Five-Minute Interview: Tom Eslinger
Tom Eslinger, Digital Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide is interviewed by mobiThinking on what’s new in mobile marketing and the creative challenges that arise with this emerging technology.
Tom Eslinger is responsible for growing the creative side of the Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide digital business, bringing in new talent, building new capabilities and forging global alliances with best-in-breed creative partners. He is a multiple Cannes Lion winner, D&AD and MMA award-winner, as part of the campaign teams for Burton Snobile, Rubbish Films and UN Voices. He was born in the USA. He was a lecturer in New Zealand before joining Saatchi & Saatchi in 1998. Promoted to the Saatchi’s global creative board in 2002, he is now based in London office.
Tom Eslinger was recommended for the five-minute interview by Alexandre Mars, Phonevalley.
mobiThinking’s ponders: Are we facing a mobile skills shortage? What should be done about it?
Q1. What is the one thing that gets you most excited about mobile?Being able to deliver our ideas and our client’s brands right into a person’s hand in a specific place and communicate with them instantly - that still knocks me out!
Q2. What are your favorite (and least favorite) mobile Websites? What can the rest of us learn from these?I’ve always had a soft spot for any search engine and “see, I knew I was right” sites, so I’m a regular visitor to mobile sites like Google and Answers.com (especially at pub quiz night…). Without naming names, my least favorite sites are those that are constructed straight off the back of a PC Website, i.e. with little or no consideration for the visitor or the device they are using and with little or no ability to filter the content. This is shameful. It reminds me of the early Web, when print ads would have buttons placed on them and, hey presto, there’s your Website. What we need to learn is that the skills to create great experiences for the mobile environment are precious – as an industry generally, we need to train and skill-up in mobile.
Q3. Who is the new kid on the block - the mobile site/business to watch for the future?I like funky little companies with cool ideas, lots of guts and a “we can do that!” attitude, such as Acrossair and Mobilizy (see the video below for Mobilizy’s augmented reality travel guide).
Read the full article ‘Five-minute interview: Tom Eslinger, digital creative director, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide’ at mobiThinking.
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