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 week we speak to Howatson+Company group business director Ollie Wearne:
Time at the company:
7 months
How would you describe what the company does?
At Howatson+Company we use creativity to solve business problems and change how brands exist in the world. We use our expertise across communications, technology, media, data, experiential, PR and influence to achieve that.
What do you do day-to-day?
I work with my clients and internal teams to make sure we’ve got air-tight plans for making our ideas come to life.
Define your job in one word:
Shepherd
I got into advertising because:
I have a business side to my brain and I also have an artistic side to my brain. And the awesome thing about advertising is that it’s a perfect collision of those two worlds.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
The disruption Covid has brought to spontaneity and team dynamics. There’s nothing better than getting into a room with your team and working it all out together.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
Diversity & inclusion. We need to create more opportunities to bring more diverse voices to the table. And while the industry has made some positive steps recently, there’s a lot more work to be done. Focussing on this will make our industry a better place and it will make the work better too.
Previous industry-related companies you have worked at:
- DDB Melbourne
- Clemenger BBDO
- Mother New York
Notable ads/campaigns you have worked on:
- Stella Artois’ 2019 Super Bowl campaign
- Insta Novels - The New York Public Library
- Raise A Glass - Victoria Bitter
Who is/has been a great mentor to you and why?
There have been so many amazing people who have helped me grow over the years but Ben Kidney and Adam Kennedy really stand out. They’re both incredible at what they do and have taught me a lot about being the best possible professional I can be.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours:
Focus on finding solutions, not obsessing with problems. Problems and curveballs are always going to pop-up no matter how buttoned-up your plan is, so don’t let them derail you when they do. What your team really needs from you in those moments is to focus on finding some solutions that will get everything back on track.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
Movie producer.
My mantra is:
What’s the problem we’re trying to solve?
My favourite advert is (and why):
Guns With History - States United Against Gun Violence
To flip the expectations and tropes of anti-gun advertising by actually opening up a gun store was just brilliant. There’s a lot of bravery in that - to pretend to promote the very problem you’re trying to solve - and the real stories puts real people at the center of the issue, which helps to dial up the emotion. At the end of the day, a good piece of advertising needs to grab your attention, make you feel something and leave you with a memorable message that drives you to do something. This film does all of those things expertly. I must have watched it about 50 times over the years and it still gives me chills.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
All the usual suspects. One service I subscribe to that I particularly love is the Criterion Channel - the best collection of movies going around.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I like Tom Cruise movies.
In five years' time I'll be:
Leading an advertising agency or marketing team somewhere in Europe. Either that or being the Executive Producer for Top Gun 3 :)
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