In this series, AdNews spotlights young talent in the Australian media, marketing and advertising sector. This time it's Equality Media + Marketing's digital performance manager, Emily Headon.
Time at the company:
10 months.
How long have you been in the industry?
Almost 6 years.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
I was dead set on being a graphic designer until a university internship showed me that marketing was the path for me. After a few stints in broader roles, I fell in love with performance media. I’ve always been obsessed with advertising, my 12th birthday present was The Gruen Transfer book, so while media wasn’t always the plan, it definitely feels right.
Who is your right-hand person/who guides you day to day?
With so many amazing leaders and so much industry knowledge in the agency, it’s hard to pick just one. My manager, Digital Performance Director Tora, is the person I ask 100 questions a day, so she’ll take the crown.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
Cheesy, but it’s the innovation. There’s always something new to experience, and we never really know where we’ll be in a few years, the possibilities are exciting.
And the biggest challenge?
Most days I’m wrestling with social media platforms over AI enhancements, so I worry about what digital media will look like when this scales 100x in coming years. Keeping things in the control of humans rather than AI is getting trickier every day.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Likely still fighting AI enhancements! I hope to have progressed further into leadership, but honestly, as long as I’m still problem-solving, surrounded by people smarter than me, and working on clients that excite and challenge me, I’ll be happy.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
I find inspiration everywhere I consume culture, in art, media, podcasts, social media, and even when online shopping. The fun thing about working in media is that it connects to everything in life, which means almost every experience ends up being a learning opportunity.
My favourite advert is:
I really enjoyed the GAP denim ad from earlier in 2025. It nailed the Y2K moment, TikTok dance trends, celebrity relevance, and even rode the wave of controversy from competitor ads. It’s the kind of campaign that would be a dream to take on as a performance marketer, as it would almost sell itself. The global audience really ran with it.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
People definitely know this, but I’m in the middle of a self-imposed film education. I’ve watched more than 300 films in the last two years! I just saw Star Wars for the first time and loved it (told everyone at work), but when I hated Lord of the Rings, I kept that opinion to myself.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
With the pace both Equality Media + Marketing and the broader industry are moving, the job I have my sights on probably doesn’t exist yet, but if my career follows a similar path to Equality’s Performance Director Tora, I’ll be very pleased.
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