Michael James, managing director EMEA at Accordant Media, hopes to live a life less impactful on the planet – and to take programmatic to the next level.

1 – Summarise yourself in three words.

Digital Marketing Professional

2 – What made you want to pursue a career in media and marketing?

After finishing my postgrad, I wanted to put my studies to good use, so my first role in marketing was for a magazine distributor writing and managing export trade marketing strategies. As the dotcom boom took off, I realised that digital and the brave new world of ‘new media’ held a lot of promise of revolutionising how we live our lives.

3 – Describe your ideal client.

Our ideal client is not just someone who is willing to embrace programmatic, but also someone who isn’t afraid to push the boundaries and make data-driven insights work to address their particular business challenges.

4 – Name your favourite ever campaign.

The Cadbury Gorilla – curiously, nothing to do with chocolate, but more compelling for it.

5 – Which award win are you most proud of, and why?

Accordant Media was named in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 last year, and it was great to see my team achieve the recognition they deserve after six years of hard work.

6 – Who is the best industry speaker you have seen?

I watched an impressive presentation from Acer’s Francesco Federico recently where he discussed how the company is taking a mature approach to programmatic – it was really insightful.

7 – Which is your favourite social media platform, and why?

Facebook is great for reconnecting and keeping in touch with old friends.

“Plenty of office-speak phrases are on my ban list.  Boil the ocean, lining up ducks etc, are all no-nos”

 

8 – Where is your ideal meeting venue?

A pub.

9 – What is your favourite restaurant?

Nobu [in London].

10 – What is hot in international media and marketing, and what is not?

In programmatic, the ability to explain how numbers were reached is of utmost importance so transparency, analytics, and cross-device attribution are all top of the agenda for marketers right now. And if they’re not, they should be.

11 – Which industry buzzword would you ban?

Plenty of office-speak phrases are on my ban list.  Boil the ocean, lining up ducks etc, are all no-nos.

12 – Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?

Helping brands take their advertising to the next level through programmatic alongside a great team of people. And hopefully, living a life less impactful on the planet.

13 – Finally, who would play you in a movie of your life?

I’ve been compared to Ben Fogle a few times, so maybe him, although I’m sure he wouldn’t be too happy with the comparison.