Unilever APAC media chief joins Amplified Intelligence as an advisor

Media industry leader David Porter is signalling his intention to stay actively involved in issues related to media transparency and effectiveness in the region, joining Adelaide-based attention measurement firm Amplified Intelligence as a strategic advisor. 

The Unilever VP of global media for Asia Pacific and Africa, who is leaving his post at FMCG giant at the end of February, will will take an active role in Amplified's advisory board with the aim of continuing a career-long campaign of media reform towards greater transparency and effectiveness. 

Amplified Intelligence, founded by professor and CEO Karen Nelson-Field in 2017, uses AI-powered attention-tracking technology to give advertisers a more accurate picture of how much attention their campaigns are actually generating. This, in turn helps brands maximise media spend, improve outcomes and minimise wastage. The company has been gaining traction in recent years by introducing human attention metrics into a greater number of media products used by agencies, brands and platforms including OMD, WPP, Shell, Mars, Pepsi, Twitter, Facebook and Spotify.

"The challenge of viewability and real attention has been amplified by the digitisation that we thought would save us," Porter tells Campaign. "We have more bad actors and more data points acting as surrogates for what brands really want: human attention."

Porter says Nelson-Field's team’s research is beginning to find some answers with a real chance for reforming and modernising the way brands think about attention.

Last September, Amplified Intelligence closed a post-seed funding round of $3M AUD ($2.2M USD) led by TEN13, a market-leading investment syndicate co-founded by Aussie tech entrepreneur Steve Baxter.

This is the second advisory role Porter has signed on to this month, having already joined Indonesian-based consumer engagement startup Grivy as an advisory board member. 

Porter, a member of Campaign Asia-Pacific's Power List who also holds the position of APAC VP at the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), chairs the Mobile Marketing Association in APAC and is a member of the APAC Effies Council, has been a leader in the media industry for more than 30 years on both brand and agency-side.

“I’m absolutely delighted that someone of David’s incredible experience, know-how and clout within the industry is joining Amplified Intelligence," said Nelson-Field, crediting Porter's advocacy for sparking change across adland. “As we continue to lead the way in changing the ad landscape for the better – making attention the gold standard for ad success – having one of the industry’s most influential and passionate media reformers to help drive us forward will be invaluable."

Karen Nelson-Field, founder & CEO, Amplified Intelligence

Porter says that after years of working for positive change in the media and marketing ecosystem, he feels developing the attention economy is something that can make a tangible difference.

"This is a huge agenda, and the final outcome is yet to be decided," Porter says. "But I hope it takes us towards a better understanding of what an important metric attention is, pre- and post- campaign, and with patience it may lead the industry to a new trading currency."