Jem Lloyd-Williams is the UK CEO of Mindshare, a global, multi-award-winning, media agency network of 9,300 people across 86 countries.
Mindshare looks after some of the world’s biggest advertisers, including Unilever, Ford and Nike, as well as impressive UK brands such as Carwow, and LV=insurance.
Jem was the former CEO of Vizeum UK and has held several leadership positions at MediaCom.
Listen to our conversation with Jem to discover:
Why writing accelerated his career more than anything else
How to create a purpose that unites global employees
What attracts brands to Mindshare and changes within the media landscape
How brands should budget towards brand building vs sales activation
Mindshare’s approach to the challenge of a diversity in the workplace
Enjoy the chat!
The media industry today
Self-service media requires programmatic elements and this has evolved the relationship businesses will have with an agency. Brands need good advice about how to get the most for their money and agencies know how to do this.
How to build a world-class media agency
Lloyd-Williams believes that agencies constantly have to evolve how they work with clients. Opportunities and circumstances change and provide new angles, data and techniques. However, the people are the real gold – agencies have similar processes and tools, but the people using them make the difference. Agencies constantly need to be attracting and retaining the best talent.
Lloyd-Williams feels that purpose is a great lever in retaining talent. It’s not about the most awards or most profit, but being more focused around doing good, whatever your interpretation of that is. Deliver good growth in a way that makes sense to the client and provide a better experience for those consuming the media. People go to agencies when they see that they do good work.
All brands really want the same thing
It always comes down to ‘How do I build brand equity and make sure customers really understand the brand, and how do I sell more effectively?’ The need is often about launching ideas and products more than defending and nurturing what already exists.
Brands need to know how their advertising works best – everyone is generally asking the same question. They’re all operating in very competitive categories and it’s crucial to keep spending at the right level. Agencies should be able to provide objective advice around how much to invest and in what media. Sometimes the advice is ‘now is not the time’.
Moving forward
Lloyd-Williams believes you shouldn’t spend too long focusing on the problem. Listen to what people say and hear behind their words so you can understand why someone is asking something. How you make someone feel almost always trumps what you say to them. Show energy and empathy.
As much as the media industry is ever evolving, effective communication never goes out of style, and remains the crucial element of success. Book a demo with AccountInsight to see how you can ensure your target accounts hear the message clearly.
Listen to our other Account Based Marketing Podcasts for more useful industry insights:
- Natalia Chaban – Digital Performance & Technology Director at MediaCom
- Philip Gosney – Head of Global Marketing at Maersk Drilling
- Christopher Engman – Author & Managing Partner at Megadeals Advisory
- Chris Hirst – Global CEO at Havas Creative
- Riaz Kanani – CEO & Founder at Radiate B2B
- John Harris – President & CEO at Worldwide Partners
- Ricky Abbott – President of Americas for Transmission
- Michel Juvillier – Founder of The Societies Media
- Raffaele Apostoliti – President & CEO at Expandi Group
- Judith Niederschelp – CEO at Demand Studio
- Paul Frampton – President at Control v Exposed
- Luke Bozeat – COO at MediaCom UK
- Matthew Jantjies-Green – Head of Agency Partnerships at AccountInsight
