Our Industry Profile takes a look at some of the professionals working across the advertising, ad tech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the buzzing industry.
This week we head to Sydney to speak to eBay Australia and New Zealand commercial director Mark Mansour.
Duration in current role/time at the company:
Current role three years, company five years.
How would you describe what the company does?
eBay.com.au is the most visited online shopping site in Australia connecting buyers and sellers.
What do you do day-to-day?
I lead a diverse team across multiple commercial functions in the business. Most of my day is spent meeting with different people and teams internally and externally to discuss the opportunities on the eBay platform. Whether it be an advertising package to enable a brand sell more products or a bank wanting to acquire more credit card customers.
Define your job in one word:
Opportunity
I got into advertising/ad tech/marketing etc. because:
Most of career has been in strategic partnerships and I saw an opportunity in advertising as the industry seemed to be moving towards more partnership-based collaborations. eBay’s proposition is partnering with businesses and this core principle translates so well to the advertising part of our organisation.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Balancing time, my priority is always to enable my team, so I’m always looking at how I can better manage my time to invest more of it with them.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
Attention, relevance and context. I think the industry is constantly innovating and pushing boundaries in terms of performance but we sometimes lose sight of the customer experience and forget we are talking to people not numbers.
Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
Leading the advertising team at eBay is actually my only ad industry experience. Prior to joining eBay I worked in strategic partnerships at PayPal and worked in finance and telco.
Who is/has been a great mentor to you and why?
I would say Tim Mackinnon (MD of eBay Australia). Tim’s been a great mentor to me. He has always been generous with his feedback on how I can develop into being a better leader, challenges me on the status quo and is always supportive in my pursuit of professional and personal growth.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Have a learning mindset, actively connect with people you meet in the industry, maintain those connections and be willing to take career risks.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
A barista. I love coffee. Or a skit comedy writer.
My mantra / philosophy is:
Be a student for life.
My favourite advert is:
I absolutely love the Tourism Australia Dundee commercial.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
I subscribe to Netflix, Spotify and eBay Plus (eBay’s shopping membership).
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
In my early twenties I heard that Star Wars was being filmed in Sydney. I found the extras agency that was responsible for recruiting. I joined the agency. I never made it on Star Wars but was an extra on Australia’s Most Wanted!
In five years' time I'll be:
Thinking about whether I should relocate to Mars. I actually own the domain www.relocatetomars.com
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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