The Growth D_Stillery Vodcast: James Holloman’s bright outlook for the advertising industry

The Growth D_Stillery

“The advertising industry is evolving, and retail media is emerging”

Earlier this year, News Corp Australia announced the launch of The Growth D_Stillery, a dedicated research and intelligence service offering consumer insights to help marketers navigate brand challenges, anticipate consumer trends and understand where best to invest.

See Also: Behind The Growth D_Stillery: News Corp’s newest research and intelligence offering

The Growth D_Stillery amplifies key research insights on trade marketing platforms, and on News Corp Australia channels. As a part of its release into market, the platform has launched a series of vodcasts hosted by News Corp Australia’s director, Growth Intelligence Centre Dan Krigstein, with guests from all corners of the marketing world. 

news corp Growth D_Stillery

Dan Krigstein

The most recent lot of Growth D_Stillery vodcasts were recorded at Sydney’s Luna Park as part of the 2023 Advertising Week conference, and Mediaweek was on the ground to catch up with those recording episodes. 

This week, Mediaweek spoke with James Holloman, chief marketing officer at David Jones.

Sitting in the main street of Luna Park, Holloman says that Advertising Week is “a great way to collaborate with the industry, and connect with a few new people.”

“It’s a great way to stay informed about what’s happening across all sectors, and across all mediums.”

When asked what his thoughts are on the current state of the advertising industry, Holloman says that it’s a very positive time, with David Jones taking advantage of the conditions to the fullest.

“I’m a marketeer and a retailer, combine those two things together and it’s a very exciting period for us. The advertising industry is evolving, and retail media is emerging. I am in the best place to then own that emerging trend.

We’re launching the David Jones retail media business for David Jones Amplify, which will give all advertisers the opportunity to leverage our incredible customers and physical and digital networks.”

On the flip side of the coin, Holloman says that the biggest hurdles facing advertisers is “around the ROI on on great content.”

The way that consumers are living their lives, they’re harder to reach –  a beautiful brand move is now boiled down into a couple of seconds that has to be on a smartphone. That’s probably the biggest shift from where the classic Mad Men days of advertising have been. 

“I think the big brand-building moves are so important, but the reality is that they’re not really leveraged or can’t be leveraged in the same way as they have been in the past, because of the way consumers are consuming media.”

Ultimately, Holloman says that he hopes his episode of The Growth D_Stillery Vodcast brings “a diversity of thought” to listeners. 

“Hopefully, there might be a couple of key takeaways people can align to. With that diversity of thought, there might be a way that the listeners can take an answer that works best for their industry or brand.”

Top Image: James Holloman

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