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.
Fiona Harris: General Manager at 1000heads APAC.
Time in current role/time at the company:
6+ years (5 of which I spent leading the Client Services department in our New York office).
How would you describe what the company does?
1000heads is a social transformation company and we help brands stay relevant, conversational, and advocated – all at the speed of social.
What do you do day-to-day?
No two days are the same, however, the common thread across my days is that I use my leadership position to find opportunities. From a people perspective I like to understand what is (or could be) keeping my team engaged. From a business perspective I foster relationships with clients at all levels and types of organisations. I also spent a lot of time prioritising pitches and high value accounts.
Define your job in one word:
Conversationalist
I got into advertising/ad tech/marketing etc because:
My mum knew someone within Saatchi’s finance department. I was studying finance & marketing at the time and didn’t know what to expect. After that first day, I decided to stay for the next 6 years of my career.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Breaking the norm and habits of our industry. Focusing on service evolution, especially in the new age of AI.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
I’d like to see more formality regarding interns. How are they chosen, and formal guidelines that are provided to all agencies to help guide their learning and experience.
Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
Saatchi & Saatchi. I’ve also done client secondments at Telstra & Google.
Notable ads/campaigns you have worked on:
The implementation of the award-winning Google #TeamPixel advocacy program. It’s a global community of 500+ Creators that receive devices & exclusive opportunities, and in return help grow the Pixel brand online.
Who is/has been a great mentor to you and why?
My dad who has always said, “It’s funny because the harder I work, the luckier I get”. Starting out in my career, I found this to be very true.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
A lot more opportunities exist within your organisation than you think. Ask with confidence and in the right way – if you approach the situation with a long-term mindset, you’ll likely get what you want.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
A social worker.
My mantra / philosophy is:
Keep it positive, this is a relationships business.
My favourite advert is:
Anything from Aldi seems to be winning. The concept that “it’s ok to shop at other places, just come to us first” is brilliant.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
I usually start my morning listening to two different news podcasts. At night and when multi-tasking, I love anything and everything on YouTube. I have a short attention span so I love to learn in little bites.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
As a tween, I used to race competitive go-karts across NSW. My team was called PCR Racing and I never came across another girl driver.
Now that Formula 1 is so popular (thank you Drive to Survive!), it’s more important than ever to get girls into karting. F1 is a numbers game – the more girls in karting, the higher the chance for a future F1 female driver. Also, a massive shout out to the F1 Academy and the amazing work they are doing.
In five years' time I'll be:
Running a company that looks completely different to what it is today. Also, living in my newly renovated home and thinking about my next reno plans.
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