Keith Eadie, chief marketing officer at TubeMogul, answers our Lucky 13 questions – and explains why people using big words are only trying to sound smart.
1 – Summarise yourself in three words.
Driven, affable and – Canadian.
2 – What made you want to pursue a career in media and marketing?
As a Canadian, I grew up admiring the words of a fellow citizen, Marshall McLuhan: “The medium is the message”. As a marketer in the programmatic sector, I can help perfect the medium to make it better for both advertisers and consumers. It’s a fast-paced industry that changes all the time – never more so than now with such rapid technology innovations. It’s addictive – and it’s incredibly fun.
3 – Describe your ideal client.
Our ideal client is one that is willing to both teach and learn. One that admits when they don’t know things, wants to build better strategies as a team with us and then share their knowledge with other companies so that programmatic becomes less of a word to be scared of.
4 – Name your favourite ever campaign.
The ‘Skip Mayhem’ campaign we developed with Allstate is a particular favourite as it built upon things we know about consumer behaviour, engaged the viewer and drove great results for our client. Plus, it allowed us to showcase our internal team’s amazing creativity.
5 – Which award win are you most proud of, and why?
We recently were named a leader among video advertising demand-side platforms and received the highest ranking in the ‘Current Offering’ category in The Forrester Wave: Video Advertising Demand-Side Platforms, Q4 2015 evaluation, scoring 4.55 out of five potential points. To achieve this commendation was a real coup for us and something I am immensely proud of both personally and as part of the great TubeMogul team I work with everyday.
6 – Who is the best industry speaker you have seen?
Mondelez’s Bonin Bough is incredibly charismatic – which is why we often work with him on panels and speaker slots. We know he can command attention and speaks the truth.
“Simple is best for programmatic and language. It’s just people trying to use big words to flummox, confuse and make themselves sound smarter than they are”
7 – Which is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Any video platform for obvious reasons. Without video, TubeMogul wouldn’t be where it is today.
8 – Where is your ideal meeting venue?
A beach, somewhere secluded and hot. But, I fear not much work would get done.
9 – What is your favourite restaurant?
Really, anywhere on Berkeley’s Restaurant Row. Chez Panisse is a stand-out. But, any will do. Not only because the food is good, but because it always makes me recall our roots in the area. The company was founded when the execs were doing MBA’s at Berkeley so there were many late nights held in dive bars and greasy spoons.
10 – What is hot in international media and marketing, and what is not?
Simplicity and transparency are hot. Confusion and jargon are not. Unfortunately, too many continue to buck that trend.
11 – Which industry buzzword would you ban?
Not so much an industry buzzword as a way of saying things. People who say ‘Utilised’ instead of used or ‘Verbalised’ instead of said. Simple is best for programmatic and language. It’s just people trying to use big words to flummox, confuse and make themselves sound smarter than they are.
12 – Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
Delivering programmatic solutions to all forms of brand advertising. The sky is the limit – speaking of which, programmatic sky writing! Now, there’s an idea.
13 – Finally, who would play you in a movie of your life?
People always describe me as friendly and approachable so I’d have to go with a Jimmy Stewart type. For sheer relentlessness though, Leonardo Di Caprio in The Revenant. Although, I’ve never faced bears – just bear markets.
