B&T‘s ’10 of the Best’ interview series just keeps on rolling 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’re continuing to publish some fab interviews with a number of senior folk from Finecast and the broader WPP AUNZ network.
We’ve asked them everything from their best piece of career advice, to the best mistake they’ve ever made, to their best guilty pleasure.
Today, we’re serving up our chat with the delightful Katie Rigg-Smith, CEO of Mindshare for Australasia. Enjoy…
Best piece of career advice…
Your career is ultimately your responsibility – take control of it.
Best agency in Australia at the moment (that’s not yours) and why…
Special Group are doing a great job and we have the pleasure of working with them across a few clients, so we see this play out firsthand.
Best industry leader and why…
Lee Simpson (CEO of whiteGREY). He’s smart, has a strong point of view and is a leader that cares about great work and bringing the best out in his people. He’s also just really easy to work with and gets stuff done.
Best mentor in your life/career and why….
I can’t go past Steady (aka John Steedman). He has been a constant in my career for the past 22 years. He is the perfect balance of encouragement and tough love. I can turn to him no matter what and I have a lot to thank him for.
Best brand you’ve never worked on and why…
GWS Giants. Not only would I get serious points from my husband, but what’s not to love about the challenge of one of the youngest AFL teams seeking to establish brand loyalty and commitment from fans?
Best song for inspiration and why…
I love me some 90s pop, so “You Gotta Be” by Des’ree is definitely up there. When you look at the lyrics, it pretty much sums up every day in the office. Sing with me…
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day
Best mistake you’ve ever made…
Giving up a design scholarship to study media and communications.
Best rumour you’ve heard about yourself…
I honestly haven’t heard any rumours about me, so I just shouted out to my team on the floor for any they had heard. A few were quick to joke that maybe I am in the running for the GroupM CEO role, so just to dispel that rumour – it isn’t me.
Best ad of the past decade and why…
Google’s Project Re: Brief (2012). I loved the idea of taking amazing TV ads from decades ago and reimagining what that response to brief would be nowadays, particularly considering the range of channels and technology you can now bring brands to life in.
Best guilty pleasure…
The Real Housewives of pretty much anywhere.
