Changing Advertising summit 2011: Speaker interview Richard Ayers
Name: 
Richard Ayers
Current location:
Manchester City's London office near Hyde Park.
Twitter name: 
which one?! Professional is @richardayers, but there's personal, @mcfcgeeks and one for my newborn son.
In 30 words or less tell us who you work for and what you do: 
Head of Digital for Manchester City FC – that means I'm resident .com'er, geek and media luvvie.

Do you have a website / blog?
scaryredhair.com – it's largely personal - for years I didn't make time, but it started with a round the world trip and, more recently, allows me to give vent to business thoughts.
Website you can't live without?
All of them and none of them. itv.com/rugbyworldcup/ is proving something of a lifesaver as I write.
Hero or person who inspires you?
Mark Read's answer works for me: My father.
Main interview
What have been your highlights of 2011 and why? What are the watershed moments that have given you inspiration this year?
I'm not a football fan particularly, but being at City on winning the FA Cup and seeing the business impact online has been remarkable. Separately, getting caught in a twitter storm was a test of strategy, theory and character – but we won that battle too. More recently, having the Guardian write a back-page lead on why your behind-the-scenes content is unnecessary and watching hordes of fans of all hues defend your work was great.

How has the role of the brand changed? Is there a fresh approach to the era of two-way conversation or do some of the old rules still apply?
I'm not sure what to make of this question – maybe because I'm a content/commercial guy not a brand or marketing man. Our head of marketing and I constantly banter over whether marketing is content or content is marketing. Of course, it's both. What I find interesting is that a football club's brand is so rich and distinctive that audience acquisition and engagement through content is more important than ever.
The digital space is continually changing, online tools are developing, data is of paramount importance and new companies rise and fall on a weekly basis. How should advertisers go about making sense of it all?
Go through the pain barrier of culture change. If the people are digital, then they will have the most important power: a love of adapting to change.

What are the most common mistakes people make in digital media or marketing? Are risks worth taking?
Of course risks are worth taking – judging the risk is the tricky bit. Most common mistakes: Not adapting. Calling yourself an expert. Believing the hype. Underinvesting in research and development. Undervaluing the engineers.
Which media trends excite you and which petrify you? Are we being forced to jump into digital in blind faith?
I'm fascinated by data and by location based services and the trends that worry me are usually associated with people who don't want to change. No-one is jumping into digital... in fact many companies are still being dragging themselves, kicking and screaming.

And finally, what can we expect from you at the Guardian Changing Advertising Summit?
Lack of comment on football. It's that game with the round-ball, right?
Richard Ayers speaks at the Changing Advertising Summit, 20 October 2011 at the CBI Conference Centre, London.