Inspire Through Communication: Ari Elkouby, Wunderman Thompson Canada

VML
Advertising/Full Service/Integrata
New York, Stati Uniti
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Ari Elkouby
CCO Wunderman Thompson Canada
 

Weighing in on new media, Wunderman Thompson Canada's CCO, Ari Elkouby, talks about experimenting with unconventional forms of media to reach new audiences and the benefit of using a multi-channel approach.

 

The rise of social media platforms has made them key to brand recognition. In what ways does your agency utilize social media to inform/engage your audience and how do you see that evolving?

We’ve used social for everything from creating original content by partnering with influencers, sparking movements that engage consumers, communicating retail offers and even presenting products in augmented reality. Emerging platforms and more immersive technologies continue to present exciting opportunities for marketers and agencies. Where I see this evolving is the connecting of more services within the social platforms such as integrating the ability to order meals, transfer money, buy tickets without leaving the platform.

 

How has the pandemic affected the way consumers use social media and which platform is the most relevant to your agency?

The pandemic has meant we’re turning to social for experiences we once enjoyed in person. Be it streaming a baseball game live on Twitter, tuning in to watch your favorite entertainer on Instagram live, attending a round table discussion on Clubhouse, engaging in retail therapy through e-commerce enabled ads or going on a test drive via TikTok. There isn’t one platform that is more relevant than another, each one offers a unique benefit, and we often use multiple channels as part of a communication plan for our clients.

 

To what degree does the innovative use of media by agencies and companies shape the way new media evolves? (eg: interactive campaigns)

Whenever brands exploit a use of media in a way we’ve never seen before, it gives us a glimpse into the future we didn’t know was possible. I truly believe consumers find more meaningful connection with brands that invent and inspire through the way they communicate. This creates a new benchmark which pushes the industry forward.

 

How do you utilize data analytics to create more engaging campaigns?

We tend to start with an insight first and find a problem we’re looking to solve. Once we’ve identified that we set out to create a compelling argument to change behaviors. Afterall a strong ad is nothing more than a strong argument. To build our argument we often leverage existing data sets to prove our point. These can be used to dramatize a feature of a product, prove the importance of a cause or bring existing behaviors to light.

 

What contemporary forms of new media are you planning on using to reach audiences?

We have been experimenting with creating experiences in the metaverse, gaming platforms, podcast series and the NFT space to learn how each allows us to reach new audiences by going to where our audience is and where conversations our brands want to take part in are happening.