Ever wondered where to find the world’s best fish pie? James Brown, UK managing director at Rubicon Project, has the answer.
1 – Summarise yourself in three words
“Competitive, committed, compassionate.”
2 – What made you want to pursue a career in media and marketing?
“My career started in IT PR, as I had always enjoyed writing. The sister agency was in media planning and buying, and I enjoyed the buzz of the cut and thrust of media buying and knew it was for me. I asked whether I could look after the digital element – which in those days was emailing creatives to media owners and phoning up a month later to see whether anyone had clicked on them…I was hooked on digital from then on.”
3 – Describe your ideal client
“I love working with clients who are passionate about their brands, clear about their objectives and want to work collaboratively. I believe the way to maximise the value of any relationship in our industry is to pick a partner you trust, respect and value and then effectively work together. All of us – regardless of our areas of expertise – want long term, high value partnerships.”
4 – Name your favourite ever campaign
“Guinness – ‘Thank you Sir Jonny’.”
5 – Which award win are you most proud of, and why?
“IPA Digital Commercial Director of the Year. At the time I was digital commercial director at The Telegraph, my customers then were primarily media agencies, so to be nominated and voted for by my customers was a great accolade.”
6 – Who is the best industry speaker you have seen?
“I really enjoyed Terence Kawaja at ATS London last year – he is a particularly entertaining speaker and always has something interesting to say about the industry.”
7 – Which is your favourite social media platform, and why?
“For me it is Twitter as it spans such a broad range of information. It is a great source of industry and more general news, plus a really fascinating barometer for how the public is responding to events that we’re attending, participating in, or even hosting.”
8 – Where is your ideal meeting venue?
“I enjoy a breakfast meeting at the Covent Garden Hotel or Soho Hotel, great start to the day. If I could have a dream venue for all meetings then it would be at Lord’s for a Test Match!”
9 – What is your favourite restaurant?
“My current favourite is Bentley’s on Swallow Street, they do the best fish pie on earth.”
10 – What is hot in international media and marketing, and what is not?
“Hot: Programmatic, automation, data, publisher co-operatives, automated guaranteed and collaboration.
“Not: Blind ad networks.”
11 – Which industry buzzword would you ban?
“’Remnant Inventory’. There is no such thing as remnant, only unsold – remnant suggests there is something wrong with it.”
12 – Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
“I would love to still be at Rubicon Project. Our vision is to automate the buying and selling of all advertising, empowering buyers to plan, buy and execute their campaigns through one central interface. Clearly there is some way to go to make that happen but if I am still here in 10 years then it will have been a fascinating journey.”
13 – Finally, who would play you in a movie of your life?
“That is a tough one as I’m not really a movie buff, but I’d go for Laurence Fox on the basis that he is English and typically plays a true gentleman.”
