In this series, AdNews takes a look at some of the professionals working across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. This time it's jnr. managing director & founder John Marshall Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Hāua, Ngāti Maniapoto.
Time in current role:
Just over six months. And it’s been a wild ride!
How would you describe what the company does?
jnr . is a full-service, independent, trans-Tasman creative agency, built to deliver creative effectiveness for results-driven clients. So, that’s the wanky ‘elevator pitch’ version out of the way!
In normal language, we help our client partners solve their biggest business problems through smart (but simple!) strategic and creative thinking.
What do you do day to day?
I am the managing director and co-founder, so I run the day-to-day operations of the agency and work closely with all of our client partners to make sure we’re delivering on the above.
However, given the size and infancy of jnr., I’m also ‘on the tools’ a lot, which is actually one of the main reasons Ryan and started the agency - to get back closer to the work.
So, on any given day I’m writing strategy, reviewing creative work, writing terrible debriefs or unrealistic timelines, and doing contact reports. In all honesty, that’s the stuff I’m enjoying the most at the moment!
Define your job in one word:
Diverse / eclectic / exciting / fun.
That all sounds lame, I know, but it’s not! And it’s all true. (It’s also not “one word”, which shows I can’t stick to a brief, like all the best creatives.)
I got into my the industry because:
I actually fell into the industry. Being from a very small town in New Zealand, I didn’t even know advertising was a thing! Growing up and being Māori, I was raised on the stories of my maunga (mountain) crying and forming my awa (river) over a lost loved one, and many more of these amazing stories, so it was the ‘storytelling’ aspect of the industry that had me hooked from the start.
I believe Māori were made for the creative industry. At the end of the day advertising is just brand storytelling and we, as Māori, are natural born storytellers.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Getting Ryano to do anything admin related! Seriously though, the biggest challenge for me in the role is to make sure I’m enjoying the present, while looking to the future.
When you start an agency, you’re constantly searching for the next mountain to climb, or the next milestone to hit. When in fact, if you step back and take a breath, you realise you’ve climbed some pretty big mountains, pretty quickly, already.
If you’re always focussed on tomorrow, you’ll never enjoy today. So, chill out, enjoy the ride, keep thinking big, do the 1%ers, and good things tend to happen.
What’s the biggest industry wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
There are a few, but for me the lack of indigenous talent in our industry is pretty stark. The latest Comms Council data in New Zealand shows that Māori make up only 4% of the industry, yet we make up 17% of the population.
I imagine it’s probably worse in our industry in Australia. I believe the two biggest factors in this are lack of ‘awareness’ (like mine as kid) and lack of pathways. We have some great agencies doing some great things to help address these challenges, and we have plans at jnr. in 2025 to do more ourselves.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
Both of my grandfathers. They taught me to work hard, be nice to people, and don’t take yourself too seriously.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
You can’t do it alone.
If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I'd be:
A very average YouTube golfer. But given my horrible swing, probably working for my iwi (tribe) back home and giving back to our people.
My philosophy is:
Don’t ask ‘why?’. Ask ‘why not?’.
My favourite advert is:
It was a part of the Nike ‘Find Your Greatness Campaign’ for the 2012 London Olympics. It was a simple outdoor ad that was a full length mirror and the headline read ‘This is what greatness looks like’, and staring back at you was your reflection.
Super simple, insightful, storytelling.
Music and TV streaming habits: What do you subscribe to?
Sporting podcasts and YouTube golfing tutorials (they aren’t helping…)
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I’m actually 6’4”. I just look 5’10”. It’s an optical illusion.
In five years’ time I'll be:
Leading a trans-Taman team of 75+ at jnr. where we’ll be working with amazing client partners, making great work (that works) and still having a shit tonne of fun.
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
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