Dave Smith is an industry living legend, icon and one of the few precious voices independent left in the business. Today, he shares what it really means to be an agency, what he personally has seen within the switch of print to digital, and the exciting announcement on what the future holds for his company, Mediasmith.
Geoff Ramsey, founder and Chief Content Office of eMarketer, joins us today to talk about what’s hot in the industry right now, some secret hacks for giving an energetic and engaging presentation, the sources and motivations behind eMarketer, and how they built their team from the ground up. We also talk about the trust crisis in media, and eMarketer’s system of wading through the muddled mass of all the information out there to deliver what is relevant and trustworthy.
Today we are joined by Jennifer Bedford of Signal Partners, responsible for incredible and high-end recruitment and placements of digital talent. Jennifer shares the history of her career, and what it was like to go from strictly telephone and paper to the dawn of the new era with the internet. She also talks about the trends she sees in working with high-end clients, inside tips for those looking to position themselves for an upward career step, and how to stay in the game even when dealing with failure.
David Szetela, industry veteran, PPC expert, and Owner of FMB Media, joins us to discuss the past, present, and future of paid search; David’s history of working with Apple including some very memorable presentations; why offices should be optional; the fundamental mistakes he has seen in his accounts; the new Google branding; and the ins and outs of running both small and large agencies.
This episode features Nicole Purcell, President of Clio Awards. We talk about automation and AI’s impact on creatives, the current state of awards ceremonies, and the impact Nicole’s family business had on her work ethic. She and Kevin also talk about diversity and the evolving context of appropriate conduct in the workplace, how we get into an environment of rewards, and how to elevate awards from being different than a participation medal.
Erynn Peterson and I first crossed paths when she was in a senior role at Microsoft, and I luckily added her to an advisory board for a trade show I was running at the time. I have since appreciated all the wisdom from her years of experience in the industry. Erynn has a very impressive background and shares with us what’s happening in her current role at Synacor, along with what she has learned while holding leadership positions at AOL and Time Inc. and her work with philanthropic organizations.
Today I am joined with Alan Chapell, Founder of Chapell and Associates. Alan shares how he got into privacy, the changes Alan has witnessed over the years in the industry, how transparency issues regarding adware and spyware shaped where we are today, how much we are actually protected and how much we should trust companies that have our data, GDPR, and even more dirty dark secrets in advertising.
I am joined this week by an old friend, and someone I look up to very much in the industry, Tom Hespos. As an early pioneer in the industry, there is much to talk about with Tom, especially changing patterns and emerging trends he has witnessed over his 20 years in the business and serving many different committees. We also talk about the backstory of how he came to be the founder of the successful marketing firm Underscore, the cynical nature of targeting, why we must expand the conversation of marketing when it comes to consumer privacy, and his own insider methods for advising brands on their own path on the digital landscape.
Stefan Tornquist, VP of Research at Econsultancy, joins us to discuss his report, The Next Revolution of Search, which explores the shifts of automation, buying data intelligence and insights from over 2500 consumers of search technology. We also talk about search advertising and intent, the complicated relationships with have with our digital assistants and the usefulness of automatic buying. The application of what is now vs. what is in the future is an interesting motive to both Stefan and me for how we integrate data and insights to plan for the key evolutionary changes about to come.
Adam Kleinberg joins us today to talk about how we can start to make sense of the customer journey, agency experience, and measuring media in this crazy data-driven world we live in. At Adam’s creative agency, Traction, in San Francisco, they work to create branding, advertising and digital experience that makes a deep impact on a human level. Adam talks about Traction’s press storm on paid time off for civic volunteering, and how they used it for positive momentum. He also talks about disruptive campaigns, brand challenges, and the new challenges within the industry.