Thomas Crampton on Asia and Digital Marketing

Thomas Crampton is the Asia-Pacific director at 360 Digital Influence for Ogilvy where he leads a team across 23 cities in 15 Asian territories.

I first heard about Thomas through Professor Michael Netzley (you can catch his interview here) who introduced him as a thought leader in the field of digital marketing in Asia. Since then, I have been an avid reader and viewer of his blog and interviews on YouTube.

I also chanced upon him at GMIC in Beijing where we had a short discussion about mobile usage in Asia and Middle-east together with Steven Goh, founder of Mig33. There are several questions which I wanted to ask Thomas at GMIC but unfortunately time didn’t permit me to do so. Instead, I sent these questions via email and Thomas was gracious enough to oblige.  His insightful answers are posted below.

1. Why do you take interest in Asia?

Asia offers amazing opportunities. I have long loved the wide range of cultures and geographies of Asia. I have lived nearly 15 years in Asia, including stints in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Beijing. In terms of digital, Asia has the most interesting and varied social media ecosystems in the world.

2. What do you do as the Asia-Pacific Director at Ogilvy?

I lead a team of more than 100 social media specialists stretching across 23 cities in 14 territories in Asia. Our role is to help companies to understand, strategize and execute within social media.

3. What’s the toughest challenge faced so far as you work in the advertising industry in Asia?

Finding the right staff to meet the fast growth of our team has been a constant challenge. We often end up training staff ourselves, since finding people with previous experience in social media is so rare.

4. Asia’s digital culture is diverse. In general, how can businesses do well in this continent?

Perhaps the most important key to success in Asia is attitude. Do not hold preconceived notions. Go in with the humble understanding that things will likely be turned on their head by the end of the meeting. While working as a journalist in Thailand, I realized that the more I knew about Thai politics, the less I understood it. I have found that true of Asia in general.

5. Occasionally, we receive emails from businesses asking us how they can do well in China digitally. Do you have any tips?

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