Our Industry Profile takes a look at some of the professionals working across the advertising, ad tech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the buzzing industry.
This week we speak to whiteGREY head of strategy & planning Nathan Rogers.
Time in current role/time at the company:
One year, three months.
How would you describe what the company does?
whiteGREY is an agency that places value on enabling an equal voice to the unique and diverse skillsets of our people.
What enables us to drive our clients’ business forward, is the application diverse perspectives – from creative, technology to strategy, account management and beyond – to not only the solution; but the identification of the problem in the first place. We do this without fear or favour to solve the brand, business or customer problems and challenges holding back the growth of our clients.
What do you do day-to-day?
Thinking. Solving. Writing Decks. Presenting. Repeat.
Define your job in one word:
Diverse.
I got into advertising because:
I’ve always naturally gravitated towards creative pursuits… but always lacked any serious artistic craft. Advertising allows me to think and solve things creativity and work/collaborate with the artists who inspire.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
It is often harder to define the real problem to deal with than it is to find the solution that will work.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
The serious lack of long-term thinking and constant infiltration of short-termism.
Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
Clems, Publicis UK, CHEP.
Notable ads/campaigns you have worked on:
Inconvenience Stores for Swann Insurance, Remote Control Tourist for Tourism Victoria, Footify for NAB.
Who is/has been a great mentor to you and why?
I’ve never really been one for ‘mentors’, but I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to learn and be influenced from many of the greatest planning minds across my career both here and in the UK.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Find a way to be useful.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
Living in a fully sustainable, off-the-grid cabin in a the Otways with my wife and dog.
My mantra is:
Relax, it’s just advertising.
My favourite advert is:
Chipotle – Back to the Start; circa 2010. Just a brilliant piece of film that the precise cultural context at the right moment to set up that brand’s dominance.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
Coming up to 10 years on Spotify. Subscribe to Netflix, Stan, Amazon and Foxtel… you need to be up with culture as a planner. At least that’s what I tell myself.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I can play the banjo.
In five years' time I'll be:
Five years is an eternity in advertising.
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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