Industry Profile: Our Revolution creative director Jen Doran

12 May 2020
 

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.

This week we speak to Our Revolution creative director Jen Doran.

Time at the company: 
Four years.

How would you describe what the company does?
Our Revolution creates consumer brands and rebrands that are made to fit and thrive in today’s culture.

What do you do day-to-day?
Lead the creative team. Push the creative vision. Cultivate new ideas and integrate with clients.

Define your job in one word:
Evolving.

I got into design because:
Originally I wanted to become an artist. My parents freaked out. They thought I would be a struggling artist, broke and living in a squat. So I became a designer.

What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Finding new ways to work with accelerated turnaround times. As we come to expect immediate answers to questions, there is also an expectation for immediate creative solutions.

What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
There are not enough graduates leaving university with developed soft skills. Personal qualities such as good communication skills are imperative for our industry and are just as important as practical qualifications.

Previous industry related companies you have worked at:
Landor, JKR.

Notable campaigns you have worked on:
I have previously created brands and rebrands for Arnott’s, Nestlé, Heinz, Diageo, Colgate and Pernod Ricard.

Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
Florencia Tarelli. Flo is one of Australia’s leading strategists. Previously managing partner at The Leading Edge, I first met Flo at Landor. Over the years she has taught me how true, in-depth strategy makes creative more robust. Flo also gave me invaluable advice and support when I started my own agency.

Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Become fluent in empathy.

If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
A struggling artist (see above).

My mantra is:
You will never influence the world by trying to be like it.

My favourite advert is:
Shock! It’s ‘Surfer’ for Guinness, 1999 by AMV BDDO.

Always ranked on the lists of ‘best ads ever made’.

Apart from it’s palpable drama, it’s my favourite as it’s an ad that originally didn’t do great in research yet both brand and agency protected it and held a steadfast belief that it would create commercial success. They were right.

Twenty-one years later and this ad still resonates and is unforgettably Guinness.

Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
Yes to Spotify - my Spotify is the main account hooked up to our studio Sonos sound system so with everyone adding their music choices, my account has become quite an ‘eclectic’ mix.

Yes to Netflix - but I need to try and lay off on the true crime documentaries.

Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I can recite 18 different nursery rhymes on demand (I had a baby this year).

In five years' time I'll be:
Opening a London office for Our Revolution.

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