David Johnstone from digital agency We Are AD on content and social
Social Media Portal (SMP): What is your name and what do you do there at We Are AD?David Johnstone (DJ): I?m David Johnstone, commercial director at
We are AD. I?m responsible for driving the growth and strategic direction of the agency group.
SMP: Briefly, tell us about We Are AD what is it and what does agency do?DJ: We are AD is a strategic digital agency with offices in London, Glasgow, and Manchester. The agency has over 17 years? experience in delivering award-winning results for its clients through innovative creative solutions. AD strives beyond the norm in search of creative digital solutions to business problems.
SMP: What markets does the agency work across and why do you choose these markets?
DJ: AD offers a full range of digital services and solutions, including: digital strategy; UX & IA; responsive web design; complex web development; agile project management; content strategy; SEO and analytics; social media; PPC; email marketing; online display advertising and on-going account management of web projects.
We work across a range of sectors from private commercial businesses through to public and third sector organisations. Over the years we?ve built up considerable experience in arts and culture, further and higher education, hospitality and travel, utilities, ecommerce and retail.
Part of our strengths in these markets is our technical experience, i.e. we are one of only two officially Tessitura Web Capable agencies, we have developed custom multisite hotel management systems, and we are well versed in ecommerce and ticketing system integration.
SMP: What were you doing before you joined We Are AD and how did you snag your current job?DJ: I?ve worked with the company for over 12 years, but before AD I was an Enterprise Account Manager for Hewlett-Packard. I also have an academic background in software development and chemical engineering.
The big break that brought me to AD came about when I realised that my ambitions couldn?t be met by working for a large company where I felt like a small cog, I wanted to rapidly grow my wider business skill set and have an impact on a business? future. I saw the opportunity at AD as the perfect match for my aspirations.
SMP: Briefly, what does your job entail and what does a typical day look like?
DJ: My role is to drive and manage the agency?s growth and direction, by overseeing our service offering, identifying new market opportunities and determining optimal pricing for client satisfaction. I head up the business development team and work closely with the marketing department to align and deliver on our commercial goals.
A typical day involves spending a considerable amount of time talking with our prospective clients in order to establish their business goals and wider plans and seeing how we can best leverage digital to achieve these. I spend a lot of days travelling to weird and wonderful places to meet incredible people and pitch for new work. As a result, I am a mine of random information ? for example, do you know who invented the progressive cavity pump?
SMP: What makes it a great job?DJ: I love our diverse range of clients spanning across industries globally; every day brings exciting opportunities and new challenges ? no two working days are the same! I get to talk for a living ? if you?ve met me you know this was fate.
Getting to meet a wide range of prospective clients and getting to the heart of their business challenges.
The team - we put a lot of time into making sure the staff at AD are enthused and inspired and that our agency is a place that the team feel happy to work in. We have a culture-based recruitment strategy to ensure we?re always trying to get the right people in the door. We also encourage Friday fun, where the whole agency comes together to do something outside of their normal remit (so far this has included cheese and wine nights, rounders in the park, cocktail classes and board game evenings).
SMP: How are you helping your clients navigate the creative and marketing space?DJ: We work closely with our clients to ensure that their brand is reflected appropriately in the online space and their marketing is integrated and measurable. Our digital strategists ensure we look at the bigger picture and the multiple touch points on a customer journey to ensure we craft intelligent online user experiences and effectively distribute resource across channels. The beauty of digital is that it is measurable ? we help businesses to drive results via digital transformation.
SMP: What are the challenges that you encounter and how are you overcoming them in what you have been doing so far at We Are AD?
DJ: The challenges of my role are finding businesses whose values align with our own to build long-term client-agency partnerships with, whilst managing the commercial aspirations of the business. However, it?s these challenges that make my job so exciting.
SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?DJ: The last six months have been a great period for AD. We?ve recently expanded into Manchester with the acquisition of the ecommerce agency Fluid Creativity and, earlier in the year, announced the launch of AD?s US branch, We Are AD Inc. The biggest achievement is building an incredible team of talented individuals who are committed to creating a great place to work for everyone. A particular highlight was putting the entire agency through agile training and their PSM1 ScrumMaster accreditations.
SMP: What are the main challenges that your clients are facing and why (and how are you assisting them)?DJ: The challenges vary dramatically across sectors, but for many of our clients the reason they come to us is to learn how to more effectively integrate digital into their business and build and maintain a website that works as their shop window to the world. Ultimately, as with all business, it boils down to increasing revenue, decreasing costs, or both.
SMP: What do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities for your sector and the competition that you have?DJ: The greatest challenge in our sector is finding the right talent in a highly competitive marketplace. We have a real belief in attitude before aptitude when hiring, but finding people who have the right balance of skills, experience and passion is a tricky business.
SMP: What trends are you seeing in the areas your working in?DJ: In line with Google?s Material Design, we?re seeing a real move towards the interaction design instead of simply visual design. It?s all about building intuitive online user experiences with visual cues that leverage motion and textures to subtly communicate purpose.
SMP: What do you think is going to be the most interesting aspect regarding content, social media and/or technology for the next 12 to 18-months and why?DJ: Content must become more thoughtful. The most interesting thing about content in the coming year will be how businesses create engaging content that goes beyond simply great copy, but incorporates these elements of structure and design that focus attention and communicate messages in more exciting ways.
SMP: What are your top five predictions for content, social media and/or technology for the next 12 to 18-months?DJ replies with:- Brands with great content will take this to a new level, creating content experiences across multiple touch points
- Video is the content of choice ? brands can communicate with consumers in a highly effective way through videos and its still an area a lot of companies are missing out on
- Personal interactions will drive social media engagement ? brands are getting smarter around how to tap into influencers and build on advocacy
- Wearable Tech will grow ? despite initial doubt around much wearable tech and some real stinkers of products, this is an area that will pick up in 2015. With more and varying types of wearable tech, as well as more available applications for these products, this type of technology will become more mainstream
- A host of new effective attribution marketing tools will be introduced to the market place
SMP: What are your top overall five content and social media tips?DJ replies with:- Be authentic. If you?re not you will get caught out. So make sure your people are brand advocates and buy in to what you want to achieve, so that this comes across clearly in content and social media
- Be interesting. Don?t just broadcast, provide content that your audiences find useful or valuable in some way
- Consider paid media involvement. Advertising and paid-for content will only continue to grow in the coming months (think Facebook Zero etc) so it?s worth considering whether this is something that could benefit your business and investigating what channels are most suitable for your audiences
- Be agile. Get involved with reactive marketing
- Utilise video content and try something new. Brands are doing incredibly interesting things on platforms like Vine and yet this is still largely untouched by mainstream businesses
SMP: Is there anything else we should know, or is there anything that you?d like to share?DJ: I am obsessed with brogues ? if there are any brogue designers out their looking for the perfect digital partner, please do get in touch, you?re my dream client!
SMP: Best way to contact you and We Are AD?DJ: We?re always happy for people to pop in for a coffee and a chat to get a feel for our culture and approach, but if you?d like to make a formal introduction just drop us an email at
hello@wearead.co.uk, tweet us
@heyfromad or give us a buzz on 0141 33 11 323.
Now some questions for fun
SMP: What did you have for lunch?DJ: I was lucky today and took a client to lunch at one of my favourite local restaurants, where they serve almost fine dining tapas. I snapped up some amazing panko pork croquettes, truffle chips, crab and salad.
SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?DJ: I mentored a friend to help him change his career path and get his dream job in digital.
SMP: If you weren?t working at We Are AD what would you be doing?DJ: Trying to find a way to incorporate working on Top Gear with the Gadget Show and being a MasterChef judge.
SMP: When / where did you go on your last holiday and why?DJ: A few weeks ago I went to Barcelona to visit a good friend who has recently moved there to set up a tattoo studio. My girlfriend used to live there and its one of our favourite cities to visit.
SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office?DJ: Get the kettle on for my morning coffee and check nobody has nicked the batteries out my Bluetooth mouse.
SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?DJ: The ability to access the brain?s full potential (a la Limitless).