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 speak to Hypetap general manager Chris Morfis.
Duration in current role/time at the company:
10 months.
How would you describe what the company does?
Hypetap is a technology and data-driven influencer marketing provider, connecting brands and agencies with authentic influencers to create high-quality, original content that engages audiences.
What do you do day-to-day?
As the general manager of Hypetap, my day-to-day looks different every time every time I step through the door. I love being in front of clients and working to make sure they’re getting the best outcome for their campaigns. I also work with them to share updates on Hypetap’s capabilities, current market trends and best practices. The reality is that most of my time is spent working internally to train and develop junior members who are new to influencer marketing, coaching teams, and looking at how to approach our work so as to always be pushing for top results. Last quarter our focus was on campaign reporting and measurement, not only on how we present the numbers, but what learning we can pull from the experience.
Define your job in one word:
Rewarding.
I got into advertising/ad tech/marketing etc because:
I initially started off working in accounting. I had studied it at university, but just wasn’t finding it satisfying. At the time I was part of an ad agency and was much more interested in the work of the account service team, so I asked to make the move over to that team and haven’t looked back.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?:
At Hypetap right now we’re thinking big but we’re still a small team, so my challenge is making sure we’re doing as much as we can with the resources we have. We have a best in market product, and there’s a lot of opportunity in the influencer marketing space, which is why it’s important that we choose our efforts and focus carefully. My job is to make sure we’re doing this in the best way for the Hypetap business, our team and our clients.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?:
There is a lack of best practices for influencer marketing and that’s something we need to tackle as an industry. There are a lot of players claiming to offer influencer marketing, but with no standardised benchmarks it’s causing inconsistency in the way campaigns are delivered and measured. This has resulted in brand safety concerns. But when due diligence is performed it is a very safe and successful tactic. It’s why we’ve invested so heavily in proprietary technology that safeguards campaigns — for example, vetting influencers’ audiences to ensure brands are aligning with quality influencers. By establishing best practices we can ensure campaigns are brand safe and successful across the board.
Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
Before joining Hypetap I was the managing director at Nuffnang. Prior to that, I was the general manager at Ink and publishing director at Jetstar. I’ve also worked at agencies and media outlets throughout my career.
Who is/has been a great mentor to you and why?:
I’ve been lucky to have worked with a lot of great people throughout my career, but the person who sticks out most is Gerry Ricketts. We worked together at Ink, where he was a business coach. He focused on building culture within an organisation, which is something you’re not taught in university, and I really learned a lot from him.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?:
Get as much experience as you can working across a variety of different media products, and always look after your client and their outcomes.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
A builder, because I love renovating. It’s what I enjoy doing in my spare time and it’s a true passion of mine.
My mantra / philosophy is:
Start every day with a positive step.
My favourite advert is (and why):
I loved the Skoda TV ads that ran during the 2011 Tour De France.
The reason is because the content sits within the context of what I am consuming. It showcases the brand within the Tour de France, and more so takes a behind the scenes look to their sponsorship, validating their commitment to the event. Plus, I just love anything to do with cycling, so it speaks to me.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?:
I listen to music on Apple Music at home as all the amplifiers and Apple TVs are on the same ecosystem, while Spotify is piped through the Sonos at work. As for TV, I use Netflix, Sony Entertainment and Apple. I do find it hard to watch TV live and often need to use a catch-up services and video on demand to watch the TV I want to watch.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?:
I have a habit of buying a lot of shoes. I probably own too many pairs at this point. There are five pairs under my desk. Shh!
In five years' time I'll be:
Personally, I’ll be in a position where I’m onboarding new teams into new markets for Hypetap. As an agency, we’ll have grown to be a major global player in the influencer marketing industry with our best-in-class technology continuing to lead the way.
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