Remarkable Marketers: Meet Foxtel’s Adam Ballesty

There are some pretty remarkable people in our industry, each offering their own unique perspective to adland.

While we spend so much time learning about our peers’ career highlights, B&T, in partnership with Carat Australia thought it high time to dig a little deeper, and find out what makes the shining stars of our industry tick and, at times, tock.

So, for the next little while, we will be publishing a series of personal profiles.

Get ready to laugh, cry and be taken on an emotional rollercoaster as we hear more about the industry’s most remarkable marketers.

Foxtel’s director of sports marketing, Adam Ballesty: The eco- lovin’ surfer

I’m a Nike-wearing, Patagonia-adoring, anti-plastic eco warrior who spends his time chasing his three kids and wife around. You could say I’m a surfer/runner with a running shoe/surf board addiction.

If I wasn’t a marketer, I’d probably be a comms strategist or sociologist, but the dream answer would be owning an eco running apparel empire. I really admire brands like Patagonia or Nike – they always put their money where their mouth is. I recently went surfing in western Sumatra with my best mate of 35 years. There were days and days that were the best days of my life out there.

What motivates me? My wife helped me crystalise this one a few years ago. I get out of bed to achieve and create. It really resonates with me because it sums up how I achieve things in my life. I like to think of new ways to solve a puzzle and I also love to be on the stop clock doing it. Marketers that can’t see the commercial reason or outcome are just creatives, while marketers that never take a leap of faith when they don’t have all the facts are just accountants. So, I want to be the balance of both as a marketer and as a father and husband.

What always works is backing smart people – giving them the lead and letting them do it how they see it can be done. So long as you both agree upfront what the clear picture of success looks like – then it has never failed me, them or the business. What doesn’t work is being a controlling stress head that dictates everything.

My best piece of advice came from my dad. He always used to say, “Be your own man and never follow the pack.” I can look at my life and when I follow my heart and my head, I have always moved forward. But those times when I have tried to be popular or fit in with a crowd, I’ve come unstuck. Every. Single. Time. I can’t tell you how much I repeat that to my kids.

The most regrettable thing I’ve ever eaten was an oyster. I don’t eat seafood, but I gave one a turn early on in the relationship with my wife. See what happens when you’re not being your own man! My favourite ad of all-time was for a Spanish horse theme park in Sydney from the 1970s called El Cabello Blanco. It ran for years and years, and I am 46 and can still sing the song, but haven’t seen the ad in three decades. The power in that is remarkable.

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