Vivek Celebrates 5 Years at Vovia

This week on the blog we are celebrating another 5-year anniversary, this time for Senior Digital Marketing Specialist, Vivek. A computer engineer by training, Vivek joined the team as an SEM specialist 5 years ago and has since driven fantastic performance and innovations for clients in several different industries, but especially in the eCommerce space. In this post, Vivek looks back on his time at Vovia so far, reflects on how the industry has changed and gives us an update on changes in his personal life. Read on!

What has been your top highlight in the past 5 years, if you had to choose one?

There are more than a few that come to mind and it is really hard to zero in on one crowning achievement. However, I am extremely proud of being a key part of the team that has helped our clients like Bow Valley College and Cabela’s Canada drive strong year-over-year improvements. This consistent improvement in performance has helped build the client’s belief in our capabilities which has led to huge investments for these clients with Vovia. Also, being a finalist for the Canadian Search Awards in the “Best Use of Search – Retail / eCommerce” in 2020 was a cool recognition of the work we have been putting in for our clients.

What’s the most interesting development you’ve seen in the industry over the past 5 years?

This is a tough one because there are so many! There are new ideas, execution tactics, campaign types and other innovative approaches to the world of digital marketing coming through on a weekly basis. However, for me, the evolution and development of AI-based campaigns such as Smart Display, Smart Shopping, Google Performance Max and Discovery have been something that I needed to see first-hand to believe. These campaigns have fundamentally changed how we execute and optimize campaigns for our clients forever.

What do you think will be the next big thing in the 5 years to come?

Leveraging first-party data will play a huge part in determining client success moving forward. I feel that the clients that are geared to leveraging first-party data to the fullest will be better placed to succeed in the years to come. Even agencies will have to pivot our thinking to include how the first-party data audience segments can be fully leveraged. Also, I am very curious to see what the evolution of AI-based “smart” campaigns will look like in the future.

Any new fun facts about you since your original get-to-know post?

I’d call the last five years pretty eventful! I got married and grew our family here with two cats with strong personalities. I’m also taking the time out to go on more drives around town, especially since the pandemic started. It’s something I enjoyed doing before, but since being cooped up at home with the stay-at-home orders, I genuinely enjoy the break. My choice of music is still the same though!