Our Young Gun profile takes a look at some of the young talent across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Elle Kaldis, Senior Digital Marketer at Sparro.
Time at the company
I’ve been with Sparro for 2.5 years and have recently been promoted again to Senior Digital Marketer.
How long have you been in the industry?
This is my 7th year in marketing and 3rd year in digital marketing.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
I studied a Law / Communications (Business) degree with a double major in Marketing and Public Relations. The marketing subjects were always what I considered the ‘fun’ subjects and enjoyed the most.
Towards the end of my degree, I started working part-time as a Marketing Coordinator at an organic beauty company. Soon after, I was thrown into the Marketing Manager role, which was an incredible experience, but I felt that I was missing opportunities to learn from senior management. At the same time, it was also playing on my mind that I’d graduated with a law degree but hadn’t really given myself a chance to explore that career pathway.
I enrolled to complete my Graduate Diploma of Legal Training. It only took one day of the course to figure out I’d made the wrong decision. I decided to press pause temporarily on deciding what my ‘career’ would be and did a short course to be certified as a Pilates instructor, which had always been one of my passions. This ‘pause’ turned out to be nearly two years long.
I loved teaching Pilates and connecting with clients, managing two studios and the flexibility of the lifestyle. At this point, I started doing freelance marketing work for small business owners who I met through the Pilates studio. A year later, that hunger to learn came back and I knew the right choice for my career was pursuing a role at a marketing agency that would encourage me to learn and develop my skills.
Who is your right-hand person/who guides you day to day?
From day one at Sparro, it’s always been Key Account Lead, Nicola Calder and Senior SEO Specialist, Sam Stewart. I started in an entry-level position and Nic was my manager, and to this day still is! Albeit in a different capacity now. Nic’s helped me develop so many skills, both hard and soft, that’s driven me to excel in my role. I’ve also been fortunate enough to work closely with Sam on key accounts, who’s the absolute best in the industry for anything SEO.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
Digital marketing has become so much more than just ‘marketing online’. I love that my role involves wider business understanding and growing my expertise across a range of industries. Our internal teams work as an extension of each client we work on, and I love providing support, knowledge and guidance to so many individuals and businesses.
And the biggest challenge?
For me, the biggest challenge is balancing innovation with realistic timelines. Especially when starting on a new project or client, I get excited by the number of ideas and opportunities that the team brings to the table, and I want to get started on everything at once. When managing multiple stakeholders, it’s so important to come back to business priorities and available resources to determine the strategies and tactics to focus on first.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
That’s still something I’m trying to figure out myself! Definitely something in growth and brand marketing though, as I want to continue leading businesses through international expansion on a larger scale.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
A bit cliche, but probably the beach. I’m lucky enough to live in Bondi, so whether it’s a coastal walk listening to a podcast or starting my day with a dip in the ocean, I come back to my desk feeling motivated and inspired.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I actually can’t surf. They know I have a surfboard, and they know I’ve taken annual leave to do surfing lessons. But I can barely stand up, let alone catch a wave.
In five years' time I'll be…
Walking into the office with my golden retriever, excited to discuss which market is next for the business's international growth strategy.
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