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.
Daniel Christ: Customer success manager at impact.com.
Time in current role/time at the company.
I’ve been a Customer Success Manager at impact.com for just over a year now.
How long have you been in the industry?
I’ve been working in the Partnerships / Affiliate industry across several top tier SaaS platforms and Affiliate Networks for six years.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
I fell into the industry accidentally and am so glad I did! I began my marketing career working at a boutique agency with mostly small business clients. After ten months I was eager to work with bigger businesses and to be doing work that I thought would make a genuine impact in the Australian digital industry.
As luck would have it, I received a message via LinkedIn advertising for a Client Services Executive position at a Partner Marketing SaaS platform, working with enterprise level brands. Having no idea what that was, I enthusiastically entered the interview process. When I found out it was based in Sydney CBD and meant I’d be working with iconic Australian brands, all the boxes were ticked for me. Thankfully I was successful in landing the position and in my first year not only learned an incredible amount about the Partner Marketing channel, but really felt like I was in a space professionally where I genuinely enjoyed my job.
It’s wild to think that was six years ago because all this time later I still love what I do and enjoy doing it with the amazing team at impact.com!
Who is your right-hand person/who guides you day to day?
Day-to-day my right hand person is our APAC Customer Success Director, Helena Barroso Zarco and immediately after that our VP of Customer Success, Nick Randall. Regardless of the issue, whether it’s client servicing, contracts or just to vent, they are always ready to lend an ear or their impressive brain power as well as their extensive experience in the digital advertising space.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
Like any good partnership, the most important element for me is the people involved. The Sydney Partnerships/Affiliate space is a tight knit community of people who love and are genuinely passionate about what they do. The best thing about this industry is the relationships and friendships that have lasted for years across many different businesses.
And the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge is the fast paced nature of innovation and evolution from stakeholders all across the industry. There’s always something new to learn and it can be challenging to stay on top of the latest and best opportunities that are constantly emerging within the channel. Due to the relentless and consistent growth that the partnerships channel has enjoyed in my six years in the industry there is never a shortage of things to learn or work to complete!
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
Mike Cannon-Brooks, CEO of Atlassian. To take a company from his UNSW days and turn it into a global SaaS powerhouse and true Australian tech unicorn is something that has always inspired me. I’m even more impressed by the way he is leveraging his success to influence social causes in the environmental sustainability space.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
I am very fortunate to have worked with some seriously intelligent and compassionate people early in my career. Some of the relationships I formed with colleagues in my first job in this industry are not only still strong friendships, but also ongoing sources of professional mentorship and inspiration.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I became interested in the marketing industry during university when I studied both Marketing & Linguistics. Marketing was great and all, but what really got me thinking was the way that words and symbols can be used to influence consumer behaviour. From a catchy jingle or slogan to a perfectly worded call-to-action, I am still fascinated by the unlimited potential of words and what they can accomplish when used properly and with consideration.
In five years' time I'll be…
A ‘Head Of’ or Director working in the Partner Marketing space. I have always enjoyed working with clients in a services or success capacity, and look forward to developing the soft touch skills required to lead teams and eventually businesses.
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