Joe Edwards

Lets QUALIFY quality media! This is def worth a read. An excellent and timely piece by Omar Oakes Editor in Chief of The Media Leader UK. Omar references Cal Newport's ‘quality pyramid’ in which minimally processed media — which he terms as “linguistic media” (books) — as placed at the bottom, TV and other mass/broadcast media are in the middle, and social media (the most ‘processed’ of all media types) is at the top to signify lowest quality. He uses two main criteria for what is ‘high quality’ versus ‘low quality’: >> The curation of media: How much skill and craft has been deployed to create content? >> The delivery of media: How much work a human has to do to consume media versus how much work is done for them by a machine to serve it to them? #BrandsDeserveBetterMedia #MediaForGrowth https://lnkd.in/g6WMYufW

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During this packed summer of sport, here's why a sport podcast advertising strategy could be the perfect way for your brand to get in front of fans this year. Download our white paper now: https://lnkd.in/e6DbywRY

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Want to know where the jobs are going to be? This new report from Accenture brilliantly outlines where the industry will need to head in order to thrive. If you are repositioning your agency or are personally looking for the next opportunity, this is a mandatory read. It’s literally a roadmap for the next 3 years. YOUR goal now is to position yourself appropriately in these doorways of opportunity. Here’s my take on what I think these industry trends mean for entertainment marketers and creatives; Time to Upgrade (again) Content personalization, consumer engagement platforms, and similar will not just be advantages, they will be essential to stay relevant. Find the courses, learn the tools, and use knowledge. No complaining. Remember when you had to learn Final Cut for the first time? Reactive Proactivity While everyone is reacting to new workflows and roles that didn’t exist even a few years ago, how can you proactively bring forth innovative processes? For instance, a writer/producer might need to shift towards roles that combine content curation with analytics to gauge viewer engagement and content effectiveness. We’ve always been experts at innovative workflows, blended roles & responsibilities, and new technologies. While the tool are different, our maverick spirit is stronger than ever. Pop-Up Business Models Obviously, there will be a growing need for varied content and thus specialized skills on a project-by-project basis, which opens up substantial opportunities for unique working arrangements and flexible business models. How could short-term collectives, shared service models, or flexible partnerships look? Clearly, none of this will be easy and I don’t want it to see like I’m trivializing the road ahead. The title of the report is “Only the radical will survive and thrive.” However, isn’t that who we’ve been all along? C’mon. We got this. #GetRad https://lnkd.in/gAqAYxcX

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Why should brands be looking at the growth in professional grappling ? For those brands in my network that have not tuned into a professional grappling event yet, you are missing out on a window into a truly unique audience and community. I have attended live combat sports events across all the major disciplines, and the grappling community always intrigues me. The vast majority of spectators are highly skilled participants, that deeply understand the sport. They are respectful and full of admiration for the athletes on display, and they are receptive to the brands that enter this world. I speak to the audience at every event, and they rarely consume other sports or entertainment. They are hyper focused on this passion point. This represents an opportunity for brands to engage with a new, hard-to reach audience, in a captive environment, both at live events, and through the live broadcast. Timex Group and VENUM are the latest brands to join Polaris brand partner roster. Both official UFC partners, now compounding their reach through the grappling community. The sport continues to grow in popularity, with new stars emerging at each live event - this is a great time for forward-thinking brands to enter a new category, and establish a leading position. Feel free to reach out for more information.

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Some great thoughts from Ben Foster on how not to do Shared media! "At The Kite Factory we talk a lot about Owned, Earned, Shared and Paid. Often the least explored area is “Shared” which covers corporate and commercial partnerships which can often be an extension of sponsorships. When it is done well these sorts of collaborations don’t only help both parties but create a big splash, Spotify are past masters with great examples alongside Uber & Starbucks. However, as with every marketing strategy success is all down to execution and I have just experienced a 101 on how not to deliver a successful partnership. I was lucky enough to attend the Olympic Games in Paris where Visa are a headline partner. Once inside an Olympic venue you were unable to use any cards except Visa, this isn’t new. However, unlike London 2012, when I queued at several large foot outlets with 5 checkouts 4 were Visa only with no queues and 1 was cash with a huge queue. If you wanted to use another card, tough, find a cash machine. I saw countless examples of food being left on counters by angry customers due to the lack of any signage. Some outlets were Visa only, didn’t accept cash at all so as a non-Visa customer you couldn’t buy their products, funnily enough none of those stalls had queues. I didn’t even choose to be a non-Visa customer, my bank made that partnership decision, but now all I and many others will feel for Visa is resentment. Why are they using this platform to create negative experiences and perceptions for non-customers? Is the upside for Visa customers really enough to offset this? Frank Cooper III, the CMO of Visa said, “Visa believes that it has the opportunity through our sponsorship to add value to the fan experience” and added “As the top payments brand in the world, we seek to remove friction from transactions”. Even more ironically one of the core reasons for the partnerships is aligned values of inclusivity! Reality is that Visa pay enough to dictate the rules of the game and the Olympic Committee have consistently shown their prioritisation of profit with the removal of all concession tickets, I paid the same for myself my 4-year-old and my 75 year old father in law to attend events. By devaluing the spectator experience, the games in turn will become devalued in a crowded entertainment market. It’s time for the likes of Visa and The Olympic Committee to look to the future rather than sacrificing their morals for a fast buck."

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Get ahead of traditional media advertising strategies by finding out why sport podcast advertising is the right route for your business. All explained in our brand new white paper, available here: https://lnkd.in/eDFpha3j

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Yesterday's Future of TV event, huge audience and some some important things to note. The prominence of FreeWheel's presentation (2nd order in the day) signalling the importance of dynamic ad placement and all the many implications that spill downstream from there. It reminded me when Nathan Woodman first presented programmatic at IAB Mixx way back (2008?) and a lot of the print/news organizations tried to counter position as "premium media". The gap between Value and Price couldn't be better explained as done by Peter Venus. "I have all the data I need in my MMM". And underlying many of the hallway conversations was that identity's value is limited to transactions, the real data science is based on geography. Looking forward to seeing what changes come for next year. Steven Scaffardi, Justin Lebbon, Jon Watts, Judy Davey

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There's one thing that often crops up in conversation with agency leaders for Jason Neale and that's the ✨Holy Grail✨ (after the football, trainer and music chat of course)... An agency achieving £100k in gross profit or revenue per FTE resource across the entire agency (so includes non-fee earners). And the next thing that crops up... Is it actually worth the chase? 👍🏼 If you're looking to sell at some point in the future, yes. And you need to run your agency under strict commercial parameters if that's the plan. 👎🏼 But, if you're happy to achieve a 10% EBIT, and a more relaxed team, then no. It's all about what 'good' looks like for you. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/enDC9zNN #agencygrowth #agencyleaders #holygrail #kpis

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Ad budgets are tight and we are all being asked to “do more with less”. Impossible? Well, there are some things you can do. #Advertising #Marketing #Recession Maximising advertising effectiveness https://lnkd.in/embmaEUh

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Really good article this, both with regards the macro trend in digital and then when you think about it, the opportunity for sports rightsholders going forward, as owners of highly loyal and engaged audiences.  #1pdata #sportssponsorships #retailmedia #partnerbrite #sportsdigital

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We think of Digital Media as a Currency and we work with Sport Organisations and Brands to help them increase and diversify their content investments💰 🧐 How? By collecting and distributing the currency effectively and strategically across different investments 😌 The result? Sit back, relax and let the currency work for you

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Reactive vs. Proactive: Securing placements for our clients in top-tier, authoritative media is a key aspect of PR. In this video, our Strategy Manager Leah de Gruchy explains the distinctions between these two key approaches and how to effectively utilise them. ✍

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If agencies sell on outputs and outcomes, which roles will change the most? Tim Williams from Ignition Consulting Group joined me to talk about agency revenue models. "Scope doesn't equal hours, it equals work completed/milestones met/deliverables done. If you're selling products and programmes the project manager's job is greatly simplified and you'll need fewer project managers and the job will be more fulfilling" Listen to the full episode where Tim shares: * Why time-based billing doesn't work for agencies * How generative AI is accelerating the need for agencies to re-think their pricing strategies * Key steps you can take right now to start the transition to premium pricing Link to the full episode is in the comments below 👇

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'Proprietary Media' (or 'Principal) is a hot potato in our industry right now. A new report from the Association of National Advertisers is a great, in-depth guide to the pros and cons, with very good recommendations for advertisers. Here I go into the cons and cons and argue that it is bad for everyone and ultimately the Media Agencies themselves. I call it 'unprincipled' media. As the WFA meets in Toronto for Global Marketer Week the health of the advertising industry should be on the agenda. Advertisers may not be able to solve issues such as climate change, but they can take actions with a more immediate impact on the well-being of the people who service their needs through how they spend their money. The news piece contains the ANA report can be found here https://lnkd.in/geKeFjBX All comments welcome, as ever.

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When creating a standout campaign, clear thinking and simplicity are key 🔑 International sports tournaments offer a broad platform for brand activation, and two of this week's 'big ideas' leverage football to address sensitive human topics with very clear and effective messaging. Cultural events like this are rife with advertising so it’s even more impressive that these campaigns have broken through the noise to stand out from the crowd 💥 Idenna thrives in finding innovations, get in touch to find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eKbVFdrz #cornwallcreatives #digitalmarketing #yourstoryoutthere

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Matt Readman on sport and augmented reality: ‘’It’s difficult to get any good digital experiences’’.  To listen to the podcast in full, please click this link - https://lnkd.in/ecTMX_xN Matt Readman, chief strategy officer of Omicom-owned sports creative agency, Dark Horses, has just launched a new report called Sport in Times of Crisis. This is a comprehensive look at modern sport and brands through the lens of three of the most prevalent issues facing the planet and consumers - Politics, Cost of Living and Climate. It gives brand owners, insights, learnings and advice, on how to not only understand sport better through that lens, but also how to use it to build their businesses. #climatechange #sportsmarketing #marketingpodcast

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NO MORE AD LAND SUGARCOATING PLEASE!! Ah, 2022. Post-pandemic, the industry was buzzing like never before. We were all as busy as we could have possibly been. It was a glorious time…budgets high, scripts up to my eyeballs, and the industry seemed to have found a renewed vigour. So what has happened since? Many have been struggling, and I hear lots of peers hoping to ‘just get to 2025’ with the hope of a shift in gears from advertisers. Just yesterday, I was reading an article in The Guardian about the film industry facing the same existential struggle. It was a relief to see someone spell it out so plainly, no classic ad land sugar-coating, just a frank reflection of the challenges we're all grappling with. So, what exactly has happened, and more importantly, how do we move forward from here? Creativity seems to still be there. The boards I read on a daily basis are bursting with great ideas, but the resources to support it aren't. This hasn’t stopped us from making some amazing work this year, and no doubt the industry will bounce back soon... right? RIGHT?? The key to surviving (and thriving) in this moment is adaptability, and that’s why we launched Made By Humans. It’s why Imagine This Creative Studio was set up in a different way to most, not another copy and paste business in our overly saturated industry. We're trying new things. We're not just waiting for the next script to drop... we’re actively experimenting. Of course, at some point, the scripts do need to start coming in again. The industry does need a fresh influx of energy from advertisers. But when that happens, and it will, we’ll be ready, with tools and ideas that have been honed in the lean times. Until then, we’ll keep growing, keep experimenting, and keep proving that innovation doesn’t need to break the bank. I'd love to see some statistics about the advertising and production space with the same level of detail as the Guardian article shares. Has anyone seen anything interesting? https://lnkd.in/dwrvPuSy

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Great to share a platform with the brilliant Greg Carroll in our latest #PlayableFutures article, exploring the opportunity and evolution of #brands, #advertising and the games ecosystem. With so many of a brand’s #consumers playing #games in one form or another, there are many creative ways for brands to show up - beyond just native ads. One key component of success for brands, is to ensure a deep understanding the space itself. The interplay between people who play, the games themselves, the channels and places they spend time - hanging out, playing, building, creating, relaxing, chatting... If a brand can find ways to add value to those experiences, building relationships with people who play over the long term, then there is everything to play for. Here’s a nice nugget from Greg on the subject: "We really could see games become something of a foundational focus for ad #agencies and brands. And honestly, that's really exciting to think about, because that will unlock a lot of the potential here, for games to monetise, be able to reinvest into the #content and flourish, and for brands to engage audiences." Diva Agency Ukie Amazon Web Services (AWS) (our series sponsor) Activision / Activision Blizzard Media Will Freeman (writer and editor of Playable Futures) https://lnkd.in/edFUe8vS

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