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.
Brad Szmerling: associate investment director, media at CHEP Network
Time in current role/time at the company:
Five years in September.
How would you describe what the company does?
CHEP does everything. We may be known for creative and our innovative ideas, but we have brilliant people in every division. Shouting out CHEP media in particular; our team works with clients to inform their media decisions through data and strategy to make sure they get the best bang for their buck.
What do you do day-to-day?
Unsurprisingly, every day is different! Some days I could be just reviewing responses to a brief; re-negotiating and preparing decks whereas other days may be more about training my Traders and Associates or preparing new documentation or processes for the wider Investment team. That being said, I will rarely if ever turn down a publisher lunch.
Define your job in one word:
Misleading. Everyone I match with on Tinder thinks I work in a bank and TARPs aren’t as much of an aphrodisiac as you might think.
I got into marketing/advertising/media/tech because:
I went on a date with a TV trader who hated it; but as he was describing it, I knew it was what I wanted to do! It did lead to a very awkward year working in the same office though.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Probably trying to balance the needs of clients who are being held to international turnaround times against current market conditions. It’s always a struggle to get away 30” premium avails in Sydney or NNSW at short notice; even if it’s possible in London or New York.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
I would love to see Nielsen and the TV networks work together to come up with an agreed methodology to track unique reach across screens as linear TV ratings continue to decrease.
Notable campaigns you have worked on:
I was really proud to work on the T20 Womens World Cup in 2020; right before COVID. The final was attended by 86,174 people, setting a benchmark for both national and international cricket, so that’s one I’ll always talk up! I also really enjoyed working on the Curing Homesickness campaign; which won a Honoree Webby award in 2020.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
Liz Lonsdale (investment lead at CHEP) has been an absolute rock for me; particularly during times of turmoil. She’s shown up day after day; maintained her cool in challenging circumstances and advocated for me when I was facing significant burnout.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Show initiative and take notes. If you can show your managers that you can refer to notes and improve processes then you’ll always be given opportunities to upskill. Also - ask for JDs for the next level up so that you can track your own progress.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
I would probably be in communications or PR struggling to write press releases. I’d be both grateful for and utterly terrified of ChatGPT.
My mantra is:
Lean into dynamic inventory; no one needs to spend a day optimising 7Mate and GEM spots!
My favourite advert is:
Cadbury Favourites - they made themselves the solution for a problem that no one else was looking at. Any brand that can sell their USP in 15 seconds like that is impressive!
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
It would be wrong of me to not plug my podcast Glitter & Gold: The Original Steps Podcast. It’s a podcast about the UK pop band Steps (or ‘5,6,7,8’ fame but they have other songs!) which I started with a couple of friends earlier this year.
Across TV/streaming I’m a big fan of The Other Two and Deadloch.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
They would know more about me if they listened to my podcast haha!
They probably don’t know that I started my career in digital; which was a pretty miserable few months. I learned quickly that I didn’t enjoy trying to explain why a display campaign had a 0.04% CTR one week instead of the 0.05% benchmark. I was very happy when I moved to investment, and I haven’t looked back since.
In five years' time, I'll be:
Hopefully still in media; I do love a good lunch! Otherwise hopefully I’ll still be doing something I love and podcasting on the side.
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