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Seraj Bharwani on the TechTO stage

Seraj Bharwani

Chief Strategy Officer, illumin

AdTechTorontoOn TechTO stages since 2018

Seraj Bharwani is chief strategy officer at illumin, the advertising technology company formerly called AcuityAds, a role he has held since 2017. He co-founded the agency Digitas in 1995 and was chief strategy and growth officer at video analytics firm Visible Measures. He spoke at MarketingTO in June 2018.

On the TechTO stage ×1

TECHTO MARKETINGTO6:44

Seraj Bharwani of AcuityAds Inc presents Viewer Attention in Video

MarketingTO · June 2018
Watch on YouTube ↗

First seen on the TechTO stage in 2018. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Seraj ↗

In their words

Giving control really gets people to watch because they are making the decision to watch.

TechTO MarketingTO, Jun 2018 · watch at 05:57 ↗

You are not going to bridge this big a gap simply by tweaking creative.

TechTO MarketingTO, Jun 2018 · watch at 02:46 ↗
A few quotes can’t cover everything Seraj said on the TechTO stage. 1,600+ talks are searchable.Ask about Seraj ↗

Around the web ×1

Interview
The State of Digital Advertising: An Interview with Seraj Bharwani, Chief Strategy Officer, Acuity AdsCustomer First Thinking
2019

Quick answers

What does Seraj Bharwani do?

He has been chief strategy officer of illumin, formerly AcuityAds, since 2017. He co-founded the agency Digitas in 1995 and later led strategy at Visible Measures.

What was his TechTO talk about?

The attention problem in video advertising — why making creative shorter or better does not close the gap between how much content brands produce and how much time people have. Presented at MarketingTO in June 2018.

What number did he put on the problem?

Only 7% of marketing executives surveyed thought their video creative was watched all the way through, as he told the TechTO stage in June 2018.

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Maintained by TechTO · facts sourced and dated · last reviewed Aug 2, 2026