SVP, Head of Media Planning North America
Paul Dalton believes that if there’s one thing that every marketer should keep in mind, it’s this: your consumers are outpacing you. People are constantly migrating to new platforms, new technologies and finding new ways to indulge in their passions — and it’s tough for brands to keep up. He says, “It’s critical for brands to have a clear and aggressive approach to investing in innovation—something that enables your brand to not only keep up with consumers, but shape what they’re migrating to.”
Since joining DigitasLBi in 2012, Paul has put his proactive, future-facing techniques to work. His bold ideas and strong strategic thinking led to multiple new business wins for DigitasLBi in 2013, resulting in the media capability’s largest growth year yet. As a result, in January of this year, Paul was elevated to Head of Media Planning for DigitasLBi North America, responsible for developing new cross-channel solutions for the agency as a whole.
Paul believes in creating media, not waiting for it to be sold. He’s always pushing the boundaries of what’s currently in place, and sees the opportunities for what hasn’t been done yet.
For example, last year, he led media for "The Big Stage," a multichannel marketing initiative for NYSE Euronext. At the core of the project was a new digital content platform that went behind the scenes with the most fascinating companies in business, taking readers on their journey to an IPO. While Paul and his team could have simply bought media to promote the NYSE-listed companies, they instead worked with the featured firms to identify the stories and insights that brought them to the big stage via interviews, videos, and more-- driving high exposure and engagement for NYSE-listed companies and their leaders.
In 2013, Motorola released the Moto X, the world’s first truly customizable smartphone, with over 2,000 different color combinations for both the back cover and accents. To launch this innovative phone, Paul and his team took this idea of personalization and brought it to life in incredible ways across all media—including the first ever, interactive, customizable print ad. With wafer-thin LEDs and batteries, the Moto X print ad enabled consumers to change the color of the phone with just the touch of a finger, without ever leaving the page. Blurring the lines between traditional and new media, the piece drove 72 million social earned media impressions within the first 28 days.
Then Paul and his team launched a series of other innovative, disruptive media plays for Moto X, all tied back to customization. They launched Facebook ads that automatically designed a phone based on the dominant colors in people’s profile photos. At New York Fashion Week, they created kiosks that picked up on the color of the consumer’s clothes, and then changed the phones on display to match. The experience was shareable and shoppable—the consumer could send herself a link with the phone, and then purchase it later.
Another example of media at its finest was for Delta Air Lines-- used to help improve the flying experience. Paul again led the media for “The Cabin Pressure Cook Off,” an original culinary competition video series created with Delta and FOOD & WINE. The campaign used media as more than just a delivery vehicle—it was a media partnership that drove product innovation. All four contestants were former FOOD & WINE Best New Chefs, and the winner was selected to consult on Delta menus for flights departing Atlanta.
Originally from London, Paul has worked on three continents with roles in the US, the UK and Australia. Prior to going into advertising, he worked in computer science at Unisys Australia. Paul’s work for Unisys was also part of a time where he spent three and a half years traveling the globe, everywhere from Europe to Asia to Central America. This period of his life also included working at a Waffle House in Florida.