Meet The Disruptors: Alia Lamborghini, Vice President, Industry Lead | Verizon Media

Where do you see more opportunities for disruption within your industry?

The travel industry is on the verge of disruption with the advent of 5G. Greater throughput and lower latency from the fifth generation tech will bring richer and more immersive experiences for both consumers and advertisers. Extended reality and motion capture are a few formats we are already employing at Verizon Media. For example, we’ll be producing a new weekly shoppable series which will allow consumers to virtually “try on” showcased products, take part in related trivia, and shop and purchase their favorite picks of the week across tech, clothing and other hot product drops. The series, “Hypezilla,” is coming soon to Yahoo Play and will be produced at Verizon Media’s RYOT 5G Studio in Los Angeles, the first 5G-enabled content studio in the country.

What would you define as a successful, disruptive partnership with an ad/marketing agency?

The best partnerships are founded on trust. Trust in each others’ expertise, trust to push the boundaries of innovation, and trust to drive real performance. Southwest has always been a disruptive brand, connecting with consumers in meaningful ways. They’ve also maintained an impressive 47 consecutive years of profitability. Most recently, we worked with Southwest on a video campaign across our Yahoo brands to promote low-fare offers and travel on the more obscure holidays such as ‘National Pretzel Day’ and ‘Feel the Love Day.’ By aligning a short-form, transactional video with premium homepage content, we were able to create an experience that provided information and utility within a trusted, editorial-driven environment.

As technologies advance and influencers reign supreme, how are you finding new avenues to stand out in the travel industry?

Travel ads are best received when they capture beautiful imagery and are served to a user in the right moment and mind frame. Verizon Media uses its unique data and insights to reach consumers based on their intent and likelihood to book. Our unique creative formats showcase engaging creative and timely offers that result in strong booking performance for our advertisers. Verizon Media offers a true omnichannel buying platform across mobile, native, display, connected TV, digital-out-of-home and audio.

*Please Note: All statements are the opinion of the author and may not necessarily represent the views of The ADVERTISING Club of New York.