Dermot McCormack
EVP, Digital Media
MTV Networks Music & Logo Group
Why Him? McCormack spent ’10 overhauling MTV Nets’ social media strategy and it’s paid off. “We’re now having an ongoing conversation with our audience, which includes more than 50mln Facebook users and 2mln Twitter followers,” he says.
Rockin New Ideas: He hired fellow Hot Lister Gabi Gregg, MTV’s first Twitter Jockey, pioneered Posted, which has not only resonated with the audience but with advertisers and launched the successful MTV Music Meter across multiple platforms and devices.
Who Wins A Fight Between Facebook and Twitter? “We have a saying: Social media is the telephone, we are the conversation. Social media will continue to evolve and new players will emerge. Our job is to create new content and experiences that people want to talk about and share. At the end of the day, the ultimate winner is the consumer.”
Cable’s Most Exciting Digital Opportunity: “We’re excited by the opportunity we see from the emergence of new platforms like smartphones and tablet devices and how they will be infused with social media. Today’s consumer wants to access content over multiple platforms and then easily interact and share content with their network. There is a new version of the Web emerging and it’s the most compelling yet: always on, always with you and socially connected. This excites us.”
What You’d Like Digital Devices To Do: “Become even more simpler to use and maintain. While we’ve made huge advances in digital technology and devices, they’re still a little daunting for the average consumer. The beauty of TV is you don’t need to know your IP address and router configuration to watch your show, at least for now. I’d like to see cell phones, tablets and PCs follow that same route in terms of ease of use.”
