In an industry where “data-driven” is often more slogan than substance, Canela Media just proved it’s the real deal. The multicultural media and tech company announced that its Data Science Team has been named Best Data Team in the 2025 Digiday Technology Awards, a recognition that highlights its growing influence in the adtech and media landscape.
The award underscores how AI-powered personalization, programmatic efficiency, and privacy-first design are rewriting the rules of digital marketing—and how Canela is leaning into all three.
The Team Behind the Win
The group is led by Suyash Gandhi, VP of Data Science and Analytics, reporting to CTO Peter Gonzalez. With more than a decade of experience across media, martech, and customer data platforms, Gandhi has built a unit that turns once-untapped audience data into a measurable growth engine.
“Our data team is an invaluable center of excellence,” said CEO Isabel Rafferty Zavala. “By putting data at the core of everything—from smarter advertising to efficient content investments—we’re shaping the future of digital media.”
What’s Driving Canela’s Data Edge
The team has rolled out a suite of tools and platforms designed to give Canela—and its advertisers—a sharper edge in reaching audiences, especially in the growing U.S. Hispanic OTT market.
Some highlights:
- Canela Audience Segments (CAS) – A proprietary OTT-first deterministic data product launched in May 2024, CAS already reaches 76 million unique devices, generating 20 million Canela IDs for precision targeting across English and Spanish-language platforms.
- Real-Time Campaign Optimization – An AI anomaly detection model that flags performance issues instantly, cutting response times from days to minutes and reducing wasted ad spend.
- Content Acquisition Profitability Engine – Predictive modeling that forecasts whether a piece of content will turn a profit and keep viewers engaged before it’s acquired.
- User Acquisition Optimization Models – Advanced cohort and KPI modeling to fine-tune audience segmentation, maximize ROI, and boost monetization strategies.
Together, these initiatives shift Canela Media from a content distributor to a data-native media innovator, where predictive analytics and AI-driven automation steer both programming and ad performance.
Industry Implications
The win comes at a time when streaming platforms are under pressure to monetize effectively while balancing user experience. Competitors like Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, and TelevisaUnivision have been experimenting with ad-supported tiers and audience targeting, but Canela’s focus on first-party, multicultural audience data gives it a differentiated position.
In short: while others race to build broader adtech stacks, Canela Media is carving out a niche by making data work smarter for brands chasing diverse, bilingual audiences.
