Young Gun profiles takes a look at the young talent across the Australian advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector. Aiming to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Marcus Billingham-Yuen: client strategy manager, Newsamp at News Corp Australia
Time in current role/time at company:
Ten months.
How long have you been in the industry?
Coming up to four years now.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
Until thirteen years old, I was certain I would become a LEGO designer. I then watched Mad Men which got me thinking…imagine getting paid telling stories and coming up with fantastical ideas…lightbulb moment.
A short work experience stint the following summer in an agency where I pitched a campaign in real life sealed the deal - my mission was to be Don Draper (minus the hedonistic failings lol).
Since then, it has been a combination of luck, hard work, learning from mistakes, and having the right people in my corner to get me where I am today.
Who is your right-hand who guides you day to day?
My tribe of mentors are the right-hand people I look up to - Harriet Nash, client strategy director at Newsamp who I work with, Joshua Green from Spark Foundry and Andrew Gilbert from Yahoo! Also my Newsamp insights partner, Henry Nguyen, is an absolute weapon.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
I have always been fascinated by the melting pot of creative & analytical disciplines. As someone raised in performance marketing, with a childlike love of stage plays, media is an industry in which you can blend your talents together.
And the biggest challenge?
Personally? Taking the time to appreciate where I am in moment and that I get to work on such cool clients & briefs rather than sprinting to the next item on the to-do list.
Existentially? As an industry, I do worry we may get too stuck into our own problems, and that we ignore our north star - the customer. First party data plays a big part here in understanding your customers which is at the core of everything we do here at News Corp Australia.
Whose job have you set your sight in the future?
Depending on how my career progresses at Newsamp (#promotion Harriett lol), I’d consider working for one of the following brands - Under Armour, LEGO, Spotify, IKEA or Canva. A Head of Strategy title does sound nice, but I prioritise what I would do in the role instead: ideating, leading and delivering great ideas with a great team is more important to me.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
Conversations with people, sound boarding, and asking “What If?” and “What can we?”, as I’ve found that listening to the subsequent answers is where those lightning bolts of inspiration explode from.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you:
I volunteered at Lifeline as a crisis supporter responding to people in need. It’s a humbling experience that will teach you to be grateful for what you take for granted, and the freedoms we have.
In five years’ time, I’ll be:
Twenty-nine. Love this question. Becoming a leader in the industry who makes a positive impact by coming up with and inspiring others to create earth-shattering ideas. Also, still building LEGO’s!
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