Jamshed Wadia

Asia Vice Chair, Digital
Edelman

Singapore

“Having spent 25 years in the industry, I have realised that innovators and leaders are only as effective as the teams they lead.”

Jamshed Wadia joined Edelman earlier this year to oversee the Asia digital practice,a critical growth function for the world’s biggest PR firm. Wadia earlier spent 17 years with Intel, where he rose through the ranks of the sales and marketing team to become marketing director for the company's digital marketing and media unit acrossAsia-Pacific and Japan. He also launched Intel’s first real-time digital hub, symbolic of a pioneering mindset that has also seen Wadia become a vocal advocate for the possibilities engendered by web3 and the metaverse. At Edelman, Wadia’s workencompasses new offerings in digital experiences, digital advisory, and production services.

How do you define innovation?
To me, Innovation is the act or process of transforming or disrupting any aspect of culture, business, or self, and making a better version of it. In the context of the business world, it would be transforming, or disrupting business models, brands,products, solutions, customer experiences, etc., that leads to a better business outcome. It’s evident that businesses that have driven digital transformation or built new business models as digital disruptors are now best positioned to survive and thrive in a post-pandemic world.

What is the most innovative PR or marketing initiative you've seen over the past 12 months?
What gets me excited is that we are at a major inflexion point where the developments in the metaverse and web3 ecosystem will transform and disrupt customer experiences, customer data ownership, creator economy, community membership and loyalty programs. At Edelman, we have a broader definition of the Metaverse, which is a wide spectrum of virtual and hybrid experiences, be it virtual reality, augmented reality or mixed reality. And although true virtual reality experiences are restricted by hardware and time usage, we are seeing a high level of maturity in the consumer gaming and game development space. Brands like Nike, Forever 21, Ralph Lauren, NASCAR, and Vans have moved to set up experiences within platforms like Roblox. On Augmented reality (AR), brands like Pokemon Go, IKEA, Sephora and Warby Parker have created user experiences that stand out and draws in customers. But if I had to pick one brand or initiative that stands out in this space, it is Starbucks’ roadmap to integrate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with an industry-leading loyalty program at scale. There is no doubt in mind that the future of loyalty and membership programs is based on the integration of NFTs.

In your opinion, which brands and/or agencies are most innovative in their approach to PR and marketing?
The pandemic has forced the marketing and communications industry to question previous marketing models, be more authentic, get back to building communities,build immersive experiences and make commerce simple at all customer touchpoints. Part of this has been achieved by investments in martech and data technology. But what is encouraging is that many brands are now willing to embrace creativity and the right cultural context to build more authentic connections with their customers. The messaging is getting more customer and culture-centric versus it being overly brand-centric. In my opinion, the emerging digital innovations to watch out for are - the dominance of short-form video (TikTokification of the world), live streaming social commerce, virtual influencers, metaverse and web3. From a societal and cultural perspective, we see brands investing in understanding Gen Z audiences better and understanding their responsibility towards causes like climate and DEI. These are some of the marketing initiatives that I think have made great use of the innovations highlighted above – Samsung’s Mother’s Day Challenge on TikTok, Walmart’s multiple shoppable Livestream events on social media and owned web, Ikea’s use of virtual influencer imma to open a store in Tokyo, Spotify’s annual wrapped campaign, and Dove’s #BodyLove movement for body positivity.

Describe a moment in your career that you would consider to be innovative.
I have been very fortunate to work for companies and bosses that have encouraged innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. In 2009, even though I was in a sales role, I kept influencing my customers to start building their social strategy. Back then, I just knew in my heart that this would be the space that would dominate marketing for the next decade. So, I decided to take a leap of faith and move from an established sales role to running Intel’s regional social media execution. It was risky, and I remember being nervous about it, but it was the right move for me, and it paid off. At another point in my career in 2015, I had the opportunity to build Intel’s first Digital hub that did real-time monitoring and marketing. Creating a self-sustaining social and insights hub helped Intel achieve a high share of voice on global and regional industry events. It also helped measure owned campaigns and drove marketing significant marketing efficiency. At Edelman, I have had the opportunity to work with the best digital leaders to build new offerings in digital experiences, digital advisory,and production services. We are excited by the possibilities that web3 and metaverse brings to our clients.

Who do you admire for his/her approach to innovation?
One superpower that every innovator possess is the power to make the complex simple. My role models here are Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Reid Hoffman, and Melanie Perkins. Melanie Perkins, the founder of Canva, is a great example of a digital disruption can drive innovation in the creative industry. Melanie had the foresight to envision that the future of design would be simpler, on the cloud, and collaborative.That was the basis on which she built Canva, which is now valued by private investors at $40 billion. But having spent 25 years in the industry, I have also realised that innovators and leaders are only as effective as the teams they lead. Asa leader you need to inspire and have the team’s buy-in to work together on an agreed goal. In our industry, magic only happens when marketing and communications leaders, both on the client and agency side, are committed to working with each other.

How do you get out of a creativity rut?
I believe the best way to get yourself unstuck from any rut or block, is to permit yourself to take a break. The brain has a magical way of digesting all the information and connecting the dots when you give it enough time away from the problem you want to solve. My remedy for getting out of a rut is taking a long nature walks and disconnecting from everything else.

What advice would you give to the PR industry around embracing innovation?
This observation is probably applicable to all industries and situations and not specific to the PR industry. But the times when I have been effective and innovative are when I have had an open mind and embraced diverse voices. And the times I have failed are when I tried to solve the problem all by myself. It’s not always easy to listen to people that don’t think like you or don’t have the same experiences or even the same goals, but those are the most enriching conversations you can ever have. Personally, I try to maintain a professional network of people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, ethnicity, and age groups. This helps give me a unique perspective and broadens my thinking. Based on my experience, the companies that do a better job at marketing and communications are the ones where the chief marketing officer, chief communications officer and chief financial officer are friends, and their teams are well aligned.

What would you be doing if you weren't doing your current job?
I am a big music buff, and occasionally I fall into the fantasy that I am DJ’ing to a large audience. I am also passionate about providing financial literacy for the younger generation. There was no one to guide me on my financial journey, and I had learnt some hard lessons. The future of work, wealth accumulation and wealth generation will be complicated and providing financial literacy to the younger generation is our duty collectively.

Which book/movie/TV show/podcast/playlist/other cultural source has provided inspiration over the past year?
The two podcasts that play a huge role in my goal to create a better version of myself are ‘Impact Theory’ and ‘The Art of Charm’. Both podcasts bring in some of the best thinkers and doers that provide food for thought and inspiration to improve your life, health, work and relationships with people and money. My go-to movies when experiencing a dry patch are ‘Seabiscuit’ and ‘Rudy’, they never fail to cheer and inspire me.

How would you like to see work culture, and the role of the office, evolve?
The present and future of work should be new and flexible ways of working, with a mixture of in-office and home working. Organization’s must create a workplace culture built on trust that drives collective success. Fundamentally, communal workspaces should be integral to developing a culture of collaboration and community. A hybrid working week should be a mix of working from home and in-office connections with a working philosophy of giving as much flexibility as possible.The policy should also ensure that the health and safety of employees are a priority.At the end of the day, the future of work is related to the future of leadership. I am a big believer in – The more power you give to people, the more power they will return.In building an ideal hybrid workplace, we must approach all our colleagues with trust,flexibility, inclusivity and empathy.

How can the PR and communications industry harness innovation to make more progress on diversity, equity and inclusion?
The industry has a huge responsibility in driving DEI. It has the power to educate and influence clients that then influence and impact society at large. The industry must commit to and influence the relentless pursuit of an equitable, respectful and culturally curious society. DEI must first be adopted widely within the industry, which will then drive innovative thinking and cultivate diverse ideas for our clients. We have a collective responsibility to make sure that our marketing and communication initiatives are representative and truly speak to the diverse world we live in. It’s also not just about representation, but championing causes, questioning the status quo and driving meaningful change. Another important pillar for the industry is driving partnerships with diverse professional groups, community organisations and non-profit partners to positively impact and influence society. For brands and businesses to remain competitive, engaging with multicultural audiences is no longer an option but a requirement for long-term growth and success.