Tealium Expert Spotlight: Tim Waijers

[KristenMeren]

Today we want to shine our Tealium Expert Spotlight on @TimWaijers! Tim was recently hand-selected to join the Expert group for his stellar reputation over the past 18 months he's been a community member. Keep reading below to learn more about Tim, then visit his profile and select the Send a message button to connect with him directly.

How do you interact with Tealium’s products on a daily basis?

I use AudienceStream on a daily basis to see how our automation is running and what audiences might need more attention or need to be refined. Next to that, I try to see if there are any features we should be using. At Vacansoleil we use Tealium iQ for Tag Management and AudienceStream as a Customer Data Platform.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I like spending time with my partner and kids. Also I have a fondness for lettering and calligraphy.

What do you see as the hottest trends in technology today?

Honestly, I think legislation seems to be a hot topic in our field. In the news we're seeing more and more evidence that some aspects of the "hottest trends", such as Big Data and AI / Machine Learning, are being used in ways that can be explained as being nefarious.

Looking at just the marketing technology, we've had a lot of freedom in the past. For some people the current run on legislation feels like the walls are closing in, or freedom is being taken away. But I think some of those walls should actually be there to protect end users. People and companies in the MarTech world should be more accountable and think more responsibly about what we're doing and the impact of those actions.

Basically it boils down to ethics and responsibility, which in my view, you can't expect to come from businesses without some form of legislation.

How can an organization stay relevant five years from now?

Currently too much or too little time is spent on the creation of promotional media. For example, a company spends a lot of time creating a TV campaign which is targeted to a very large audience. But at the same time, the banners, etc. for a remarketing campaign are created completely automatically for high engaging users. I think those creatives that are automatically generated for lowerfunnel users (remarketing, etc.) deserve more attention to stay relevant to users. So I expect that automating the complete pipeline for creating and serving personalized content across all channels to your individual customers/users will give more relevancy to a company's presence.

What do you consider most promising in the era of big data?

The services that will make big data more accessible to smaller companies. Until recently, big data and other topics such as machine learning required a lot of in-depth knowledgeable on the abstract theory behind those technologies. I think that in the future there will be services that will make using big data a lot easier and a lot more accessible.

What app would be hard for you to live without?

WhatsApp, because it's become such an integral part of my day to day communication. Other than that: Youtube, Instagram, and Reddit.

What was the worst job you’ve ever had?

When I was a teenager one of my first jobs was to sort mussels coming in from ships. I'd stand behind a conveyor belt and have to sort out crabs, garbage, and bad mussels from the incoming shipments. It was loud, fast, and mind numbing. That was when I figured out I shouldn't be doing any jobs like that. The next day I quit and started picking apples in the sun.

And lastly… If you woke up tomorrow as an animal, what animal would you choose to be and why?

Tough question! A labrador retriever. Those animals have fun, are relaxed, and seem to have a very joyful attitude.