Joanna Burton

We recently commissioned some research with Censuswide on marketers using AI to manage video assets. 67% of respondents said they are looking for a solution. If you are at #DAMEU in London over the next couple of days, come and talk to us to find out more. #AWS #videomarketing #digitalassetmanagement

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Well worth a read for any Agency leader considering whether 2025 should include investment in Strategy. TL;DR.. you should!

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Lessons here for all seeking to build direct reader revenues (and who isn't?): 💡 Make it a joint responsibility between editorial and business. Build common understanding on the why and the what, and work together on it. 🔑 Know what your audience cares about and will spur them to support you. 💰 Be systematic - track revenues and where it comes from (which stories/platforms)daily. 🌲 Build the recurring format elements that drive growth - find your 'Epics' and 'Moments'. #digitalmedia #digitalbusinessmodels #nonprofitnews

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Our subscribers are reading now an exclusive about the likely next deals in the booming B2B world of Price Reporting Agencies, about the bidding (or not) for Telegraph Media Group, the turmoil at CNN, and a sprightly new UK specpub startup in countryside magazines. Why not join us? It only takes two minutes to subscribe. Our readers are leaders. Friday will never be the same. https://lnkd.in/eD2VVsVP Flashes & Flames: The Global Media Weekly

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Hugo Awards goes full transparency; political talks unavoidable. It’s again that time of the year: the Hugo Awards for speculative fiction were announced this Sunday. After some (deserved) criticism on lack of transparency at last year’s process in Chengdu, China, this year the Scottish team went all in and published suuuuper detailed tables of all nominations and votes, as well as a commentary report shedding light on all their decisions. As usual, I voted, and saw most categories crowning winners from my top 2. So I guess I’m pretty attuned to the zeitgeist. As a curiosity, the Astounding Award for Best New Writer went to Xiran Jay Zhao (Canadian author with Chinese roots). They weren’t technically eligible for a new writer award anymore, but they received a special extension (as well as the sufficient number of nominations, of course) to join the finalists this year. The special treatment was justified with the notion that last year Zhao was curiously disqualified at Chengdu for undisclosed reasons. Supposedly the way they used Chinese history as inspiration for their novel, Iron Widow, was considered too provocative for the Chinese government. And yes, Xiran Jay Zhao got also my vote, but not for any political reasons: Iron Widow was a captivating book, and I want to read more from Zhao. The Worldcons and Hugo Awards have been a stage for a lot of political and cultural fighting for years. Maybe the controversies stem from the same place that makes me love speculative fiction: it dares to reimagine our societies and depict outlandishly new ways of being human.

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I spent 15 years working publisher side at companies like Bauer Media Group, The Telegraph, Immediate and The Guardian, journalism and quality editorial is in my blood having grown up with parents in publishing. I am so proud that today Good-Loop announced that we're making it simple for publishers to measure their carbon emissions. For free. Forever. At a time when monetising quality and more importantly independent journalism is crucial for our society, it’s imperative that our industry doesn’t make the same mistakes it made with “brand safety” and that publishers aren’t further defunded with punitive carbon levies. https://lnkd.in/eQC9-NfG #certifiedgood #goodmedia #goodforsociety #goodforplanet #goodforbusiness

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The Daily Telegraph's Questor column has called RELX a hidden gem. The UK information and analytics group is currently the fifth largest company on the FTSE100 with a market cap of £70bn or $90bn. That puts it ahead of GSK and BP. Robert Stephens writes: "The firm’s past performance and future growth potential mean it should be firmly on the radar of long-term investors." He continues: "[RELX] now overwhelmingly focuses on providing tools that use algorithms and, increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse vast amounts of data in order to enable improved decision-making across a wide range of industries." You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eCP_SgsS https://lnkd.in/eawwFKEZ

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For start-ups, PR and comms is often a viable first step into building your brand. But too often the value is misplaced and founder teams come out of the experience frustrated.    💬 Great to be invited to speak at Advertising Week Europe to talk all things disruptive PR for startups, where I shared insights into building the foundations of a PR strategy. 🎤 Loved hearing some of the common themes from the Scale Up Lounge including: the rise of misinformation and its impact on businesses, community building, and how corporates are innovating with AI in the consumer journey. 📧 Interested in learning more? Drop me a message—I'd love to chat! #AWEurope24 #AdvertisingWeek

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For those who are considering being on boards, dropping some gems from the Blackweek Premiere Stage—this time from Tom Llube, former director at BBC, the first Black chair of a major sport in England, and non-executive director of WPP—the world’s largest advertising agency. I made a summary of key 🔑 points based on his insights during this session broadly focused on increasing Black representation on boards: 1) Never forget your journey and how you got where you are. You are never the imposter in any room—even if being the only one makes you feel like it; 2) When serving on boards, don’t feel the need to respond to every comment, even if you have a really good thought. Identify one or two points you want to drive home—and the way you deliver. People don’t remember your question as much as they remember your impact; 3) Mastering AI is a great way of distinguishing yourself within your industry. Really enjoyed this conversation and will continue chipping away at Claude, Midjourney and some of the other AI tools I’m trying to master. But also taking deeper dives into the philosophies behind our future world: this month’s reading is Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick. Love to hear what tools, books and reports you’re tapping into. #Blackweek

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Since my last newsletter I've been on a deep dive into Bluesky Social, investigating if and how it could support #ai4communities. My latest edition reflects early findings: https://lnkd.in/eu3eAS2M TL:DR; - it's seriously impressive what the #bluesky team is achieving, why and how they're doing it, and where they're going - it already supports #ai4communities, but it's early days - it's forced me to rewrite my initial vision doc, which was very #Fediverse-oriented: #ai4communities will look different on different decentralised social protocols - the resulting "protocol competition", coupled with AI-derived revenue, will stimulate innovation. More links in the comments.

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Twenty years ago today, I left my job as Managing Director of Euro RSCG (now Havas). At the time, I was thrilled to leave, hating the conflict which a particularly unpleasant agency merger had engendered. (Think the Ewoks going into business with Darth’s Vader’s imperial storm troopers.) Since then, I have effectively done my own thing, whether it was CEO of an independent agency or now a partner in an Exec Search business. The days of my corporate perks (personal barista/full-time shoe shiner/ dedicated rabbinic advisor) are long gone, and I have learnt how to be self-reliant. I eat what I catch and its more often mackerel rather than sturgeon. This existence is not for everyone. But unfortunately, over that period, many corporate structures have been dismantled requiring that individuals must become much more self-reliant than in the earlier part of their careers. Here are some thoughts, which may be helpful: 1.    Beware of people on social media saying, ‘here are some thoughts which might be helpful.’ They are just trying to grow their own following. (But please like this post and share it obviously.) 2.    Be decent to everyone you meet in your working life.  3.    Stay in touch with all those people you are trying to be nice too. You will need them for support at some point. There is a simple equation you should remember: Help received= Levels of general decency manifested. 4.    Networks are important and networking can be on your own terms.  5.    Be thicker skinned. Rejection is never personal. 6.    Having ambition is not a bad thing nor does it just mean you want someone else’s job. 7.   Have a plan, however vague. 8.   Try to look taller in your profile photos. (Ok, maybe that’s just me.) When I left my job, I had no idea what I was going to do next. Thereafter, I have loved the liberation from a head office in a different country for whom I was a line on a spreadsheet. Many of you, however, will be much better at existing in larger organisations. The key is to anticipate an alternative working life and not be afraid to embrace it if required. My leaving present in 2004 was a Calloway Driver. Of course, within a couple of years, the shape and size of golf clubs had completely changed rendering my gift a relic of the past. No one wants to be a relic, so I suggest that you always keep an eye on future trends and identify how you can shape them. Any regrets?  Well, twenty years on, working with a business partner who is also my wife of thirty-three years, the Xmas parties aren’t up to much. #management #leadership #executivesearch #careers

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It's always a joy to see Instinctif Partners and Truth Consulting's names in lights - in particular, in the *same* lights (thanks PRWeek UK) - but never more so than in announcing an innovation which we know is genuinely game-changing. Truth Intelligence has been pioneered in response to client demand - surely the best catalyst for change. In a nutshell, it democratises access to data and turns that into insight to power reputational advantage. If you want to understand more about how this research and comms mash up can help your business step out from the crowd, you know where we are! #pr #comms #research

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Read my thoughts on the digital election campaign so far, alongside deep dives on how to understand the polls and what the election means for business, media and the markets from my fantastic colleagues Elisabeth Cowell, Simon Neville, Naomi Kerbel, Leyla Hart-Svensson & Imogen Shaw. #generalelection #roadtono10 #financialcomms #media #leadershipcomms #digital #research

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<<<< The Rise of Voice Search Optimisation >>>> 🗣️ Mind-blowing stat: By 2024, the number of digital voice assistants will reach 8.4 billion units – more than the world's population! As consumers increasingly rely on Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant, marketers face a new challenge: how to optimise for voice searches. Are you ready for this seismic shift? Voice search is not just a trend; it's the future of SEO. Here's how to stay ahead: 1. Focus on Conversational Keywords  >> Think questions, not just phrases  >> Use natural language in your content  >> Optimise for local "near me" searches 2. Optimize for Featured Snippets >> Create concise, informative answers >> Use structured data markup  >> Aim for the "position zero" in search results 3. Improve Page Speed and Mobile Experience  >> Maximise mobile responsiveness  >> Reduce load times  >> Implement AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) 🔊 Expert Insight: Voice search optimisation isn't just about technology and understanding human behavior. Study how people naturally ask questions and mirror that in your content. How are you preparing for the voice search revolution? Share your strategies below! 👇 Remember: The future of search is spoken. Would you happen to know if your brand will be heard? #VoiceSearch #SEO #DigitalMarketing #DigitalLesson

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If you work in UK comms you need to look at PR Week’s Top 150 this year. (No, not just to see Woodrow up there 👀 ) Everyone knows there have been headwinds in the industry, but wow. ·     Only 5 of the top 20 grew revenue above inflation. 📉 ·     1 in 3 downsized their teams. ·     But no agency launched since 2020 has made the list. Woodrow started in 2018 and we’re still the 4th youngest agency in the top 150. 🤷‍♂️ There are major challenges at both ends. The big agency model is struggling to keep going as it is. Consolidation and acquisition are the watchwords. Time will tell whether the accountants can deliver the right client experience. Meanwhile COVID and a wobbling economy have made the going tough for newcomers. Good luck to all the entrepreneurs still giving it everything. It feels like there’ll be a lot more movement this year in the industry. Hopefully we’ll keep doing what we do, the way we do it, and go on outlying these industry trends. Great analysis John Harrington and team. https://lnkd.in/e-KvJ3ZX

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Today's sermon comes from the pulpit of The Media Leader UK regarding the future of Media Agencies. Having spent 27 years in that sector and many more since observing it, I remain a keen advocate and would like to see it thrive. While my column goes into a lot of depth on what's wrong, it also aims to prescribe a path ahead where Media Agencies can play a more significant upstream role in helping advertisers address their business needs, not just their immediate requirements for planning and buying. I hope this conversation will continue and we will be adding it to our 'to discuss' list in the 'Advertising: Who Cares?' movement. Business relationships matter, especially when the machines dominate the discourse. We will be examining how our industry might think about how relationships can evolve as part of a better industry. My thanks go to Steve Boehler of Mercer Island, Simon Francis of Flock Associates, Scott Moorhead and Andrew Mortimer of Aperto and the teams at the WFA and MediaSense and to Simon Rhind-Tutt at Advertiser Relationships and Management. And a special mention to those people who are striving to thrive by bring something new to the table, a number of whom are mentioned in the article, not to mention the many people who have spoken to us off-the-record since we started 'Who Cares?'. Brian Jacobs

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Gen AI in communications: if you're curious, baffled, a total pro, or haven't even ventured into the arena yet, join us for this session. You will come away armed and ready.

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The media stands at an inflection point. At #WanIfra's World News Media Congress 2024 in Copenhagen Alex Hardiman, Kristin Skogen Lund, Andrew Morse and I drilled into some of the big #CEO challenges - #GenAI, how to find #growth, #productmarketfit for #genZ, and what news media got wrong in the past decade. Fascinating to hear the inside stories on building the #NYT's family of digital products, why #Schibsted concluded carving out the news businesses was the best strategy, and how the #AtlantaJournalConstitution plans to build a deep relationship with the audiences it serves. #digitaltransformation #digitalmedia #digitalgrowth

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