Category: Latest thinking

New Analysis Shows That Quality Journalism is Winning the War on Attention

Latest figures revealed by the World Media Group (WMG), a strategic alliance of ten of the world’s leading international media brands, demonstrate the growing ‘premium’ effect that is boosting the performance of ad campaigns when viewed within a high quality, trusted editorial environment. Independent analysis from SaaS analytics and measurement firm, Moat, demonstrates that premium digital inventory (comprising digital inventory across all WMG brands) in 2017* outperforms all of Moat’s benchmarks by between 16% and 73%.

In addition, when looking at the quality of engagement delivered by WMG brands the analysis shows that there has been a significant increase in attention measures year-on-year. In particular, active page dwell time for WMG Display Desktop (average length of time the user was on the page with the window in-focus) is now 72% higher than the Moat benchmark (compared to 9% higher for the same period in 2016) and in-view time (the length of time an ad has been active and in-view) is now 51% higher (was +19% last year) – see below.

Rupert Turnbull, Vice President, EMEA & LatAm at Time Inc, a member of the WMG, explains, “Ironically, it seems that far from turning consumers away from us, the ‘Trump-factor’ has had a positive impact across the World Media Group in the past twelve months. The Moat analysis adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests consumers are not only actively searching for quality journalism on trusted sites, but also moving away from bite-sized, click-bait headlines and enjoying the long form content created by quality media brands. This is great news for advertisers who are benefiting from the halo effect of our readers’ greater attention levels when viewing our content.”

Munira Ibrahim, SVP, Sales & Content Solutions, Reuters, which has just been announced as the newest member of the World Media Group, adds, “At Reuters our passion is for providing well-researched, trusted news, written by world class journalists – and the latest Moat analysis confirms that these are values that are held strongly across the whole of the World Media Group. We are delighted to have joined the World Media Group and are looking forward to working together with the rest of the members to promote quality journalism, delivered around the world through high-spec technology.”

The WMG brands comprise Bloomberg Media Group, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, National Geographic, The New York Times, Reuters, TIME, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. These prestigious titles have received over 1,000 major journalism awards, including at least 190 Pulitzer prizes, between them. In addition, WMG members also provide innovative technology to optimise digital ad delivery and viewability, such as device-agnostic solutions that ensure ads are always viewed at the appropriate size.

The in-depth results from the Moat analysis are as follows:

Measure/Benchmark World Media Group Lift Compared to Moat Benchmarks (Q3 2017)
Display Desktop active page dwell time (secs) 84.5s +72%
Display Desktop in-view rate 63.2% +17%
Display Desktop in-view time (secs) 41.2s +51%
Mobile Web active page dwell time (secs) 50.6s +26%

Mobile Web in-view rate 65.1% +39%
Mobile Web universal touch rate 20.8% +73%
Video Desktop in-view rate 71.9% +16%
Video Desktop audible and visible on complete rate 36.6% +18%
Source: Moat Q3 2017*

## ENDS ##

Media contact: Susan Perolls at Loudmouth PR: T 020 7981 9858, M 07904 236060, E susanp@loudmouthpr.co.uk

About the World Media Group: It is a strategic alliance of the world’s leading publications which incorporates Bloomberg Media Group, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, National Geographic, Reuters, The New York Times, TIME, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Its aim is to promote award-winning journalism and the role of international media. Visit world-media-group.com.

About Reuters: Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world’s media organisations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV.

Opportunity knocks for publishers seeking to change ad industry narrative

Executives at The Washington Post, The Economist and National Geographic discuss Facebook, cross-publisher collaboration and the return of context.

The barrage of coverage of Facebook’s fake news and data breach crises have made for unpleasant viewing inside the ad industry bubble. Rather than simply a reflecting an ecosystem in need of repair, some – including Unilever’s chief marketer Keith Weed – have asserted that the very fabric of the ad-funded web is under threat.

Facebook’s potential loss may translate into someone else’s gain, however. Many have pointed out the significance that newspaper groups including The Guardian and The New York Times led the investigative reporting into the Cambridge Analytica scandal, just as News UK’s The Times aimed a shot across the bows of Google with its YouTube brand safety exposé 12 months ago.

Such stories serve the joint purpose of both highlighting the weaknesses of the so-called digital “duopoly”, which has been busy hoovering up ad dollars over the past decade, as well as flexing traditional print publishers’ journalistic muscles.
The issue of award-winning journalism is one close to the heart of the World Media Group, an organisation tasked with showcasing the strengths of international media brands, of which The New York Times (but not The Guardian) is a member, along with Bloomberg Media Group, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Geographic, The Economist, Reuters and Time and Fortune.

Now celebrating its 20th year, the strategic alliance recently unveiled a new leadership team: Emma Winchurch-Beale, The Washington Post’s international sales director, has extended her tenure as WMG president for a second year, with support from two new deputies, The Economist’s Alexandra Delamain and National Geographic’s Stephen Murphy.

In light of moves by rival UK broadcasters to work more closely together, it is significant that three senior commercial bosses at international publishers chose to be interviewed together by Campaign – albeit before the Cambridge Analytica revelations came to light.

Winchurch-Beale claimed there is a “nervousness” among advertisers regarding the big digital platforms. “Facebook has seen a drop-off in users. There is an opportunity for publishers to break into that space. The bubble will burst, and there are other alternatives [for advertisers],” she commented.

For Murphy, Nat Geo’s brand partnerships director, brands are beginning to “wake up to the fact that it’s not a choice of Facebook, YouTube or more ‘traditional’ media”, and that, instead, they ought to be investing in a more balanced media strategy.

“The headlines are bad and there is a lot of uncertainty around brand safety and metrics. However, these issues can be addressed. The big question for marketers is around the quality of the audience. It’s one thing having a million or 10 million likes on these digital platforms, but how relevant is this engagement to your brand?” he said.

Delamain, The Economist’s senior vice president, head of sales and client services, EMEA, is even more blunt in her assessment of the opportunity presented by Facebook’s recent woes. “Regulation is on the horizon; change is coming. We need to use it to our advantage,” she said.

However, Winchurch-Beale insists the role of WMG is not to disparage the virtues of digital advertising: “I can remember when we set up WMG, it was about promoting print quality journalism. While most members still have some form of print play, it has evolved [but] as has been proven over the past 18 months with fake news, quality journalism is perhaps even more important now than 10 years ago.

“It is clear that trust has gone from platforms. [However], we need to remain at the forefront of innovation, for example with VR, and new ways of storytelling and reaching millennials. We can’t dumb down.”

Facebook’s power and reach has long offered a double-edged sword for publishers keen to push their content as far and wide as possible, but loath to lose the ad dollars vital to supporting their businesses. With Google, Apple, Amazon and Snap each also exerting influence over users’ eyeballs, Winchurch-Beale is unambiguous in her view of the situation: “We have to work with them.”
“At Washington Post, we should be all-in. We publish thousands of articles a week, and we have very much changed the way we use Facebook. It also differs editorial compared to brand studio,” she added.

Murphy agreed: “As with any challenge, this also means opportunity. Facebook is a great example – while it is an amazing advertising platform, it also gives media brands unprecedented reach. So the opportunity here is how media brands monetise it.”

Nonetheless, the conversation around the idea of context – ads appearing in premium environments, targeting the readers most likely to be reading that content – is growing louder. As Delamain quipped, “Content is king, and context is queen.”

With the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) arriving next month, and the very idea of individual-level data targeting under pressure, WMG is keen to prove that premium publishers offer better returns for advertisers than the masses of cheap inventory on long tail websites.

As well as introducing The Smithsonian and ad tech firms Rezonence and Smartology as associate members, WMG last year partnered with measurement company Moat for a report exploring viewability in the era of fake news. The research supported its claims that inventory on WMG member sites exceeds Moat benchmarks in all categories, including across desktop display view rate (+17%), mobile display in-view rate (+39%) and desktop video in-view rate (+16%).

“Scale is becoming less important compared to the quality of the message, and being top of the agenda,” said Delamain.
This means a likely rationalisation of the quantity of ad-funded content players, according to Murphy, with the number having surged in recent years, as newcomers tailored publishing strategies to maximise reach on digital and social media platforms.

“There are too many ‘ad-funded’ players. It is not sustainable as most of them are loss making, funded by VC money. A small number of profitable players will emerge and succeed, with the best ones building scale via free, great content. Then they will move into part-subscriber funding for specialist information,” Murphy said.

Despite sharing much in common, Winchurch-Beale insisted an organisation such as WMG cannot “dictate” to members on issues such engagement with Facebook and Google. “It’s important to recognise that, as different brands, we collaborate in different ways. Those are commercial decisions for commercial teams,” she said.

While its members have “discussed” the possibility of shared programmatic platforms, à la The Pangaea Alliance, an initiative led by The Guardian and backed by CNN, Reuters and others, the integration of existing “strong” proprietary platforms would be too “complex” to undertake for the time being.
Nevertheless, for publishers like The Washington Post, The Economist and National Geographic, a rare opportunity has presented itself to change the narrative around advertising – notably of the digital variety. It is an opportunity the commercial leaders of these brands are determined to seize.

Shell Lights the Way with Top Prize at the 2018 World Media Awards

Shell and MediaCom win Grand Prix with Shell Brand GravityLight & Bedtime Stories Campaign

London, Friday 23rd March 2018:The winners across the eight categories of the 2018World Media Awards were announced last night at an exclusive VIP event held at The Ham Yard Hotel in London. Hosted by the World Media Group*, the World Media Awards, now in their third year, are the only global awards to recognise brands, agencies and media partners who, together, create the most effective cross platform, cross border, content-driven advertising campaigns.

The biggest winner on the night was Shell, whose global campaign ‘Shell Brand GravityLight & Bedtime Stories’ created by MediaCom, picked up the World Media Awards Grand Prix, as well as winning the World Media Award for the Corporate Influencer category.  Shell’s campaign was in conjunction with GravityLight, a foundation which aims to improve the lives of people without electricity by providing clean, safe and affordable lighting. They embarked on a 50-day GravityLight roadshow across Kenya, capturing the progress of the roadshow through video and social media, and also created animated videos of GravityLight ‘bedtime stories’ told by high profile influencers, such as singers Pixie Lott in the UK and Luan Santana in Brazil – all of which created strong consumer connections globally and transformed brand perceptions.

“The World Media Awards are a fantastic platform for demonstrating the value content offers brands for telling a powerful story that can resonate around the world, whether you are in London, Lagos or Kenya, ” saidWendy Orhan, Senior Brand Communications Managerat Shell. “We were amongst stiff competition with so many fantastic entries this year, so to walk away with the Grand Prix is a real coup, and testament to the amazing work of all the team who worked on this campaign including Gravity Light and MediaCom.”

A panel of 24 senior jurors from leading advertisers, agencies and publishers, presided over by four head judges – Arif Durrani, Executive Editor for EMEA at Bloomberg Media Group, Jodie Stranger, CEO UK Group and President Global Clients EMEA at Starcom, Publicis Media, John Rudaizky, Partner, Global Brand and Marketing Leader at EY and Jon Gittings, Chief Strategy Officer, Americas at MediaCom  – had the difficult task of selecting the eight category winners and Grand Prix winner from the many entries that were received from around the world.

Emma Winchurch-Beale, President of the World Media Group and International Sales Director at the Washington Post commented, “For all the World Media Group members, great journalism and excellent storytelling, using honest and authentic voices from around the world, are of paramount importance every day.  In fact, as the World Media Group celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year, we can say it’s driven us for 20 years! That’s why it’s been such a pleasure this year to see the amazing entries that embody these values, with Shell being a very worthy winner.”

For more information on the World Media Awards and to see the winning entries in full, visit www.wm-awards.com/2018winners.

The winners of the World Media Awards 2018 (along with comments from the judges about the category winners)are:

AUTOMOTIVE

Winner – Porsche: Cayman vs Drones

Entered by PHD Germany

Credits: FUSE Omnicom Media Group, Google

“This was a bold strategy and the client took a risk based on strong insights and a clear understanding of the target market.”

BRAND & MEDIA OWNER PARTNERSHIP

Winner – The Barilla Foundation: Food Sustainability Index

Entered by The Economist Group

“This partnership created a genuine tool, and the choice of partnership was crucial to its impact.  The tool lives beyond the campaign to help improve our world.”

Commended – Star Alliance: Connecting Cultures

Entered by Wall Street Journal [WSJ Custom Studios] and National Geographic

Credits: Atomic, Wavemaker

CORPORATE INFLUENCER

Winner – Shell: Shell Brand GravityLight & Bedtime Stories

Entered by MediaCom

“This platform targeted an ambitious audience of future influencers.  It was a very well thought through strategy, with strong engagement strategies generated by the creative approach.”

 FINANCIAL SERVICES

Winner – UBS: Driving Business Objectives: Impact Investing And Innovative China

Entered by Spark Foundry

Credits: Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Mashable

“This campaign had a rock solid strategy, leading to an unexpected combination of media selection and portfolio of content which delivered the results.”

 LUXURY, LIFESTYLE & FASHION

Winner – Hennessy XO: A New Perspective of the Silk Road

Entered by KR Media France [GroupM]

Credits: National Geographic

“This entry demonstrated great execution on an ambitious strategy, with a rich, indulgent and evocative creative exploration of experiential content and media.  It had an elegant approach to tying the Silk Road to the brand which created differentiation from other Silk Road content.”

MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Winner – Warner Bros: Wonder Woman Project

Entered by MediaCom

Credits: Discovery Networks Latin America

“This campaign was cleverly translated to provide relevance to local LatAm markets – it extended the values of female empowerment presented in the film and engaged effectively with the target audience.  As Gal Gadot put it: to be a wonder woman, you don’t have to have super powers.”

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMS

Winner – E.on: Tomorrow Is .On

Entered by Vizeum

Credits: Engine

“This entry demonstrated a strong creative approach in a challenging category.  The client’s objective was to differentiate itself from the competition and the campaign achieves this.”

 TRAVEL & TOURISM

Winner – Visit Faroe Islands and Atlantic Airways: Faroe Islands Translate

Entered by Sansir and Mensch

“This was a simple and genius idea, engaging the population of the Faroe Islands in a campaign to save their language, creating a viral campaign which generated awareness of a little-known territory.”

Commended – Finavia Corporation: #LIFEINHEL

Entered by Dagmar

GRAND PRIX

Winner – Shell: Shell Brand Gravity Light & Bedtime Stories

Entered by MediaCom

“The judges admired the sensitive and creative approach to repositioning brand perceptions of Shell as a company with purpose, creating an impact.”

 #ENDS#

 Media contact: Susan Perolls at LoudmouthPR, T 020 7981 9858, M 07904 236060, E susanp@loudmouthpr.co.uk

 *About the World Media Group: The World Media Group, hosts of the independent World Media Awards, is a strategic alliance of the world’s leading publications which incorporates the Bloomberg Media Group, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, National Geographic, The New York Times, TIME and The Wall Street Journal, plus associate members Rezonence, Smartology and The Smithsonian. Its aim is to promote award-winning journalism and the role of international media. Visit world-media-group.com

 

 

Washington Post’s Winchurch-Beale Appointed World Media Group President for Second Year in Management Team Restructure

New Team Extends World Media Awards Entry Deadline by a Week to Thursday 1st February

London, Wednesday 24th January, 2018: The World Media Group, a strategic alliance of the world’s leading international publications, announced a new structure of its management team today, appointing two vice presidents to support, Emma Winchurch-Beale in her role of World Media Group President. Alexandra Delamain, SVP Head of Sales and Client Services, EMEA for The Economist and Stephen Murphy, Global Brand Director for National Geographic, take on the additional roles of VP World Media Group, effective immediately. Winchurch-Beale, International Sales Director at the Washington Post, is the first World Media Group president to continue in the role for a second year.

The new management team is pleased to announce that the entry deadline for the 2018 World Media Awards (WMAs), the only awards to celebrate the best in cross platform, cross border, content-driven advertising, has been extended to Thursday 1st February.

The free-to-enter awards are now in their third year and offer the winners the opportunity to be acknowledged as global leaders in international content-led advertising. The WMAs are unique in not only giving recognition of the category winners’ work through the trophy on the night, but by also celebrating all winning campaigns in a world-wide advertising campaign valued at €500k. The winners’ ad campaign runs across leading international media brands Bloomberg Media Group, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, National Geographic, Newsweek, The New York Times, Time, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post – all members of the World Media Group which runs the WMAs.

Emma Winchurch-Beale, President of the World Media Group and International Sales Director at the Washington Post commented, “I’m delighted to be continuing my role as Group President and I’m looking forward to working closely with Alexandra and Stephen to continue the important work of the World Media Group in promoting and supporting quality journalism.

“As we approach the 2018 World Media Awards, we are hoping to see an increase in entries from all over the world. Now more than ever, it’s important to celebrate the richness and quality that can be achieved when content is used effectively to tell a brand’s story across multiple channels and borders. We’ve extended the deadline to encourage even more entries from all over the world, and we’re looking forward to seeing a diverse range of campaigns, which I’m sure will surprise and inspire us once again.”

Winning entries at the 2017 WMAs included Grand Prix Winners, Tata Motors, along with Shell, UBS, Bet365, Universal Pictures and Visit Faroe Islands.

How to enter: Entry to the WMAs at www.wm-awards.com is totally free, although entrants can make a voluntary donation to Reporters Without Borders. All categories can be entered by advertisers and their media, PR and creative agencies while media owners are only permitted to enter two categories directly: Media & Entertainment and Brand/Media Partnership. Campaigns must have intentionally targeted audiences in at least four countries and 75% of activity needs to have been implemented in 2017. There is no requirement for campaigns to have run in any of the World Media Group brands. The new closing date for entries is Thursday 1st February 2018.

Judging: To reflect the vital importance of collaboration in creating successful international, content-driven advertising campaigns, the independent jury will number over 20 heavy-weight judges from brands, agencies and media owners and is presided over by four Co-Heads: John Rudaizky, Partner, Global Brand & Marketing Leader at EY, Jodie Stranger, CEO UK Group & President Global Clients EMEA at Starcom, Publicis Media, John Gittings, Chief Strategy Officer, Americas, at MediaCom and Arif Durrani, Executive Editor for Europe, Middle East & Africa at Bloomberg Media Group. The full list of judges can be seen here.

Categories: This year there are eight Award categories and a Grand Prix selected by the jury from amongst the category winners, as follows:

• Financial Services
• Travel & Tourism
• Technology and Telecoms
• Lifestyle, Luxury & Fashion (new)
• Automotive
• Corporate Influencer
• Media & Entertainment
• Brand/Media Partnership (new)

The new Brand/Media Partnership category recognises that, when brand and media owners work together on content initiatives, special campaigns, events, or other partnership-based promotions, the effective uplift for both brands can be powerful.

Awards event: The winners of the Awards will be announced at the exclusive World Media Awards Reception at the Ham Yard Hotel in London on Thursday 22nd March 2018. All shortlisted entrants will receive two free tickets to join the celebration as guests of the World Media Group, and additional tickets will be available for purchase.

The World Media Group Welcomes Three New Associate Members as It Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

As the World Media Group also hosts the third World Media Awards in its anniversary year it calls for more entries from around the world

Ad tech firms Rezonence and Smartology, along with science and technology institute and media owner, The Smithsonian, are to become the first associate members of the World Media Group as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

To date members of the World Media Group, a strategic alliance of organisations who are committed to promoting award winning journalism and the role of international media, have comprised only global media brands – currently The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, The New York Times, National Geographic, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, The Economist and Bloomberg Media Group.

Over the twenty years since the World Media Group’s inception, the media world has changed beyond recognition and the group has always constantly striven to reflect the needs and shape of the marketplace. The change in membership policy reflects this continual drive and is in recognition of the value the associate members have in the creation and consumption of quality journalism – either by having the same high standards of journalism, or by providing ad tech services that promote and support quality journalism and trusted media environments.

Emma Winchurch-Beale, International Sales Director at The Washington Post and President of the World Media Group, says: “In a volatile world besmirched by fake news, the World Media Group’s role as the champion for quality journalism is more important than ever if we want to retain consumer trust. That’s why, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are opening up membership to organisations that have the same goals and ethics as us and can help us extend our campaign for excellence in delivery too.”

This year also sees the World Media Group hosting the independent World Media Awards for the third time. These are the only awards that celebrate excellence and effectiveness in cross-platform, cross-border, content-driven advertising – and the organisers are particularly keen to receive more entries from around the world this year and so ensure a truly global celebration of international content marketing. Entry to the World Media Awards is free and online at www.wm-awards.com – with a fast-approaching deadline of Thursday 25th January 2018.

The World Media Group itself has grown over the years to a staggering reach around the world of 474 million unique monthly web visits globally, 211 million Facebook followers, 93 million Instagram Followers, twitter followers and print readers. Across all member publications, the group has received over 180 Pulitzer Prizes and 1,029 journalism and content awards and, according to the Ipsos Affluent Europe Survey 2017, 68% of all C-suite professionals in Europe with 50+ employees worldwide consume a WMG brand every month.

To mark its 20th Anniversary the World Media Group will be hosting a party in July. Winchurch-Beale adds: “Twenty years is a long time in media so we are incredibly proud that we have not only stayed the course but grown in stature and relevance. That’s definitely something to celebrate.”

The World Media Group Welcomes Three New Associate Members as It Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

As the World Media Group also hosts the third World Media Awards in its anniversary year it calls for more entries from around the world

Ad tech firms Rezonence and Smartology, along with science and technology institute and media owner, The Smithsonian, are to become the first associate members of the World Media Group as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

To date members of the World Media Group, a strategic alliance of organisations who are committed to promoting award winning journalism and the role of international media, have comprised only global media brands – currently The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, The New York Times, National Geographic, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, The Economist and Bloomberg Media Group.

Over the twenty years since the World Media Group’s inception, the media world has changed beyond recognition and the group has always constantly striven to reflect the needs and shape of the marketplace. The change in membership policy reflects this continual drive and is in recognition of the value the associate members have in the creation and consumption of quality journalism – either by having the same high standards of journalism, or by providing ad tech services that promote and support quality journalism and trusted media environments.

Emma Winchurch-Beale, International Sales Director at The Washington Post and President of the World Media Group, says: “In a volatile world besmirched by fake news, the World Media Group’s role as the champion for quality journalism is more important than ever if we want to retain consumer trust. That’s why, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are opening up membership to organisations that have the same goals and ethics as us and can help us extend our campaign for excellence in delivery too.”

This year also sees the World Media Group hosting the independent World Media Awards for the third time. These are the only awards that celebrate excellence and effectiveness in cross-platform, cross-border, content-driven advertising – and the organisers are particularly keen to receive more entries from around the world this year and so ensure a truly global celebration of international content marketing. Entry to the World Media Awards is free and online at www.wm-awards.com – with a fast-approaching deadline of Thursday 25th January 2018.

The World Media Group itself has grown over the years to a staggering reach around the world of 474 million unique monthly web visits globally, 211 million Facebook followers, 93 million Instagram Followers, twitter followers and print readers. Across all member publications, the group has received over 180 Pulitzer Prizes and 1,029 journalism and content awards and, according to the Ipsos Affluent Europe Survey 2017, 68% of all C-suite professionals in Europe with 50+ employees worldwide consume a WMG brand every month.

To mark its 20th Anniversary the World Media Group will be hosting a party in July. Winchurch-Beale adds: “Twenty years is a long time in media so we are incredibly proud that we have not only stayed the course but grown in stature and relevance. That’s definitely something to celebrate.”

Q&A with Graham McDonnell Creative Director, T Brand Studio International for The New York Times

Graham McDonnell Creative Director, T Brand Studio International for The New York Times and also a judge for the World Media Awards which are now open for entries UNTIL 25TH JANUARY 2018. You can enter here.

General Questions

Q: Why should agencies/advertisers enter the World Media Awards?
Graham: The World Media Awards stand as a showcase of the very best content being created in the industry over the past few years and winning an award gives the recognition of your peers at being the best in your respective field.

Q: What are you hoping for most when you judge the awards?
Graham: True examples of exemplary creativity and innovation, but most of all, evidence that the project delivered tangible results for the client

Q: What advice can you give potential entrants for creating a winning entry?
Graham: As a former winner, I’d advise that creating award-winning projects isn’t enough. You need to be able to effectively communicate the key points and outcomes if you stand a chance of winning.

Content/native advertising questions

Q: What are the most important factors to consider when creating content-led advertising? (e.g. story, relevance, length of content, type of content, media partner)?
Graham: All of the above are important, but the biggest thing to consider is your audience and the content they come to your platform to consume. If your branded content deviates from this, they aren’t likely to engage with it.

Q: Podcasts are having a ‘golden moment’ in content-driven advertising. What’s driving their ascendance?
Graham: I’d say the relationship between the medium and the story. Podcasts have been around for years, but only recently have brands found the right type of story that works well in this form.

Q: Content needs to be able to attract audience’s attention, not simply disrupt and annoy. What’s the key to truly engaging content?
Graham: There’s a famous quote in advertising that goes along the lines of ‘We need to stop Interrupting what people are interested in, and be what they’re interested in”, which sums it up perfectly.

International planning questions

Q: Do some content platforms work more universally across multiple regions than others? E.g. does video work well everywhere but editorial content work better in some regions than others?
Graham: I think story is more important than region when deciding on how to execute your content. If the story is relevant to the audience and gives them a relative ‘payoff’ from their decision to invest their time in consuming it, then you’re already half way there

Q: How do you balance planning and implementation of cross-border branded content campaigns between ‘local’ offices and ‘head office’?
Graham: As our international studio alone has offices in London, Paris and Hong Kong, this has been a challenge we have had to overcome ourselves recently. Having driven people ‘on the ground’ is imperative to success, and our job as leads is to make sure a solid set of processes are in place and understood before you jump in

Q: What is the key to finding a content marketing idea that can translate across borders?
Graham: Simplify. Interests and trends can change vastly from region to region, but if you take it back a step and try to find a visceral, personal story (rather than product or service based) then this tends to work

About you

Q: Your dream holiday destination?
Graham: Vietnam

Q: What was your first single/music download?
Graham: No Doubt – Don’t Speak

Q: Your favourite film?
Graham: Jurassic Park

Q: Your favourite TV series?
Graham: Sherlock

Q: Your favourite app for work? Google InboxAnd for leisure/personal use?
Graham: Instagram

Q: Graham: Your favourite drink?
Graham: Old Fashioned

Q: Your guilty pleasure?
Graham: 80s Music

Q&A with Deborah Perrot, Media Manager, IBM Europe

Q&A with Deborah Perrot, Media Manager at IBM Europe and also a judge for the World Media Awards which are now open for entries UNTIL 25TH JANUARY 2018. You can enter here.

General Questions

Q: Why should agencies/advertisers enter the World Media Awards?
Deborah: Because it is an opportunity for both introspection on the reasons for the choice of strategy, and also the occasion to learn from others.

Q: What are you hoping for most when you judge the awards?
Deborah: To be surprised. To see for example an approach which might at first seem unexpected for a particular advertiser, but in fact delivered good results.

Content/native advertising questions

Q: Content needs to be able to attract audience’s attention, not simply disrupt and annoy. What’s the key to truly engaging content?
Deborah: It must arrest the viewer and provoke a reaction of curiosity – ah, I didn’t know that, I’d like to know more.It should be delivered on the appropriate device at the most opportune time, probably not 10am on Monday morning!

Q: How do you measure success when it comes to content-driven advertising?
Deborah: Through brand awareness studies, uplift in recognition, interest in doing business with, likelihood to recommend, or number of shares and engagement.

International planning questions

Q: How do you balance planning and implementation of cross-border branded content campaigns between ‘local’ offices and ‘head office’?
Deborah: Must be complementary and bring something in addition which reinforces the local message. Planning is key with regards to timing in order to optimise presence.

Q: What is the key to finding a content marketing idea that can translate across borders?
Deborah: Humour is universal, and also stories with a positive outcome for the underdog.

Q: What do you need to look for in your media partner(s) when planning an international content-driven advertising campaign?
Deborah: Not just the usual requirements such as reach and affinity, but also a willingness to try something new. Tracking is key.

About you

Q: Your dream holiday destination?
Deborah: The Ladakh for the space and tranquillity.

Q: Your favourite band/artist?
Deborah: Massive Attack, Muddy Waters.

Q: Your favourite app for work? And for leisure/personal use?
Deborah: Yuka. Scans food products and gives you an analysis of the quality, including sugar, fibre, protein, fat, salt / 100g

Q&A with Steve Ackerman of Somethin’ Else

Q&A with Steve Ackerman of Somethin’ Else  and also a judge for the World Media Awards which are now open for entries UNTIL 25TH JANUARY 2018. You can enter here.

General questions:

Q: Why should agencies/advertisers enter the World Media Awards?
Steve: Top work needs to be confirmed as such. It’s a way to showcase work, win new clients and gain attention for great work.

Q: What are you hoping for most when you judge the awards?
Steve: To see a high standard of creativity and hopefully some work that pushes boundaries. Most of all I want to see work that truly understands the audience it’s designed to target and has evidence of having done so.

Q: What advice can you give potential entrants for creating a winning entry?
Steve:  Be concise and tell a clear story. If you can’t explain your entry clearly, then don’t expect judges to “get it”.

Content/native advertising questions

Q: What is the best content-driven advertising campaign you have seen in the past 12 months (which you weren’t involved in)?
Steve: I think both GE and Marriot have been clever and consistent in their approach to content and showing a strong understanding of how it can compliment their more traditional advertising.

Q: Podcasts are having a ‘golden moment’ in content-driven advertising. What’s driving their ascendance?
Steve: A combination of great tech (headphones are of a high standard now), great content and some stand out podcasts such as S-Town that have brought new users to the medium.

Q: Repeatable content is a big trend right now – so how do you create a campaign that will bring consumers back again and again? And do brands need to start thinking and budgeting differently to sustain this kind of ongoing content creation, rather than using the traditional campaign model?
Steve: Repeatable content is more than a trend – it’s the key way brands need to think if they truly want to use content to best effect. Brands are in a battle for eyes and ears with all the other major content creators (BBC, Netflix, newspapers etc). They are specialists in repeatable content and building relationships with audiences. Brands need to learn from and copy this behaviour rather than think with a campaign mindset.

Q: Content needs to be able to attract audience’s attention, not simply disrupt and annoy. What’s the key to truly engaging content?’
Steve: Think of the audience first and how to attract them, rather than thinking of the brand first and what it wants to say.

Q: What role does social media play in content-driven advertising campaigns?
Steve: It’s a crucial component and like saying you’ll make a TV show without trailers for the show. It also offers a great opportunity to build audience interaction into strong creative thinking.

Q: What are the killer questions an agency/media owner should ask a client to ensure that their content brief is fit for purpose?
Steve: Now that would be telling!

International planning questions

Q: How do you balance planning and implementation of cross-border branded content campaigns between ‘local’ offices and ‘head office’?
Steve: Completely depends on the creative, but without local input, the risk of not understanding cultural nuances is high.

Q: What is the key to finding a content marketing idea that can translate across borders?
Steve: Thinking about the passion points we share, leads to creative touchpoints that can appeal in different territories. But every idea needs adapting to reflect local subtleties.

About you:

Q: What was your first single/music download?
Steve: The first thing I bought was a cassette. I’ll explain another time. It was ABC The Lexicon of Love.

Your favourite TV series?
Steve: Nothing will ever beat The Wire. Ever.

Q: Your favourite drink?
Steve: A well made Negroni or a high quality Malbec.

 

 

 

Q&A with Neil Wirasinha, SVP International Advertising Media, Universal Pictures

Q&A with Neil Wirasinha, SVP International Advertising Media at Universal Pictures and also a judge for the World Media Awards which are now open for entries UNTIL 25TH JANUARY 2018. You can enter here.

General questions

Q: What are you hoping for most when you judge the awards?
Neil: Real creativity in media – not a just placement of great creative, but the insight and process that delivers the right message in the right environment

Q: What advice can you give potential entrants for creating a winning entry?
Neil: Always know your strategy and how to execute it

Content/native advertising questions

Q: What is the role of the media agency in content-driven advertising?
Neil: Inherently know the audience you are trying to connect with, know how to have a compelling content relationship and how to measure the success and how to learn and repeat the process.

Q: What role does social media play in content-driven advertising campaigns?
Neil: Social is a powerful connection with your customer and its important to try an understand its role and what it informs your about your customers. Be do not accept all data points as being equal some have a more direct influence than others. Understanding and evolving this dynamic is important

International planning questions

Q: What three pieces of advice would you give a brand about to embark on a branded content campaign that needs to work across multiple countries/regions?
Neil: One size does not fit all, but similarities do exist

Q: How do you balance planning and implementation of cross-border branded content campaigns between ‘local’ offices and ‘head office’?
Neil: Both have a role and it depends on the insights, ambition and content journey both HQ and Local teams are focussed on. The broader strategic thinking is often more central led and local markets are always best placed to maximise tactical thinking. The blend and phasing of both is important

About you

Q: Your favourite film?
Neil: The Goonies

Q:Your favourite app for work? And for leisure/personal use?
Neil: Citymapper

Q:Your favourite drink?
Neil: Japanese Whisky