What are you most excited about in the digital marketing space at the moment?
I am especially excited about the continuously expanding opportunities that digital marketing generates in terms of marketing and consumer behavior, data and insights. Through it, we will be able to advance marketing intelligence and, therefore, customer journeys and experiences.
I also think we’re on the verge of unlocking a range of new advertising possibilities and intelligence through the Internet of Things, made possible through (even) more integrated and connected customer insights. This should contribute to exciting new content formats, and most of all: more advertising relevance. Less spam and more value for everyone.
What’s your favorite example of innovative digital marketing?
Forgive me for demonstrating a bit of patriotism here: I absolutely love –and admire– how KLM (the Royal Dutch Airlines) has made digital marketing a natural part of their DNA. They constantly find new ways of applying digital marketing in a way that blends perfectly with their brand and business, keeping the customer and his experience at the heart of everything they do. Think of their KLM Surprise, Meet and Seat, and numerous other examples.
What’s next for digital content?
True content optimisation for delivery through mobile. We should accept that people take in content differently through their mobile devices; it’s a different context, with a different pace, and with lots of other distractions’ around. It’s a challenge to offer consumers a great and valuable content experience that sticks – at any moment.
I also think new content formats will originate from digital developments. Think of intelligent audio ads delivered through your smartphone and through other voice controlled devices. The Internet of Things is around the corner, and it might just offer amazing opportunities for advertisers.
What defines good content?
To reference Simon Sinek, great content defines you: every piece of it contributes to the story of why you do what you do. Great content adds value, inspires, engages, has you relate to something and therefore sticks.
What is the biggest myth about content marketing?
The biggest myth about content marketing is that success will automatically come if you scale up what you are already doing. Quantity does not define successful content marketing. The fact that content marketing is high on many agendas is an opportunity for marketers to convince leadership that now is the right time to actually get it right.
How are you amplifying and maximising your content?
Through a mix of search engine optimisation, organic social media activity, and digital advertising. As we’re a truly global company, our network and impact of our corporate and people’s social media channels are pretty amazing. With our digital advertising efforts we focus on amplifying reach and impact of our content even further, among the audiences that are relevant to us. Digital advertising activities range from social and display to search and more premium solutions.
Where do you go for great content?
I love Twitter and LinkedIn for content updates. In addition I use news aggregators such as Trove and Newsle, mailings from IAB, eMarketer, and a couple of others. Finally I do have a set of business, tech and marketing websites that I visit from time to time.
Please provide a link to great content you have discovered recently and tell us why you think it’s great?
I came across this post by Rob Leathern: Building an ads API ecosystem – 18 tips for the next guy to do it.
The market for advertising technology is really booming, but few players seem to get it right with a vision that keeps advertisers, developers and customers at the heart of it. I feel this gentleman has nailed what new players should integrate in their approach in order to be truly successful in the long term. Great piece.
Nico de Haan is global lead of digital advertising at EY. Follow him on Twitter
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