I’ve been in Thailand for the last 2 and a half weeks, and what a time it was.

Crystal clear blue seas, beautiful beaches, amazing experiences, people and food.

While there’s a part of me thinking I need to travel the world for a year, with so much still to see, I’m back and energised to crack on and start building.

It was nice to be disconnected for 2 weeks, see a new way of life, and take a break from all of the jargon around AI, VR, CTV, and everything in between.

One of the realisations in Thailand which I will be taking back with me is the power of experiences, people don’t forget how they were made to feel.

Too often brands are focusing on what to say, but what consumers actually remember is how you made them feel, transformational experiences are a key enabler of this.

While it wouldn’t be a very cost-efficient acquisition strategy to pay for potential customers to fly out to Thailand, as a brand there are unique ways to impact consumers and make a difference to their lives. Not enough brands are currently making a positive impact, a lot of advertising is wastage, and ultimately consumers struggle to trust the vast majority of ads they see.

We’ve become lost in the transactions, the meaningless interactions and engagements. What truly matters is the relationships formed and the memories left.

Over the next few months, I’m keen to carry on learning and find new impactful ways where advertising can actually cut through and not add to the clutter.

I’d love to chat with anyone who is working on driving real innovation across advertising, whether that’s through media, creatives or tech.

We’re at an interesting crossroads right now in the industry, and I see a lot of opportunities on the horizon, with a need for creativity, media and tech to be further combined and enhanced.

If there’s anyone I should reach out to, or if you’d like to chat - please get in touch.

I’ll also be at MadFest this week for anyone who’d like to meet in person, would love to meet as many people as possible.