Diesel Labs names content industry vets as advisors
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Michelle Clancy
| 15 November 2018

Content analytics company Diesel Labs announced that it has named Ron Grant and Marshall Cohen as its first two advisors.

Grant is a managing partner at Saddle River Group (SRG), a boutique consulting and investment practice, and he also serves as a senior external advisor with McKinsey & Company. Prior to launching SRG, Grant was president and COO of AOL, focused on repositioning and restructuring the company for acquisition or spin-off.

“Every aspect of media and content production has changed and will continue to change rapidly as the industry races to balance consumer needs with production,” said Grant. “To support these dramatic shifts, it’s essential that we leverage a data-driven approach to content — to harness what we know and use that to ensure that we’re keeping up with (if not ahead of) consumer interest. What the Diesel Labs team is bringing to the table is the information that has been missing until now: An understanding of how all formats, types and lengths of content match into their respective audiences. I’m very excited to join this proven team as an advisor, to help shape the future of content analytics.”

Cohen meanwhile was on the original management team that launched the cable channels Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1, Nick at Nite, TV Land and Comedy Central, which are now gathered under the Viacom umbrella. He leads Marshall Cohen Associates, a consulting and market research firm.

“The word ‘television’ means so much more than it did a few short years ago,” said Cohen. “Diesel Labs is the first analytics company that puts all content — from short form video to traditional linear TV shows to influencer activity — onto the same playing field. For media companies and advertisers alike, it’s becoming increasingly critical to understand what your target audience cares about, how they feel and what motivates them, regardless of the source or screen. The insights that we’re discovering at Diesel Labs is going to reshape the way producers think about content creation.”