Perspective
Meet the #TwitterAwards judges: VaynerMedia chief creative officer Steve Babcock
We picked the brightest minds to judge the #TwitterAwards . Meet VaynerMedia chief creative officer Steve Babcock.
Recognizing the most innovative marketers on the planet, the #TwitterAwards showcase the most original and creative advertising work being done today. And who best to determine the campaigns that earn Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards? Why our panel of esteemed judges representing the brightest minds from top brands and agencies, that’s who.
Let’s get to know one of the Twitter Awards judges: Steve Babcock. Just like in a Hollywood movie, Steve started his career working in the mailroom at an advertising firm. Today he's chief creative officer at VaynerMedia, headquartered in New York, helping craft digital campaigns for clients such as Budweiser, GE, and Unilever.
How do you use Twitter in your job?
@stevehappens: Any time I get an assignment, I search Twitter. I feel like it's a really accurate, bluntly honest barometer of people and culture. I look up the brand and consume the real time chatter around the thing I'm working on. Now I'm no longer ideating out of a vacuum. And I can do it all right now on my phone. I can't tell you how many times someone's Twitter rant lead me to, “That's the thing, that's the angle we need to take.”
Any time I get an assignment, I search Twitter. I feel like it's a really accurate, bluntly honest barometer of people and culture.
What are the key elements of a successful marketing campaign?
@stevehappens: There are three elements of a successful marketing campaign, and the other two don't matter if you don't hit the first one: Did it work? If not, there is no conversation beyond that in this industry. This was the objective; did you do what you needed to do to solve that objective?
Number two would be ROI. How much effort did it take to create that success? Say you want brand awareness. You can spend a kajillion dollars and send a note to everyone in the world about your product. That would work, but it would be ridiculously expensive.
The third is, was it “press worthy”? Did it transcend the media buy? Was it worthy of buzz?
There are three elements of a successful marketing campaign, and the other two don't matter if you don't hit the first one: Did it work?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
@stevehappens: I wanted to direct movies. Then I got a job in the mailroom at a big agency where they made commercials. And I thought that was kind of like making movies -- using your creativity to make content -- and was probably more achievable than becoming a big movie director.
I am envious of young kids growing up now. They can make their own little moves and publish them. I would have killed for that opportunity. If YouTube had existed in the 1980s I would have been a viral sensation.
What movie did you wish you'd directed?
@stevehappens: The Goonies, all the way. That movie has everything.