Our Industry Profile takes a look at some of the professionals working across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the buzzing industry.
This week we speak to Audience Precision head of business development John La Rosa.
Time in current role:
Fourteen months.
How would you describe what the company does?
Audience Precision is an independent and highly credentialed media insights, strategy, data and technology business headquartered in Sydney.
What do you do day-to-day?
I do a mix of business development and research which includes areas like new business and thought-leadership reports.
Define your job in one word:
Rewarding.
I got into advertising and media because:
It was the excitement – and all the freebies.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Communication. Clear, concise, effective communication. There are so many challenges that are affecting our day-to-day responsibilities. These challenges also affect our ability to communicate the ever-increasing amount of information required to make effective decisions.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
I think transparency is still an issue that needs to be addressed and its not just at an agency level. Media owners, digital platforms also need to be held accountable.
Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
McCann Ericson, Mitchell Media Partners, Time Inc, Reed Business, Fairfax Media and Roy Morgan.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
I’ve had a few, but you never forget your first. A legend by the name of Louise Ure who was a senior account director at FCB. Based in San Francisco, she was sent to Australia to work on the launch of Who Weekly magazine. The CEO of Time Inc at the time liked her so much he also made her Marketing Director of the magazine. So I guess she was her own client. It worked amazingly well.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Work hard, it always pays off.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
An engineer. Building cool things.
My mantra is:
Every problem has a solution.
My favourite advert is:
Growing up it had to be the VB ad. It still resonates even today. My other favourite which also shows my age is “Not happy Jan” which I think was for Yellow Pages. I still use that catchphrase today.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
I have most of them Foxtel, Netflix, Spotify, Disney +, Amazon Prime.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I love making ice-cream.
In five years' time I'll be:
Hopefully still loving my job.
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