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.
Georgina Bitcon: Enterprise solutions director at Meltwater
Time in current role/time at the company:
8 years
How would you describe what the company does?
Meltwater is a global media and social media intelligence and data analytics leader, providing clients with measurable content insights.
What do you do day-to-day?
I work with enterprise and government organisations to reinvent the way they approach the use of media and social media data. Together with Meltwater’s Senior Leadership team and our analysts and solutions engineers, we join forces to deliver innovative and exciting solutions for our clients, and lead successful strategies.
Define your job in one word:
Dynamic
I got into advertising/ad tech/marketing because:
I actually studied law but I quickly realised I wanted a more dynamic job which would give me the opportunity to thrive in my role and grow with the company. I wanted to work with a company that had the strong local culture of a startup in a scale up mode.
Working for a tech company that is constantly changing and challenging its thinking has opened my career trajectory up to so many growth opportunities and avenues to develop professionally. I also love that I get to work with marketers and communicators across different industries and organisations - forming a true partnership with such interesting people from different backgrounds whilst working on compelling projects means my job is never dull and it keeps me on my toes.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
I can’t sit still. I want to be everywhere at once, and be accessible to my team. I am also probably the only member of our leadership team still actively selling. I find it incredibly important to have intimate knowledge and a deep understanding of our products, and how to best present them. I don’t want to lose touch with this part that’s at the foundation of my role, but that often means I am pulled in a million directions.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
I think the best clients we have are the ones that challenge the status quo on how they analyse media and social data, but oftentimes they're not the people that we're speaking with. I think the biggest challenge for our industry is getting people on board with innovation in mind and who are thinking ahead, rather than replicating outdated workflows. Too many companies make purchasing and procurement decisions on products that fit their current needs, I think the industry will only benefit from us reframing processes to consider future needs.
Who is/has been a great mentor to you and why?
I’ve had many, but a stand out is David Hickey – our executive director for Asia Pacific.
I have worked with Dave since the start of my career at Meltwater and he has always been a constant point of reference. He’s always been a coach as well as a mentor and that’s been really formative for me. Since I was a junior in the company, he always made time for me, and has always encouraged me to exceed my own expectations. We’ve worked closely together on many projects, both commercial and internal, and he’s always made sure I have the opportunity to try new things, and a seat at the table, which I’m very grateful for.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Don’t be afraid to show curiosity and push the envelope. Be ambitious and bring your own perspective to your role - don’t feel you need to be restricted to your job’s prescribed roles and responsibilities. This is your role - don’t try to copy and paste anyone else’s career.
If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I’d be:
A kindergarten teacher. I used to nanny when I was studying and absolutely love releasing my inner child! Bring on the playdough and crayons!
My mantra / philosophy is:
Ask, why?
My favourite advert is:
Tourism Australia’s fake movie trailer campaign ‘Dundee’ in 2018. It was memorable, funny and it created exceptional audience engagement. We ended up conducting a media analysis of its campaign which revealed how impressive and successful it was.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
I have accidentally found myself in a position where I have them all! I keep finding new shows I want to watch so I just keep adding to my subscriptions! I’ve just finished Severance on Apple+ which was incredible - highly recommend!
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I am actually such an open book! I feel like at least one person at work would know most things about me. Maybe I should start keeping more secrets…
In five years time I’ll be:
Still learning and meeting new people at work everyday.
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