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.
Jody Elston: chief strategy officer at 303 MullenLowe, Sydney
Time in current role:
Almost clocking a year.
How would you describe what the company does?
303 MullenLowe was one of the first agencies to bring together the different arms of our industry in one place – advertising, customer experience, media etc – with no siloes. To this day, it’s our ability to use those arms in different but unified ways, that gives brands an unfair advantage. It means the brands we work with, do what they say and, say what they do.
What do you do day-to-day?
As a strategist, I spend a lot of time finding the patterns in different sources and combining with my own instincts to create simple strategic narratives, hopefully seeing the wood from the trees and inspiring where the creative work needs to focus its efforts. As part of this, I’m always talking to different people – from customers to understand their needs and views, to other strategists and creative people to hone the argument and of course, the client. Then there’s the alone time with the headphones on to get the work done, and then as a leader in the business helping to shape our own agency narrative, guide the work and bring the team together to inspire and learn from each other.
Define your job in one word:
The-get-everyone-excited-about-solving-THIS-challenge-person.
I got into my industry because:
Advertising seemed a great way to combine my interests and different skills – creative writing, critical thinking, interest in psychology, empathy for other’s points of view. You still can’t beat this industry for the skills it brings together, and the opportunity to become an expert on a range of weird and wonderful topics plus spending your time with a great bunch of creative people.
What’s the biggest industry wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
Short-termism. It’s human nature for clients and agencies to focus on what’s right in front of them, instead of stepping back and building and committing to a longer-term strategy. The tenure of many CMOs is short and results are demanded quickly which makes it difficult to commit to long term effects, and there is also the desire to change things up. So I love celebrating those bigger brand narratives that are built and refreshed over many years – they’re hard to crack in the first instance, and harder to stick to.
Previous companies:
Richards Rose (Sydney) - six years
AJF Growth Opps (Melbourne then Sydney) - six years
The One Centre (Sydney) – three years
Carlton United Breweries (Melbourne then Sydney) – two years
Y&R Mattingly (Melbourne) – four years
Notable campaigns/initiatives:
It’s been great to be part of the next chapter of 303 MullenLowe’s highly entertaining and long-standing ‘Insurance Solved’ campaign for Budget Direct.
Love Thy Neighbour by Helga’s. The humble act of making someone who really needs it a quality Helga’s sandwich touched the hearts of Australia and positioned Helga’s as a simple act of care.
Stan – Hungry Eyes. It showcases Stan’s irresistible content with the brand’s characteristic fun and quirky challenger personality.
Woolworths – Everyday Rewards. Created the positioning, naming and identity that launched Everyday Rewards by Woolworths.
Who has been a great mentor to you?
I’ve had some remarkable mentors along the way – mainly creative mentors like Adam Francis, Andrew Foote and Adam Rose who always cared about the strategy, and its connection with creative, and wanted it to be as sharp as possible. Digby Richards, who has an incredible energy and tenacity, showed me what a great strategic business leader looks like.
Words of advice:
When in doubt, talk to the people you’re designing the work for. It’s always revealing and often neglected.
If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I'd be:
Drawn to some tricky challenge where maybe I could make a difference.
My philosophy is:
I love that Socrates quote: "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing". I always try to keep my mind open, though sometimes it’s hard not to see the same patterns emerging early and use your experience to get a head start on a problem or go into a challenge with a ready-made hypothesis. It’s always a good reminder to stay as curious as possible.
My favourite advert is:
I can’t go past the Deng Thiak Adut film for Western Sydney University for its emotional power and incredible storytelling and craft. It makes you feel something raw and the idea of ‘Unlimited’ is a great fit for this empowering brand from Western Sydney.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
Podcasts are my new obsession and I love that in our busy lives where every minute seems accounted for, we have time for this long-form content. Apparently podcasts motivate us to do tedious tasks which I think is true!
In five years time, I'll be:
Checking to see that I’m still doing fulfilling work with a bunch of fun, nice, like-minded people.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.