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.
Sarah Young: Director of environment, social and governance at oOh!media.
Time in current role/time at the company:
4 months in current role/ 20 years at oOh!
How would you describe what the company does?
oOh! is the largest Out of Home media company in Australia, with 35,000+ advertising assets. We cover environments such as airports, Qantas Clubs, Lounges and inflight, shopping centres, universities, office towers as well as street in the form of billboards and bus shelter advertising panels.
What do you do day-to-day?
Having been at oOh! for 20 years, predominantly in commercial management and bidding, I am now running the newly established ESG team. As a company, we have actively invested in sustainable innovation and practices for almost a decade, but this is the first time a team has been set up, specifically dedicated to drive the ESG agenda forward.
Day to day we are working on multiple initiatives across the business to reduce our environmental impact and contribute to the positive impacts we have in the communities in which we operate. ESG and sustainability touches almost every department in the company, so we are meeting with a lot of people to pull our strategy together, balancing some quick wins with long term ambition. Our current focus is on energy use, waste reduction, measurement and research and development opportunities.
Define your job in one word:
Eye-opening
I got into the media industry because:
I was doing temp work in London and looking for an exciting industry to work in permanently. I started off as a ‘PowerPoint Secretary’ in a media agency before becoming a planner and buyer for a specialist Out of Home company. Having moved to Sydney in 2002 I jumped to commercial and really loved working behind the scenes to create unmissable media opportunities that got our sales teams and advertising clients excited.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
It’s a really steep learning curve. There is a lot of information to absorb, but I know the ins and outs of the company, so am well placed to drive the ESG agenda forward. Progress in this space needs to be organic and part of a business’s DNA, to really drive demonstrable, meaningful results that stick. Professionally, the challenge is huge. We are trying to reduce our emissions, switch to renewables and only use offsetting as a last result, but we’ve got a plan and are definitely up for the challenge.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
Decarbonizing the media chain cannot be done in isolation by any company whether at the advertiser, agency or media owner level. I’d like to see less focus on tick box activity and more focus on collaborative, future thinking, to make permanent changes that can shift the dial for everyone. From an Out of Home perspective, landfill for example should be tackled at an industry level because recycling and reuse solutions are always more efficient with the more scale you have.
What are you most excited about in the next 12 months?
Seeing some of our R&D come to life as part of our strategy to reduce energy consumption.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
The manager I had in my bidding role had been my leader for 13 years. Whilst he was my manager in the day to day, he was also the person that convinced me of my capabilities and worked with me to find my business confidence.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
If you are passionate about driving sustainable change and you see opportunity in your company then go for it. If you understand how your business works and the relevant, positive impact it can have on the planet and the environments in which you work, then no one is better placed to drive a robust ESG agenda than you.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
A doctor… or a florist. Or both.
My mantra is:
When you feel overwhelmed, come back to the moment and place that you’re in and take one step at a time.
My favourite advert is:
Probably UK Christmas commercials in general (being English) – it’s hard to go past the Sainsbury’s one in 2014 which was based on the real-life event of British and German soldiers getting together to play football on Christmas Eve, 100 years earlier.
Music and TV streaming habits: what do you subscribe to?
Spotify and most streaming services. We don’t have terrestrial TV at home. My favourite channel is BBC First.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I’m a trained florist.
In five years' time I'll be:
Looking back at the great reductions we have made to our emissions and landfill and thinking… keep going Sarah, still so much to do!
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