name: laurent verrierd.o.b: 4th june 1965
what you do: multitasking in the digital media matrix
p: what’s been happening lately
lv: managed to ride from singapore to kuala lumpur, malaysia under 3 hours last weekend, breaking my speed record of 255km/h and in the process losing both my wing mirrors on my BMW K1200R. oh and got myself a little speed boat to go island hopping
p: oh.. okay. tell us a little of what 2007 was like for you?
lv: After close to 2 intense years at mtv asia as head of digital media, 2007 had to start with a fantastic 1 month ski trip in the southern alps, france followed shortly by a 2 week mountain trek in the wild & beautiful cordilleras, philippines. then fully recharged, i immersed myself as a digital media consultant in the wonderful world of fox international and national geographic channels, yet another media company in search of the digital holy grail.
p: what is the digital holy grail?
lv: with shrinking TV audiences and digital marketing capturing a sizeable amount of ad spend, the social web, the need for self expression and interactivity are as many disrupting factors media companies need to understand and embrace. not forgetting gaming and the advent of virtual worlds. the digital holy grail is simply the ability to make content available everywhere, to attract, retain, entertain and empower audiences to participate and emulate your value proposition. and of course to make a few bucks in the process through efficient advertising offerings and transactional revenue.
p: say that again?
lv: recommend & assemble a digital media team for fox, distribute their content to 3rd party digital platforms, create branded online, mobile destinations and applications for their audience to interact and contribute and complete the sales team’s product offerings.
p: so.. what do all these media companies need to do in the next years?
lv: while some fundamentals such as entertainment value and consumer experience must remain as core objectives, i believe those catching the virtual world phase early will greatly benefit in the coming 3 to 5 years. this of course translates into some form of investment but here again, the web is turning ineluctably from a 2D to a 3D environment at a frenetic pace already and there are very solid business cases behind this recommendation.
p: what is the strangest place you have traveled to this year and why?
lv: washington dc, 2 blocks away from the white house, at the illustrious national geographic society - the world's largest non profit organization created in 1888 - presenting a virtual world concept in this environment full of tradition and history to john fahey, its current president and ceo (a job previously held by the likes of gardiner hubbard and graham bell) and to natgeo ventures & fox international ceos.
p: we've been talking a lot about the future... how about we talk about some some history now? your history...
lv: lived in UK, in the US, traveled around the world a few times, started work as late as possible at havas media communication & vivendi universal for 9 years, shifting to internet startup beenz.com, the web's currency, to my own digital media consultancy firm oneday interactive, to mobile365, to gm digital media at mtvasia
p: so what’s next?
lv: kenya is next, on a safari with my 2 boys and close friends, some of them working at the united nations' environment program headquarters in nairobi. and on the professional front, 2007 has been a fantastic year for me as a consultant and a new secret mission is currently lined up for 2008. the head hunters are still banging on my door and as always should the right corporate job come along, i would definitely consider
p: a few wise words of wisdom maybe?
lv: travel the world as much as possible, take risks, dare to try something new and get a new scar every now and then. btw always remember to take care of your family & friends.
laurent verrier is a digital media consultant that lives far away from his french home land, in a little island called singapore. He’s been on both sides of the fence and has over 15 years of management experience across traditional media, the internet & wireless industries with large media corporate groups like havas, mtv & fox as well small entrepreneurial startups.