Our Young Guns profile takes a weekly look at some of the buzzing young talent across the advertising, ad tech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry. Last week we spoke to Slingshot's Queenie Ling.
Today we head to Sydney to speak to PacMags account sales manager, Kate MacAlpine.
How long have you been in the industry?
10 years.
Duration in current role/time at the company:
I’ve been agency sales manager across Mindshare, MEC & PHD for nearly two years.
What were you doing before this job and how did you get this gig?
After three years at Pacific, working on the launch of SBS Feast magazine & in the Group Sales team on Mediacom I left to take up a sales role client side at Unilever. After close to a year in that role I was missing the pace and energy of publishing and Pacific welcomed me back into my current role as agency sales manager.
Define your job in one word:
Energising.
What were your real and cliché expectations of working in the industry?
My real expectation was that I would be given the opportunity to develop creative integrated campaigns across a range of different brands. My clichéd expectation was that there would be copious amounts of free booze on offer.
How does the reality match up?
Pretty close, on both accounts.
How would you describe what the company does and what does your role involve?
The Pacific of today is an audience based company, offering tailored brand solutions to reach Australian women. My role is to lead my group sales team in delivering those solutions to the brands that we work on.
Best thing about the industry you work in:
The people. I work with some of the best creative and strategic minds in the business.
Any major hard learnings in the job so far?
Publishing is where I belong and I’m lucky to work for a company that allows me to do what I love, while maintaining work life balance (and my sanity) through agile working.
If you had to switch over to another department, which would it be and why?
Beauty editorial – who wouldn’t love trialling all the latest and greatest cosmetics for free.
What's exciting you about the industry right now?
The pace at which the digital landscape is evolving.
What concerns you about the industry and its future?
How difficult it is becoming to recruit and retain young talent.
Who guides you day to day?
Charlotte Sos, my group sales director. Her energy & passion keeps the whole team motivated, while making sure we have a good laugh along the way.
And your almighty mentor that you hope to dethrone?
Can I have two? Jackie Waterman & Gereurd Roberts. Though I’m not entirely sure I’d like to dethrone either of them – they never stop working.
Career-wise, where do you see yourself in 2020 and how do you plan on getting there?
As a sales leader within the publishing industry, through continuous learning and development.
What is the elephant in the room? The thing that no one is talking about – but they should be:
There are many young guns in agency land who have never experienced the joy of grabbing their favourite magazine and drowning in its content. Convincing them that our brands, not just in their paper form, actually work effectively for their clients’ brands can be challenging.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
The people I work with – whenever I am stuck on an idea or a strategy, I always run it past a few people from different departments at Pacific for fresh perspective.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I once made Heather Locklear a Bloody Mary in a bar I was working at. It must not have been very good - she didn’t leave me a tip.
Favourite advert is:
I love most of the content Dove produces for their Self Esteem Project, but the one that has always stayed with me is the Evolution campaign from a few years ago.
What’s your personal motto?
Never take no for an answer.
I got into advertising/ad tech/marketing etc. because:
I fell into it after applying for dozens of entry level communications roles post uni before landing an advertising assistant role on recipes+ magazine.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
Struggling to pay my mortgage.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
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