Vanessa 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.
Vanessa Williams: Business director at Ryvalmedia.
Time in current role:
I have been at Ryvalmedia for almost 3 years now.
How would you describe what the company does?
Ryvalmedia is a full-service agency, focused on modern innovations to drive deeper brand bonds and optimised conversion journeys.
What do you do day to day?
Every single day is different, and no hour is ever the same!
Across a single day I could be, looking at client strategy holistically and leveraging reporting insights to deliver suggestions and recommendations at a broader level; diving into finance reconciliations against budgeting across multiple client patches, ensuring forecasting and future planning; regrouping with publisher reps to up to date on market news as well as keep WIPs progressing; supporting the team with escalation items, providing key learning moments; keeping up with current trends and industry theory/case studies to identify potential threats or opportunities my clients should be aware of (the Peter’s IceCream drip SmartFrames – chef’s kiss!); liaising with client leads on planning, optimised ways or working and ongoing data journeys; and upskilling with my internal team, just to mention a few!
Define your job in one word:
Ever-changing.
I got into the industry because:
... when I was 6, I saw the first ad I ever consciously liked, it was a local plumber and had a catchy jingle for their phone number. I kept singing it at home and bet my parents I could remember the jingle at Christmas - needless to say I won $10 that year...
Anyone who knows me, know I LOVE a good ad and could talk for hours about ads I have loved and ingenious marketing ideas that I idolize - stay tuned for my fave ever!
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Navigating complex stakeholder dynamics and aligning differing priorities is a continual challenge. Whether bridging the gap between creative and media, aligning client and publisher goals, or managing the evolving intersection of human talent and AI, the industry frequently requires balancing competing interests.
For me honesty, transparency and teamwork are core values and consistently applying these values, I believe, allows me to build strong, trust-based relationships with cross-functional teams, leadership, and clients.
What’s the biggest industry wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
Sustainability - it had a wave of support a few years ago but seems to have completely died down since then!
I would like to see a future where business planning and media plans have carbon emissions listed to show the impact each campaign has on the market, even digital only campaigns!
This information regularly will breed awareness and build reference points around environmentally efficient media, especially for our clients that are already on this journey, it will only support them and build a better more sustainable future for everyone.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
I don't have one specific mentor and am generally thankful for that.
Across my career, I have worked with and alongside people that have left both positive and negative impact on me... From those experiences I took onboard the qualities that I liked in a leader and noted down the qualities that I didn't like as much, to both analyse later and to make sure I never deliver that impact onto someone in my team.
People may remember what you say, but it’s how you make them feel, that they will remember most!
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Be resilient. This is general advice that will help in any part of life.
"You can do this" and "Will I remember this or still care about this is 5 years’ time?" has helped me through countless situations in life, both professional and personal.
If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I'd be:
Gazing at the stars or working as a private investigator – I have a feeling I would be good at both considering creative thinking and problem solving are already in my wheelhouse.
My philosophy is:
Teamwork makes the dream work!
And..
All they can do is say no, so ask anyway!
My favourite advert is:
When Coke turned Santa red… In 1931, Coke had a business challenge of being seen as only a summer beverage. In response they delivered a their first ever Winter Christmas campaign that depicted the Santa we know and love today; a jolly Santa with red cheeks, wearing a red coat with fur trims. This became the norm through the years of Coke advertising dominance, instead of the thin, saint-like man with a brown or green coat that was familiar before that, not at all aligned to Coke’e brand colours... GOAT Ad for sure!
Here is Coca-Cola’s official article, however this is one of the most discussed marketing campaigns in history and you can find endless content on it.
Music and TV streaming habits:
Spotify for all my music needs and generally whatever mood I’m in at the time (NEVER metal!), and I'm a true Screens consumer. Currently we have 3 TVs in our home and there is always one on – keeping up with sports, tv shows, news and comedy is where you will find me most. Shoutouts to ABC and Ch10 (via 10play on my CTV) which I will watch most weeknights, with News Breakfast, HYBPA? and The Cheap Seats being faves – can’t wait for their return on April 21!
What do you subscribe to?
Netflix is my commuting companion in the afternoons, providing an escape from the day. But we have too many subscriptions to list.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I am a gamer – I love gaming whether it’s a board game, phone game, PlayStation game, even Lego or quizzes… I think more adults need to make time to play, its such a great way to relax but also great fun!
In five years’, time I'll be:
15 years away from retirement...
You never know what is going to happen so I don’t like to plan but I would like to think I will be happy still and enjoying life every day.
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