The Content Person of the Year award at the International Content Marketing Awards is to recognise those working in a content marketing function, whether agency or client side, who have demonstrated an outstanding contribution to content marketing.
The award is judged on the person’s content skills, their application of innovation in their roles and their ability to grow and maintain excellent business relationships. It’s a new category introduced to celebrate the great people in our industry.
We caught up with the 2022 Content Person of the Year, David Bexelius, on his career to date, what it means to win the award and more.
Please provide us with a little background on your career. How did you get started and get where you are today?
My career started twenty years ago in the TV industry. For several years, I worked as a host for youth programs. After nearly a decade, I transitioned to being a producer and TV-show developer, working on shows like “Come Dine With Me”, “Survivor”, “Dragons Den” and a lot of local formats.
How long have you been at OTW and what does a typical working day look like for you?
I joined OTW when we were still a major TV production company. Since 2015, both as a company and personally, we’ve gradually shifted more towards content, advertising, and communication.
Today, I’m the creative director for the entire OTW, a company with 110 employees spread across Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö.
This year marks my 10th anniversary with the company, and I’ve landed myself a fantastic role. You could say I have a “free role in midfield,” where I’m involved in creating the most creative and successful concepts and campaigns possible for our existing and new clients. It ranges from ideation and pitching to writing scripts, directing, and production. With that said – I have no typical days. And that’s what I love most with my work.
You won the Content Person of the Year at the 2022 International Content Marketing Awards. What does it mean for you to win this award?
It’s an incredible honor, of course. Most of all, I’m proud and touched by all the kind words from my colleagues and our customers. An award like this forces you to pause for a moment and actually dare to be proud of yourself and think that you must be doing something right. But after that It’s mostly been business as usual. One thing that I’ve noticed is that I’ve received more proposals to give speeches and lectures for students. That’s really fun.
Our judges said you have strong creativity and flair, and you are demonstrably good at building relationships, influencing internally and pushing content boundaries. Your colleagues and clients gave equally positive praise about working with you. What motivates you to be so good at your job?
The simple answer is that I enjoy having fun at work. And to make that happen I think it’s about contributing to the company’s culture. It’s about nudging and motivating clients to dare to order unexpected solutions so that we can undertake enjoyable projects. It’s about being open and authentic, so that others are generous with themselves in return.
As an inspirational person in the industry, what advice would you give to people who would like to emulate your success?
I’d like to avoid reciting worn-out clichés and motivational quotes from famous individuals as an answer to the question. However, I believe it can be boiled down to work hard, be kind to people and amazing things will happen! Which is a worn-out cliché I stole from Conan O’Brien.
Given your successful career to date, what are your career plans for the future? Do you intend to stay within the field of content marketing?
Sure. Thanks to the award, I hope I have some kind of market value and get to stay at OTW. I’ll just carry on and see if I can repeat the success and become the first person to win the award two years in a row.
Finally, what advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about entering the International Content Marketing Awards?
Well, I’ll quote one of the most famous slogans ever – Just do it!
