Our Young Gun profile takes a look at some of the young talent across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Today we speak to Amobee senior platform specialist Melanie Kim.
Time at the company:
Two and a half years.
How long have you been in the industry?
Six years.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
I started my career in digital marketing and worked across channels such as print, TV, audio and mobile. The initial plan was to move into a marketing role, but I ended up following the momentum - I’ve been fortunate to be given opportunities to expand my skillsets and interests with each new role and company.
Being in programmatic wasn’t my original plan but it feels like the right place for me to be right now. Sometimes you have to just go with the flow!
Who guides you day to day?
My colleagues Janice Chan and Chi Smith. They lead from the front, are really caring, work super hard and always encourage me to think outside of the box and improve myself.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
Definitely the steep learning curve with ad tech. It’s safe to say there’s no shortage of things to keep me busy and thinking. I particularly like how data and automation is coming in to mainstream at the moment. That’s pretty cool to be a part of.
And the biggest challenge?
The same thing – the learning curve. Rapid changes in technology can be quite overwhelming as I need to stay on top of both current and future trends, know the big picture and the tiny detail as well.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
I’ve always been intrigued at how products are built and improved in such a fast paced industry. I would love to be more involved in project/product management and surround myself with talented people in this field to share knowledge.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
The dinner table! I love listening to people’s stories - inspiration usually strikes when I’m casually chatting to someone over food.
My favourite advert is:
The iPhone 11 Slofie ads, particularly the group slofie taken in the fridge of a convenience store. I love the epic twist in the advert – I want to take one myself, I just need to muster up the courage!
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I did taekwondo for a year and a half at university and participated in a state taekwondo competition. I think that will surprise a few people!
In five years' time I'll be:
Hopefully mentoring young talents, helping them progress their careers like my mentors helped me to.
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