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The Media Leader Podcast

Are communities the future of audience-targeting? With MG OMD's Natalie Bell

Feb 17, 2025
35:52

Are audience-targeting practices too simple in an era of big data? Advertisers and their agencies tend to use demographics to target people across media channels, but perhaps that model is outdated.

Natalie Bell is CEO of MG OMD. The Omnicom media agency is coming out with new research on how community-based targeting might be a new model worth considering and she joined host Jack Benjamin to preview early findings.

As a trustee of Nabs and member of Wacl, Bell also spoke to concerns around a rollback in DEI initiatives across the media industry, led by the US market.

She discussed the ethical conundrums of striving for responsible marketing in what feels like a new era, where progress is at risk of being rolled back, and what leaders should be doing to fight for what’s right for their employees and their clients.

Highlights:

5:40: Why brands should reconsider targeting practices to focus on communities

13:17: Learnings from working on the government account during the Covid-19 era

18:50: Media agency brands aren't dead

23:38: How agency leaders are reacting to a "sunsetting" of DEI and ESG initiatives

Related articles:

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Let’s harness the power of community for mental wellness

Podcast: Why social media is all about community now – with Reddit’s Paul Peterman

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Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.

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