Helly Pham.
In this series, AdNews spotlights young talent in the Australian media, marketing and advertising sector. This time it's Havas Media's associate activation director Helly Pham.
Time in current role:
2 months
How long have you been in the industry?
Nearly 5 years.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
It started with a cosmetics side hustle at uni. We packed orders, closed first sales, coordinated campaign shoots, did everything ourselves. I kept entering marketing competitions to stress-test my thinking. In 2020, I led my team to L'Oréal Brandstorm National Finals during COVID, pitching online to a global jury. I later became the first graduate of Jaywing's program and joined paid media. Since then, I've been deep in the beautiful, ever-changing world where performance marketing meets brand and integration. Not exactly planned, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Who is your right-hand person?
Christopher Warbrick has been my strategy backbone. He pushed my technical depth and big-picture thinking (I've successfully fired tags in GTM without breaking anything!). And my client Seppi Mohsenian trusted me early with campaign strategy and always challenges me to think differently to drive commercial impact. Beyond them, I've been shaped by managers and colleagues throughout my career whose mentorship I'm genuinely forever grateful for.
What is the best thing about the industry you work in?
It never lets you get comfortable. Technology, AI, platforms – everything evolves. I started in paid media and slowly built a Swiss-army-knife skillset across SEO, web and creative through integrated campaigns with brilliant colleagues and I'm not done. The idea that roles we'll hold in five years don't fully exist yet excites me. It keeps me humble and slightly restless in the best way. That constant evolution isn't a challenge. It’s the whole point.
And the biggest challenge?
Not getting trapped in platform tunnel vision. It’s easy to optimise metrics and forget the original brief. The challenge is holding the big picture while going deep technically. As AI becomes embedded in operations, we also need to make sure it enhances our thinking rather than replaces it. Strategy still needs a human heartbeat.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
Honestly, no specific title though I'm inspired by leaders like Michael Kay, Bee, Zoe, and Kate, our CEO. My role might look completely different from anything that exists today. What I'm chasing is becoming a true brandformance expert: that strategic sweet spot between brand building and performance marketing, using technology and AI to drive long-term awareness and immediate commercial results. I want leadership impact, not just a title.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
Everywhere. Social feeds, streets, billboards. My recent Korea trip camera roll is equal parts food, scenery, and OOH ads (chronic professional habits!). I also mine movies, podcasts, reels, and music for marketing angles I can extract and apply. It's never fully switched off, and I've made peace with that.
My favourite advert is:
Apple's Think Different (1997). It doesn't sell a product. It sells a vision of living. People don't buy Apple; they buy a belief system. That campaign is what hooked me on advertising. My favourite line: "The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." I live by the round peg in a square hole spirit.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
At 19, I took a gap year to venture on a ship across Southeast Asia through The Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP), funded by the Japanese government. I met incredible youth leaders making real change across the region and we made a music video called Senseful Vietnam, filming across corners of Hanoi with delegates from across Vietnam. One of the best things I've ever done.
In five years’, time I will be:
A brandformance expert – still living and breathing paid media, with sidequests into AI, integrated channels, and strategy. And hopefully lighting the fire for the next hungry wave of incoming talent the way others did for me.
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