ME 52-22: Words of Wisdom from A Digital Publishing Expert

A leader in the digital publishing world, Leonard Sampson’s witnessed the transition of print into digital with his 10 years of experience in marketing, 5 years of which have been with the LA Times. His philosophy? Though new media is on the rise and mobile devices are mushrooming, old school marketing theory is still most credible - by putting your audience in the center. While social media grows to be more prominent, the Director of Digital Advertiser Marketing stresses how it’s important to delicately balance partnering with your audience, adapting and respecting their privacy limitations.

Leonard Sampson
Director, Digital Advertiser Marketing
Los Angeles Times Media Group
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/leonard-sampson/2/589/125

What site(s) do you have to visit every day for Marketing news?

Paidcontent.org, IAB, AdAge, iMedia, eMarketer, All Things Digital blog

What site(s) do you go to at least once a day for fun and inspiration?
ESPN, IMDB, Wikipedia, YouTube, SNL and Facebook—not to post everyday, but to see what other people I know are up to.

Greatest skill a good Marketing professional requires?

There are two: Pay close attention to the details, and don’t focus solely on the big picture. The smallest missed detail can potentially derail everything; make sure you think through all the possibilities, and remember the importance of planning. Also, make sure to ASK your customers… instead of making assumptions into what they want, what they need—they are a key stakeholder.

What's the recent "it" Marketing phrase/trend of the moment that you hear almost every day and what does it mean for the industry and the marketplace?
Value add. In recent years, the term had become synonymous with "adding online" for free—leveraging online capabilities for little or no cost for advertisers. While circumstances call for us to attract new business, sometimes by offering very competitive rates, we should never diminish the value of our audience, the power of voice that digital offers, and the quality of traffic we’ve achieved. Instead, the ultimate goal should be to turn value add into added "incremental" value.

There have been fads in the Marketing world. In your opinion, what are recent developments that are here to stay?

Mobile is here to stay—whether it’s an iPad, a Smartphone or a PSP. Mobile is really hot right now and it’s going to be important in the future, as well. While right now I can’t imagine a world without my laptop… pretty soon I believe we’re going to do everything via mobile connection with one device being our dominant resource. The speed, the power, the connectivity, the accessibility…. (I can’t wait to read a book on iPad!)

What is essential NOT to do when it comes to your area of Marketing specialty?

Don’t take anything for granted or assume too much.

What's an imminent hurdle in the Marketing world that you think will cause significant changes to the way we market to consumers or businesses?

As we've seen through Facebook recently, audience privacy is becoming more of an issue, needing and deserving more attention. We want to reach an audience at every touchpoint possible but we need to do it with user experience and long-term retention in mind—not to mention managing evolving government limitations. It's a delicate balance, and if we're not in balance we are bound to lose audience.

It's not the user's job to recognize the limitations of their privacy—when it's been hit they know it. It's our job as marketers to know what those limitations are and to adapt when those limitations evolve. We're in an age of partnership with our audience and we can't jeopardize that partnership through breach of the "privacy contract."

Can Marketing ideas travel across continents and languages? Does globalization work or is localization more effective?

They are symbiotic. Global absolutely works and local nuances and ideas can be globalized.

Best piece of advice you have received?

If you want to play better tennis, you have to play tennis with people who are better at it than you. Got that from my Dad.

Growing up, what was the first think you can remember wanting to be?

A jet fighterpilot… After seeing Star Wars in the theater, back in ‘77, it was all I could imagine becoming.

Is Marketing more of an art or science?

More of an art, but you have to have an understanding and practical knowledge of the science to make the most of the art. As for the science of it—you must do the market research, you must do pre- and post-studies, calculate probabilities for success, etc. But in the long run, it takes a certain artistic intuition to pull everything together.

Which marketer do you admire most, and why?
Steve Jobs. As the ultimate spokesperson for his company and their products, Jobs has shown time-and-time-again his deep understanding of marketing best practices and nuances, and the connection-power marketing can wield. He understands his audience completely; his public speaking skills are inspirational and his timing is impeccable.