Our Young Guns profile takes a weekly look at some of the 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 Exponential sales manager Jesse Hunter, today we speak to Claire Crennan, content partnerships director at Dentsu Aegis Network-owned full-service global content agency, The Story Lab.
How long have you been in the industry?
I’ve been in the industry for just over seven years.
Duration in current role/time at the company:
I’ve been a content partnerships director at The Story Lab for ten months but a part of Denstu Aegis Network for two and a half years in a role at Carat.
What were you doing before this job and how did you get this gig?
I hailed from OMD where I was a senior account manager in the Fuse team working on all things sponsorships, content and partnerships for McDonald’s. The Denstu Aegis Content Partnerships gig found me when I was presented with the opportunity to drive content partnerships for the business. This was such an exciting prospect for my progression, so I jumped at the opportunity.
Define your job in one word:
Fluid.
What were your real and cliché expectations of working in the industry?
That media agencies just book ads and creative agencies just make them. #blackandwhite
How does the reality match up?
#notsoblackandwhite When I left uni I was convinced creative agency life was where it was at for me (the thought of ‘booking ads’ wasn’t something that excited me). That was until I discovered the land of content partnerships. For me this is the best of both worlds – creativity combined with media budgets.
How would you describe what the company does and what does your role involve?
The Story Lab is a premium content business, that specialises in original content productions and content partnerships.
My role as content partnerships director is to match make brands with media partners and platforms to bring unique, engaging and meaningful integrated campaigns to life for our clients.
Together with our brands, media partners and my team, I develop ideas and partnerships that will engage and emotionally connect with audiences.
Best thing about the industry you work in:
It’s never boring! One thing we can all be sure of is that our jobs will never be mundane. We have technology and a rapidly changing landscape to thank for that.
And the biggest challenge?
Technology and the rapidly changing landscape! The most exciting thing about our industry is also the most challenging.
Everything is always changing and evolving, and the pace of this change is becoming faster and faster. Keeping up is one thing, but it’s not enough to just keep up.
To get ahead, you have to be ahead. And being ahead is the biggest challenge in our industry – for agencies, our clients and our media partners.
Any major hard learnings in the job so far?
It’s ok to be vulnerable. You don’t always need to know the answers, you don’t always have to be perfect and that’s ok. A bit of vulnerability can be endearing, especially if you’re a leader.
If you had to switch over to another department, which would it be and why?
Strategy, because from a good strategy comes brilliant ideas and brilliant ideas and execution is what excites me about working in this industry.
What's exciting you about the industry right now?
Data! Which, given my aversion to excel, surprises even me that I would say that. But, today more than ever it’s crazy just how much more we know about our audiences.
This obviously makes it easier for us to find audiences, but for me what’s more exciting is how we can use data to inform the conversation we have them.
Creativity has always been a subjective matter, however, if we use data to inform our ideas and craft our executions how can we go wrong?
This isn’t by any means a new viewpoint and with brand pressures, time pressures and conflicting agency priorities it’s easier said than done.
But, it will be the teams and brands that work together to harness the data available to develop the best formula for both media and creative that I feel will see the most success in the future. Calculated creativity – that’s what I find exciting.
What concerns you about the industry and its future?
That agencies, media partners and clients become too money hungry in business and lose sight of what’s really important – the people and the healthy, rewarding lifestyles our careers enable us to have.
Who's your right hand person/who guides you day to day?
Rather than a right-hand person, I’d rather say a right-hand team. I’m very lucky to work in an extremely like-minded team with values that match mine, both on a professional level and a personal level. I think this is extremely rare.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
I honestly don’t know. I’d rather not have my sights set on an existing job because that would rule out the ones that don’t even exist yet.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
To exercise. Exercise gives me clarity and there’s nothing better than clarity to make room for new thoughts and interesting ideas.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
That I book end my working day with triathlon training and that in September I’ll be competing for Australia at the Triathlon World Championships.
In five years' time I'll be:
Thirty five. In an industry as unpredictable as ours, that’s the only thing I can be sure of.
My favourite advert is and why?
Snickers’ “Hangry” campaign, hands down! Anyone who knows me, will attest to the fact I’m a sufferer of hanger and this campaign was probably the first time I ever saw an ad and actually thought ‘this brand truly gets me’!
A genius example of taking a simple, yet impactful consumer truth and owning it. I also really loved Mr Bean as a kid and so that execution in particular resonated with me even more.
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