Disney, Teads, Zenith and IBM iX judges for the FOM Global Content Awards jury reveal all | M&M Global

Disney, Teads, Zenith and IBM iX judges for the FOM Global Content Awards jury reveal all

M&M took time out to speak to four judges from this year’s Festival of Media Global Awards content jury to delve into their minds and extrapolate their key insights and trends in media.

Alex Sinclair (AS), global strategic content at IBM iX; Marc Zander(MZ), global VP client partnerships for Teads; Brent Poer(BP), president, executive creative director, Zenith;  and Andre Felix (AF), digital creative director, Disney were all put under the spotlight.

This is the first year content is being recognised with its own jury and categories at the Festival of Media Global Awards, what are your thoughts?

MZ: I think this is a key step in the right direction. Two thirds of media effectiveness comes from the quality of the content, so it is critical media and creative work hand in hand.

AF: More and more advertisers come to the inevitable conclusion that consumer attention is no longer for sale. In this scenario, the content proves to be a powerful tool because it is something that people like and seek in their daily lives. The challenge is to find ideas that are both capable of efficiently conveying the brand message and truly entertaining consumers.

BP: Content as its own category feels like a validation of the work and an acknowledgement that content has a unique role in marketing communications beyond traditional brand advertising.

Are there any international trends from the last year that you’re expecting to make an appearance amongst the campaigns?

AS: I’m interested in seeing how the silos that once separated the different roles and functions of the C-suite, where marketing was solely the domain of the CMO, have become a collective effort. So how can any member of the C-suite, from CEO to CMO, CIO or CXO best use strategy, technology and design to identify, engage and build a relationship with the connected human that is true to their brand mission.

BP: Globally, we have all come to understand the ‘rise of the influencer’ and how their role and content works across social to drive both brand awareness and growth. They have had a tremendous impact on all of our brands as well as how we think about talent. I expect to see a lot of these activations across categories, clients and brands.

MZ: Last year there was a lot of talk about AI, Voice and I expect to see more examples of this and also some innovative use of Dynamic content optimisation.

What will you be looking for to help drive your role and business?

MZ: My key priority will be to look for great creative ideas and content that have been delivered at scale to drive real business results. Too often you see the new shiny idea win when it has been developed to excite marketers, or win awards, but with no real impact on the business.

AF: I am interested in seeing the industry will be attentive to more complete storytelling with purpose in addition to simply wanting to sell products or services.

AS: People want to engage with people, not technology and I am interested to see the increasing role of community delivered as a value: connected apps and spaces where people can engage with each other to shop, work out, meditate, etc.

And finally, what are you expecting to take from the process?

BP: I am excited to see the work and be inspired by what my colleagues are doing across the world.

MZ: I am looking forward to see some inspiring innovative content solutions I can learn from as well as spending quality time with my fellow judges to learn more about them and their businesses.

If you have some excellent work that you want to be judged by these juries and the rest of the jury then make sure you get your entries in before the deadline next week (15 Feb)

The winners will be revealed at an awards show in Rome on Monday 14 May.

No Comments Yet

Leave a Reply