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Anna-Lee Bridgstock, Director of Data, Intelligence and Planning, LADbible Group

Anna-Lee Bridgstock, Director of Data, Intelligence and Planning, LADbible Group

What has been your path to power?

I started my career as an insights analyst at a media agency in Sydney. I was trained as a quantitative researcher, running studies for brands like Microsoft. After this, I worked as an insights manager at nineMSN where my digital effectiveness journey began.

I then accepted a role to lead the data and insights for Volkswagen Group’s media agency, a role that transferred me from Sydney to Berlin. Here, I was the central go-to for 32 countries, covering everything from market segmentation to journey mapping. After this, my career shifted as I became Product Director for the development of a large audience insights, media planning and buying and measurement operating system. I then moved to creative agency Wunderman Thompson to build out a new team within the existing data department. This team focused on finding new business around the areas of social listening, SEO, research and data visualisation.

In the early months of the pandemic, I received a call that would change my career – I was asked to join LADbible Group, the world’s biggest social video publisher, and set up its first centralised data, intelligence and planning unit. Heading up a team of researchers, analysts, scientists, engineers, social planners and buyers, the team represents the future model of data teams; integrating data, planning and buying in one multi-disciplinary team.

What impact has the pandemic had on the role of data in your company/organisation?

Data has always been front and centre at LADbible Group, but the pandemic has made data even more top of mind. We’ve been producing more content than ever before, and this additional content generates hundreds of millions of views, reactions and engagement data points, which creates even more data to be collected and analysed. This means we have been doubling down on our data and planning capabilities, growing from a team of three to a team of 20 in less than 18 months.

Does data now have a seat at the table during strategic discussions? If not, what will it take to get it there?

Not only does data have a seat at the table during strategic discussions at LADbible Group, data informs the discussion and can sway the strategy itself. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of creatively led, “hybrid” data practitioners who are positioning themselves in these strategic discussions and bridging the gap between data and other areas in businesses. This means input from data is often considered more upstream, which maximises impact downstream.

What are your key areas of focus for data and analytics in 2022?

2022 is about continuing our journey to surface relevant, actionable data and insights in an efficient way across the business. As we’re creating more data than ever before, we need to ensure we’re surfacing the right information at the right time and not just presenting everything we have.

In addition to this, a major focus is on our newest research community, LADnation, which aims to be the UK’s most engaged youth research panel. In the first four months of launch, we have recruited over 18,000 panellists and we’ve recorded over half a million survey responses. As LADbible Group reaches over 14 million of the UK’s youth, we aim to continue to recruit people onto our community to ensure they have a voice and can inform content they see on our platforms and beyond.

Tell us what leadership means to you in the context of your role as a senior data leader.

Leadership in data means setting the data vision and strategy across the business and ensuring success. In real terms, this means envisaging and designing new products and solutions and aligning with various stakeholders to ensure buy-in. It’s also about always promoting the value of data and championing it across the business.

I also strongly believe that leadership in data is about listening and learning. Listening to what stakeholders need and adapting approaches to ensure our solutions are relevant and will therefore ensure uptake. Leadership is about learning new skills and approaches from others and understanding that your strength as a leader can be through having talented people with different skills working with you.

What key skills or attributes do you consider have contributed to your success in this role?

Having a slightly different data journey has been beneficial for me in my role at LADbible Group. I initially completed a BA in Journalism, specialising in media and law, and was trained on the job as a quantitative researcher and then a web and social analyst. This combination of experience means my “lens” for data is very focused on designing creative and strategic solutions, visualisation and defining stakeholder outputs. This aligns closely with the needs of advertising, media and creative industries.

How did you develop – and continue to develop – these skills or attributes?

My experience in communication and creativity came from my studies and love of art and psychology. Understanding human nature and how we express ourselves has helped my creativity. My focus now is to continue to develop my technical understanding as my remit encompasses fabulously talented data science and engineering teams. I do this by spending time with teams and taking on courses to get a hands-on understanding of the work.

Is the data tech you have keeping pace with your goals and requirements? Are your providers leading or lagging behind your demands?

Since 2015, there have been thousands of new APIs added each year. Due to the rapid pace at which new platforms, features and metrics appear, there have been inconsistencies with data tech providers. Additionally, it’s rare for newer channels or platforms to release APIs immediately, which has meant partners need more time to integrate these into systems. This makes it very tricky to assess partners and ascertain who the most appropriate ones are as the landscape changes so quickly.

On top of this, fragmentation and new tech is making the landscape even harder to navigate. Many partners do very similar things and its challenging to identify which solutions to trial – especially when there is so much resource needed to review, trial and onboard solutions.

Anna-Lee Bridgstock
has been included in:

100 Brands 2021 (EMEA)
100 Brands 2022 (EMEA)