In this series, AdNews spotlights young talent in the Australian media, marketing and advertising sector. This time it's oOh!media business manager Malcolm Bennett.
Time in current role/time at the company:
One year in my current role. At oOh!media for nearly three years.
How long have you been in the industry?
Almost four years, prior to oOh! I spent a year in agency in PR.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
Not for a second, but I’m glad things turned out this way! If my original army phase (clearly a bit of a malfunction on my part) had come true, I’d be a very different person today.
Outdoor was always part of the dinner table chatter when I was growing up. With mum working in the billboard business, you could say it was always in my blood. When she set me up for high school work experience with oOh!media, and I saw how much fun everyone was having, it didn’t take long to realise that this was where I wanted to be.
After graduating, and during the pandemic, I took a role at an independent PR agency but I couldn’t shake that feeling — I still yearned for billboards so I took a look at the oOh!media website, and there it was: a role within NSW agency sales. The rest is history.
Who is your right-hand person/who guides you day to day?
I’ve been incredibly lucky to have some of the brightest minds in the industry guiding me along this media journey - and I couldn’t be more grateful (you know who you are!). That said, I must have scared them off because they’re out there smashing goals in new places.
So, I’m breaking the rules and officially claiming two right-hand people in my team: my work husband and right-hand man, Greg Lewin, and also Jenna Thomas, who’s back in action as our group sales manager. Doing this job feels easy when you’ve got their incredible energy and passion or outdoor to bounce off every day.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
I’d be lying if I didn’t say the people are what make this industry incredible. The relationships I’ve built over the past three years go far beyond business handshakes — I’d gladly drop everything for a pint and a good yarn with them outside of the 9-5. Beyond the jollies, it’s a thrill to ride this OOH wave with my agency, helping them understand the market and driving real, tangible results for their clients.
What really excites me is the unprecedented growth of the outdoor sector. It’s a ride that shows no signs of slowing down in 2025, with GroupM predicting a further 5.4% year-on-year increase in OOH spend. I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of a company that’s at the forefront of driving this growth into next year.
One of the biggest challenges I see in the industry is how we measure success, especially now that omnichannel strategies are becoming the norm. It doesn’t make that much sense to me that we’re still working with fragmented measurement frameworks, making it hard to get a clear, unified view of how campaigns perform across different channels. I’m well aware that we’re a long way off from perfecting holistic measurement tools, but I truly believe this shift is coming, and I can’t wait to be part of it.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
I’m only four years into my media journey, and while there’s still plenty of hustle and grind ahead, let’s just say Freelo (Chris Freel, group sales director at oOh!media) better stay sharp and sleep with one eye open!
Where do you turn for inspiration? Being surrounded by so much talent, it feels hard not to feel like an imposter. Being in close proximity to every arm of the business, from the creative geniuses within POLY (oOh!media’s creative team) through to the strategic masterminds in solutions, they all help me gain a wider perspective on what’s trending in our industry.
My favourite advert is (and why):
My favourite advert is the Dolly's Dream campaign I worked on with EssenceMediacom. It was much more than ad; it was a mission to tackle bullying. Using OOH’s reach and the combination of other media channels we were able to share Dolly’s message. I take comfort in knowing hundreds of thousands of dollars in media value went toward a cause that truly matters. It's a reminder that our work goes beyond KPIs and sales. Seeing such a powerful message displayed publicly, where it couldn’t be ignored, reinforced how impactful our industry can be when we lead with purpose.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
My team probably knows more about me than I do as I’m an open book (sorry for the endless oversharing!). But something they might not expect is that I love to cook. It’s hard to believe when my lunch usually ends up being a sad tuna and rice situation.
Where do you see yourself in 5 year's time?
I see two possible futures: One, I’ve hit the jackpot, won hundreds of millions in the lotto, and I’m traveling through Europe, lounging on the Amalfi Coast with my nearest and dearest, margarita and a bowl of seafood linguine in both hands, with real-world responsibilities far, far away. In the other, and no less exciting, I’m still here, gunning for Freelo’s role, one billboard at a time!
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