The ad industry keeps obsessing over whales, but the krill are paying the bills. It’s time someone built an agency for the rest.
Omar Oakes
Omar Oakes is a senior journalist, editor, columnist and event moderator with over a decade of expertise in the advertising and media industry. He was founding editor of The Media Leader, led its launch and US expansion, and built it into a leading industry publication. His TML column was nominated for the prestigious BSME B2B Columnist of the Year 2024 award. He is now a freelance writer and commentator and founder of oomph., a marketing consultancy for advertising and media businesses.
LATEST ARTICLES
Celebrity journalism has often blurred the line between PR and reality — but the Bernard Bale story reveals just how far you can go when no-one asks questions.
Meta says yes. A US regulator says: how convenient. But, whether it serves his interest or not, does Mark Zuckerberg have a point?
It’s time we stopped performing thought leadership and started pursuing actual thought if we want the industry to be better.
Ad-funded content on platforms doesn’t work because there are too few platforms and the rents are too high. As media fragments and production businesses suffer, creators must diversify to survive.
Media leaders love to talk about workplace culture, but grieving parents are still being sidelined. Baby loss isn’t rare — our silence about it should be.
It may be too painful to accept that what Elon Musk is doing to our industry is highly dangerous. We must all resist the urge to see this shocking behaviour as the new normal.
It’s not a question of if but when you decide to give up on your principles. Nothing will get brands, big or small, to leave Meta.
Holdcos talk about diversity and culture but remain addicted to centralising operations. Why is this command-and-control mindset not challenged enough?
Advertising is now dominated by a handful of players that don’t play by established rules, like JICs or trade bodies. This poses a huge risk for advertisers.