Kane Reiken is a (Rising) Star!

This week, we were proud to find out that our Mobile Associate Director and all-round good egg Kane Reiken scooped the inaugural Outbrain Rising Star Award. He was featured in the Guardian to talk about his fantastic achievement but we caught up with him to find out more about his life in content marketing and how people can get into this exciting space.

So Kane…what is the Outbrain Rising Star Award and how did you end up getting nominated?

I was nominated by our reps at Outbrain (a content discovery platform). The award is a global vote to find a ‘rising star’ in content marketing. Apparently they think that’s me!

How long have you been working in mobile marketing and what are your favourite campaigns you’ve worked on?

I have worked in mobile for two and a bit years, and four years in social. Favourite campaigns would include the recent Mountain Dew/XFM Winter Wonderland activation where we powered a live, in-venue Pub Quiz during the event allowing the audience to play along via their mobile phones. Also, the Channel 4 ‘Meet The Superhumans’ Paralympics campaign as the creative was really strong and innovation was at the heart of the entire strategy.

 Where do you see the mobile marketing industry going?

User’s mobile consumption shows no signs of slowing down so we will continue to see upward mobile first habits being adopted across all sectors and categories. New services will be created which satisfy these changes in customer wants and needs, with those who don’t innovate quickly enough losing market share to start-ups that drive efficiencies in the market and truly understand this always connected, mobile first customer.

 What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your career?

Don’t sit still.

For people that want to get into your sector, what would you advise them to do?

Really jump head first in to mobile and totally understand how you and your friends use mobile media. Brand Managers are always trying to understand how younger audience segments consume media. Look for mobile specific job opportunities and showcase these insights during your interview.

Most employers are looking for someone with passion. Most things can be learnt on the job but a passion for what you do can’t be taught.

Who is your biggest inspiration and why?

Elon Musk. He is the real life Tony Stark (Iron Man). Not only was he one of the founders of PayPal, he launched SpaceX to make space travel achievable for everyone and then launched Tesla Motors to produce all-electric production cars.

By any rational assessments, both projects are tough businesses to crack and to have the balls to take on such ambitious tasks with all odds against you is inspiring.

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