TITLE: President, BPN MENA
YEARS IN THE ROLE: 14 years
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: 29 years
POWER ESSAY: FOCUSING ON THE FACTS
Future of AI: AI is everywhere, impacting many industries at different magnitudes. Is this another hype as skeptics claim that will gradually fade similarly to what we witnessed with the metaverse, blockchain and NFTs? My answer is a definite no.
The only valid question to ask today is how fast and how far will AI and machine learning impact daily life as we know it. Few weeks ago, ‘show me the money’ dominated the narrative on Wall Street with analysts questioning the commercial feasibility of large investments in AI versus the relatively smaller return
on investment.
Thankfully, when reporting their Q2 2024 financial statements, big spenders on AI such as Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, among others, reiterated their commitment to keep investing billions of dollars in ramping up their AI capabilities, and confirmed the contribution of AI towards improving business performance, and revenues, with advertising revenue being one of them. On a related note, I want to dial back 102 years and bring back the following anecdote:
John Wanamaker (1838-1922) coined the phrase “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half”. Sadly, John isn’t with us, otherwise he would have his answer, as many of us do. Today, we are able to accurately measure the ROI of practically every single dollar spent thanks to AI driven measurement tools. Machine learning is making this process sharper every day.
I don’t want my above comment about the metaverse to be misconstrued, hence this clarification: it is true that the metaverse hype faded away fairly quickly, but the metaverse technology is here to stay and thrive, albeit within specific industries. What sets AI and the metaverse apart is monetisation. On one hand the application of AI technology is spreading across many industries, fuelling related investments. On the other hand, the metaverse’s usability is constrained – for now – to a limited number of commercially viable applications, thus, limiting investments behind this technology.
As for the next hypes that will undoubtfully be coming our way, the same eternal adage of supply and demand will rule dictating their lifecycle and viability.
Equilibrium in media spend: Advertising spend on digital media reached its peak – on a percentile level – during the big shift to digital. In 2018-2019, CMOs of big global brands started questioning the over-reliance on digital channels versus legacy channels. The marketing and ad industry took some time to reach the optimal ad spend equilibrium we are witnessing today, as they needed to have on board the right amount of historic data and learning to support their decisions.
It is true that legacy media channels witnessed a substantial decline in their ad revenue during the big shift to digital. However, many of them managed to evolve their content, and digitise their distribution channels to meet changing media consumption habits.
Today, they are thriving again reaping due commercial rewards. The latest financial statement of MBC Group points in that direction with Shahid their digital platform becoming a major revenue contributor. Other regional and international legacy media channels are showing similar performance.
The haves and the haves not: Media agencies enjoy access to large volume of consumer data and data analytics tools are embedded in their day-to-day business activity.
On the other hand, the adoption of such tools by content creation agencies is not as prevalent due to their lack of access to such data. This calls for a better collaboration on the data sharing front between both disciplines. It also calls – if I may suggest – for the input of ad industry experts on this topic perhaps in one of Campaign’s upcoming issues.
Twitter or X: Elon Musk demonstrated his genius in many ways. Marketing prowess may not be one of them. It annoys me to see this popular platform change its name ignoring a fundamental marketing principal by ditching an ownable benefit that most marketers vie to have.
Wouldn’t every company on this planet want their brand name to become synonymous to the business category where they compete. I don’t think Elon will ever hear anyone say, “X it” instead of “Tweet it”. Mr. Musk, can you please reconsider your decision.
OOH advertising: Demand on OOH media is growing at a healthy pace and for the right reason. There is however one factor that plague this medium: lengthy content. Advertisers must realise that OOH media is not the place to tell their brand story. The dwell time and motorists’ attention span are too short to absorb long-winded messages.
The luxury category is one industry that is mastering the art of effective OOH advertising as their ads typically show a prominent visual of the product, and the brand name, bang. The less we say on OOH media the higher the assimilation rate. Any additional word in there will trigger a diminishing return on media investment. Please keep it simple.
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
Last year was another good year at BPN, not only in terms of further growing our client and talent base, but also in terms of expanding our presence and business volume in KSA. I am very grateful to the team for their efforts and to our existing and new clients for entrusting us with their business.
RAPID FIRE
Focus for the next 12 months?
Same as for the last 12 months: ensure we have on board a motivated team, which will ensure we have satisfied clients.
Buzzword we need to kill?
There is no need to kill any, provided they are acted upon and kept in context.
Marketing needs to prioritise?
Curiosity. Challenge the status quo.
Marketing needs to change?
Lack of curiosity.
Top lesson learnt in 2024?
Keep a close eye on the macroeconomic and political environment, but don’t let it steer you away from the plan.
What worries you the most?
Everything and nothing.
Biggest blessing in your life?
My family and my close friends.
Value that matters the most?
Humility.
Next travel destination?
Le Vaquier retreat and Lyon, France.
What is your pet peeve?
Lengthy content on OOH signs.
Who do you look up to?
My dad.
Favourite restaurant in the Middle East?
The recently opened Toto in Downtown Dubai
What are you reading?
‘Homo Deus’, until my daughter took it away from me. Spare copy, anyone?
Favourite hobby?
Cycling, reading, and cooking.
Top tip?
Listen, listen, and listen.
