In this week’s Fast 10, Ashleigh Johnson, managing director ANZ at full-service agency Jellyfish, shares the challenges and benefits of integrating Gen AI into workflows and spills the beans on her “Swagman” experience with B&T’s Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham.
Before Jellyfish, she was studio manager and digital lead at Zentir. Johnson started out as a web developer wiz, creating websites for small to medium-sized businesses using HTML5, CSS3, JQuery, PHP and WordPress. Now, she helps manage Jellyfish’s clients, which include giants such as Apple TV+, Google, Netflix, and LVMH.
1. You’ve had a great career, from the early days of web design/digital analytics & now MD Jellyfish Aust/NZ. If you had to pick only one, what would be your career highlight so far?
Ashleigh Johnson: Becoming part of The Brandtech Group was a real ignition moment. We were always proud to be a great data and media partner; now we have access to the greatest in GenAI tech and talent. The opportunities and excitement this creates for my team are unbeatable.
2. I respect The Brandtech Group and your global leadership’s drive around innovation and Gen AI solutions. How do you embed that into your DNA?
AJ: Jellyfish Australia has always been a tech agency; it goes without saying that adaptation and innovation go hand in hand with that. Gen AI solutions are where tech sits today; it’s already in our DNA.
3. Jellyfish has some brilliant clients globally, e.g., Apple, Google, Netflix, LVMH, etc. What’s your local mix of clients? Are they tech-based?
AJ: Locally, we are a true Google partner, a lot of tech engagements where we consult as SMEs. Which means most of our clients are Australian brands and businesses. There is something really special about being able to bring world-class expertise to local brands and amplify the performance of the companies we all grew up with, live with, and love.
4. As a young girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
AJ: A journalist, and it’s not too late, so watch out ;). I used to love using words to shed light on lesser-known issues. Now that advocacy stays with me as I aim to create opportunities for anyone with ambition or interest and ensure flexibility is built in. As a mother of three, I have lived through the experience of having a career and needing balance. Being able to provide that to other women is an important responsibility in my position.
5. The agency is full-service uniting media, creative, and data through cutting-edge tech. Are clients seeing the benefits of this 360 offering?
AJ: Of course! Data-driven, everything, always. Then a marriage of all capabilities on top of the world’s best tech – we are seeing some of the best results to date.
6. As an industry, what’s one thing you would change to make us all better?
AJ: Can we not all get along? There’s so much tension across agencies when we collide over mutual clients, then across services with the creative tug vs AI. We are all working towards the same goal, so why not do it together?
7. What are the current growth challenges for your clients, and any specific example of a recent success story?
AJ: Gen AI is the most obvious growth opportunity now; however, a challenge lies in trusting a whole new world. Regulation concerns, legal concerns, and privacy concerns. Companies are doing their due diligence, but the pace is a missed opportunity. Those who can embrace the parts that they can will absolutely reap the benefits of that.
It echoes back some 15 years to when Facebook business pages first launched, and conversations were dominated with how and when, and why businesses joined the trend. It’s the same now for AI and it’s happening whether or not brands get on board.
We have seen incredible results in our AI ad creation platform, Pencil for Google, 80 per cent cost reduction in asset production, going from $100 for static and $1000 for video down to $5 for both. The full case study, and others, are all on the Pencil website.
8. You are attracting some of the best talent globally. What’s driving that ambition, and how do you retain them?
AJ: We really do walk the talk. We have no interest in becoming a media agency; we don’t believe you need to exchange your life for career progression, and we genuinely have the best technology globally today. The attraction and the retention are all down to those same things. Alongside that, I also do not believe retention is the goal; we either are continuing to be the place where great people choose to work, or it is time for them to explore something new. I am equally excited about both those directions for anyone who is on either journey.
9. What’s one thing that’s not on your LinkedIn profile?
AJ: 2017-2018: Swagman, AU. I travelled Australia with only my four-year-old daughter, a Mazda hatchback, and a swag. I had never camped before. We travelled over 35,000 km over 12 months, trekking through every state. The photos, the stories, the memories do not do it justice. If anyone ever asks me if I have ever been camping, I say, “Yes, once”.
10. Important last question, do your parents actually know what you do?
AJ: Absolutely not, my mum is still questioning if the Internet is reading her mind. I don’t know where I would start explaining the audience segment she has found herself in after liking the same Instagram post as her friend, who also recently bought a new microwave from the Good Guys.
