The future of digital advertising

Clare Hart, Managing Director at Critical Mass, delves into digital advertising and global expansion. The digital advertising landscape is constantly evolving, and as brands set their sights on new markets, fresh challenges and considerations emerge. From balancing the need for local relevance with brand consistency to navigating cultural and legal hurdles, a lot of factors come into play when approaching global expansion. Today, Clare discusses the future of digital advertising.
About the speaker

Clare Hart

Critical Mass

 - Critical Mass

Clare Hart is Managing Director at Critical Mass

Show Notes

  • 01:26
    Clares professional background and an overview of Critical Mass
    Critical Mass is a global experience and design agency founded in Alberta, Canada, in 1998, with a focus on global presence and portfolio-based operations. Clare's professional background involves various roles within the digital and media sectors before joining Critical Mass.
  • 03:17
    Creating global digital content at scale
    To create content that works across markets at scale, Critical Mass uses ArtBot, a bespoke research tool. ArtBot leverages generative AI, enabling the creation of locally relevant content, with locally relevant assets, imagery, etc., from a global template.
  • 04:43
    How Critical Mass leverages AI
    At Critical Mass and Omnicom, AI is embedded into internal processes for research and making processes more efficient. Rather than leveraging it as a purely generative creative solution, they use AI to gain a deeper understanding of how clients assets are performing or being used.
  • 07:00
    Cultural differences in advertising strategies globally
    Markets like India highlight the importance of understanding evolving regulations and cultural nuances for effective brand presence. Leveraging local talent, embracing ESG principles, and considering the platforms within different markets are essential for adapting global strategies.
  • 10:05
    Approaching global markets with limited budgets
    Focusing on personalization and leveraging tools for transcreation can be highly effective in engaging diverse markets authentically. Through one-to-one conversations in the audiences language, brands can achieve meaningful connections and maintain consistency across platforms.
  • 11:47
    Tools for personalization in global marketing
    Personalization tools vary based on risk tolerance and specific client needs. While Critical Mass has a proprietary solution, they work with clients to understand what tools are right for their strategy, piecing different solutions together for a custom solution.
  • 14:15
    Critical Mass' differentiation from other holding companies
    Critical Mass differentiates itself from other holding companies by focusing on deep client relationships and building integrated teams. They combine experienced creatives with digital specialists and data analysts to deliver value to their clients.
  • 17:52
    Digital transformation acceleration and ecosystem planning
    COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation efforts, with clients achieving in one year what was planned for five. Now, Critical Mass focuses on creating a seamless customer experience by joining together the various digital elements that were rapidly developed during the pandemic.
  • 20:18
    In house agency design quality and consistency
    While there are some in-house agencies with highly skilled designers creating impressive work, theres less consistency today as theyre approaching it on a market-by-market basis. Consistency and brand integrity remain crucial across markets.

Quotes

  • "The Holy Grail is when you can add generative AI and create this content engine that works not only powerfully at a global level, but on a specific local level and across multiple brands as well." - Clare Hart

  • "What could be more meaningful than talking to someone in their language or dialect? Leveraging the access, we have to transcreate and translate at scale could be more valuable than high budget above the line pieces of work." - Clare Hart

  • "We don't have a long tail list of millions of clients. We have had meaningful, deep relationships with clients for many years, and all our clients are in good company with each other." - Clare Hart

  • "Ensuring a brand is showing up in each market in the same beautiful way and brand integrity is critically important. Our Chief Production Officer always talks about scaling with elegance." - Clare Hart

About the speaker

Clare Hart

Critical Mass

 - Critical Mass

Clare Hart is Managing Director at Critical Mass

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