Former AOL And MediaMath Director Rob Blake Joins Emotion AI Pioneers Realeyes As CRO

Martech pioneers Realeyes - which uses emotional AI software to help advertisers such as Coca-Cola and Mars maximise the impact of their video marketing - today announces it has hired Rob Blake as its Chief Revenue Officer.

Digital advertising veteran Blake, who has over two decades of experience working in leadership roles for companies such as AOL, Pocketmath, Advertising.com, Rocket Fuel and MediaMath, will be responsible for driving the company’s revenue growth around the world.

Rob will be based at Realeyes’ London HQ and will report directly to CEO Mihkel Jäätma, who co-founded the martech firm while studying at Oxford University. The company – which recently announced a $16.2M funding round led by Draper Esprit to help grow its AI team – also has offices in New York, Boston and Budapest.

Using webcams and the latest in computer vision and machine learning technologies, Realeyes measures how people feel as they watch video content online, enabling brands, agencies and media companies to optimize their content and help target their videos at the right audiences. Customers include brands such as Hershey’s, agencies Ipsos, MarketCast and Publicis, and media companies such as Turner and Oath.

Blake joins Realeyes from Pocketmath, the world’s largest self-serve mobile DSP, where he was SVP of Global Sales. Prior to joining Pocketmath, Rob was the Commercial Director, EMEA, of martech company MediaMath, and VP of Sales, EMEA, at the Performance Horizon Group. Rob also spent five years as VP at AOL Advertising and three-and-a-half years as the Director of Advertising.com.

Jäätma said: “I’m delighted to have someone of Rob’s calibre and depth of experience across the digital advertising sector onboard to help lead us into this next, crucial phase in our growth."

“Realeyes’ technology is a game-changer for marketers looking to maximise the impact of their video content and engage their customers at scale. By combining our pioneering emotive AI tech with Rob’s leadership and commercial know-how, we will ensure that Realeyes continues to lead from the front in the martech space.”

"Adding a layer of emotional intelligence creates a whole new opportunity for brands to truly engage and understand their audiences in exciting new ways." 

Blake said: “Having spent my career working across all of the various stages in the creative process - especially being involved with one of the earliest video campaigns to be launched in Europe - I understand just how important Realeyes’ unique insights can play in a campaign’s success."

“Adding a layer of emotional intelligence creates a whole new opportunity for brands to truly engage and understand their audiences in exciting new ways. Realeyes already works with some incredible brands, who use its pioneering tech and data to take their video marketing to the next level. I can’t wait to join a team with so much passion and purpose.”

Despite around 70% of marketing outcomes being driven by the effectiveness of the creative, only 10% of budgets are invested in that key success driver across the industry (source: Realeyes), meaning a lot of money is wasted on media that simply doesn’t deliver. Realeyes’ emotional tech platform quantifies the effectiveness of a creative and provides marketers with the tools they need to smash their campaign goals.

Realeyes from Realeyes on Vimeo.

About Realeyes

Using webcams and the latest in computer vision and machine learning technologies, Realeyes measures how people feel as they watch video content online, enabling brands, agencies and media companies to optimize their content and help target their videos at the right audiences.

Founded in 2007, the global company has offices in New York, Boston, London and Budapest. Customers include brands such as Mars, Hershey’s and Coca-Cola, agencies Ipsos, MarketCast and Publicis, and media companies such as Turner, Teads and Oath.

Contact details

Email: David Waterhouse

Communications Director, Realeyes