Our Industry Profile takes a look at some of the professionals working across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the buzzing industry.
Lukas Temple: Managing director at BCM Group.
Time in current role/time at the company:
Almost three months.
How would you describe what the company does?
We create space for brands to grow. As a full-service agency, we treat brand positioning as the holistic beast that it is. From finding clear space in a category to clear space in channel. The most effective way we support our clients’ growth is to create strategic alternatives to the inflated cost of category convention.
What do you do day to day?
I bring people together. We’re lucky to have a full-service agency under one roof, so at any moment, I can pull together research, strategy, creative, PR, and media experts to tackle a problem. It’s like being a kid in a candy store, and that’s exactly how we want our clients to feel.
Define your job in one word:
Connecting
I got into the industry because:
I’ve always been intrigued by people. We’re weird creatures. When I left the country and moved to the city in my early twenties, that curiosity only grew. I found life more interesting at the intersections than the endpoints. Advertising felt like the obvious choice. It’s not always perfect, but it pays me to do something that I’m genuinely interested in, which is pretty bloody good.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Creating space for brands to grow means helping them step confidently out of the shadows. It’s easy to say, harder to do. Having spent years client-side as part of an exec team, I know it takes more than passion. My challenge is to help our clients through this process, because the payoff is critical.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
In the past two decades, media planning has shifted from the art of impact to an act of defence. Too often, we see inflated out-of-the-box tactics and reductive planning techniques that do little more than cannibalise existing equity. The result? Nice dashboards. The cost? Disengaged consumers.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
The late, great Justin Whelan. As a kid from the bush landing in Circular Quay in my early 20s, JW showed me the ropes. Not just how to make an impact, but how to keep work/life interesting.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Listen to advice, but don’t be blinded by it. Like research, advice should help you frame the challenge, but it won’t give you the solution.
If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I'd be:
I’ve already ticked the box of owning a country pub. A friend and I took on the ambitious task of bringing a once-famous hotel in the NSW Border Ranges back to life. Talk about a way to meet some interesting people! While I’ve currently retired from that game, if I were to exit advertising, I’d consider a comeback.
My philosophy is:
Don’t confuse motion for progress.
My favourite advert is:
Tullamore Dew 'A parting glass.'
Music and TV streaming habits: what do you subscribe to?
I split my media habits into two:
50% industry and general news.
50% blues music and Anthony Bourdain reruns.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
When I was 16, I was obsessed with buying a VW bug and putting a Porsche wing kit on it. An absolutely absurd thing to do. I no longer have that passion, but it was everything when I was 16.
In five years’ time, I'll be:
Hopefully more of this. My two daughters will be at the end of high school, so I hope to be watching them embark on new adventures, giving my wife and me an excuse to travel and meet up with them wherever they land in the world.
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