SYDNEY, Wednesday: Five NZ agency execs and marketers were guests of NYC-based Verizon Media (formerly Oath) when they brought together 50 creative Antipodean rising stars for their inaugural Brand Love Academy event.
The Kiwis were MediaCom associate digital director Becky Donoghue, Wavemaker senior account manager Sophie Van Duiven, Kiwibank data-driven campaign manager Hilary Derrick, Amnet operations head Alfred Smith, and VMLY&R (PHD) programmatic manager Peter Jun (all pictured, above)
Held in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, the hand-picked future leaders listened and learnt from some of the world’s best business speakers at an event focusing on personal brand building, future-proofing careers and brain-training for a high performance life.
Created as a part of Verizon Media’s company-wide commitment to invest in talent whilst adding value to the future of the industry, Brand Love Academy featured an array of inspiring speakers including Atlassian work futurist Dominic Price, Vitae.Coach co-founder of Shelley Laslett, The Impossible Institute co-founder Dan Gregory, and Verizon Media’s head of brand & RYOT Zoe Cocker and Head of Data & Targeting, Dan Richardson.
Attendees on the day came from across a spectrum of agencies and brands including: MediaCom ANZ, Wavemaker ANZ, Kiwibank, Amnet, VMLY&R (PHD), Spark Foundry, Ikon, Starcom, CHE Proximity, OMD, Initiative, Mindshare, PHD, Audience 360, Carat, MediaLab, Bohemia Group, REA Group, Cadreon, UM and Havas Media.
“Having only one hour to develop a pitch and five minutes to present, we were zoned in on giving our all to the task at hand.”
Billed as “More than just a conference”, the Brand Love Academy class of 2019 were able to put their new knowledge to the test in a final pitch-off for Musicians Making a Difference (MMAD), one of Verizon Media’s not-for-profit partners through their gold partnership with UnLtd.
Sydney-based Verizon Media ANZ MD Paul Sigaloff said: “Our first year of Brand Love Academy exceeded expectations, the positive energy in the room was palpable which reinforced why Verizon Media invests heavily in our industry’s talent. We’ve given young talent the opportunity to access vital tools and information they may not have learnt until later in their careers.
“We believe in the power of people and as our industry continues to evolve, the importance of retaining and investing in top talent is a key issue facing all businesses, from brand marketers to agencies. Brand Love Academy provides a real opportunity to give something back to the industry, whilst having some fun along the way.”
Pitch winner Justine Baloh (of MediaCom Australia) said: “Having only one hour to develop a pitch and five minutes to present, we were zoned in on giving our all to the task at hand. We’re a bit shell-shocked about winning this amazing opportunity to continue learning thanks to Verizon Media.”
About Verizon Media
Verizon Media is a premium media and technology company in the ANZ market, which reaches nearly half of the Australian online population every month. Verizon Media ANZ publishes websites including the Yahoo home page, Yahoo News, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Finance, as well as Yahoo Lifestyle, and connects people through Yahoo Mail. Our digital advertising business, with a large footprint in both the display and AdTech markets, leads with a unique ability to be a part of cultural conversations and capability in code data, to deliver innovative solutions to some of the largest advertisers in the region.
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