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ReloLondon part3 – how to get noticed

When you want to get noticed – and you have time on your hands – you know you need to start writing articles, you know you need to find a place to have them published. Some go for medium.com; others prefer Linkedin. I’ll just go with my wordpress blog. And maybe I’ll repost elsewhere, like Linkedin.Exchangewire

Unless Exchangewire will take my articles. I caught up with Ciaran yesterday, so I think I’m in but it’s always TBC till you’re fully signed up, right? (Sorry for this snap, Ciaran!)

While I’m drafting articles and/or posts, I get out and go networking – among other things. I was at this event hosted by Phil Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, recently in Dubai – where I used to live.

This famous adwoman, Madonna Badger from New York, was talking about an important agenda item for Cannes Lions. And she started a paragraph – when talking to camera – with the expression:

Bee Tee Dub

WTF, I thought. This is taking TLAs* to a whole new level. Maybe BTW often gets shortened to Bee Tee Dub. But I’d not heard it. Do we call it an abomination or do we try to use it? I say, let’s use it.

So here are my articles that are coming up:

Bee Tee Dub: Dee See Oh
Bee Tee Dub: Dee El Tee
Bee Tee Dub: Prog-ooh
Bee Tee Dub: Too Cho

Maybe that’s a daft idea and I should just write them in English and let the publication make the title wackier, if they want.

  • DCO – creative optimisation and who’s getting left behind
  • DLT – distributed ledger technology aka blockchain
  • Programmatic out of home and other biddable media
  • Too many choices and how behavioural biases can help streamline your audience’s actions.

Let me know if you’re interested in the content – or even in contributing to the content – soon to be published in that fabulous UK publication (tee bee dee).

 

*TLAs = Three Letter Abbreviations

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The era of mass marketing is now truly over

June8-2016.001With the second quarter nearly over, it must be time to start to make predictions for 2017. Why?

Because everyone is still “uncertain” about 2016 and “bullish” about 2017 in the “run up to 2020”.

Rather than debate the oil price, regional turmoil and subsequent market fluctuations, one thing is for sure — 2016 isn’t as buoyant a market as many had hoped.

And budgets are being cut. Sure, it’s not 2008 all over again. But let me repeat budgets are being cut. And when that happens every dollar spent needs to be scrutinised even more than before.

Which is why by the end of 2016, there will be no more mass marketing.

Wooing niche audiences is everything. Do you remember Chris Anderson’s 2006 book, The Long Tail. In this oft-quoted tome, he spoke of Amazon’s ability to sell obscure books to obscure people while the high-street retailers only have space to sell the mainstream units. And this is now being adopted across all industries.

I was at the Step Conference in Dubai the other day. Startups and venture capitalists, mainly. And when you look at all the startups, each one of them solves a very singular problem for a niche audience.

A niche audience that will be big soon. Or so their business plan will assure you.

There’s no other reason to set up a business. It has to solve a problem. We set up Blue Logic to help businesses harness their data and add content that collects eyeballs. Monitor what the audience is doing and give them more of what they want. And monetise. Simple, right?

I met at the Step conference a startup called My-Sign.com, a new Continue reading “The era of mass marketing is now truly over” →

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When asked on radio, “how does advertising work?” how would you answer?

Not an easy one to answer, or is it?

If you have fifteen mins, please have a listen and let me know if you agree with how I answered it the other day on the Industry Insider segment of DriveLiveDXB show on Dubaieye103.8.

Yes, this is a podcast with Tim Elliott (@dubaitim) and Alex Hirschi (@radiohirschi), where the opening question sets the tone of the discussion: “how does advertising work?”

https://soundcloud.com/jamwel/industryinsider-dubaieye1038-feb2016

Continue reading “When asked on radio, “how does advertising work?” how would you answer?” →

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Six Significant Changes in Advertising for 2015

As the new year approaches everyone is wondering what will really happen in 2015. And only a few of us really know!

I’ll happily share with you a few points – and I’ll frame it as seven significant changes in our vocabulary because they just won’t need explaining any longer:

  • CROSS-SCREEN

    Second-screening. Wish I'd had this when at the Dubai Rugby Sevens yesterday!
    Second-screening. Imagine if I’d had this app on my phone when at the Dubai Rugby Sevens yesterday. Imagine if the data providers could tell what billboards were near me and play relevant data-targeted ads with reference to the environment, the outdoor billboards, the big TV screens etc…

advertisers will reach a point in May (why May? That’s another story!) where they no longer need to refer to “cross-screen” advertising. Why? Because everything will just work across all screens. ALL screens. And we’ll even be able to track advertising across all screens and all operating systems in a way that only Facebook, Google and Apple can today – albeit only across their operating systems at the time of writing.

  • DIGITAL FIRST

“digital first” will be an expression of the past. It’ll just be what we all think and do. Instead we’ll remember at the last minute before submitting any advertising proposal “what about TV and billboards?” Okay, maybe TV and billboards won’t be forgotten like that. But still, maybe it’s time for the 2005 prophecy by Joe Jaffe to come to life: Today, some 65 years after it was first used, the 30-second spot is like Sean Connery – still sexy as hell but not much of a long-term prospect.” Continue reading “Six Significant Changes in Advertising for 2015” →

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So Long, Singapore

So Long, Singapore!

Wow, the last two years have been exciting. But it’s time to say, so long, Singapore.

MBA vs real-world learning

In December 2011, I told some old friends that I was about to do an MBA in Australia – where I lived at the time – at an unheard of business school. They explained to me that it was too little too late: “You’re supposed to be turning 30 not pushing 40; you’re supposed to do it at a famous school with cool people, not a cheap school with average people.” Fair cop. They asked me why I was keen to get a Master’s in Business Administration anyway and I explained I wanted to use it to work out what’s next. “That’s an expensive way to procrastinate,” said one of said friends. Harsh, but fair.

So, three months later, I feigned a family holiday and instead booked a solo trip to Singapore. I met 35 people in seven days. And asked each person to introduce me to one more person, if they could.

Mumbrella, June 2012
Mumbrella, June 2012

One of those ‘one-more-people’ was the guy at WPP’s “other trading desk” the Media Innovation Group. The digital media tech company on the bleeding edge of digital whose tools were used by GroupM. And this bloke decided I was the man for the role to bring his business to life across Asia Pacific.

Soon enough it was announced in the press (thank you, mumbrella) that I would be moving on to embark upon some “real-world learning” to launch WPP’s Media Innovation Group across Asia Pacific.

Data, creativity and real-time bidding

The business at the Media Innovation Group was technical. And naturally, full of three letter abbreviations. The Media Innovation Group (MIG) was a real-time bidding (RTB) media buying shop – sometimes called a trading desk – with a state-of-the-art data management platform (DMP). Since those ‘early days’, everyone has started talking more about “programmatic”. But if anyone uses such language with you, ask them to explain themselves. Most can but many can’t! The tech-heads think media is all about tech. It’s not, it’s about results, of course.

Continue reading “So Long, Singapore” →

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WTF! Using Space Invaders as the premise for a ‘big data’ presentation to the WFA?

Space invaders
“A dog is for life, not just for Christmas”
Just like a brand’s digital presence…

Yes. Big data has a lot in common with Space Invaders. And that’s what’s so exciting.

How do I know? Well, I’ll be telling that story to the WFA soon.

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) is a formidable body who put on conferences and a forum or two each month across the globe for their members who are top, international companies who have big advertising budgets.

What a delight to be invited to speak at their Integrated Marketing and Communications Forum in Singapore next week.

My topic is about data-driven marketing, a subject close to my heart as I’ve been helping advertisers and their creative agencies get closer to some of the data normally closely guarded by their media agency trading desk. Ah the brave new world of programmatic buying Continue reading “WTF! Using Space Invaders as the premise for a ‘big data’ presentation to the WFA?” →

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