PEOPLE  Welcome to Digital People where we present profiles of people in our industry through a regular series of Q&A's. This time we feature Peter Bray - General Manager of fully integrated agency The Brand Shop. Peter's background is placed strongly in the digital arena - as he points out he is the first person from this background to run an integrated agency where he is able to offer a unique perspective. He shares his opinion on the prime position creative holds for clients - idea first, media channel second. Peter also puts the digital industry on notice asking us to take heed of his advice regarding the us and them attitude of digital verses traditional agencies and offers particular thoughts on social media in this mix. He also quite rightly recognises the many roles and services beyond the creative idea which are involved in the digital media industry. Thank you Peter for sharing your views.... Read on

PEOPLE  Welcome to another profile article where this time I'm pleased to present Stuart Simson, Chairman of Facilitate Digital - among other media, marketing and technology business interests - which he also highlights. Many of you will have crossed paths with Stuart throughout his 40 year career with major publishers (I worked with him at BRW) and agencies such as E-mitch, where he was Chairman. In his profile Stuart first takes us back to his role as MD of The Melbourne Age where, in 1994 their librarian showed him 'the internet' which led them to be the first newspaper brand in Australia to place online employment advertising. He also talks about first forays into video-journalism at Sky News and their early success. We then move to the present where he discusses the current need for greater editorial focus by the large newspaper portals, gives some interesting thoughts on the evolution of digital media and with some sadness looks to the future of newspapers and magazines. I sincerely thank Stuart for offering such a rich and informative story where through his truly fascinating career, he offers us a glimpse into the history of digital media in Australia. This is a profile not to be missed..... Read on

PEOPLE  Welcome to Digital People where this time we profile Yvette Mayer - Chief Digital Officer at Starcom MediaVest Group. Yvette outlines her role at Starcom covering all the digital media segments as well as their current market position and forward plans. She takes a punt on the next big thing and includes some big picture forecasts for the next 12 months in our industry and shares her view on the changing relationship between client and their agencies. She also offers a helpful role of media which keeps her up to date with the ever constant changes in the digital industry. Thanks Yvette - always good to get insights from within the large media agencies...... Read on

PEOPLE  Welcome to the next Digital People profile. In conjunction with the current Shanghai Expo - where technology is one focus and AIMIA as well as several private Australian technology businesses are participating - I thought it would be interesting to get an update from Beijing based Aussie entrepreneur - Dr Mathew McDougall, CEO of SinoTech Group. Matt shares his story of starting a digital based business in China and his forward plans. He includes his highly interesting insights, trends and forecasts to more performance based marketing in this vibrant and exciting market. He also gives valuable points and offers some pitfalls to be aware of for any Australian businesses thinking of entering China. A worthwhile read..... Read on

PEOPLE  Welcome to another edition of Digital People. Given recent events in our political history it seems appropriate to be highlighting a successful woman in our industry, so I'm pleased to present Rebekah Horne, Managing Director and Senior Vice President of MySpace International. Rebekah shares her journey in the digital industry to date - who knew the Commodore 64 would change her life in such an amazing way! She offers some insights into MySpace and their forward plans including some hints on the launch of a pre-Christmas product. She reminds us just how far we've come in such a short amount of time, gives her forecasts on upcoming trends and innovation and offers some highly worthwhile advice on issues the digital industry can address right now to better position ourselves in the broader media market. She also gives some tips to women who are looking at the digital industry as a long term career prospect. A very worthwhile read, not to be missed ...... Read on

PEOPLE  Welcome to another edition of Digital People where we regularly profile professionals in our industry. This time is Tom Skotidas, Head of Marketing from First Rate - a search marketing agency. According to the 2009 IAB/PWC Digital Expenditure Report, search and directories revenue accounted for 50.5 % of total digital spend or $1.5 billion and achieved YOY growth of 22.9% on the more than 1000 participating sites. This not only represents the largest but the highest growing online expenditure segment (against online display and classifieds). Tom gives us his insights and experiences when dealing with marketing managers in the SEO/SEM segment as a 'proven marketing channel'. He shares his views on innovations in SEO/SEM technology and forecasts other growth areas such as the integration of paid search into online TVC and the impact of Android and iPhone apps. For the entrepreneurs among us he outlines a business idea which he sees as having huge potential. Thanks Tom..... Read on

PEOPLE  Welcome to Digital People where this time, I'm pleased to profile Jeff Brookes, Managing Director at Sulake Australia, owners of well known online game targeted to teenagers globally - Habbo Hotel. Jeff gives us an overview of his varied ad agency, digital and entrepreneurial experiences before arriving at the Habbo Hotel in 2004 - where he's been 'checked in' ever since. He offers insights, an audience overview and forward plans into this popular and interactive online community for teenagers and some fascinating learnings for all marketers when targeting Generation Z - or those born after 1992. Interestingly, he outlines online payment systems as an area where we will see strong innovation and gives his view on some further areas where the digital industry could be working more effectively in the overall market. A really good profile and highly recommended reading - thank you Jeff..... Read on

PEOPLE  Welcome to Digital People where we regularly profile some of the most recognised minds in the industry through a series of Q&A's and provide opinion and commentary on the state of the market, trends and forecasts. This time is Jenny Williams - Managing Partner from IdeaGarden and Chair of AdTech. She not only gives us some insight into her impressive experience but also touches on many issues facing the digital industry and marketers today. Issues such as mobile, cloud computing, video, niche social environments and absolutely nails three key challenges our industry should be actively addressing right now. Jenny shares several presentations covering a wide range of digital and social media topics on her site and I recommend a look - I have posted a link at the base of her profile. Thank you Jenny for sharing your views.... Read on

PEOPLE  Welcome to Digital People where we regularly ask professionals in our industry their opinion on trends, forecasts and the state of digital media. This time I am pleased to present Michael Gethen who has a long history in our industry working with a real 'whose who' of major publishers. He has now broken away to do his own thing through Gethen Media. Michael shares his thoughts on recent trends in digital media and highlights web 2.0, the social graph and some interesting and as he says, alarming moves with Facebook . He also points to a recent blog post by Tim Berners Lee (the father of the internet) surrounding this topic. Michael foresees automated advertising trading platforms and calls for more senior and experienced industry professionals to promote not just digital media but multi-platform solutions to their advertising and marketing counterparts. A good read which you'll benefit from.... Read on

PEOPLE  Welcome to Digital People where this time we profile Mal Dale, Head of Digital at MediaCom. Mal tells us how he came into our industry; an invention from 1871 and a ride in Harold's very nice car it seems. He also offers insights into his role and issues facing media agencies in the industry today and how MediaCom is addressing these. He gives us 3 distinct trends to watch in the next 12 months and also highlights his 5 year forecast. For those who are new to our industry he offers highly worthwhile career advice. Another great role of blogs, emails and sites for industry information and updates. Thanks Mal, a really worthwhile read..... Read on