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.
Brooke Tunbridge: Media manager at Enigma.
Time in current role/time at company:
Just over 3 years at Enigma, 6 months as a Media Manager.
How long have you been in the industry?
5 years.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
When I started uni (studying comms, majoring in journalism), I had no idea what a media buyer/planner was or that the job even existed. I pictured myself either reading news on radio or TV, however after stammering through scripts throughout my assessments, I realised just how much I favoured the written word.
I was already writing for various music and student publications (shocking for a journalism major, I know), so more seriously looked into ways of making a living through writing. I picked up a job with a local website design business doing copywriting, followed by a marketing coordinator role at a start-up sustainable preschool, supplemented with freelance photography and writing jobs.
The world sent a message on the importance of stability, in a rather rude way, by rupturing my appendix, landing me in hospital with no way of making an income for a period of time as I recovered. A few months later, I landed the job at Enigma and haven’t looked back! I now make an effort not to monetize every hobby I start (eg writing), so that I can separate them from work.
Who is your right-hand who guides you day to day?
I am surrounded by so many wonderful mentors (both official and unofficial). In a work capacity, at Enigma it’s Sally Lawrence, Justin Ladmore and Amy Dascanio who all lead our incredible growing media team with such enthusiasm and agility. Gai Le Roy at iab who I connected with through the wonderful iab mentor program for her breadth of knowledge and fresh perspectives. Lastly, my almost-3-year-old nephew Hugo for always reminding me to stay curious, be fearless and not take myself too seriously – an absolute legend!
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
Every day is different. Particularly being in an indie agency, we’re so lucky to have exposure to a range of different clients and categories as well as different channels and parts of the process. It means there’s always more to learn, there is so much incredible talent across the industry, the opportunities to grow are endless. An approach I like to take is to “enter every conversation assuming that you have something to learn”, a quote from Celeste Headlee out of The Communication Book.
And the biggest challenge?
We’re at a really exciting time of transformation across the digital landscape, the biggest challenge for myself currently is the balance between wanting privacy and protection as a consumer, whilst wanting relevant advertising to reach the right people as a marketer. There’s a lot to come with the ongoing review of Australian privacy laws and the imminent changes to third-party cookies, however the main focus for the year ahead will continue to be the responsible collection of data and testing alternate targeting solutions.
Whose job have you set your sight in the future?
I’d be interested in creating a role, I wasn’t aware of what a media buyer/planner did 5 years ago, however want to continue to grow in my role, support and empower my team and amplify diverse voices.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
I love discovering beauty in the mundane. I find inspiration in the places I’d least expect, often in the in-between moments, when I’m not searching for it (it’s like scouring the shops and finding nothing to wear to an event, then months later finding the perfect outfit when you don’t have anywhere to wear it to), it can’t be forced.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you
I’d love to be mysterious, but I’m an open book. The only thing that comes to mind is that my family and I were filmed for a Scenic World promo video when I was around 10, so I was destined for the advertising life. As a drama kid, I genuinely thought it was the start of a career in film and was secretly hoping to get a call of from Saddle Club. Still waiting.
In five years’ time I’ll be:
Helping those entering the industry in the same way others have helped me, by showing kindness and patience in navigating the media industry, whilst passing on knowledge and skills. A lot can change in a day in the media industry, let alone 5 years time! My goal is to stay agile and anticipate and embrace change.
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