TONY Jervis is the commercial director of MediaCom Scotland, where he has worked for the last six years..
MediaCom is the UK’s largest media buying agency group, with 140-plus offices around the world.
What are your media habits?
My day usually starts with BBC news on TV for the headlines, followed by a quick scan of my emails before driving to work preferably in silence as I am more of a night owl than a morning person. I consume more TV than ever I suspect but I do watch a lot of series in catch-up mode (God bless TiVo), and, other than sports, watch very few programmes live these days – suggesting the content I consume I am very focused on rather than wallpaper TV.
At lunchtime, it’s another dip into the news and sports pages and at some point in the day I will be looking for news stories and interesting features in trade media websites, plus a cursory glance at LinkedIn to see what’s happening. The drive home is usually accompanied by tuning in to TalkSport or BBC Radio 4.
I no longer buy newspapers and rarely read magazines unless I am on a train or plane and the access to Wi-Fi is limited.
I have also caught the dual-screening bug, recently. Million Pound Drop and The Voice UK have enticed me to play along and I can see that this is going to become increasingly mainstream and an area for media planners to exploit.
Any particularly favourite journalists, and why?
That’s a tough one. I like to consume a variety of opinions from various sources in order to keep a balance and come to my own viewpoints. I have to say, holidaying in the USA has shown me just how relatively unbiased our journalists are in comparison and how good their writing is in general.
To what extent has the media become an increasing or decreasing part of your professional life?
Working in advertising hasn’t made any impact on my media consumption directly, that I can think of. Social change and the proliferation of online content have definitely increased my thirst for media and the ‘need’ to be constantly informed.
To what extent is New Media (websites, social networking, etc.) part of your media world?
Despite not being in my first flush of youth I have always been an early adopter of technology – owning an iPad, iPhone and having had a connected TV for three years now. So, despite approaching many new social media channels with a high degree of scepticism, I feel compelled to try them out and decide for myself whether to keep using them or if they are of little value to me.
On that basis I have been on Facebook since November 2007, LinkedIn became an imperative about four years ago but to date I have resisted twitter as I want to reserve time to speak to people face-to-face on a daily basis.
It saddens me to see how many people sit in pubs in groups constantly looking at their smartphones rather than having real conversations with their friends, colleagues or loved ones, sat opposite them. Other than that, the usual BBC and Sky news apps feed my need for what’s going on in the world and, possibly more importantly, football. Plus regular dips into eBay, IMDb, TED and a variety of other ‘shopping or snacking. content.
How would you rate the media understanding, and coverage, of your sector?
The way we consume media is going through unprecedented change due to the increase in mobile download speeds and the proliferation of technology in the home and workplace. To this end, the publishers covering our trade sector are struggling to keep up and deliver news and content in the way we access it as consumers. No Apps and websites that are often hard to search, anyone who grabs the initiative to improve the consumer journey will win this battle, as evidenced in the consumer arena constantly.
If you were an editor (newspaper, television, etc. state which) for a day, what would you do?
An entire issue of a newspaper dedicated to exposing all of the corporate tax evaders plus the corporate good guys, so that everyone can make an informed decision when buying a product or service in the UK.
