Home » Banter’s Paul Den Shares How Snagging A 30 Under 30 Award Catapulted His Career

6 December, 2022

Banter’s Paul Den Shares How Snagging A 30 Under 30 Award Catapulted His Career

We’re back for our second edition of the 2023 winners of B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards presented by Vevo reflecting on how their win has impacted their career!

This time we have Paul Den, who is currently the co-founder of specialist marketing agency Banter, but when he snagged his win he was a strategy manager at UM.

Den has joined B&T to shed some light on the evolution of adland and discuss how it can progress into the future.

Read on for his golden advice:

B&T: What category did you apply for?

Paul Den: Media.

B&T: What inspired you to apply?

PD: I’d been in media for a few short years at MediaCom and UM. I had three very inspirational leaders in Mat Baxter, Zoe Scaman and Stefan Burford who all encouraged me to apply. Having three of the smartest people in media at the time believe in me was something truly special at the time.

B&T: In the short term, how did winning the award impact your career?

PD: There’s no doubt that the 30 Under 30 Awards list is a prestigious format on the marketing calendar so for me, getting on the list meant a validation that I had something different to offer employers, but also a bit of a kick up the butt to go after what I really wanted to do. For me, I always wanted to make stuff. I loved media but my passion was for something else.

B&T: How did it impact your career long-term?

PD: I’ve been fortunate enough to have had such an amazing group of people around me who were very supportive when at age 30 I launched Banter. I definitely had imposter syndrome when starting the business, however, being on a list like B&T’s 30 Under 30 definitely gave me more self-belief. Seven years on and I’m so proud of our business and I believe we have some of the best young talent in the industry!

B&T: Have you applied for any adland awards since 30 Under 30? If so, how did your experience with 30 Under 30 influence this?

PD: Yes, I applied for The Marketing Academy in 2016. I did not make it at the time but was told to come back. One year later I made the program and it was definitely a career-defining moment.

B&T: What’s something you particularly like about how adland has changed over the past decade?

PD: There’s definitely a greater shift in brands wanting to create culture and conversation. As an engagement marketing agency, it’s truly humbling to have clients that believe in the work we do!

B&T: Where does adland still have room for improvement?

PD: In terms of diversity and inclusion, we all have the opportunity to grow in leaps and bounds in terms of our understanding and our actions.

B&T: What message do you have for this year’s entrants?

PD: Find what makes you, you. It’s as simple as that. You’ve been nominated for a reason so pick the brain of the person who nominated you and try and uncover why you’re such an asset to that person.

Get started on your entry HERE, as the deadline for submissions (Friday, 27 January 2023) will be here before you know it. You can download the criteria for each category HERE.

However, you MUST be under the age of 30 on the day of the event (Wednesday 29 March) to be in the running. So, be sure to include your ID and profile photo with your entry.

Oh, and please save your entry in a Word doc in case so many of you jump onto the awards portal that it crashes. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

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