B&T‘s ’10 of the Best’ interview series marches onward in celebration of our inaugural Best of the Best awards.
[Looking for the live stream of B&T’s Best of the Best awards? You’ve found it – click here!]
Presented by Finecast, Best of the Best will bring something unique to this year’s awards season. While most awards focus on the work of an agency or company as a whole, Best of the Best will celebrate the immense individual talent on show in every area of advertising, marketing and media.
Our Best of the Best awards will also be celebrating the people who continue to do the most, with categories for mentors and social change-makers.
You can find a breakdown of all the different categories here, along with a downloadable file outlining the full submission criteria.
Come on, you know you want to enter! Head on over HERE to complete your submission/s by Friday 25 June 2021.
To inspire you even more to enter Best of the Best, we’ve been publishing (and will continue to publish) some fab interviews with a number of senior folk from Finecast and the broader WPP AUNZ network.
Here’s Brett Poole, managing director of Finecast’s Aussie operations. Enjoy…
Best piece of career advice…
Early in my career, I was told “always try to make your boss look good”. Then, I realised my boss at the time was awful.
Later advice directed me towards the mantra of ‘prioritise personal values’. Working for a company that reflects your personal values often translates directly into your very best work, stronger working relationships and overall job fulfilment. One of my personal values is to embrace change – hence, building the future of TV with Finecast is a perfect fit for me.
Best agency in Australia at the moment (that’s not yours) and why…
If I can’t pick a GroupM agency, I would say AKQA. The work coming out of that group is amazing and they are such a versatile team – it feels like anything important you want to do in marketing is possible there. If I need to go outside the bounds of WPP though, I’d go with the Special Group. I particularly love the Uber Eats TV creative!
Best industry leader and why…
Very, very difficult question, but I’d have to give a shout to Brent Smart, CMO of IAG – particularly how he applies his former agency experience to the CMO role. I had the opportunity to hear him speak at the recent Future of TV conference in Sydney and I love the level of candour he offers the industry, not to mention the momentum he and the team have delivered IAG over the years is phenomenal.
Best mentor in your life/career and why…
The most valuable career lessons I have ever learned came from the team I work with day in, day out. I’m incredibly lucky right now to have a team who are undisputed leaders in their field and, by definition, much smarter than me on a great many things.
Best brand you’ve never worked on and why…
Say what you want about Elon Musk, but you have to appreciate the boundaries that have been pushed, bent and broken with the innovation that Tesla has created. The storytelling opportunities with that brand seem endless to me.
Best song for inspiration and why…
I’m a huge Queen fan, so I’m going with “Don’t Stop Me Now” for its high energy. It’s literally impossible not to be gee’d up by that song.
Best mistake you’ve ever made…
My list of mistakes is quite formidable, so it feels a bit daunting to sift through to find the best one.
When I was 23, I quit my stable job to join an entertainment start-up that immediately ran out of runway as soon as I joined. However, with painful effort, we resurrected a compelling pitch to land major clients in the US where we travelled for a three-month tour delivering live shows to sporting events, and having the time of our lives while doing it.
Best rumour you’ve heard about yourself…
I continue to perpetuate the rumour that I’m a half-decent golfer – I do this to attract invites to play with real golfers. I hope to learn one day to hit the wretched ball properly.
Best ad of the past decade and why…
I have two amazing daughters and when I saw the Always #LikeAGirl creative, I’m not ashamed to admit I had a dad cry. Such a super-important message to help unwind negative gender stereotypes at such an important age.
Best guilty pleasure…
Saturday night playing Animal Crossing with my wife and kids with a cheeky glass of red wine, listening to a Spotify playlist that I have absolutely no involvement in curating (trust me, it’s better that way).
