Our Young Gun profile takes a look at some of the young talent across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Today we speak to MediaCom Brisbane digital manager Jake Devine.
Time in current role/time at the company:
More than four and a half years.
How long have you been in the industry?
Same as above.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
When I first started university, I was keen to get into the video game development space. I was studying a Bachelor of IT and quickly discovered that video game development wasn’t the path for me, so I began to tailor my IT courses to marketing. Towards the middle of my studies, I landed an internship at MediaCom for eight weeks. At this point, I was still unsure if this was the right direction but continued to complete my degree and then spent some time travelling around Europe and the US.
About a year later, I graduated and managed to land a gig at MediaCom Brisbane and progressed from working primarily in a client-facing offline media role, over to a digital media specialist in the team.
This wasn’t always the plan, but I wouldn’t change any of it, as each experience is what got me to where I am today.
Who guides you day to day?
It’s difficult to name one, there have been plenty of mentors and bright people I have worked with over the years. However, to name a few, they are Colleen StaMaria, Tom Lyness, Daniel Hutcheon, Scott McCarthy, and Malina Redwood. They have all guided me in some way over the years and have had a significant impact on the person that I am today.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
Being able to see your campaigns come to life and knowing that you had a part to play in the process. Everyone we engage with - whether that’s other agencies in the industry, clients, or publishers - everyone is super passionate about what they do, and it shows through all the great campaigns that go to market.
I must call out as well that there is great banter between everyone in the industry and that makes working together that much more fun.
And the biggest challenge?
The burnout in the industry is real so it’s important to manage this and make sure you are taking downtime to care for yourself. This won’t only just improve your health but will ensure you are clear-headed and putting together your best work.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
I know right now I’m passionate about being more effective with our digital media, including personalisation through dynamic creative as well as automation of as many tasks as possible, to free up our time for other areas that will add more value. There may be something in these spaces I can focus more on in the future.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
Music is my go-to. Anyone who knows me well will vouch that I am obsessed with electronic music, even going as far as listening to it while in the office at 9am.
My favourite advert is:
I have to say the Sportsbet ads are quality, they never get old, and I swear there’s always a new one going around.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I don’t know if many people know about this, but I participated in UnLtd’s Big Game tournament this year playing Rocket League and we won a few matches but never made it through to the finals. It was nerve-wracking when it was being streamed live on Twitch. It was fun though and supported a good cause.
In five years’ time I'll be:
I’m not entirely sure but I’m hoping I’ll have made a positive impact in the industry and made many more close friends over the next few years.
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