Personal Narrative
Posted on 04. Sep, 2011 by Al Black in Digital Marketing
In my quest to discover my chosen vocation I have followed many paths, from running events to bungee jumping live on radio whilst wearing a kilt (no I wasn’t wearing any). While entertaining the masses by completing death-defying feats in a near-naked state is a great deal of fun, I felt the time had arrived where a more conservative mode of employment was called for. I started selling advertising for the aforementioned radio station and found I thoroughly enjoyed the advertising process. I then moved from radio to print advertising which gave me an even greater insight into this exciting new world, but then the ship began to sink.
I noticed that the amount of revenue being spent on the publications was decreasing and that this revenue was not going to our major competitor. So where was all the money disappearing to?
It was all going online.
At first I attempted to defend the honour of the various publications within the group, but as this increasingly looked to be a lost cause, I did what any other honourable person in the advertising industry would do.
I switched camps.
Now with more than 3 years in the online marketing space I have relished in the fact that none of my clients have had to utter that infamous statement, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Through highly targeted and continually optimised campaigns with incredible reporting capabilities, my clients can discover which forms of marketing are delivering the best ROI and then adjust their spend accordingly.
I was lucky enough at the beginning of this journey to land a role with ReachLocal, the world’s largest pure digital agency and Google’s only global strategic partner for their AdWords product. Since that time we have been recognised by Deloitte as the fastest growing technology firm in the U.S. over the past 5 years.
Whilst my BA (Media, Communications & Marketing) has helped me navigate this new form of media, it is my passion for the digital space and the access that I have to world-leading, patented technology that I believe sets me apart from many in my field, and allows me to continue to deliver the best ROI for my client.
Digital marketing … I love it!
