We’re asking some of our industry’s leading figures to nominate their digital hero and to explain what’s so special about them.
Simon Gosling has over 25-years’ experience in the industry, joining Bidstack in 2019 as CMO. Previously he was Futurist at Unruly, and CEO of Happy Finish, where he oversaw the development of its VR/AR department.
Who is your digital hero?
My digital hero is a trio: Wesley ter Haar, Gin Roberscheuten and Terrence Koeman, Co-Founders of MediaMonks.
What have they done to win hero status in your eyes?
Since launching in 2001, MediaMonks has paved the way in creative digital production. Back when most people were scratching their heads asking, ‘What is Digital?’ and wondering how to shoe-horn traditional ad formats into digital mediums.
MediaMonks showed that they were true digital natives. I’ve long admired their pioneering spirit, playful nature, innovative streak, and uncompromising approach towards craft, storytelling and the digital user experience.
How has their heroism helped drive digital?
With every new tech trend and technological advancement comes a curiosity to how brands might best utilise it within their digital marketing campaigns; to transform their story-sharing and reach an audience in new, exciting ways.
MediaMonks has consistently delivered beautiful work across all the latest formats, often being first-to-market to do so. This has made them the go-to company for any brave brand seeking to try something different and keep one step ahead of their competitors.
An example that I most admire is their Augmented Reality work for Google’s Tango Out-of-the-Box experience for which they created a room-scale experience, set in an other-worldly, Garden of Eden-style environment.
Fantastical plants and wildlife, and even the soundtrack, reacted to the user’s movement, making each experience unique and truly personal. The fact that Google entrusted MediaMonks with this ground-breaking experiment is testament to their reliability and creativity.
What are the biggest challenges in digital we need another hero to solve?
With gaming now bigger than video and music combined, more people watching video game streaming than Netflix, and the esports audiences larger than the Super Bowl, we need a hero to help boost the understanding of the potential of the market.
It’s only getting bigger and we want brands and agencies to really get to grips with what’s on offer.
What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital?
I was pleased to win Campaign Tech Awards – New Tech Pioneer of the Year, 2018, in recognition for the work I did leading the creation of Unruly’s Home of the Future.
