Industry Profile: Gareth Nicholls at UM Melbourne and Brisbane

By AdNews | 30 June 2022
 
Gareth Nicholls

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.

Gareth Nicholls: Managing director at UM Melbourne and Brisbane 

Time at the company:
6 years

How would you describe what the company does?
We help our clients futureproof their brands through amazing media connections.

What do you do day-to-day?
It is so varied but like most of you reading this, my days are filled with too many meetings and emails. I am always working on different solutions to help grow our client’s business, or our people.

One thing I do each day is make sure I connect with my team, the relationship with my immediate team is critical to the success of our business.

Define your job in one word:
Communication.

I got into media because:
Back at University my girlfriend’s course (Advertising and Marketing) seemed more fun than mine (Geography and Economics) and it was. So, I applied to an ad in the Guardian newspaper, got a lucky break with John Ayling & Associates in London and had a lot of fun.

What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Attending to the long-term. Our industry is fast paced and forever changing – it is too easy to be absorbed in the immediate and seemingly urgent vs the long term and the things that will make a difference.

What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
We are losing the art of planning. We are fortunate to have better access to data and more sophisticated tools, but we need to ensure our human smarts understand and interpret the outputs to create brilliant effective media plans. We need to celebrate the rigour of planning, making sure strategies align to business goals, that we are creating end to end experiences rooted in media connections, and that all parts of the media plan are connected and working together.

Notable campaigns you have worked on:
I’m working with Movember and it’s brilliant. They do a great and important job changing the face of Men’s Health. I’ve also been lucky to work with some really great brands. Back in the UK I worked on some creative and fun campaigns for Walkers Crisps – Lunch Happy + Do us a Flavour.

Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
I’ve been fortunate to work with some brilliant industry people along the way. Beyond the sphere of media and marketing two people stand out in how they help to shape my approach to leadership.

An old friend Bill Lawry, who through my 20s was a great confidante and a sounding board on all aspects of life. Informally, and normally over a beer, he would guide and offer advice helping me to set my priorities and my direction.

And Steve Burns, who was a great mentor during my career hiatus into therapy and mental performance. Steve taught me so much about the human mind, our fears, and our potential for change. He taught me how to help myself and others with mental blocks and wellbeing. This is something I continue to reflect on and use in my leadership today.

Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Take time to understand the people around you. Your team is your greatest asset.

If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
Probably a Geography Teacher

My mantra is:
No matter what ... you will be okay ... you will get through it.

My favourite advert is:
The Economists series.

For the past 10 years the Economist has consistently used print and outdoor in the right way. Minimising copy, maximising impact and being consistent with its brand cues. The fact that creatively they have found great ways to communicate “this magazine makes you smarter and more successful” without outright saying “this magazine makes you smarter and more successful” also helps.

This one is particularly apt for our industry.

A poster should contain no more than eight words, which is the maximum the average reader can take in a at a single glance. This, however, is a poster for Economist readers.

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