AdNews sat down (virtually) with Yaron Farizon, who replaced Willie Pang as CEO of MediaCom AUNZ, to find out what keeps him awake at night.
The now former CEO of MediaCom Russia and MediaCom Connections Israel arrived in Sydney last month, went into quarantine, found a place to live within walking distance of the office and then went into lockdown.
Question: In Australia, we have plenty of ex-pats and we’re pretty diverse, but we don’t often have many colleagues joining the local industry from Russia or Israel. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you are from, and your story with MediaCom?
Answer: I’ve been with MediaCom for 11 years now. I’ve had multiple roles across multiple markets including Europe and global. My professional background is rooted in planning, strategy and client leadership, working alongside industry leaders like P&G, Coca-Cola, MARS as well as adidas and Sony.
Moving countries from Israel, Russia, UK and now to Australia has been an exciting journey which has helped my professional and personal discovery. I’ve been so fortunate that MediaCom has supported me along the way. Actually, moving around runs in my DNA and upbringing; quite literally. Since my family and I first moved from Kiev (Ukraine) to Tel Aviv (Israel) when I was a teenager, I’ve been on the move ever since.
Q: You must have been keen to come to Australia because you needed to quarantine to get here. Why Australia?
A: I first visited Australia about five years ago and was absolutely smitten. It is a gorgeous and powerful country. I never imagined I’d end up working and living here, and frankly, I thought it was a crazy idea when it first came up, given what’s going on right now. But then, being pushed out of my comfort zone is always an excellent growth opportunity. Australia is a well-developed market with strong capabilities and vast opportunities. I love it here and going through a few weeks of quarantine and lockdown hasn’t changed my mind, nor has it dimmed my excitement.
Q: What are the three things that you’re most passionate about that you’re bringing to your role as CEO of MediaCom AUNZ?
A: First, I love my job and really love the industry I’m in. Agencies are fantastic environments for people to thrive and build careers. I continuously channel this passion through everything I do. Aside from that, I believe in having rigour in process and product, developing brilliant talent and singularly focusing on our clients’ growth.
Q: What lessons learnt from your previous role can be applied here?
A: Your team is your everything.
Q: Getting to know everyone in the business (staff and clients) with a lockdown in place must be difficult. How is virtual networking progressing?
A: It’s progressing well but it’s not as enjoyable as it would be in person, but I am connecting with my team, clients and media partners, all day, every day. There are a lot of people to meet, and lots to learn – but I’m loving making the connections.
Q: The latest SMI (Standard Media Index) numbers show ad spend in Australia ahead of 2019 (pre-COVID) numbers. Is this an opportunity or a hindrance (in that availability of some media such as TV which is getting squeezed)?
A: Ad spend dynamics is usually indicative of economy state and consumer sentiment – and growing ad spend is a positive sign and a definitive tailwind. At the same time, things have changed since 2019. We need to be proactive and alert, responding to consumer behaviour changes, realigning investment priorities, and developing new strategies to deal with the change, in collaboration with our clients and media owners.
From a MediaCom perspective, our clients are recovering fast (we are outpacing the market); they want to continue the momentum and keep building, and I think we have an amazing opportunity to keep working closely with our media partners to continue this trajectory.
Q: What do you look forward to most in the next 12 months?
A: I am looking forward to working with our teams to win new business, building our industry relationships and to finally be able to travel across Australia and New Zealand.
Q: MediaCom recently unveiled its new positioning of Seeing the Bigger Picture. What does this mean to you?
A: For me, Seeing the Bigger Picture is about:
• Broadening the value we bring to our clients
• Innovating and evolving the products that can help us do this
• Having a positive impact in our business and in the world
• Creating a workplace where everyone can grow and fulfil their potential
Q: What role does GroupM play in underpinning MediaCom’s tools and capabilities?
A: There is a great synergy between the agencies and the group when it comes to building capabilities and maximising productivity for our clients. We don’t sell products; we build solutions to address our clients’ business challenges. Agency tools and approaches allow us to design effective solutions, while GroupM capabilities around automation, analytics, data & tech enable us to implement those solutions at scale, continuously improving expertise and productivity of professionalism services. With the power of GroupM you get more than an agency.
Q: From your initial conversations with MediaCom clients in Australia, is what clients want different here than in other markets or the same?
A: What keeps our clients awake at night is largely similar, they want to know how best to deliver continuous business growth for their brand. As the far as the communication style goes, clients in Australia (and people in general) are open, friendly, and straightforward, and I love it!
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
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.