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.
Sarla Fernando: Head of regulatory & advocacy advisory at ADMA.
Time in current role/time at the company:
2 years, 3 months.
How would you describe what the company does?
The Association for Data-Driven Marketing & Advertising (ADMA) champions the marketing industry by supporting, advocating and building excellence in all aspects of data driven marketing and advertising, enabling marketers to deliver intelligent solutions and keep pace in a rapidly evolving profession.
ADMA nurtures a valuable and sustainable industry that is so important in stimulating the Australian economy.
What do you do day-to-day?
I apply my legal, compliance, strategic and commercial background to help marketers consider how to operate within a compliance framework in a way that makes sense commercially. I work with members to help them implement best practices in compliance so that their organisations are less likely to end up as case studies for regulators!
Define your job in one word:
Empower.
I got into advertising/ad tech/marketing etc because:
When I started my career I was a law student who loved the law but was obsessed about working in the media industry and within that I gravitated towards marketing. As my career progressed, I felt I could use the skills I picked up to help make complex concepts more digestible for those that needed to apply compliance best practice on the frontline – which marketers are.
I've always believed that the law should be as clear as possible to understand and apply. Explanations using big words or abbreviations can unnecessarily complicate things. It serves no purpose and becomes the barrier for practical application. You can't do what you don’t understand.
Throughout my career I've seen ADMA help set the standard for best practice in marketing and advertising, it is the place you go to upskill and learn to be the best possible marketer – making it an invaluable resource for so many peoples’ developmental journeys. I love that my role right now can play a small part in that.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
As someone who helps marketing professionals deal with compliance, I am constantly aware of the ever-changing landscape of regulations. This can make an already complicated field even more challenging, as the skills required to succeed are always evolving.
Marketers don’t have the bandwidth to stay across every little change. The challenge is to convince marketers that they have the power (and responsibility) to mitigate risk.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
The conversations we need to keep having around privacy and data governance. I say this because we’ve been talking about some regulatory changes at a very granular level for quite some time now and the danger is that it can start to become white noise. Discussions need to stay driven from a board level and implemented throughout the organisation. If discussions around privacy and data governance get pushed to begin further down the chain, then an organisation leaves itself open to risk exposure.
Marketing compliance in general can also become a challenge because, as soon as we allow complexity to navigate the discussion we tend to leave implementation up to others. Too often, we expect compliance teams and legal teams to ‘handle it’, but if they are not properly briefed on what the business needs, what the consumer expects or how the channel being used functions, then they may not be able to provide the right answers. Basically, the right questions go unanswered (or even unasked) and nobody wins.
We need to see these conversations as an opportunity to embed data privacy compliance into the marketing teams. Only then will we think of data governance holistically and achieve the results we aim to.
Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
- Bauer Media Australia as Audience Management Director & Senior Corporate Counsel.
- Nine Entertainment Co. as Corporate Counsel & Privacy Director.
- Consulted internationally to various businesses on data governance, privacy, digital marketing and audience growth strategies.
Notable initiatives/ads/campaigns you have worked on:
Most recently I've been involved in helping to educate and update the market on some of the key regulatory issues. Digital marketing compliance and privacy are very topical at the moment both locally and internationally and the industry is keen to understand how its business will be impacted.
ADMA has been involved in many different consultations and discussions with government regulators and policy makers. I have used the knowledge and experience I have gained from marketing professionals, the ADMA Regulatory Working Group, ADMA Advisory Committee, and other members to represent the industry and contribute to conversations that help shape the development of regulatory policy.
Who is/has been a great mentor to you and why?
I’ve had so many amazing mentors in my life both personally and professionally – each inspiring me in different ways. The people I call out here inspire me to be a better leader. They show integrity in their professions and have a positive impact on those who follow them. They are the kind of leaders that I aspire to be like.
My father was always giving me great advice, and even though he passed away in 1998, his words still guide me today. I also admire people like Peter Leonard who work to help businesses understand and apply the law in practical ways. His wealth of knowledge and experience is always expanding because he is so open to learning himself. Ranjit Page is a true leader in every sense of the word. Not only has he been successful in building the corporation he leads in Sri Lanka, but he does so in a way that benefits and empowers the people around him - in an ethical (and commercial) way.
Lastly, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work for four amazing female leaders during my career – Lynda O’Grady, Amanda Laing, Taru Fonseka and Andrea Martens. Each one has inspired me in different ways, but all have given me the encouragement, support, guidance and confidence I need to pursue my career (and life) goals.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Before providing guidance, consider what matters to the recipient and how they can apply the knowledge they get from you. Remain passionate about what you do and surround yourself with great humans (leaders or colleagues – their position doesn’t matter but their character does).
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
A contestant on Lego Masters – even though I would need the instruction manuals to build (so I might not go very far).
My mantra / philosophy is:
“Because when you stop and look around – this life is pretty amazing”.
My favourite advert is:
My favourite recent campaign has to be Qantas’ beautiful “Fly Away” ad campaign brought to us by Jo Boundy and her team (before she left Qantas).
The thought-provoking visuals struck a chord with consumers, tapping into the human spirit of the day. The message was timely and relevant, and the awareness campaign and rewards program helped get vaccination rates up to where they needed to be in order to reopen.
I love that smart marketing can go beyond positively representing a brand, it can also drive a community initiative and reward people for engaging. Plus, there’s the Jo factor!
Jo is also part of the ADMA Advisory Committee and helps to lead the ADMA Regulatory Working Group, serving as Vice Chair alongside our Chair; Peter Leonard. Side note: They are both awesome people and it's an honour to have them leading the ADMA Regulatory and Advocacy Working Group (a fantastic group of industry representatives).
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
Ummm…everything!
For TV, it's Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Binge, Stan, Disney+. As for music, I have Apple Music and Spotify. Seeing it all written out like this, I might have a problem!
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
My martial arts training has given me some unexpected skills – like being able to break roof tiles with my hand, or using Sai Weapons at a semi-professional level (and I mean VERY semi). While this might make it sound like I was training for some sophisticated mission (or to be an extra in Mission Impossible), I was actually just in training to earn my black belt.
It's a random fact, but I suspect my team-mates know most things about me – my quirks and interests are not that hidden. But even they might be surprised to learn that I have these random skills!
In five years' time I'll be:
5 years older (or younger.. depends who I am talking to). But hopefully 5 years wiser either way.
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