Meet Anna Karena: B&T Bootcamp Mentor And CCO Extraordinaire
Have you heard the good news? B&T Bootcamp is back! Following a successful inaugural event last year, one of the best and most educational days on the industry calendar is returning in 2019, presented once again by MediaCom.
B&T Bootcamp is just under six weeks away, so never fear, there’s still time to grab some tix (but don’t dilly dally because tickets go fast!)
In the lead up to this not-to-be-missed event we thought we’d interview some of the amazing mentors you’ll hear from on the day, and their thoughts on all things media, marketing and advertising.
B&T Bootcamp takes place on 18th March at the Federation Conference Centre in Surry Hills. Check out the full line-up on the website and grab your tickets today!
Meet Anna Karena – chief creative officer at CX Lavender. With a heritage in copywriting, Anna Karena is a master of both message and the modern digital landscape within which it dwells. She has more than 40 local and international awards, has served on prestigious juries such as Clios, and is a globally recognised creative leader. She is currently Chief Creative Officer at CX Lavender, and holder of the B&T 2018 Women in Media award for creative. Check out our interview with her below!
How vital are young people to the media industry?
Beyond vital. They’re like a telegraph (although they wouldn’t know what one is) from the future. As someone who got her first mobile phone in her 30s (yes!) I was saved from a descent into certain media fuddy-duddiness by the decision to buy my two daughters iPhones in their 10s. That opened up a daily household feed (so to speak) of all things modern media, and much insight into the fascinating behavioural pathways being forged by the young (very young), and into how society consumes media.
How are young people “disrupting” the media industry?
I attribute young people to being the start of the content marketing revolution that disrupted media massively, through demonstrating (by their clicks) that they’d turned ‘banner blind’.
Banner ads were the pioneers of the digital advertising age. They were a hit with consumers for a while as we got used to the thrill of ‘clickability’ in general. They worked for the generation who were attracted to traditional media techniques (big ideas, billboards, page-takeovers), but became boring instantly to a generation of young media-savvy digital natives. When they stopped clicking, marketers got panicky and realised the only way to get a click, was to start playing something the audience could genuinely get something they wanted from. Cat videos were the start. And they still rule. But it got much, much bigger than that, to the point where a TV ad’s not the way to reach your customers, and a YouTube bumper is.
What can the industry do to attract and retain young talent?
Graduate programs are becoming increasingly relevant and important. Where I work, our entire future fleet is based on university recruiting and mentoring. The young need to mentor the young, year on year. The skills of more mature mentors are far from obsolete because business wisdom is business wisdom. The smartest employers will create a youthful melting pot, let them do their thing and mentor and guide them past the potholes of immaturity (which I believe, as a mum of two teens, will be a universal standard!)
What’s the biggest challenge young people face in the media industry?
It could be, dare I say, kid gloves. Career achievement, in any industry, requires a level of fitness. Like learning a sport or playing an instrument, you get better and faster the more you do and the quicker you do it. I work in a creative business but have the skills I have today thanks to a period in my early career when I was pushed really hard. I sometimes cried. But it wasn’t life-threatening! Wiser and older people than me were pushing me to learn what they knew and I didn’t. In hindsight, they were generously giving me their scarce time to bother passing something on.
I believe in the wisdom of experience, and not just because I’m now experienced. I believed from an early age. An innate ‘native’ grip on technology is one skill. But it’s not the only one.
Not listening; not believing you have anything to learn from anyone else is, and always will be, fool-hardy. It’s another transgenerational constant.
How can young people avoid ‘burn-out’ and create a better work-life balance while working in the industry?
Focus in (on the work you’re doing, however big or small) not out (on what disasters might happen) is something a 20-year career has taught me. Don’t stress out. Have healthy ambition, but don’t have career-limiting melt-downs at work, and when you do, resolve not to have many more. Build rock solid relationships, they’ll keep you protected and employable forever. Be humble. Listen while you’re young. And never be defensive. (It shows you’re scared.)
How important is ‘passion’ in the industry?
Passion is so important as it’s the force that keeps things interesting. The opposite of passion is plodding. When you plod, you never invent anything. If everyone had plodded, there’d be no YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, Musically, Lenses, Filters, Native, Image Scraping, Retargeting, Programmatic. The last decade or two’s passion created such a wonderful wave of data-licious possibility. Passion is the stuff that’s going to take us for another ride on the outputs of the last decade’s passionistas!
How can the industry work towards creating a more diverse workforce?
I attended the inaugural D&AD RARE masterclass at the end of 2017, which focused on creative industry diversity. We often define diversity based on gender or ethnicity, but at RARE they highlighted the value of cognitive diversity, i.e. assembling teams of different kinds of thinkers (say an engineer and an artist).
It’s interesting to me that our ‘adland’ of old, heralded for its cool, creative jeans-and-tee-shirt culture, actually evolved to a state of conformity that was almost cult-like in its protocols, attracting droves of very like ‘types’, and very buttoned up rules and practices. I think as consultancy and agency have started to integrate, the establishment has been shaken out of those old norms. We’re seeing more experimentation in ways of working, cross-functional teaming and the merging of the strategic and creative disciplines. This will help us be less like sheep.
What was your biggest learning as a young ‘adlander’?
My mum had a viewpoint that the mark of a true professional is someone who can do their work both brilliantly and quickly. My biggest learning as a young ad-lander in the 1990s was how to do that. Enormous client budgets in that pre GFC era created enormous pressure to deliver and over-deliver. We had heaps of jobs on at once, very on-edge bosses and clients that lived in tall ivory towers. The quality expectation was very high and working structures intensely hierarchical, so another learning was how to be resilient. You could work until midnight on a brief only to have your creative director (in dulcet tones) tell you to start again in the morning. Tough times, but ones that left me with an armadillo shell that fortifies me from stress and pressure to this day.
If you could re-do the start of your career, what would you change?
Probably working as a waitress. I got my first firing.
What wouldn’t you change?
I wouldn’t change spending a few years fighting to be in the job I really believe I’m best naturally skilled to do. At 19, starting university I knew I wanted to be a writer, but exiting university with a BAhons in English Lit certainly didn’t guarantee you a job as a copywriter in an advertising agency. It took moving countries, working three years in a print shop and doing time as a 50/50 suit and copy hybrid before I got my first job as a copywriter in an agency, only to be re-trenched after six months! I had to go back to suiting for a short stint before finally landing the job that launched my copywriting career. It was well worth the effort and wait.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give young people starting out in the industry?
When you’re at work if you want to get ahead – get to the top – ask yourself the question: what would I do if this was my business? The ensuing behaviour tends to make you super conscientious, super helpful and super popular with bosses. I’ve always used it, and it’s always worked.
Latest News
Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]
Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]
Is Meta’s New AI Chatbot Too Left-Wing?
Meta's chatbot accused of being left-wing after being caught wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt & listening to Billy Bragg.
TV Ratings (23/04/2024): Why Did No One Tell Angela That Farmer Wants A Wife Is Set On A Farm?
As wonderful as this headline is, let's face it, we all know an 'Angela', don't we?
PubMatic Unveils New AI Partnership To Turn Social Posts Into Ads For Any Digital Channel
Here's some nifty tech for turning social posts into ads. Assuming said posts aren't one-star character assassinations.
Intuit Mailchimp Makes A Splash With Its First Australian Brand Campaign
Ever laugh along at a gag you didn't get so as not to appear dumb? Get ready for more feigning with this new work.
GumGum’s Rob Hall: Advertisers Can No Longer “Rely On Binary Descriptions” Of Consumers
If anyone's got their finger on adtech's pulse, it's Rob Hall. He also avoids using the good paper in the office printer
Mastercard Nabs Florencia Aimo From Marriott International
Marriott International's Florencia Aimo jumps from the hotel business to the exploitative credit card one.
Bastion Agency Appoints Cheuk Chiang As New ANZ CEO
Cheuk Chiang takes the reins over at Bastion Agency. But not the rains down in Africa.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Major Sponsorship Wins After A Disappointing Week In Sport
B&T continuing our deep dive into local sport sponsorships & that's despite not a single offer of a free ticket as yet.
Macca’s Marketing Director, Samantha McLeod On Big Mac Chant: “What Was Once Old Is Now Cool Again”
Macca's using the power of nostalgia in latest Big Mac campaign. Well, only for those who've ever eaten one sober.
World Premiere Of Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line To Open Sydney Film Festival 2024
Oil's biopic to open Sydney Film Festival. Here's hoping Molly Meldrum will take his pants down at the premiere.
Entries Are Now Open For The 2024 Brandies, IntelligenceBank’s Annual Brand Marketing Awards
The Brandies are, of course, a prestigious marketing gong and not the mystery tipple favoured by nannas everywhere.
The Fred Hollows Foundation Appoints Ardent For PR
Yes, we all like to have a joke at PR's expense. But sometimes it does important work, like this.
AI, eCommerce & Marketing Specialists Are In Increased Demand By Businesses, New Data From Fiverr Shows
Has your philosophy & anthropology degree left you with nothing but a huge HECS debt? Here's what you should've studied.
Perth’s First 3D Anamorphic Billboard Arrives Courtesy Of oOh!media
Do you love a buzzword? Now you can add anamorphic to the list as it relates to billboards, not a colleague's ears.
MasterChef Australia & Crown Resorts Launch Unique Dining Experience With ALUMNI
A pop-up restaurant staffed by MasterChef contestants! That's fine dining prices for first-year apprentice chef cuisine!
Amanda Laing Announces Resignation From Foxtel Group
Foxtel's chief commercial & content officer heads for the exits. Read nice things the bosses said about her right here.
The Lost Letters From Our Diggers: News Corp Unveils ANZAC Day Special
It's nice when brands respectfully acknowledge ANZAC Day.
Howatson+Company Acquires Akkomplice
Large indie acquires a slightly smaller indie. Much like a shark eating a tuna, just with less thrashing and blood.
Google Delays Third-Party Cookie Deprecation Again
In good news for the sale of picture library biscuit photos, Google continues to tease over the end of cookies.
Education A Low Priority For Aussies More Concerned With Cost Of Living Forethought Study Reveals
Study finds Aussies cutting back on education due to cost of living. Booze & Uber Eats sales remain largely unaffected.
“I’m Still The Same Person That I Was”: Rikki Stern Says “Fucc It” To Cancer Stereotypes
B&T always happy to promote the anti-cancer cause. Even brands that massively overdo it with the hot pink.
The Unapproved Climate Certification Allegedly Causing Mass Greenwashing
Are you left flummoxed in the canned tuna & free range eggs aisle? Just wait till this green certification gets up.
TV Ratings (22/04/2024): Fans Mock “Over The Top” Reaction To New MasterChef Judges
MasterChef returns for its 2024 season. B&T stands by putting peppercorns in Gravox & no one will be any the wiser.
Dentsu Restructure: Muddle, Harvey & Johnston Take Leadership Baton As Bass & Yurisich Exit
A large broom has swept through Dentsu's local ops this morning, taking with it some big names & the air con's cobwebs.
Industry Shares Trends Shaping The Industry This International Creators Day
B&T's asking adland creators to reveal their top trends. And it's not good news for your Jenny Kee cardigan collection.
Mable Extends HOYTS Sensory Screenings Partnership
Mable has extended its HOYTS sensory screening partnership. Vigorously defends its two-star Oppenheimer review.
Orphan Launches ‘They Need Our Help. We Need Yours’ For Children’s Cancer Institute
Anything to do with childhood cancers has B&T's 110% support. That said, we do ignore the red meat & alcohol warnings.
Smile Team Orthodontics & Keep Left Collaborate On Smile-Inducing Campaign
As parents would attest, given the cost of orthodontics you'd expect this campaign to be a lavish production indeed.
Opinion: How Video Calls Neglect Learning Diversity
Need an excuse to duck out of a video call this arvo? Show this to your boss.
DoubleVerify Achieves First-Of-Its-Kind Responsible AI Certification From TrustArc
DoubleVerify receives responsible AI certification. However, not its robotic vacuum that's been seen menacing the cat.
Smile For A Good Cause: The Social Media Campaign Giving Back To The Community
Are you known as the office Austin Powers? More for you teeth than shagability? Get snappy new fangs with this news.
Elon Musk Mocks Albo After ESafety Wins Court Injunction Against X
Albo's 2024 from hell continues - Rabbitohs in crisis, down in the polls and now feuding with world's richest man.
Real Estate Developer In Hot Water Over “Sexually Exploitative” OOH Campaign
Real estate agents again tops in the 'least trusted profession' polls, nudging used car salesmen & ad creatives.
Epsilon’s Shane Hanby: Post-Cookie Era Relies On “Teamwork” Between Brands, Marketers & Tech
This pro predicts more "teamwork" in a post-cookie era. Which spells bad news for the uncooperative or plain stubborn.