The five people you meet in digital advertising

I am often debating with people from all sides of the industry on the difficulty of selling true value products and services across media and advertising clients. It is very difficult to break through an environment historically conditioned by bad actors and practices.

My answer is always that the problem is not the dishonest players, but those who, without necessarily waking up every morning to become a proxy for negative outcomes, are indirectly allowing them to survive or even flourish, despite the evidence and alternatives being widely available.

After spending almost twenty years in the digital media and advertising sectors and crossing over various parts of the industry, I have reflected on all the people I have met during my professional career and noticed that they can be broadly grouped into five personas.

While it has been fun and made me laugh a few times, it might also be a useful lens to navigate the industry, its contradictions, challenges and, especially, opportunities.