The Digital Dozen – Michele Marzan, Chief Strategy Officer, MainAd

The Digital Dozen is a series of profile interviews with thought leaders in the technology industry. Here we speak with Michele Marzan, CSO of MainAd – the bespoke performance and marketing display company, about his career path and ask the question on everyone’s lips… what’s your favourite doughnut?

1. Name your three best qualities.

• Accurate
• Brave
• Creative

2. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your working life?

We are all so busy juggling work life, family life, social life, it seems there needs to be two of us to do everything. But I find that however busy your agenda, something surprising will always come along that will simplify things

3. What has been your best idea yet?

At MainAd we are constantly thinking about campaign strategies and creatives to achieve client goals. On one particular campaign I had an idea to change the colour on a display ad button, which seems like a small detail, but this increased the Click Through Rate for the ad by +50%

4. What advice have you been given that made a difference?

People make a company but the technology must drive the business. We invest a lot of time making sure the morale within the MainAd team is always high. We’re an international business with a cosmopolitan team but our technology also needs to be strong and deliver results – which I believe it does

5. What’s the best thing about your work?

The variety. I get to experience so many different aspects of the business, whether it is product development, marketing strategy or decision-making. I enjoy working with people, and networking is a big part of my job

6. What do you think will be big in media in ten years’ time?

Unfortunately, the Internet of Things. While technology brings great efficiencies I think IoT has a risk of over connecting us in our everyday lives.

7. What career path would you advise your children to follow?

I would advise them to do what they love. I’d also say change jobs every couple of years, if it’s possible, to gain wider experience, particularly early on in your career. And relying on serendipity sometimes is a good thing

8. What career path would you be following if you weren’t in your current job?

I would have become a doctor, or a surgeon. Fortunately in my current job I do not have to save lives, which makes my life easier, but the idea does still appeal to me

9. Which TV programme would you like to star in?

The Late Show

10 Who would be your four perfect dinner guests?

My child and his friends, you can learn so much from the next generation and they’re also very funny

11. What three items would you take to a desert island?

A barbeque, a mountain bike, and Netflix

12. And finally, the question on everyone’s lips… what’s your favourite doughnut?

Timbits, the bite-sized fried-dough confectionery by Canadian-based Tim Hortons