January 4, 2016
Damien is an Emmy Award winning digital specialist with 15 years’ media experience connecting the content, platform, brands, TV and digital world. This includes developing and expanding the digital activities and revenues of companies Euronews and Fremantle by creating leading You Tube channels and strategies before running the content activity at Havas Media.
Q: Why is now a relevant time to be launching these awards?
Damien: With ad-blockers on the rise and traditional advertising models being challenged, content has never so much been at the top of the agenda.
Q: What is different about these awards?
Damien: No other awards focus so much on content marketing in a global context.
Q: Are content-driven communications, customised content, native advertising, sponsored content, brand journalism, owned media and branded content the same thing?
Damien: They are not the same thing. They are the Lego pieces, among others, available to advertisers to master their content marketing strategy. The mastery is not in using one or the other but in orchestrating all of them to achieve business objectives.
Q: What does good native content look like?
Damien: Good native content is at best when, from a consumer standpoint, it is as good as regular content and would look the same without the involvement of the brand and, from a brand standpoint, it achieves the objectives.
Q: Why are consumers embracing branded content?
Damien: Consumers are not embracing branded content specifically. They just enjoy content when it is good. It’s brands and branded content that are getting better at relating to audiences.
Q: What are the challenges and opportunities of integrating native advertising or branded content across different platforms – from print to video, from mobile to TV?
Damien: They key is in the orchestration of all platforms.
See more interviews / Judges’ views on what makes great, content-led, international advertising.