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.
Time in your current role?
Just over 1 year.
How long have you been in the industry?
Reached my 4-year milestone at the end of 2022.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
Honestly, I had no idea I would end up here when I decided I wanted to do digital marketing all those years ago with a Health Science and Marketing double major back in university. I started off my marketing career at IKEA but wanted to dabble in digital. Affiliate marketing interested me with how different it was from everything I learnt about marketing and so down the rabbit hole I went, and here I am now finding success in the industry.
Who is your right-hand person?
I wouldn’t say I have a right-hand person, but I’d like to thank my team at Rakuten, especially Gina Vera Lopez and JieYi Teo. They are the two managers in my team who have continued to support and guide me, and most importantly put up with many of my silly questions over the past year.
What is the best thing about the industry you work in?
How friendly and welcoming everyone is in this industry, yet also so hardworking! I feel this is highlighted by how amazing affiliate events are. There aren’t many industries where you get to see so many familiar faces in one room. There’s always something new and exciting happening, either with the veterans of the industry or new players breaking into the market, and it all evolves so fast. Everyone truly lives the “work hard, play hard” mantra.
And the biggest challenge?
The other side of the coin of an extremely innovative and rapidly evolving industry is the pace it grows. You must constantly keep up with the news and latest trends.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
At the moment I haven’t really set my eyes on any particular job in the future. Right now, I am focused on further growing and developing in my role as I’ve only been at Rakuten Advertising for a short time (as much as everyone else would like to think I’m ancient). From there, it would be great to find projects that interest me and see where they take me.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
Sometimes, you just need a break from everything, and I enjoy sitting down with a good fantasy or sci-fi story, leaving reality for a bit and resetting my mind. Taking a break can help you come back fresh, and these stories usually have a protagonist that helps motivate you too.
My favourite advert is:
Telstra’s Great Wall of China ad. To this day, “to keep the rabbits out” still gets quoted between my friends and me. It’s not even that eye-catching of a commercial yet it’s memorable and did its job. For me, that’s how I’d like to be known at work, and also makes for a great commercial.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I’m not too hush about it but I do love everything about Japan, ranging from the usual ones like their food, travel destinations and language, to their music and culture too. When their borders open, you’ll know where to find me!
In five years, I will be:
It’s always great to have a specific goal in mine but for me, I don’t want to shoehorn myself into a particular role. Whether it’s a leadership role, mentoring or even managing my own business, what matters is that I’m happy with my job and still motivated to perform at my best in 5 years’ time.
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