“You know when you get that eerie feeling when you’re walking somewhere and you open your phone and you get that ad for Nike sneakers and you might have just been in the store that sold sneakers? Or two hours after you’re investigating something on Amazon, you get an ad for that particular brand? That’s where television is going. Television is going to give you the right ad, in the right place, at the right time, so you’re not so offended by 15 minutes of commercials. So you’ll probably see a fraction of those commercials, and they’ll be the right ones that are interesting for you.”
— Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising sales and client partnerships at NBCUniversal, presented "Navigating the Future of a Fragmented Industry" at the Penn State Forum on Oct. 24 at the Nittany Lion Inn.
Yaccarino, a Penn State alumna who earned her bachelor’s degree in telecommunications in 1985, oversees all advertising sales and market strategy for NBCUniversal’s entire television portfolio, including two broadcast, 17 cable and more than 50 digital properties. Since joining NBCUniversal in 2011, Yaccarino’s groundbreaking “one portfolio” plan amplified NBCUniversal’s enormous power and reach by combining the company’s broadcast, cable and digital assets into one unified organization.
In addition, Yaccarino, who previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of advertising sales and marketing and acquisitions at Turner Entertainment, was instrumental in developing and enhancing “inContext,” the industry’s first-ever contextual platform that helps feature the right ad, in the right place, at the right time.
Among her many industry honors, Yaccarino has been named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Power 100 and to Adweek’s "Ten Most Powerful Women in TV." Her community and professional affiliations include active involvement with WICT — Women in Cable Telecommunications; the Ad Council, where she serves on the board of directors; and Penn State, where she is on the Dean’s Advancement Council in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.
Launched in 1996, the Penn State Forum Speaker Series is designed to introduce the University community to noted leaders and policymakers in their respective fields. Open to the public, tickets are $21 for each event and include a buffet lunch, followed by remarks from the distinguished speaker. For more information about the series and a list of future speakers, visit http://sites.psu.edu/forum/.