leadership content captured inside the controlled chaos of a major conference.

The concept was proven. A purpose-built production didn't require a purpose-built schedule — it just required the right team willing to make it work in the time available.

Going Global: London, Managed Remotely from New York

As the program expanded, it crossed the Atlantic — a London-based shoot for two of PubMatic's most significant customer relationships: The Coca-Cola Company and IPG Mediabrands. The timing was straightforward: Rajeev was already traveling to London, so rather than pass up the opportunity, we brought the studio to him. The shoot was set up inside the PubMatic London office, with the local Marketing lead on the ground handling logistics and crew coordination.

The creative direction and production oversight came from New York — communicating brand standards, studio aesthetics, and framing remotely through a detailed shoot brief, with real-time direction across time zones during the shoot itself. Post-production was handled centrally in New York, following the same rapid turnaround model as every prior dialogue, with output that matched the quality bar set in NYC.

The London shoot proved the model travels. Same brand standard, same production quality — different continent.

Full Production: New York City (Advertising Week, October 2025)

With the format established, the Executive Dialogues program moved to its first standalone production — a full studio built inside the PubMatic New York office, timed to coincide with Advertising Week when senior customer executives were already in the city. The logic was sound: rather than ask busy executives to travel for an interview, bring the studio to where they already were.

The shoot was designed around one defining constraint: four customer interviews in a single day, back-to-back, with Rajeev as the anchor for every conversation. No meaningful gaps between sessions, no time for set resets or re-briefing, and intense schedule pressure throughout. Coordination started before the first camera rolled — the hair and makeup artist was briefed to prioritize the first customer, with Rajeev opening on a welcome recording in parallel so no time was lost. The crew managed setup, talent logistics, and shoot execution simultaneously, and the day wrapped on schedule.

The full FY'25 series ultimately included conversations with Butler/Till, NVIDIA, Scope3, WPP Media, The Coca-Cola Company, Instacart, IPG Mediabrands, FreeWheel, Xumo, Roku, DIGITS, and dentsu — a partner roster that reflects both the reach of the program and the relationships PubMatic has built across the industry.

The Hub and the Social Engine

Every dialogue needed a home — and a reason to keep traveling after it was published. Both problems got solved at once.

We built a dedicated Executive Dialogues hub on our website, housing the full series in one place with partner logos, video thumbnails, and Rajeev's name and title anchoring the page. Clean, browsable, and built to grow as the series expands. The hub gives the program permanence — a destination that sales teams can point to, partners can share, and prospects can discover on their own time.

The distribution strategy was built around speed and relevance. Full-length dialogues went out across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X, while social shorts were cut from the same footage and optimized per platform. Topics were matched deliberately to what was moving in the industry — AI, agentic advertising, automation, supply chain — so the content arrived when it was most useful, not weeks later when the moment had passed.

The Butler/Till dialogue, for example, was published timed to CES with copy written around AgenticOS while that topic was dominating the conference news cycle. Each published dialogue generated a full asset suite: long-form video for LinkedIn and YouTube, short-form reels for Instagram, Facebook, and X, platform-specific copy written to the moment, and static social cards where relevant. Company-wide announcement in #pubmatic_global on every publish date, driving employee amplification from day one.

What's Next

The program continues with a new round of Executive Dialogues scheduled for April 2026. Rajeev back in the NY office for another multi-customer shoot day, with studio setup and back-to-back interviews with DeepIntent, DirectTV, and UntappedGrowth. Same model, same pace.

The series has also been flagged for awards consideration — with interest in submitting to Ragan's Video & Visual Awards 2026 ahead of the June deadline. Recognition that would be well-earned.

Impact

From conference side-project to global production program: The Executive Dialogues series went from a walk-by video setup inside a conference in January 2025 to a multi-city, multi-continent production operation by the end of the year — without a dedicated studio, crew, or budget line for most of its existence. Built on resourcefulness as much as production value.

12 published dialogues, a marquee partner roster, and a home on the website: Butler/Till, NVIDIA, Scope3, WPP Media, The Coca-Cola Company, Instacart, IPG Mediabrands, FreeWheel, Xumo, Roku, DIGITS, and dentsu — all housed on a purpose-built Executive Dialogues hub that gives the series a permanent, browsable destination. A library of thought leadership content that served sales, marketing, and partner relationships simultaneously, and kept working long after each publish date.

Content timed to the industry conversation, not a release calendar: Social shorts cut and published to coincide with CES, Advertising Week, and other industry moments meant the content arrived when it was most relevant — not weeks later when the conversation had moved on.

International production, local partnership: The London shoot for Coca-Cola and IPG Mediabrands combined remote creative direction from New York with on-the-ground support from the London Marketing lead — a model that extended the program globally without compromising on brand standard or production quality.

A series built for awards: The program's creative and production quality has earned it consideration for Ragan's Video & Visual Awards 2026 — external recognition for work that started with no dedicated time, no dedicated space, and a team already running at full capacity.