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.
James Bush: head of creative technology at Dentsu Creative
Time in current role/time at the company:
One month.
How would you describe what the company does?
As much as it might sound cliched, at its simplest, we use creativity to answer client’s communication needs.
What do you do day-to-day?
Mainly talk, read and experiment.
I talk to clients, with creatives, my counterparts in China and Japan regularly at the moment.
I read a lot. I like to immerse myself in the problem space I’m working on. Everything from blog posts, research reports to API documentation.
Whenever time allows, I dedicate time to experimenting with different technologies, to understand how they work and what the possibilities might be.
Define your job in one word:
Diverse.
I got into advertising because:
As a kid I used to caddy for advertising execs. I thought playing golf and enjoying long lunches sounded like a great career choice.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Other than getting my long lunches and greens fees through expenses, the biggest challenge is balancing clients risk appetite with experiments and budgets.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
Technology disruption. It is inevitable. We need to embrace it, not fear it.
Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
M&C Saatchi, AnalogFolk, Accenture Song. In the UK, Karmarama and Stink Studios
Who is/has been a great mentor to you and why?
Tom Derry & Tom McFarlane. Working with the two Tom’s was invaluable. They are the epitome of the advertising business. I learnt client communication, craft at every level and the importance of simplicity.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Read everything, experiment a lot, demonstrate with prototypes of any fidelity whenever possible.
If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I’d be:
A pilot.
My mantra/philosophy is:
Just start!
My favourite advert is (and why):
Playstation – Mountain. Trevor Beattie was the creative, Frank Budgen directed, and The Mill did all the post. Everything about it just works… the track, the edit, the VFX. It would be hard to make the same ad any better today.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
Spotify, YouTube, Prime, Netflix, Stan, Apple TV, Kayo, Binge
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I have an identical twin.
In five years’ time, I’ll be:
Older than I would like to admit, but still obsessed with technology.
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