In this exclusive we cover:
👉Harrison’s journey from working in account management at Converse to a media agency
👉Harrison’s day to day working on the ANZ bank media buying business
👉The role Harrison played in secured $300K+ of pro bono media for a non-profit
👉The go-to entry level role for those wanting to work in a media agency
1. Before we dive into your role at PHD, what has your career journey looked like so far?
It has been extremely unconventional. I started my career working retail which led me into a job as a tailor whilst I was at Uni where I was studying Psychology.Â
After I graduated I got a job in the Converse head office doing account management and from there was able to transition across to an entry level media buyer role at an agency.
2. Transitioning into work, what the heck does a Digital Manager @ PHD do?
What is PHD?
PHD is a media agency that is part of the largest advertising holdings group in the world (OMG). We take care of everything from strategy to media approach to buying to activations. PHD is fantastic in that we are able to service clients per their needs due to our wide breadth of expertise.
What do Digital Managers do?
The main roles and responsibilities are campaign planning/strategy.Â
Outside of this, the day to day is filled with adhoc requests (both internal and client), supporting the wider digital team with your expertise and being the go to for communication streams between PHD and clientele.
What does your role entail?
Personally I am working on the ANZ business here at PHD. They are a fantastic group of people to work with. The systems we have in place to ensure we are delivering the most effective media strategies for ANZ are second to none.
3. What’s a campaign you’ve worked on in your currently role and how have you helped bring them to life?
Campaign Name: Unltd Ambassador for Good 2021
Example: https://www.adnews.com.au/news/unltd-s-2021-ambassadors-for-good
What was it?
Unltd is the media industry’s social purpose arm.
They work with a select number of charities and in essence use connections in media in order to help out these charities in ways they otherwise may have never been able to do. In 2021, Unltd launched their ambassador program and I was lucky enough to be chosen amongst the first ever 16 people to be granted the title of ambassador.
What was your role?
As an ambassador it was our duty to utilise our media connections and expertise to elevate certain charities throughout 2021. The team I was a part of was given the charity Musicians Making A Difference (https://www.mmad.org.au/) and it was our goal to make MMAD day 2021 the biggest MMAD day to date.Â
We were able to secure over $300k in pro bono media across some massive pillars such as Twitch, MTV, Pedestrian, Universal Music, TikTok, Yahoo, Spotify… the list goes on
4. What do the entry level pathways into a media agency look like?
From my experience, most people start off in this industry in the same way – as an account coordinator. One of the hardest parts of this industry is getting your foot in the door. Once you’re in, the world is your oyster. As long as you show interest and commitment you can branch out into any expertise role like strategy, digital, comms design, etc.
What about Digital Manager roles?
Much like my answer above, I started my career as an account coordinator for offline channels. By showing interest and commitment in digital fields I was given the opportunity to come across to a digital coordinator role and from there have worked my way up to digital manager.
5. What’s one thing you recommend someone who wants to work in a media agency do right now?
Research, research and research.
By having a strong knowledge base of the media industry by and current news by keeping up to date across sites such as Mumbrella and Adnews you will be positioning yourself as someone who shows interest and commitment to the industry.
Look at some historical media campaigns and have an opinion on your favourite and be able to communicate why it is your favourite. The gift of the gab will get you FAR!
