Just four weeks ago, Suzy Ryder joined us as our new Managing Partner, Digital and Technology.
Time has flown by and she’s made a huge impact on the business in a short period of time. Here’s what she had to say when we caught up with her…
Hi Suzy – it’s only been one month but what have been your first impressions of OMD UK?
Well, I’m going to start with a fairly generic answer and say how nice and welcoming everyone has been. I’ve felt at home as soon as I walked through the doors of Minerva House and I’m so happy to be here.
What’s really struck me is the inquisitive culture in the business. People are genuinely interested to learn more about digital and technology because it will help them grow professionally. I’ve already had countless conversations about how people can harness the potential to help us deliver amazing work for our clients.
It’s exciting to work at an agency that is all about ideas. On top of that, we have some amazing clients – some of the biggest and bravest brands in the world – so I feel like I have joined OMD UK at the right time.
You should be familiar with our mission by now – creating ideas that earn brands a greater share of people’s lives – but what is digital’s role in this?
Yes, that’s something I am well versed in…and it’s a great mission to have! Mobile is the driving force behind this as an amazing 78% of the population own a smartphone!
We even have the statistics to back this up. For example, eMarketer recently reported that UK adults will spend an average of 2 hours 26 minutes every day on their mobile in 2015. And this will only increase over time, so mobile will play a key role in helping brands earn an even greater share of people’s lives.
We’re also doing some amazing work in the mobile space. That’s why we have nine (yes, nine!) shortlisted entries in this year’s MOMA Awards, so it’s clear we’re already helping our clients lean into changing consumer behaviour.
Final question – what is it that excites you most about digital and technology?
Interesting question! My answer is three fold:
Integration – digital is an umbrella term for lots of different digital channels/activations that should all be planned (and bought!) in conjunction with one another. Consumer behaviour should sit at the heart of this process. We must think about how each digital activation can work with each other to collectively deliver against client objectives.
But it’s not just about how we integrate within digital! This thought process needs to be reflected across the entire media spectrum to ensure digital is integrated into everything we do for our clients, digital or non-digital.
Audience – if audience is at the heart of our planning process, we need to embrace planning across all platforms (digital and non-digital) for each media brand we partner with. This will ensure we deliver effectively against “share of life”, engaging with our audience on the right platform at the right time with the right message. The outcome being more creative media planning and greater effectiveness for our clients.
Data and Technology – without data and technology, excellent integration and audience planning aren’t possible. Data provides the science and insight that should underpin absolutely everything we do, and technology is the facilitator that helps bring the application of this data and insight to life. In digital, the two are inextricably linked and it’s the intelligent use of both of these things that produce innovative campaigns that deliver results for our clients.
