In this series, AdNews spotlights young talent in the Australian media, marketing and advertising sector. This time it's Nexxen associate director Adam Weir.
Time in current role:
Three years at Nexxen. 10 years across digital media.
How would you describe what the company does?
Nexxen (legacy Amobee) is a flexible, unified tech stack – the Nexxen DSP, Nexxen SSP, Native DMP and Ad Server – delivering a seamlessly integrated digital advertising experience for our valued clients.
What do you do day to day?
As an Associate Director within the Client Services team at Nexxen, I focus on managing and nurturing relationships with advertisers and media agencies, helping them reach their campaign and business objectives through Nexxen’s unique solutions.
My day-to-day varies greatly, but typically includes client meetings, building programmatic planning and activation strategies and recommendations and working closely with clients to ensure success of their multi-channel advertising campaigns.
Define your job in one word:
Collaboration.
I got into the industry because:
I got into the industry after hearing great things from friends who had entry-level positions in media. Seeing the fun and dynamic culture they were part of piqued my interest, so I decided to explore it for myself and made the move into media as a Sales Coordinator at Mi9.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Navigating the complexity of the ad tech landscape. To be effective within my role and provide trusted recommendations, I need to stay up-to-date on the latest advancements in programmatic advertising and have a complete understanding of what the vast programmatic landscape can bring to the table for our clients.
What’s the biggest industry wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
One significant industry-wide challenge I’d like to see addressed is how we measure and plan TV – the biggest screen at home – advertising in Australia. Given that advertisers still make significant investments in linear TV, there is still a lack of clarity when it comes to planning and buying media across both linear and streaming TV channels.
With the recent development of ACR data, we are moving in the right direction as we can better plan and measure cross-screen TV performance. However, the adoption for ACR data amongst many advertisers is still in the early stages and more education on the capabilities of ACR data amongst agencies and advertisers around CTV measurement and planning is needed.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
I have been very fortunate to have been guided by several exceptional mentors throughout my media journey. However, I need to highlight Lisa Targett-Bolding who helped me find my feet when I first joined the industry at Mi9, as well as our time working together in London. Lisa influenced the way I approach my career and provided a lot of support and guidance during my first four years in media.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
My advice would be to build a solid understanding of programmatic advertising and sharpen your communication and project management skills. Once you’re confident in those areas, go for it! You will be collaborating with some of the brightest minds in the industry and learn something new every day.
If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I'd be:
Most likely a stay-at-home dad.
My favourite advert is:
Don’t necessarily have a favourite but I will always without fail recall the “don’t chop the dinosaur daddy” ad every time I walk past the confectionary section at the shops.
Music and TV streaming habits: what do you subscribe to?
I subscribe to almost everything: Disney+, Netflix, Stan, Kayo, AppleTV, Amazon Prime, Binge and Spotify… I miss the old days of cable TV.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I’m generally an open person at work, but there are few things I prefer to keep private to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
In five years time I'll be:
Finally taking that long European holiday half of the media industry embark on every winter.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
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