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 time we talk to Dominic de Beaujeu
Time in industry
I have been floating around the industry since boutique recruitment advertising agencies and publishing on paper were the big things.
Define your role:
I am a studio manager, the wearer of many hats:
Chaos Wrangler Extraordinaire who can gather and lead motley crews of design ninjas and freelance rockstars to conquer the creative realms.
Workflow Wizard, turning chaos into a symphony of project awesomeness.
Tech Whisperer, predicting and embracing the next big thing.
Resource Guru, conjuring a legion of freelancers out of thin air to keep costs low and quality high.
Chief Communicator and Negotiator, ensuring harmony, happiness, and high-fives.
Knower of things: Where are the keys to the storage cupboard? How do I use the proofer? Where is the login for the stock library? Why is that GAD angry?
How did you get into the industry, fall in or by design?
Honestly, career advisors weren't great, and I knew what I didn't want to do, so when I left school, I spent time as a designer. Initially, I wasn't particularly ambitious, but once I stared down the barrel of having kids, I wanted to be more. Despite having two years of related work experience, I couldn't be an astronaut. So, I started working toward team leadership because it was less scary than a blank page, wanting a creative response.
What's the biggest industry-wide challenge you'd like to see tackled?
Pitch work & unpaid overtime - as a manager of people, it's hard to keep pushing your team through regular overtime through regular pitch work when the only carrot is a paid meal, an Uber home and possibly a time in lieu. We should look at financial coverage as living costs are biting us all.
Words of advice for someone wanting a role like yours?
Optimal patience, kindness, and curiosity are essential. Everyone/everything is changing quicker than ever, and you need to balance it all, make connections, and give your team the reason why, which helps drive the outcome for the business.
If I wasn't doing this for a living:
A psychologist - I looked into it but left the change too late. So I just meat out measured advice to my teams as needed and highly recommend EAP as excellent support for people if they need support advice or another perspective,
My philosophy is that kindness and curiosity are free.
My favourite advert is: I loved the recent Shop ALDI First work via BMF
It's a great insight into how I use Aldi, and a beautifully executed rainy breakup scene is the cream on top.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
Showing my age, I still use Apple Music, Netflix, and Apple TV, but I am always looking for new things on the horizon, be they anime, horror, sci-fi or video games.
In five years: I'll be quietly worrying if I answered these questions as well as I could have.
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