Simon Kemp, Founder and CEO, Kepios
Simon Kemp helps the world make sense of what people are really doing online. Every year, millions of people in more than 230 countries read his marketing books, guides, and widely acclaimed Global Digital Reports. Simon is the founder and CEO of Kepios, a management consultancy, and chief analyst at DataReportal. He also sits on the advisory boards of a number of the world's most progressive marketing services organisations. Over the past 20 years, Simon has helped to define brand and marketing strategies for many of the world's most admired companies, including Unilever, Google, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Diageo. He continues to advise the world's top marketers and investors on the latest trends in global digital behaviours. In addition to consulting work, Simon runs briefings, workshops, and seminars for clients across the globe and delivers regular guest lectures for leading universities and organisations such as Google Squared and Hyper Island. Prior to starting Kepios, Simon was Regional Managing Partner for We Are Social in Asia, before which he worked at BBH, Universal McCann, Starcom Mediavest, and Accenture. Outside of work, Simon is a music producer, DJ and runs the Singapore Whisky Society. You can find Simon all across the internet as eskimon.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
"Favourite" is a tricky one! LinkedIn is the platform I use most often because it allows me to connect with people all over the world and build valuable business relationships. However, the platform I feel the greatest affinity for is YouTube because it enables me to find so much informative and entertaining content.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I help people make sense of what the world is really doing online. A big part of that involves producing the Global Digital Reports on behalf of We Are Social and Hootsuite, but I also conduct a variety of client advisory and consulting work around the findings contained in those reports.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
Digital trends are a source of stress and confusion for many business people around the world, so I take great satisfaction in helping people identify which of those trends actually matter and helping them to understand how to take advantage of associated opportunities and mitigate potential risks.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Never have only one job.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
I'm also very curious to understand how the world of digital is evolving. We put a lot of work into producing the Global Digital Reports series, but it's always fascinating to see the data as it comes in and get the first insights into new behaviours and trends.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
There's something very satisfying in the fact that our Global Digital Reports have been viewed more than 50 million times by people in more than 230 countries. It's good to know that something we put so much effort into can reach and hopefully help so many people.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
Online serendipity. I like to create and publish a wide variety of different content online and see who that attracts. For example, I started doing this as a DJ more than a decade ago, publishing mixes online and managing various music communities on social media. That introduced me to some amazingly talented people around the world who asked me to help them manage their social media activities too. In doing that, I learnt the skills I needed to launch and build We Are Social (a social media marketing agency) in Asia.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
Curiosity, discipline, and determination.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
Nobody really knows what they're doing or even what they really want. We're all making it up as we go, and what we want changes along our journey.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
Seth Godin had a big impact on me in my early career, especially when he gave away one of his first books – "The Idea Virus" via the internet. I've used that approach to creating and distributing valuable content as a conversation starter throughout my career.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Music – it's always been my biggest passion. Electronic music (techno) has always been my favourite, but I've built a huge, eclectic collection over the years.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you been managing it?
The global devastation had saddened me greatly, and my heart goes out to everyone who has suffered as a result of the pandemic. We've been relatively fortunate in Singapore because the government and the community have made a concerted, civic effort to keep things contained. On a personal level, the ongoing fear and uncertainty have been emotionally draining, and I find I'm much more anxious than I was pre-COVID.
Business-wise, we've lost a lot of the speaking revenues that (used to) make up a meaningful chunk of our business. However, the fact that our reports have been able to help so many organisations around the world to accelerate their digital transformation activities has been an emotional balance to that, and that should also stand us in good stead when things like travel start to return to some semblance of normality.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I'm hugely grateful to a number of people who've inspired me in my career so far, especially John Hartley and Michelle Terry at ascension, Jonathan Briggs at Hyper Island, and Rob Sherlock. The team we built at We Are Social in Singapore also had a profound impact on me, and I'll be forever grateful to all of them, especially Cai Yu Lam, who took such a big gamble to join me as my first employee.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Be honest with yourself about what you enjoy and what you're good at. I spent many years resisting my "nerdiness" because being a nerd wasn't "cool" where I grew up. I wish I'd embraced that part of my personality sooner. Similarly, I really want to be 'creative', but there are only certain aspects of creativity that come naturally to me, and I've wasted a lot of time, energy and emotion chasing things that – if I'm honest with myself, haven't been the best use of the skills I actually have.
That doesn't mean people shouldn't learn new skills and continue to nurture and develop them throughout their lives, but there will always be some things that each individual is naturally better at, and identifying and embracing those skills can help accelerate your path to success.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
The (Western) media loves to focus on what seems like 'overnight' success stories, and many people, especially those in their early careers, seem to have this nagging feeling that if they're not an immediate success, the endeavour isn't worth pursuing. That's simply not the case. Everyone loves stories about the 'career lottery winners', those people who were simply in the right place at the right time.
But there are many, many more stories of people who've got to where they want to be through hard work over multiple decades. I think we also need to reframe 'failure'; we only fail if or when we give up; until then, the challenges and the disappointments are simply part of the learning journey.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
Be careful what you wish for.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I'll avoid the obvious ones, simply because we all know them. I'm a big fan of Bandcamp.com and what they're building in the music industry. I think there are loads for brands in various industries to learn from their model and approach. I'm also a big supporter of GWI (formerly GlobalWebIndex). They're one of our partners for our Global Digital Reports, so I'm probably biased, but I like their approach to research and business.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
For me, success is all about waking up excited. It's as much about optimism and future potential as it is about past glories. As the Wright brothers (of aviation fame) reportedly said, "we could hardly wait to get up in the morning."