AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

What This Man Has Planned for an Encore - Advertising Age

Viacom Chief Philippe Dauman Met a Lofty Digital Revenue Goal. Now He Has the Scale to Do It Again

At the beginning of 2007, Viacom President-CEO Philippe Dauman publicly set an ambitious benchmark for the year: double his company’s digital revenue to $500 million. That’s a lofty goal for any media head, let alone one who had taken the reins just three months before.

But true to his word, and amid criticism that scale would be difficult without the acquisition of a major competitor such as MySpace, Mr. Dauman helped Viacom meet and exceed his revenue goal for the year. “I set what was considered to be a very aggressive goal at a time when people are talking about what was characterized as a small position in digital,” he said. “I’m very pleased with our entire organization.”

Originally a lawyer by trade and a member of the Viacom board since 1987, Mr. Dauman, 54, officially joined the company in 1993 as exec VP-general counsel. Eighteen months into his current role, Mr. Dauman spoke with Ad Age about his future digital strategy, why fragmentation and targeting are key to success, and why Viacom’s pure-play content approach has worked best.

Advertising Age: Do you think limiting your partnerships and cracking down on sites such as YouTube ultimately puts you at an advantage in scaling and monetizing your content?

More