Programmatic Mechanics
Erik Thorson has a diverse work experience in the technology and media industry. Erik co-founded Pontiac Intelligence in 2017 and served as the CTO. Prior to that, they worked at Programmatic Mechanics as a CTO from 2015. From 2012 to 2015, Erik held various roles at Varick Media Management, including SVP Trading & Technology, VP Engineering & Data, Lead Engineer, and Platform Engineer. Erik started their career at Virtual Build Technologies as a Developer from 2010 to 2012.
Erik Thorson earned a Bachelor of Art degree in Environmental Design/Architecture from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2007. Erik then pursued a Master of Science degree in Architecture and Digital Fabrication at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, which they completed in 2008. Erik furthered their education by earning a Master of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute in 2011.
Programmatic Mechanics
Programmatic Mechanics’ (Prog Mechs) core offering is a Managed Services product sitting across all major advertising technology platforms and marketplaces. We procure and optimize space in all available digital channels. Prog Mechs is different because of our complete and transparent openness to costs, delivery, data ownership and fraud protection. Prog Mechs combines proprietary learning algorithm PONTIAC and all major Demand Side Platforms to take on the established ad tech companies. Our mission is to provide the highest quality and most effective managed-service buying solution to advertisers. Some would call Prog Mechs a ‘meta-DSP.’ Most of our clients are advertisers looking to improve their performance across display, video, mobile and social channels, ranging from Fortune 500 companies who contract with us directly to mid-sized businesses and local agencies. They all use Prog Mechs as their core programmatic vendor and advisor to execute their digital strategy. The team is passionate, flexible and responsive. We are a scrappy group of engineers, marketers, traders, and pop culture junkies that came together in 2014 to realize the true potential of programmatic advertising. In creating successful campaigns, we use a multi-pronged approach to leverage highly skilled media traders working inside a DSP and best in-class technology. Add to this, best in industry process for compensation, reporting, algorithmic development, and fee structure, it makes all the difference between good execution and outrageously great outcomes.