[The Bookmarks 2013]: Q&A with Bookmarks chair, Nikki Cockcroft

8 Nov 2013

On digital goddesses, role models and looking hot! Nikki Cockcroft kindly takes time out of her busy schedule as a mom and chair of the Bookmarks Awards to answer our questions.

[The Bookmarks 2013]: Q&A with Bookmarks chair, Nikki Cockcroft

Congratulations on recently becoming a mom? How's it going?

Nikki Cockcroft: It's amazing! Rosie Catherine Stokes was born on 9 September 2013 at 11.53am. After 90mins of labour, the most gorgeous little girl was delivered inevitably changing our lives for the better.

No previous success or memorable moment in my life can compare to the joy of our baby girl. Rob is an amazing Dad and no doubt our little princess is going to be the digital goddess of the future.

Are you still managing to keep all your executive commitments now that you have a new pixel on board?

Cockcroft: Having a baby does change things and it means I have to be more disciplined with my time. I have interpreted the helpful tip of "sleep when she sleeps" to mean "work when she sleeps", making it easier to stay on top of things. If anything Rosie has inspired me to work harder and be more committed to ensure she can have everything a princess deserves.

I want to be her role model both as a career woman and a mother and this has become a new driver. My list has got longer and the order has be re-prioritised with Rosie at the top of that list.

It sounds like this year's Bookmark Awards is going to be a star-studded event. Can you tell us a bit about how the Bookmarks has grown up?

Cockcroft: The Bookmarks Awards - WOW! I look back now and feel extremely proud and humbled by the support of the industry and sponsors who have completely changed and evolved our awards. From the measly 100 entries in our first year to over 600 in our 6th year. Whilst I often get teased (mostly by Rob) that I have high expectations and always expect the best, I have treated the awards in the same way.

Our aim was to make the Bookmarks THE digital awards with a tough benchmark set against international best practices and it is now exactly that. With a pool of over 70 of the most experienced and skilled judges we ensure that we give our entrants the opportunity to strive to be the best in SA. Winning a "pixel" is a true achievement and one that is now recognised by the advertising industry at large.

Our 6th year promises to be the best yet. We have ensured that the focus is (as always) on measurable results, but this year we have emphasized the focus to mean measurable results that add value. Publishers must deliver value to their readers, agencies must deliver great results that add value to their clients and the work must ultimately meet the standards across the entire list of criteria from concept to execution, with innovative use of technology to results based on well articulated and understood objectives. The Bookmarks aren't just awards, they're a benchmark for all digital teams to aspire to.

In your opinion has the SA digital industry grown up, since last year, are we seeing any significant changes?

Cockcroft: Absolutely! Every year I am blown away by the growth in our industry, not only in terms of the number of entries but by the number of new comers, by the level of the work entered and by the dynamic shift in focus as technology evolves. This year we have seen continuous growth in the number of mobile and social categories with an obvious improvement in the quality of the work in these categories.

Two categories stood out in terms of the increase in number of categories, those being Integrated Campaigns and Online Video, which seems reflective of the current industry focus.

With the continued growth of online marketers and publishers worldwide, do you think in real terms the digital pie is getting bigger for stakeholders, or is it just getting fragmented into increasingly smaller slices?

Cockcroft: The online industry is changing. From an agency perspective we are seeing fewer digital vs. traditional campaigns but rather campaigns with the best solution to deliver the objectives regardless of the medium. Digital is becoming less and less of a separate entity and rather a part of the overall campaign which means a greater share of the overall budget.

We still need further development in the digital understanding on the client side. Braver clients equal greater digital budgets, it's becoming less about directing along specific channels and more about the best vehicle to deliver the campaign objectives.

Online publishers are dependent on advertising sales revenue mostly in the form of display advertising, which continues to decrease in spend in comparison to some of the more popular digital elements being social, search and the recent reinvigorated interest in email marketing.

The larger online publishers are still taking the lion's share of the display budgets available as they have the ability to offer integrated campaigns with the backup of their large media company owners. Successful smaller publishers are those that deliver unique, quality and relevant content.

Can you tell us any secrets about this year's Bookmarks judges or what we can expect to see?

Cockcroft: This year we have a judging panel of over 70 judges across 55 categories. We are honoured to have the leaders in our industry dedicate an immense amount of time to the judging process. We aim to ensure fairness and eliminate any bias by using our judging platform to tally the results. The judges spend time measuring each entry against the detailed criteria and ensuring that the entry delivers results against the predefined objectives.

Once again, we have brought out two international judges. This year we introduce two amazing women, Laura Jordan Bambach and Sophia Stuart, to ensure that we benchmark the entries against the leaders across the globe.

Any fashion tips?

Cockcroft: This is the digital party of the year, time to dress up, look fabulous and celebrate another year of hard work. Dress: HOT!