Netflix just pulled a coup on Snap, taking two of its most high-profile ad executives to grow its streaming video ad business while leaving Snap rudderless, according to industry leaders.
Read: Netflix names Snapchat execs as its first advertising leaders
The streaming giant announced yesterday the appointment of Jeremi Gorman and Peter Naylor, both from Snap, to lead its burgeoning advertising division. The news came shortly following reports of mass layoffs at Snap. Snap declined to comment for this story and would not discuss its plans for layoffs, which were reported by The Verge. But advertising leaders said that the loss of Gorman and Naylor alone would hurt the company, leaving Snap without two of its top liaisons to the ad world.
“It’s a brilliant move by Netflix, they are getting the best in commercial strategy and video advertising,” said a senior agency executive, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s a huge loss for Snap. Snap needs to urgently hire great people and focus or they risk becoming irrelevant.”
With the loss of Gorman and Naylor, “it’s hard to see a strategy or future,” this senior agency exec said.
Since 2018, Gorman has been Snap’s chief business officer, helping to guide the mobile advertising business. Snap’s revenue, which mostly comes from ads, grew from about $320 million in the first quarter of 2019—Gorman's first full quarter with the company—to more than $1.1 billion in the second quarter of this year.