Our Young Guns profile takes a weekly look at some of the young talent across the advertising, ad tech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Today we speak to Indago Digital performance assistant Queen Ly.
How long have you been in the industry?
Almost a year.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
No, this wasn't always the plan. I helped write, publish and market a children’s book and initially got accepted into a design degree because I wanted to study photography. However, I decided to take a business degree, majoring in marketing communications, which I’m still doing while working at Indago.
My journey into digital marketing started at OMD and it turns out that I really enjoy it. I came across my current job on the university careers hub and here I am, working as a performance assistant and doing a bit of freelance photography on the side.
Who’s your right-hand person/who guides you day to day?
Mum – she’s witnessed the good and not-so-good decisions I’ve made during my life and is always there to support me.
Best thing about the industry you work in:
The people. Whether you’re technical, creative, commercial or analytical, there is a place for you in digital marketing. You don’t have to be studying marketing to pursue it. Despite working with people with vastly different skills and mindsets, you are still able to connect and collaborate at the same level.
And the biggest challenge?
Time. Work can be a bit overwhelming because you never know what situations you’ll have to face or issues you’ll need to solve before a strict deadline. These situations will often be out of your control and involve multiple stakeholders that you need to manage. You also have to keep up with constant change and digital disruption that affects us daily.
Define your job in one word:
Involved.
What were your real and cliché expectations of working in the industry?
Ping pong was the first and only thing that came to mind.
How does the reality match up?
Indago has a ping pong table. Our tournaments are quite competitive...
How would you describe what the company does and what does your role involve?
Indago is a digital agency focused on driving acquisition. Its culture focuses on learning not just for its people, but for our clients and community as well. My role as a performance assistant involves creating and planning a variety of paid media campaigns (search, social and display), measuring performance, and optimising to agreed client KPIs.
Any major hard learnings in the job so far?
Don’t be afraid to say: “I have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about".
If you had to switch over to another department, which would it be and why?
If I were given the choice, I’d switch over to web design and development because it would be interesting to have another perspective into how web design would affect marketing performance, but also because I love multimedia.
What's exciting you about the industry right now?
The industry is ever evolving, finding new ways of servicing businesses and their customers. What’s exciting is the fact that we get to experiment with new tools and technology. For example, the move towards voice search and personal digital assistants to handle search queries. How do we prepare for this change? How will this affect SEO and SEM? What are the opportunities or threats? There are so many questions that need to be answered and so many new things to learn.
What concerns you about the industry and its future?
Using new technology is exciting but also a concern in this ever-evolving space. Consumers are becoming more informed than ever before. Their change in behaviour can be a challenge if we are unable to adapt and accommodate to change.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
Brandon Stanton, the Humans of New York guy – I think it would be pretty cool to meet all different kinds of people, document them through photographs and share their stories with the world.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
What do YouTube channels like Jubilee and Soul Pancake have in common? They both have compelling stories and thought-provoking topics I find to be quite admirable. Other than that, it’s mostly just listening to stories and experiences from family and friends. You can tell I like stories.
My favourite advert is (and why)?
‘Eyebrow Dance’ by Cadbury: I remember watching this advertisement on TV almost a decade ago and I still remember every second of it. That’s what makes a commercial great – it has to be memorable!
https://youtu.be/g0uWBog2Oi8
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
My project about Language Attrition within the Vietnamese community is published in the State Library of NSW.
In five years’ time I'll be:
Still working in the digital marketing. I’d like to have more management responsibilities and pass my knowledge to those who are just starting out. In the interim, having more time to focus on my photography would be a plus.
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