As part of our expansion plans we are delighted to welcome Paul Rowlinson to Plug Media as an advisor to the board.

"Rowly" will be familiar to many throughout the industry, holding senior positions across GroupM & Publicis, among others, in a distinguished media career.

We took some time out to discuss his involvement in Plug.

Why Plug Media?

I have 3 criteria for who I work with and what I do. It must be with people I Iike and trust, doing interesting and ethical work, and I must be able to add value. Right from the first meetings it has been clear to me that Plug Media has a genuine commitment to growing business the right way through a focus on service, fulfilling a real need for advertisers and agencies (large and small) and an empathy and understanding of consumers, that is rare in our industry. They have an inspiring mission and a team committed to delivering it without compromise. I wanted to be a part of that.

What are your first impressions of Plug Media?

They are true to their trademark behaviours of collaboration, innovation and honesty. There is a real desire to do work that makes the lives of our customers and clients better, adding value and doing the right thing. Without wanting to sound too nobby, their intellectual athleticism and smart thinking are coupled with a genuine culture of openness, support and humanity.

Ethics and Sustainability are a core value at Plug. Do you feel the media industry is doing enough in this area?

Absolutely not. There is a lot of talk in our industry about ethics and sustainability, but less understanding and even less positive action. There is too much "window dressing" and "box ticking". Plug Media is not like that. The work they do makes a real difference, and the people in the team are genuinely committed to helping advertisers reach their intended audiences to deliver business growth by focussing on ethics and sustainability. For advertisers, agencies and audiences. Ethics, sustainability and business growth should not be seen as mutually exclusive.

As you know, Amazon forms a key part of Plug’s offering. From a client and agency’s point of view, how important is it to have an Amazon strategy?

You'd have to be mad not to have an Amazon strategy. It's become a central thread of most people's lives, and any advertiser or agency who either doesn't have a strategy, has an incompletely formed approach and/or fails to deliver on it, is missing huge opportunities for growth. Expertise in this area, in my experience, is thin on the ground and I love the fact that Plug were one of the first in the UK to integrate with Amazon DSP and are using their expertise to help agencies and advertisers maximise their scope for growth and do so with credibility. 

As the programmatic landscape evolves, how do you feel Plug is positioned to support clients and agencies to navigate this?

It might sound a bit cliched, but it's not the strong that survive but those most able and willing to adapt. I'm a biologist by study and spent a large chunk of my university days and early career studying evolution and adaptation (physiological and morphological). What is happening in programmatic is directly comparable and Plug have both the smarts and flexibility to adapt to the evolving needs of advertisers and agencies. Whether it's helping smaller companies harness a full range of programmatic opportunities or helping larger companies to maximise their effectiveness, Plug Media are equipped with the skills and agility to make a difference.

Welcome on-board Rowly. We are all excited to be working with you and look forward to what the future holds!

Plug Media - Your Sustainable Partner in Programmatic Excellence and Innovation