Combined with the data insights gathered through machine learning, we are able to identify appropriate audiences, as well as offer real-time campaign insights
MEDIA 7: Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
SARAH REW: Thank you for having me! My interest in PR and marketing was actually sparked by one of my university professors. While reading Classical Civilisation and Psychology at the University of Manchester, my lecturer suggested that PR could be a good fit for me, which prompted me to attend an “Institute for Public Relations” day to learn more about the industry. The emphasis on storytelling really excited me and I was keen to help shape a brand’s identity through the power of communication. After completing two work experience placements in financial PR, I went travelling for a year, visiting Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Los Angeles and San Francisco. This was a formative experience, teaching me independence and resilience, which I have taken with me throughout my career. When I returned to the UK, I started working at VisitBritain in the Strategic Communications department, helping to organize product familiarization trips for trade buyers and journalists. I’ve since worked for Toluna, YuMe, and Flashtalking, then I joined LoopMe as International Marketing Director in 2019, before being promoted to Senior Director, Global Marketing. Now, I manage the UK marketing team, deliver global marketing plans, and create LoopMe’s insights and research reports.
M7: Recently, Mayfair Equity Partners announced their plan to acquire a majority stake in LoopMe. What major changes will this deal bring to the table for your clients and customers?
SR: We’re excited to have the support of Mayfair and the opportunities that it brings. Not only will it bolster LoopMe’s ability to develop innovative new products, but it will also help accelerate our growth in core markets, such as the US and EMEA. In addition, we will be expanding further internationally, particularly within the APAC region.
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While measuring campaign performance will be just as important, not many companies have succeeded in finding efficient and dynamic measurement tools
M7: LoopMe has transformed the mobile advertising sector through the innovative use of AI and ML. What distinguishes your products in today's consumer experience-driven industry?
SR: One of LoopMe’s major selling points is our use of artificial intelligence, allowing businesses to optimize their campaigns in real-time and deliver relevant ads to consumers. This also means that businesses can base their marketing decisions on empirical data rather than outdated proxy metrics. LoopMe’s AI creates a predictive model of consumers that are more likely to take an action -- this is based on hundreds of attributes. We then serve ads to those consumers which are most likely to convert, a decision that’s made in real-time on each ad request. LoopMe conducts regular surveys and research to determine consumers’ attitudes, behaviours and opinions. This gives us an edge in terms of relevancy because, combined with the data insights gathered through machine learning, we are able to identify appropriate audiences, as well as offer real-time campaign insights to boost our clients’ measurable uplift.
M7: What are your predictions on AI-led technologies changing the AdTech marketplace in the coming years?
SR: The digital marketing space has always been fast-moving, but it’s been especially turbulent over the past few years with ongoing privacy changes and the race to find cookieless targeting solutions. While measuring campaign performance will be just as important, not many companies have succeeded in finding efficient and dynamic measurement tools. Going forward, this will become a bigger priority in the ad tech world and marketers will move away from proxy metrics, such as clicks, in favour of AI-based solutions. With privacy regulations more stringent than ever, we’ll also start to see marketers tap intelligent tools to target consumers without the need for personal identifiers. For example, predictive modelling maximizes privacy-compliant first-party data by pairing it with third-party insights. This allows advertisers to identify relevant audiences based on their behaviours and therefore tailor ads and recommendations to the right audiences at the right time.
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The industry is so wide-ranging that it’s important to explore different specialisms until you find the one you love
M7: What is your approach to market research, both customer and competitor focused, in the data-driven advertising industry?
SR: It’s always been fundamentally important to us to conduct our own in-flight research. This allows us to identify key consumer trends and help clients better inform their advertising strategies. Data-driven, real-time consumer insights are a part of our day to day strategy and our PurchaseLoop product helps us unlock these. PurchaseLoop uses artificial intelligence to optimize media investments against marketing goals -- from impacting how people feel about a brand to what they do after they have been exposed to their ad. We also keep an eye on industry research updates, such as the UK’s IPA Bellwether Report, which helps benchmark how the industry is performing — and is predicted to perform – over the coming months.
M7: What is your advice to young professionals trying to pave their way into Marketing?
SR: It’s not always about having the most experience, although securing some mentorship in your early years will give you a strong foundation. If you’re driven and enthusiastic, you can quickly learn the ropes, and, most importantly, if you believe in yourself you can achieve anything. The industry is so wide-ranging that it’s important to explore different specialisms until you find the one you love. This will help you consolidate your wider industry knowledge and enter new areas with a fresh perspective. I have personally moved through different areas of marketing before settling in ad tech and it has given me many transferable skills. Networking events are also invaluable ways to learn more about the industry and make important connections that could influence your future career.