Rachida Murray is Spark Foundry Australia’s chief digital & media officer. Growing up bilingual in a polyglot family, sharing ideas with different people in unique ways has been part of her life’s fabric. When she discovered marketing in business school, she found a discipline that offered creativity, curiosity and opportunity. Since then, she never looked back. In this week’s Fast 10, Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham sat down with Murray to learn about everything from eldest daughter syndrome to leadership.
At Spark Foundry, she leads a team of over 150+ people across digital, technology and activation to help clients solve complex issues and and reach their marketing goals. Murray leads with intentionality, often discussing with her colleagues what it means to lead from the heart.
1. You’ve had a brilliant career, from client positions in France/UK, to now a new role as chief digital & media officer at Spark Foundry Australia. If you had to pick only one, what would be your career highlight so far?
Rachida Murray: Start off with a difficult question, why don’t you? Honestly, it is hard to pick. I have had a brilliant career and, if you knew where I came from, you would understand the gratitude I have for every opportunity along the way.
If I had to pinpoint a single highlight it would be 2020. I know that sounds mad, and the sheer mention of 2020 can send shivers down people’s spines, but for me at work it was my moment.
We were navigating the bringing together of the Blue449 and Spark Foundry teams, pitched successfully for two of the largest business opportunities of the year, and I was going through The Marketing Academy program. It was a year of uncertainty and, as strange as it sounds, navigating ambiguity with the sassiness and solutions-focused mindset of an eldest daughter is where I do my best work. In my very limited spare time, I also grew a human that year. I just couldn’t crack baking sourdough, though.
2. You are a Marketing Academy alumni, completing the program in 2020. How has the TMA experience shaped you as a leader?
RM: The Marketing Academy was a fascinating challenge, both as a person and as a leader. It made me think hard about how to be the best version of myself, which meant holding a mirror up and being honest about where I can do better. Letting go of excuses and limiting beliefs, and questioning my own assumptions, has been powerful. Embracing the pause between reaction and action has genuinely shaped how I show up today.
3. You are the co-chair of the IAB Data Council. What are the primary benefits for clients of the Data Council?
RM: I sure am! The IAB Australia Data Council brings together brands, agencies and publishers navigating the complexity of using data in advertising. Our role is to understand what is coming over the horizon, then turn that into practical guidance for the industry. Through events, Q&As and white papers, we help build shared standards and education, giving the industry some level of consensus on how to approach privacy law changes and the implications for advertising, data collaboration and measurement in a cookieless and increasingly AI-driven world.
4. In France, as a young girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
RM: Don’t laugh… I really wanted to be a stewardess. Those who’ve met me know I am exactly 5’0”, so it became quite clear that was not going to happen. I was a young polyglot who liked numbers and wanted to travel the world. I am quite happy with how it turned out, and I still laugh at myself every time I struggle to put my luggage in the overhead locker.
5. You have talked about your numbers-oriented mind and a playground of puzzles to solve. What’s the number 1 client puzzle you’re asked to solve constantly?
RM: The single most common puzzle I help clients solve is how to do more with less. Whether it is achieving revenue or sales growth in a declining market or with a smaller budget, the shape of the problem varies but the essence is the same. This is where data alone is not enough, competitors often have the same data, the same platforms, the same puzzle pieces. It takes creativity and boldness to not just do the obvious thing, but to colour outside the lines to get big results.
6. As an industry, what’s one thing you would change to make us all better?
RM: I think a little more empathy would go a really long way. Marketers and agencies are both navigating an unprecedented pace of change in consumer behaviour and technology. In my experience, there are a lot of assumptions made in the day-to-day. I am grateful for having started client side, as it has helped me better understand the pressures our clients manage. Some of my strongest client relationships have been with people who also spent time agency side.
7. It’s tough times for clients. How is Spark Foundry Australia driving growth/sales for clients in a challenging time?
RM: At Spark, we focus on two things to help drive growth today and tomorrow.
Today, in a shrinking market, we have to deliver competitive advantage. In a world ruled by feeds and algorithms, we must do things differently to stop people in their tracks and earn their attention. Understanding the consumer, the category and culture deeply is what gives us the right to break conventions.
It is also our responsibility to prepare clients for tomorrow, beyond this financial year’s target. Many of our clients rely heavily on search engines and organic traffic, and that space is experiencing a seismic shift with the advent of AI. We have been helping clients plan mitigation strategies since last year.
8. What is the best career advice you’ve been given?
RM: Early in my career, the head of sales at Kraft Foods said to me, “Le veau qui ne pleure pas ne tète pas,” which, in very simple terms, means, “If you do not ask, you do not get”. It has stayed with me.
I am not naturally good at asking for help – at home or at work – and for a long time I assumed people would just know what I needed. Spoiler, they don’t. I have learnt that I am not surrounded by mind readers, and being clear about what I need actually makes my relationships stronger.
9. What’s one thing that’s not on your LinkedIn profile?
RM: I drink my own weight in coffee pretty much daily. I can’t think of anything that isn’t instantly made better by a nice cup of coffee.
10. Important last question, do your parents really know what you do?
RM: Fun fact, I have a younger sister who is a digital media buyer in Paris and lives at home. So, they have a pretty good idea. No thanks to me, though!
