Q&A: Richard Smoorenburg on The Future of The Industry, Data Regulations and The Evolution of The Agency Model – Branding in Asia Magazine

Mad Stars shares a recent Q&A with Richard Smoorenburg, the Managing Director Data and Digital at Media.Monks.

Based in The Netherlands, prior to Media.Monks, Smoorenburg was Chief Digital OfficerIPG Mediabrands

Over the course of the conversation, he shares his thoughts on data regulation, the Metaverse, why he thinks aspects of the agency model are crumbling, and more.

Theres no secret sauce other than having a vision and being perseverant. Right from the start, there was a plan as to how wed like to grow, what type of clients wed like to attract, and what type of entrepreneurs wed look for in acquisitions. Generally, the best thing digital agencies can do is to create a plan, stick to it and work to make it happen.

For starters, its an amazing industry that is known for attracting diverse talent as well as providing breeding grounds for them. I was lucky enough to have seen many companies focused on data, creative and media from the inside, and though they are all different, they share their approach in attracting young people to the industry. So, as a talented young professional, you have the power to determine the direction of your career. Theres one personality trait that Ive always been on the lookout for and that is curiosity. On another note, its not only about starting with whyit goes beyond Simon Sinek.

Obviously, theres a lot going on with regards to data and privacy, including the whole cookie depreciation issue thats been postponed by Googlebut I wouldnt say that thats the biggest issue were facing right now. Recently, advertisers struggle with the unclarity and mismanagement around Google products.

The EU might be one region, but when it comes to privacy laws its a bit more nuanced. Over the past months, weve seen news articles from other member states that point out GDPR risks in Google Analytics. As a union, were not at a point yet where we can have one directive, which makes interpreting these local decisions difficult for, for instance, cross-border e-commerce companies.

Yes, in all fairness, the model is crumbling. Holding companies face difficulties in finding the right talent for running their digital operations, all the while the number of channels is increasing. Were already seeing that media plans are based on the people and knowledge that agencies have, and thats a problem when it comes to pushing creativity and innovation to the next level.

I believe that in order to succeed, we should focus on building the entire customer journey around data collection and then run campaigns to test hypotheses and validate outcomes.

I always say that if you ask a carpenter to fix a problem, hell likely reach for his hammer and some nails. The same goes for the holdcos; theyre still largely staffed, compensated and foundationally built around offline buying. So, what are you going to get? Theres no one right answer to this question, as the solution differs per advertiser, but generally having a digital agency in either the drivers or (at the very least) passenger seat for your customer journey sounds like a more future-proof solution than having a traditional agency determine the direction.

Well, to be perfectly honest, not many advertisers have reached that point yet, where media, data, creative and technology are seamlessly integrated. Truth be told, its not a simple feat either. The old world tends to look into what has worked in the past, using that for their next creative briefing. In my view, thats too limited, as it assumes a ceteris paribus when thats absolutely not the caseto the contrary, all other factors are typically not the same, so the learnings from previous campaigns are not as relevant as they were when you ran the campaigns.

So, I believe that in order to succeed, we should focus on building the entire customer journey around data collection and then run campaigns to test hypotheses and validate outcomes. This process of constantly being on top of the most relevant target audience and what it is that moves them is ongoing and done in real time.

For those who think that the metaverse is still a long way off, Id say think again. The metaverse is already herethe plane is just being built as we fly it, and its bringing us to a completely new, exciting destination. The metaverse is designed to deliver experiences over ads. In this highly interoperable digital ecosystem, ads wont stick to 2D. Instead, theyll be objects, spaces, skins, avatars and experiences. Both logistically and creatively thats a different approach to any of the digital social media we have seen so far. Games come close, though, and the success of Fortnite and Roblox as digital hang out zones for social activities is an indicator for the need to re-conceive advertising as we know it.

For those who think that the metaverse is still a long way off, Id say think again. The metaverse is already herethe plane is just being built as we fly it, and its bringing us to a completely new, exciting destination.

For the past years, Media.Monks has been working on the elements that lay the digital plumbing and foundations of the metaverse. Were building out to what will be the future of digital commerce and customer experiences, and have already shown what this will look like through digital events such as the second annual Song Breaker Awards. The metaverse is part of the next phase in digital and the next frontier for business growth: virtualization. Weve actually just released a report on it. You can read it here.

As I mentioned, I love all our client work. That said, streamlining Mondelz first-party data, among the other work that we have done for the brand, is one thing that Im especially proud of. Our client Mondelz is one of the worlds largest snacking companies, delivering delicious treats across 37 brands to consumers in over 85 marketsthats what Id like to call true global presence.

Mondelz hired us as its data agency of record, a model designed to help brands access, control and measure their data holistically as it continuously travels through the marketing and advertising lifecycle. Our global scale paired with our ability to work around the clock was ideally suited to help the brand engage better with its ecosystem of paid media partners in each market around the world. In all, with the brands data better organized and collected in an integrated data warehouse, Mondelz teams were better able to parse their and their partners data for campaign performance and media spend.

First of all, providing a visual representation of a case will definitely increase your chances. Make sure that you put as much effort into delivering the case as you can. Second, given Im more of a generalist, I tend to look at the wider craft instead of the deeper craft. If you have considered an omni-channel strategy and have managed to execute that flawlessly, then Im more interested in the learnings than the results. Third, make sure the case has at least some impact. I deliberately stay away from the word purpose, but Id say: show us the impact of the work and always be proud of the results.

This was published in collaboration with Mad Stars, South Koreas annual awards show. You can learn more here.

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Q&A: Richard Smoorenburg on The Future of The Industry, Data Regulations and The Evolution of The Agency Model - Branding in Asia Magazine