Skye Williams.
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.
Name & Role: Skye Williams, Group Business Director, oOh!media
Time in current role/time at the company: Three years in this role, and part of the oOh! family since 2016, beginning with Junkee Media.
How would you describe what the company does? We work with agencies, brands and commercial partners to bring advertising campaigns to life in the real world, across the last true broadcast channel.
What do you do day-to-day? No two days are the same, but I would say I’m a professional firefighter, a master negotiator, a coach, a councillor and everything in between. The reason I love coming to work every day is to lead and learn from my exceptional team. We have a work hard, play hard mentality, and there is rarely a dull moment. I’m also fortunate to work with incredible agency partners in a channel that is collaborative, creative and in growth.
Define your job in one word: Dynamic (read: chaos)
I got into marketing/advertising/media/tech because: My sister, Hope Williams, who many people reading this will know, started at Fairfax in Melbourne and always seemed to be out at lunches and getting her nails done. Meanwhile, I had a first-class master’s degree and was working in recruitment, earning less and having far less fun. When she was offered a transfer to Sydney, I told her I would only move if she got me a job. A month later, I started at Mi9.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role? The ability to think critically. The volume and pace of our industry can make it easy to stay in reaction mode, so creating space to think strategically and challenge the status quo is essential.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled? The race to the bottom on price and value, fuelled by global advertisers, shorter pitch cycles and unrealistic audit benchmarks passed on to agencies. In centre retail media is a perfect example. Over the past three years, we have seen significant CPM compression and margin erosion driven by rapid digitisation, new market entrants and tender pressure. Until Australian owned media companies work together to grow our collective share of wallet, we will continue competing on price and eroding our own value.
Notable campaigns you have worked on: I loved working on Westpac’s LAYERS campaign, it was an exceptional example of truly fit for purpose creative across OOH. Telstra as a launch partner for our Bolte Bridge takeover last October was also incredibly special, a standout moment bringing scale and impact to life.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why? I worked closely with Neil Ackland and Tim Duggan in the early Junkee Media days. They instilled in me the power of commercial creativity and the hustle and grit required when you’re building something from the ground up.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours? Show up with curiosity, authenticity and care. These qualities will always set you apart. Passion is also an underrated superpower. I genuinely love what I do, I love the channel, I love our industry. As Mark Fairhurst (Chief Revenue Officer at oOh!) famously said: 'OOH is a lifestyle'.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be: Renovating (and flipping) houses, hotels or restaurants.
My mantra is: I live by a few, all of which are applicable personally and professional:
- This too shall pass: the good, the bad and the ugly (which is particularly comforting in parenthood).
- The days are long, but the years are short.
- If you don’t ask, the answer is always, no.
- 'I get to' vs 'I have to'.
My favourite advert is: Oura’s OOH creative is exceptional, simple but so effective. But if you mean a TVC, can’t beat NZ ads from the early 2000s.
Music and TV streaming habits: I love a podcast, The Diary of a CEO, Modern Wisdom, On Purpose and Aspire with Emma Grede are always on rotation. And I’m always topping up my Spotify Audiobook hours. TV/Streaming is only really NRL or Union, or ABC Kids!!
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you? I’ve hiked Mount Everest Base Camp.
In five years time I'll be: Continuing to live my best life, doing great work at Australia’s best media company, and bracing for my daughter starting high school (send help).
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