Why did you join Digital Leading Ladies? What has being part of DLL meant to you?
I joined DLL initially through my friendship with Maria Cadbury, Co-Founder of Digital Leading Ladies and Global Director, Sayitnow. Maria, Ellie, Lisa and all of the founders have done a truly wonderful job of creating a trusted and welcoming community of women who can learn from each other and offer mutual support across the industry. The group grew quickly from the start, highlighting how much demand for such an environment there was. Thank you to them all!
My continued taking part in the group has been rewarding. I have made friendships, business-beneficial relationships and first and foremost had a lot of fun.
What are the biggest challenges, and opportunities for women in the digital industry today?
Juggling a family is a challenge for all, but there is a much more balanced proposition in the workplace today with more ‘new ways of working‘ open to us post-pandemic. It’s not that it wasn’t possible before, but I feel we are afforded a better work-life balance in the hybrid model, which again potentially helps level up opportunities between the sexes.
I think we are responsible for making our own opportunities and as such, by continuing the good work forged by many before us, promoting women having a voice and taking on leadership roles, is key to the ongoing development of us all.
What does the industry need to do to better champion women?
I see a lot more positive focus and representation of women in the trade press, on panels and live events. This is something we wouldn’t have seen a few years ago and as such, to echo the question above, this good work needs to be continued – showcasing the work, values and views of our leading ladies!
What are the biggest challenges, and opportunities overall for digital advertising this year?
Challenges
The cost of living crisis and increased economic pressures may stall brands’ advertising spends. If anything, they arguably need to look to smarter tactics to make their budgets work harder. For example driving more relevance by honing in on users who are in market in the here and now rather than based on a 30 day old signal.
Opportunities
With the industry moving towards a cookieless future, there are exciting opportunities ahead for us all to collaborate on and explore innovative solutions that in the long run will be beneficial to both brands and end users. At Nano, we offer future-proofed, ID-free, intent-based targeting that does just that.
The rise of generative AI is certainly an opportunity for all, as demonstrated by ChatGPT, which was launched by OpenAI at the end of last year. Shiny new opportunities do always bring their own challenges though in the early days, as we seek to understand how they should be used to optimal effect.
ISBA & PwC’s latest Programmatic Transparency Study, undertaken last year, has just pleased the industry with its results, seeing a 12% drop in unattributable adspend, from 15% to 3%. This is a testament to the industry working together to drive transparency and make programmatic a safer place to spend clients’ budgets. Based on this positive step within Programmatic specifically, I think the Social ecosystem should be next on the list in terms of ratifying adspend and giving brands confidence into the transparency of their results. The lid is yet to be lifted here and is the next, or at least one of the next biggest opportunities our industry has to clean up its act on and instil confidence.
What is your biggest achievement in digital to date?
I have had the fortunate experience of working my way, what I deem to be backwards, through the industry. Starting my career client-side at Renault, then after that in agency world at Mindshare, media sales, then into tech and then platforms… I have always looked after the person I was prior, which has had its benefits in terms of depth of understanding and their needs in general. I have a natural affinity for sourcing beneficial partnerships and bringing people together to drive positive outcomes, which I’m proud of.
If we are being literal in terms of achievements, I have to be a little guarded. Having been in commercial roles for more than a decade, my biggest and most recent achievements are therefore revenue based and to that end are not for public consumption as such but hey, isn’t it good to keep some mystery in your locker? 😉
