January 19, 2017
Jody Orsborn co-founded The Backscratchers, which connects brands and agencies like Red Bull, Spotify, BBH, AMV BBDO and Unilever with industry-approved freelance and team talent for projects. She was chosen as one of the UK’s Top Women Entrepreneurs by CNBC and a ‘One To Watch’ in Tech City News’ International Hall of Fame.
Q: Why should agencies/advertisers enter the World Media Awards?
Jody: It’s a great chance to have your work seen by a jury of your peers and potential clients.
Q: What will you be looking for from the entries?/What will make a winning entry?/What does great branded content look like?
Jody: I will be looking for work that stays with me, whether it brings insight, makes me laugh, makes me pause…I want to be surprised and inspired .
Q: Are there any issues around ownership of branded content depending on who authored it? What does this mean in terms of copyrights, who can share it and where you can share it?
Jody: It depends on how many partners there are. If you are a brand, a publication and pull in potentially an agency and an influencer…things can get massively complicated and the meaning can get diluted while trying to appease all of the different stakeholders. Particularly when you get an influencer or personality involved who have their own brand to promote and protect.
Q: Do content-driven communications work better for brands in some industry sectors than others?
Jody: Lifestyle brands are well-placed for doing branded content , however, I think that financial brands are as well….as they are in a good position to be able to offer advice and tips which can work quite well in branded content. The most important thing is that the content feels natural to a brand and like It feels authentic coming from them. For example, Red Bull doing action sports makes sense. A makeup brand, not so much. The right content and the right partnerships is what works.
Q: How do you balance what needs to be carried out from head office and what needs to be carried out locally in international content campaigns?
Jody: It’s tricky! It’s about making sure that those discussions are happening from the start of any campaign…not as an afterthought once the first campaign is created and then you need to figure out retroactively how to make it work for other regions. It’s rarely ever works that way! International needs to be considered from the start.
Q: How difficult is it to find a content marketing idea that can translate across borders?
Jody: It’s a challenge but is a good reminder that good work should be universal. I recently watched a Korean advert where I couldn’t understand any of the words but the images and story were so powerful (and universal) that it didn’t matter.
Q: What made you want to pursue a career in media and marketing?
Jody: I’m passionate about all things culture (music, film, books, etc) and wanted it to be what I thought about and got to work on all day. Why would you want to work on anything else?
Q: Which is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Jody: I will always love Twitter. Still the best way to connect with people and experience culture and events in a communal way.
Q: Where is your ideal meeting venue?
Jody: A coffee shop with couches.
Q: Which industry buzzword would you ban?
Jody: Viral…PLEASE
Deadline for entries is 16th February 2017 – ENTER NOW