OMD's Bangkok office brings in more digital talent
To get ready for real-time response to consumers' needs, OMD Worldwide is focusing on investment in data management technology and the recruitment of digital talents.
“The real-time response to target customers via various digital media platforms they are using [has become] increasingly important for advertisers and brands in the last two years,” said chief executive officer Mainardo de Nardis.
To be equipped with such advanced capability, four key elements must be in place.
l Accurate data: Particularly from real-time feeds from key sources such as Google, Facebook and other social sites.
l Advanced technology: Particularly a data management platform to manage data and bring them to the right audience via the right platforms.
l Trading desk: Programmatic buying.
l Digital experts: To work and deal with the river of data.
In the Bangkok office, OMD has invested more in human resources, particularly digital staff. In the past 12 months, it has added about 35-40 digital experts.
“Next year, OMD’s Bangkok office is planning to welcome 30 more staff to the digital team,” he said.
“In the past 10 years, we won more awards globally than anyone else, every year, because we think that it is very important,” he said, adding that such recognition was considered a key performance indicator.
The awards show that the company’s quality of work is better than the average level in the competition, he said. And the company also can tell clients about a measurable index for good-quality work.
“We also use the awards as a benchmark to know how to improve our work – though, in business, a regular benchmark means financial performance.”
More important, this was a great way to encourage people, because when they saw that their work was recognised with an award, this meant a career opportunity, he said.
Twice honoured
Under de Nardis, OMD has twice been named Global Media Agency of the Year by Adweek and recognised as the world’s most creative media agency for an unprecedented fifth straight year by “The Gunn Report for Media”.
Consumers are now more sophisticated and fragmented in terms of how they consume content and data.
To cash in on them, brands and marketers should respond promptly with the contents and data they want through well-prepared dialogue, without disturbing the conversation with each individual customer, he said.
