What brought you back to Response Media?

Response Media has always been a special place for me. We had a really good run when I was here over seven years ago. The agency is doing some awesome work, and I missed being on the agency side. More importantly, Josh has always been a mentor and a good friend. When I decided to move back to Atlanta from Seattle, I reached out to Josh, and the rest is history. I am truly excited about the future and looking forward to helping our clients solve their business problems.

You recently earned a Doctorate in Business from Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business. How did that program change or enhance your perspective on the marketing industry?

I get this question often, and it’s a difficult question to answer because it has completely transformed my professional development as a marketer and how I approach and solve business problems. It’s indescribable. I’ve mastered leveraging the role of theory and science to shape and solve business problems.

Marketing literature is a powerful tool, and if one understands how to apply it in practice, true innovation is bound to happen. Often, when people think about academia, they think about theory without applying it in the business setting. However, the Georgia State Doctorate Program focuses on bridging this gap through applied research, which was why I went to GSU. It’s one of the top schools in the world for engaged scholarship programs, and I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from some of the best scientists and thought leaders in marketing and IT while there. They’re now part of my network that I reach out to for guidance.

What’s exciting about being an engaged scholar is that we contribute to knowledge by being active with research. I am a research associate at GSU and will continue to conduct research. Matter of fact, I am currently working on a research paper with my academic advisor Dr. Denish Shah, who is one of the best in marketing research, to understand IoT implication on marketing application. We presented our working paper at the Marketing Edge Conference in 2017 and are currently in the process of submitting it for publication.

Can you tell us about your recently published research paper on push mobile marketing?

This was exciting. The Engaged Management Conference aims to promote academic research that solves business problems. Over 100 papers are submitted every year to the conference for publication, and I’m fortunate my paper was selected for this year’s conference in Belgium. As a young scholar, it’s encouraging when my work is recognized.

It’s no secret that smartphones have become a disruptive innovation and are the primary consumer content consumption medium today. IoT is here, and by next year, it’s expected that over 50 billion things will be connected to the internet.

I posit that the mobile phone is going to be the communication hub, and I don’t foresee this changing anytime soon. People spend more time on their mobile devices than on any other platform. We are now more distracted than ever. This has resulted in consumers becoming more liquid. What this means is that we’ve gone from seeking access to immediacy and highly personalized communication from firm. I wanted to understand this phenomenon, specifically what scholars have researched in marketing literature. Upon review, I realized mobile marketing literature was scattered and there was a gap in real-time and proximity mobile marketing. As such, my research explored real-time push mobile marketing and its impact on consumer engagement. I partnered with an online marketplace with over 4 million mobile users and experimented. We found some interesting stuff. What I am excited about most is that I can now help our clients execute sound mobile marketing strategy that is not disruptive and that people want to engage with. I am currently looking for a data partner for a replication study in either the retail or travel vertical.

What or who has driven you to become the leader you are today?

It’s a combination of my childhood experience and my mother, Betty Johnson, and my older sister, Angela. At the age of seven, I was a refugee, and we lived in exile over the years across Africa. That was the most difficult period of my life.

For seven years, we moved from country to country, living in refugee camps and searching for a place to call home. It was all about survival and nothing else. I didn’t get a chance to obtain any formal education until I came to the states over 20 years ago at the age of 15. I watched my mother and sister work hard to support my siblings and me. They taught me there’s only one path to success: commitment, humility, and positivity. No one is responsible for what you want to become but you. It’s who I am now, and I don’t know any other way. I guess that’s the silver lining of my early childhood struggles.

What is one word that best describes you?

WOW, that’s a tough one. There are so many I can think of, but the word that best describes me is grit. The definition is “firmness of the mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger.” That’s exactly who I am. No obstacle is too great for me to overcome.

What is a brand you have never worked with that you admire and why?

That’s such a great question. I’ve never thought about it deeply because I’ve worked with so many iconic brands, such as Verizon, P&G, and many others. However, I love what Nike stands for. Their tagline—Just Do It—resonates with me on so many levels. For me, there is no challenge too great to overcome, and I live and breathe this every single day. If you ask anyone who has ever worked with me, they’ll tell you that complacency is something I’m not a fan of and I’m always looking to learn and innovate.

With so much change and innovation happening in marketing right now, what trends do you think will be most important in the future?

It’s hard to keep up with the level of innovation that’s happening, and it’s exciting. I am researching IoT implication in marketing, and this is an area that excites me. I am working on a research paper with Dr. Denish Shah to unpack IoT marketing applications and the implications for consumers and firms. So much potential as well as so many challenges across the board.

How do you see Response Media changing in the next few years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?

This is an exciting time for the agency. First, we’ve been around for 40 years and are growing even stronger. I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the growth for the foreseeable future as we continue to innovate and expand our capabilities. We work with some of the largest brands today, helping them execute CRM, paid media, and analytics successfully.

Dr. Glay is married to his lovely wife, Lily, and is the proud father to daughter, Camila, and son Jayce. Dr. Glay is an avid soccer player and fanatic. You can find him kicking it around Atlanta in the local men’s soccer leagues.