Gerhard Louw has been with Deutsche Telekom AG at the headquarters in Bonn, Germany for more than 9 years. As Senior Manager, International Media Management & Digital Transformation, he is responsible for steering and coordinating the international media function for the Deutsche Telekom Group across its 13 national telecommunication companies in Europe.<\/p>\n
Q: Why should agencies\/advertisers enter the World Media Awards?<\/span><\/strong> Q:\u00a0What will you be looking for from the entries?\/What will make a winning entry?\/What does great branded content look like?<\/span> <\/strong> Q:\u00a0Why should advertisers use branded content \u2013 what is it best suited to achieve?<\/span> <\/strong> Q:\u00a0Does branded content have to work harder than editorial?<\/span> <\/strong> Q:\u00a0What are the biggest challenges in planning and implementing an international campaign across four or more international borders?<\/span> <\/strong>
\nGerhard:<\/span> Awards are always a great opportunity to see the best work. In the case of the World Media Awards it\u00b4s more or less the only place where you will see strategy, creativity, media and content all coming together for the biggest brands on the planet. The fact that it the campaigns have to be internationally successful, definitely adds to the challenge! Seeing the best work also means an opportunity to compare how your own work is stacking up. Lastly, it\u00b4s also a chance to win an award or two. Try and beat that!<\/p>\n
\nGerhard:<\/span> The 2017 entries should show how art & science work together to bring great communication & business results. As a judge I\u00b4ll be looking for that difficult-to-describe combination of consumer insights, brand strategy, ideas, creativity, usage of data, media channels and content. All in perfect harmony and in a way that shows the audience reacted with a \u201cyes, yes, we like.\u201d So results to prove the success should definitely not be missing in each and every entry.<\/p>\n
\nGerhard:<\/span> Branded content can be a great alternative and\/or a great complement to traditionally paid advertising. One thing is clear – it\u00b4s definitely not easy to create great content! Branded content works best when it is natural, when it fits. That means it should seamlessly integrate into the environment where it is appearing, it should fit into the style, look and feel of its surroundings and come across to the audience as authentic and credible. And have an impact. That\u00b4s quite a list…<\/p>\n
\nGerhard:<\/span> If so, how do you make that happen? No, I don\u00b4t believe it should work harder, but just as hard as editorial.<\/p>\n
\nGerhard:<\/span> The biggest challenge is balancing everyone\u00b4s interests, especially on the advertiser\u00b4s side. In the end it comes down to the question of how to balance economies of scale and relevance. On the one hand economies of scale enables advertisers to produce campaigns and content once and then use it over and over again. On the other hand, the content needs to be locally relevant and makes business sense. Efficiency & effectiveness in one go.<\/p>\n