January 19, 2017
Global Account Director, managing global client relationships and leading teams across MediaCom worldwide.
My single purpose is to help clients grow their business. Media has never been more fascinating, fast moving and its importance has never been greater. The pace of change is creating great opportunity for brands, but also greater complexity. My job is to help clients master that complexity, so they can navigate through an increasingly disrupted media world and capitalise on the new opportunities that grow their business.
I have over 20 years’ experience working in media agencies, the last 17 at MediaCom, London.
Q: Why should agencies/advertisers enter the World Media Awards?
Nigel: Get the recognition your brilliant work deserves.
Q: What will you be looking for from the entries?/What will make a winning entry?/What does great branded content look like?
Nigel: A powerful idea that has achieved scale and made a tangible difference to the business.
Q: Why should advertisers use branded content – what is it best suited to achieve?
Nigel: Access to video production and distribution platforms has opened up to literally everyone and people are consuming content from a wide variety of sources. Consumer expectations have totally changed and all the old barricades have been smashed down. Brands that take advantage of this and create powerful connections to their audiences using content, are the brands that will succeed.
Q: What should clients look for in a native advertising/branded content proposal? And what should they look for in the team who will be delivering it?
Nigel: Branded content needs audience appeal, tapping into popular culture is a great way for the brand to connect with the audience and get noticed. But it’s all too easy to do this and leave the brand behind. Entertaining content has to be relevant and link directly back to the brand. If that’s achieved it will power the business forward.
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?
Nigel: “Head Office” should only care about how campaigns perform in local markets. Yes it makes sense for brands to be globally consistent, but there needs to be freedom to tailor content campaigns locally so they truly resonate with the culture of the audience.
Q: How difficult is it to find a content marketing idea that can translate across borders?
Nigel: Cultures can be very different from one market to another, but brands have the opportunity to tap into some very powerful human truths that are consistent across borders.
Q: What made you want to pursue a career in media and marketing?
Nigel: The Honey Monster (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCwlCYyom9s)
Q: Name your favourite ever content-driven campaign
Nigel: T-Mobile Royal Wedding (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kav0FEhtLug)
Q: Who is the best industry speaker you have seen?
Nigel: Sue Unerman, one of the smartest people I know.
Q: Which is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Nigel: From a personal perspective has to be WhatsApp. Easy to use, ubiquitous, enables a conversation between like-minded people.
Q: Where is your ideal meeting venue?
Nigel: Anything other than a conference call.
Q: What is your favourite restaurant?
Nigel: The Beach House
Q: What is hot in international content marketing, and what is not?
Nigel: There’s so many small vanity projects that never achieve real scale, these are not hot. Hot is great idea that has scale and actually makes a difference to a client’s business.
Q: Which industry buzzword would you ban?
Nigel: Dark social
Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
Nigel: Dark social
Q: Finally, who would play you in a movie of your life?
Nigel: Some people tell me I look like Tom Hanks, but I hate that. I’d prefer Burt Lancaster.
Deadline to enter is 16th February 2017 – ENTER NOW