1. 2022 will be the year of?

Privacy taking centre stage. Honesty and openness is changing every part of the way brands and consumers operate, both alone and with each other. This is the year that clever marketers will implement a customer-first data protection strategy and get smart with their use of 1P data.

2. Who is your hero from the marketing and advertising world? Why?

Sean Ellis – author of “Hacking Growth”. I’m fascinated by growth teams driving rapid incremental growth through experimentation, and he’s one of the best in the business.

3. What was the last ad your saw that made you buy something?

It was for my Rocketbook re-useable notebook. I’ve been eyeing it for some time and some clever re-targeting closed the sale. Honestly, I can say that it’s one of the best things that I’ve bought.

4. What’s your all-time favourite advert/campaign and why?

I think it must be KFC’s “FCK” apology after the 2018 “chicken-gate” crisis. I thought it was genius. It’s a brilliant way to own a huge PR crisis with humility and humor.

5. If you had to choose which one would it be - day WFH or day in the office?

I get a lot of energy being with my awesome team, so I’d have to choose the office.

6. What keeps you awake at night?

Apart from my one-year-old, it’s probably the topic of growth. I’ve gone deep in the last year into the topic, both personally and professionally, and have recently joined Reforge – one of the pioneering growth training communities in tech. I pretty much spend every waking hour researching or studying, which has the added fun of popping up ideas in the middle of the night. The principles have genuinely been game changing for me and my team.

7. 2022 is the year of the Metaverse, (apparently) - will you be an early adopter or a cynical onlooker?

I’ve an optimist about technology, so I do buy into some of the hype, and will be an early adopter. I’ve already tried to educate myself in Web3 and dabbled in its wider communities, investment, and content. I’ve yet to buy into VR, but that will likely be on this year’s Christmas list.

8. Which brand, apart from your own, inspires you?

Gymshark. Taking on the big guns, carving out a billion-pound brand, and creating a die-hard community is truly inspirational. I’m also a huge fan of their D2C approach, and the sense to not heavily discount to gain market share.

9. What’s the biggest opportunity in marketing and advertising right now?

For me it’s on-site retailer media, particularly search with the likes of Criteo and Citrus. It’s untapped, and we see great results. I’m certain it’s going to explode in the coming months and years. It’s not particularly sexy, which makes it even more interesting.

10. Which (emerging) trend or innovation of 2021 will have the greatest impact on the industry in 2022?

AI aided creative. We are doing a lot of work with the team at Automated Creative, and I genuinely think those guys are changing the game. Knowing why ads work, and not just what ads work, has been revolutionary to how we operate.

11. What would you most like to change about the ad industry?

The want to always fetishize change. Flat charts don’t sell, and as a result the industry is constantly awash with new platforms, “new normals”, and new behaviours. However, in this chaos you need to find the flat charts and unchanging behaviours are to bank on. In a world of uncertainty, we need to get back to understanding fundamentals in disruption. For me, that is the gutsy move. These are the things that is worth building a product, strategy, or focus on.

12. What are you speaking about at MAD//Fest in July?

How a 130-year-old skincare company fosters agility, creativity, innovation, and data to grow in an age of intense competition.

Adam will be joining a stellar line-up of speakers at MAD//Fest all tackling 2022's theme, 'No guts, no glory', including Rachel Waller, Global VP Marketing, Digital + Innovation, Burberry, Peter Zillig, Director of Marketing - Europe, Ford, Tina Koehler, Global VP Marketing, Deliveroo, Lisa McDowell, Head of Brand Marketing, Ocado, Rachel Kerone, Brand Director, Starling Bank, Rory Sutherland, Vice-chair, Ogilvy, and Simon Leesley, MD-UK, Stitch Fix With 8,000 people expected to attend Click here to secure your ticket.