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.
Melissa Gilson: Director of brand and qualitative research at 5D
Time in current role/time at the company:
Director of Brand and Qualitative Research; I have been with 5D for almost 10 months.
How would you describe what the company does?
We are the leading specialists on the complexity of modern decisions. We aim to decode choice at every level, using a mix of comprehensive methodologies, technical expertise and advanced tools.
What do you do day-to-day?
My role combines my two areas of expertise: brand and communication strategy, and qualitative research.
With my brand hat on, I help clients formulate insight-led marketing frameworks and communication platforms.
My qualitative role largely involves immersing myself in people’s lives, understanding how they make decisions, and unravelling the complex influences on choice. I get to be nosy and talk to so many different people about such a variety of topics, then try and make sense of what I’ve heard. I’m your ultimate dinner guest as I can talk (without a great deal of authority) about almost any topic.
Define your job in one word:
Diverse.
I got into communications because:
I love structure but I also thrive in the mess where creativity happens, and this role encourages the merging of both. To build marketing frameworks and uncover insight that sparks creativity is challenging but very rewarding.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
The world of qualitative research is awash with automated and AI enabled tools that speak to the desire for cheaper alternatives and tight timelines.
Automated or AI-driven fast “qual” tools work for some projects, absolutely. But where nuance, experience and empathy are required, human led research offers unmatched quality. We have to keep backing ourselves, elevating standards and clearly demonstrating value to our clients.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
This one comes in cycles, but I’d like to see less rhetoric about the role of qualitative research in “crushing creativity”. Done well, qualitative research should fuel creativity by uncovering key insights from which creative ideas are borne. I’ve collaborated with creative agencies for over 20 years and not once have I “tested” or “marked” a creative idea. Our role is to understand reactions, the context, and to determine whether the idea speaks to the brand and creative objectives. Our role should be the impartial voice or conduit between the idea, and the creative team providing useful and collaborative insight. We should all be in the room together. When this happens, great ideas emerge.
Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
I started in an incredible boutique research agency, Jigsaw Research, in the early 2000s, run by two amazing women – Jude Rutherford and Nerida Newman – who were way ahead of the consulting curve. I also ran my own research and planning consultancy for 18 years and worked with many great creative agencies over the years, including Clemenger BBDO, 303, Lowe, Host, Banjo and many others.
Notable campaigns you have worked on:
I’ve helped create brand positioning and communication platforms for many brands across Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Diageo and Goodman Fielder. I was at the Andrew Boy Charlton pool when we filmed Thorpies first campaign for Uncle Toby’s. I rode the highs (and lows) with one of Australia’s largest super and wealth companies, providing insight to inform multiple brand campaigns over 12 years, and I worked on campaigns to launch BT Financial and the online dating app RSVP. I’ve also researched campaigns for the likes of Macquarie Bank, NSW Government and Telstra, to name a few.
I feel like I’ve traversed almost every category during my career!
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
Jigsaw Research. Helmed by two incredible female entrepreneurs that set my career in motion and instilled a philosophy of quality and rigour that I am forever grateful for.
From the creative world, I am very privileged to be friends with one of the “OGs” of the ad world, Trish Manners. She was one of the first female Managing Directors of an ad agency in the 1980s, and she is fiercely smart, creative, hilariously funny, humble and empathetic. She bought all of this to her work and how she managed people, and I can only dream to be as impressive as her on and off the field.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Don’t be fooled by appearances. Qualitative research can look unstructured and intuitive. But strong output relies on discipline, deep thinking and looking for patterns and frameworks. It’s so much fun, but bloody hard work!
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
Doing something else that I really enjoy. Life’s too short to work in a job you hate.
My philosophy is:
Have fun, find balance in life, and be nice to people.
My favourite advert is:
Betty White and Snickers – “You’re not you when you’re hungry”. The insight is just so spot on, and the execution is so clever. And as a self-confessed sufferer of the “hangrys”, I can so relate.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
Everything! My work life involves talking to people all day every day. So, downtime often involves a book or a screen. We watch so many different shows and platforms, but recent favourites include Tim Burton’s Wednesday (with my daughter), MobLand and My Friends and Neighbours. And yes, I watched Unknown Number on Netflix. Sheesh. We all need therapy after that twist.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
Thankfully, my youth wasn’t captured on social media, so there’s a lot that I’m happy to keep locked away in the vault where it belongs. Other than my 90s teen years, I am an open book.
In five years' time I'll be:
Doing more of the same! Working with great people on interesting projects and sneaking off to the South of France with any spare time I have.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.