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 Are Media general manager – entertainment Susan Armstrong.
Time in current role/time at the company:
I joined Are Media in May 2023 and it’s been the most fantastic year and a bit. I’d go so far as to say, perhaps one of the best of my career to date.
How would you describe what the company does?
That’s easy. Are Media is Australia’s leading omnichannel content company for women. With 36 incredible brands, we serve 5.9 million print readers and 21 million social connections every single month. We have such a deep understanding of what inspires and excites our engaged audiences, it’s little wonder we reach nine in 10 women a year. We’ve been the go-to source of truth for women in this country since 1902.
What do you do day-to-day?
As the GM of Are Media’s entertainment vertical, I lead a wonderful team of 128 people to produce some of Australia’s best-loved and longest-running mastheads: Woman’s Day, New Idea, Who, TV Week, That’s Life, Take 5, plus a whole host of puzzle titles. Print is still thriving, despite what many might think, and we continue to sell a remarkable amount of magazines every week.
Define your job in one word:
Exhilarating.
I got into communications because:
I’ve always loved the written word. I was a voracious reader as a child and wrote short stories and poetry for fun. But I really fell head over heels for 'content' – back when it was known as a good old 'magazines' – at the tender age of 13, when I picked up my first copy of Dolly. I knew, then and there, that it would one day be the gig for me. A decade later, it was.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
The constant change. This industry is transforming at record-speed – perhaps faster than anyone anticipated – which brings with it its many challenges, but it’s also what makes this role so exciting. There’s little room for nostalgia in publishing these days and past performance is no guarantee of future results, but we’re in an excellent position to grow and succeed. There is so much opportunity and it’s our job to find it. This means constantly innovating, recalibrating and challenging the status quo. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I took the path of least resistance.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
Two letters: AI.
Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
My first magazine job was at New Weekly in ACP back in the mid-1990s, which was an absolute riot, and a total baptism of fire into the publishing world. I moved to Dublin a couple of years later and worked on various publications, before launching KISS, Ireland’s first teen magazine in 2002. Six years later, I launched STELLAR, best described as a cross between Cosmo and Glamour, but with an Irish twist. Total, utter, dream job. I then became publisher of a stable of magazines, before returning to Sydney where I joined The CEO Magazine as its Global Content Director. Four years later, I went out on my own and launched my own business, The Suite Collective. Equal parts exhilarating and terrifying, I loved every single minute of it until, that is, I was approached about the GM role at Are Media. And now here I am.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have had so many amazing mentors throughout my career. Celine Naughton, one of my first editors, saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself and recommended me for an editor role that would supercharge my career. A former publisher, Michael O’Doherty, put his trust in me and allowed me to launch not one, but two new magazines into the Irish market. And my sister Lisa has been a lifelong personal and professional mentor. She always pushes me to do what I’m most afraid of – take the TV job, charge what I’m worth, launch that business. I don’t know where I’d be without her.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Buckle up: you’re in for one helluva ride.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
Writing a novel, ideally in the south of France. I mean, I can dream, right?
My philosophy is:
“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire”. This is a quote by Jennifer Lee, the writer and one of the directors of Frozen, which also makes her the first woman to direct a Disney film. I stumbled across it a few years ago, and never has a quote resonated quite so much. They’re words I try to live each day by.
My favourite advert is:
Any John Lewis Christmas commercial. The brand has mastered the art of storytelling that speaks directly to the heart. They never, ever fail to make me cry.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
Spotify for music, Netflix for movies, and Binge for some downtime trash TV, aka reality.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
Hmm…For a brief moment in time, I was actually on a reality TV show. I played the part of the 'tough' magazine editor, which was hilarious. The show was Ireland’s answer to The Hills and it did wonders for STELLAR – circulation went through the roof when it aired. I wouldn’t do it now, of course, but it was a lot of fun at the time.
In five years' time I'll be:
Looking at quite a different media landscape, I expect. I’ll still be innovating, recalibrating and challenging the status quo as I support my team to be the best that they can be. OR… I might just be writing that book in the south of France.
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