In the second instalment of this special vodcast series produced by The Growth Distillery in partnership with B&T, Dan Krigstein catches up with former creative and MONA marketing boss Robbie Brammall.
Robbie Brammall is very much a product of Tasmania. A childhood of growing up outdoors, such as going bushwalking, surfing, mountain climbing and white water rafting, has equipped him well for the ups and downs and creative challenges that face the modern day marketer.
Remarkably, Brammall was inspired to take up advertising by watching the TV classic Bewitched; Samantha’s husband Darren is advertising executive on the popular 60s hit.
At university he fell in love with marketing and moved into radio copywriting in his a first job. “In hindsight, it’s a really interesting grounding in marketing and advertising. I was writing radio ads for the biggest radio station in Tasmania every half an hour,” he said, adding that it worked out to around 4,000 ads in two years across all categories.
This not only gave Brammall a grounding of the nuances between different advertising categories, but also taught him valuable skills in managing client relationships, up-selling, understanding briefs and going through several rounds of client approval.
After two years in Tassie, Brammall moved to London, armed with a CD of radio ads, and tried his luck with some of the top creative shops, including Mother, Fallon, St Lukes and Saachti & Saatchi. One of the leading creatives of the noughties who worked at BBH, DDB, Lowe & Partners and others gave Brammall some sage advice that would shape his approach to advertising and marketing after listening to Brammall’s radio as CD.
“Ed Morris gave me some of the best advice for advertising creatives: ‘It’s a bit black lads, but I know where you’re at. You’re spending all your time on execution, and it should be the opposite. Spend all your time on strategy and less on the execution, because the execution is easy once you get the strategy right.”
Once a vitamin D deficiency set in during his time in Blighty, Brammall packed his bags in the noughties and returned to Australia to work at agencies including DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi, George Patterson and Campaign Palace.
He then went full circle and returned to the Apple Isle in 2016 to work as director of marketing and communications at Tasmania’s famous Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).
In this episode of The B-Side, The Growth Distillery’s director and head of intelligence Krigstein asks Brammall about what he has learnt on the journey to getting there, including his strengths and weaknesses, such as being far too protective of ideas and receiving feedback.
Brammall also goes through his evolution as a marketer at MONA, and what it’s like working at a museum where risk and creativity go hand in hand.
Also check out: Episode 1 of The B-Side featuring Fernando Machado
