Dilip Shukla is General Manager Europe at Reset Digital. An industry veteran from senior media agency roles at WPP, Dentsu and Omnicom through to co founding and scaling innovative adtech startups.
Who is your digital hero?
Charles Cantu Founder and CEO of Reset Digital but don’t tell him I said that.
What has he done to win hero status in your eyes?
I got to know Charles a few years back as we were both working to deliver programmatic revenues to diverse owned publishers, him in the US, me in the UK and Europe. Anyone trying to get this done will know that its a seriously tough task.
So to see Charles building and innovating programmatic technology solutions, advocating for diverse publishers and communities, founding, scaling and selling diverse programmatic platforms all while driving the support of major brands such as P&G, Ford, Starbucks, GM, Verizon and many more has been impressive to say the least. So impressive that I joined Charles at Reset Digital.
How has his heroism helped drive digital?
I can’t emphasise enough how difficult it is for diverse publishers to survive in today’s market. The barriers to entry stifle quality, invention and the voices and issues that matter to diverse communities today.
The programmatic ecosystem needs fixing and that’s what Charles keeps driving. Finally, Charles has pioneered Reset Digital’s Empathetic AI that shows that understanding people at a more human level drives radically better advertising results. Yes, caring about people isn’t just ethical, it’s more effective and drives a vision of a much better programmatic and advertising industry.
What the biggest challenges in digital we need another hero to solve?
Elon Musk just squashed GARM with an empty lawsuit.
Social networks and media make big money and arguably pervert politics and justice with “enrage to engage” strategies. Meanwhile advertising defines human beings as consumers and fixates on last click ROI measurement. These points aren’t unrelated.
If we wanted to make digital great we wouldn’t start from here. We need a more human, co-operative and inclusive digital ecosystem. I know we can do that.
What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital?
Its not heroic and its not an achievement but I want to spread some humanity in our industry. Its the best response to all the problems we’re facing.
I’m super excited by the fact that empathy and trying to communicate at a human level generates radically better advertising results. A more human, co-operative and inclusive digital ecosystem is the answer, let’s get it done.
