Young Gun profiles takes a look at the young talent across the Australian advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector. Aiming to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Lachlan Moon, Account Manager at Outbrain.
Time in current role/time at company:
Just over a year and a half.
How long have you been in the industry?
About four years.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
Yes, but also no. I studied marketing in university, and always had an interest in advertising (I churned through Mad Men in Grade 12, so maybe that had more influence than I like to acknowledge).
I somehow started out as an investment banking recruiter, and even moved to Sydney to pursue it. I eventually bounced from this career path after becoming disillusioned with how that industry, and recruitment itself, operated.
I was then fortunate enough to have an ad-tech company, Integral Ad Science, take a chance on me. I really valued this as I had been working in a totally different industry for over a year at that point.
I must admit when I joined I only had a vague comprehension of exactly what “advertising verification” was, and certainly had no understanding of just how varied tech in advertising could be.
I made the move to Outbrain after a few years, and wanted to expand my exposure to the space. And it’s turned out great! I’ve been able to maintain a tech edge while in a fast-moving industry.
Who is your right-hand who guides you day to day?
I’d say there’s several candidates. Our Head of Account Management, Elise Bennett, is a stalwart member of the team in Australia. Despite her seniority in the office, she’s always available for guidance and advice on how to deal with a situation. Quality office banter too!
My manager, Chermaine Koh, is excellent as well. She’s super creative with solutions and on more than one occasion has given me an “Aha!” moment when trying to solve a problem.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
Variation. There’s so many elements that there’s always something new to learn. Being on the tech vendor side of advertising has the inherent benefit of expanding one’s network on a scale that working at any given agency probably couldn’t provide.
And the biggest challenge?
Cop out answer, but variation. There’s always so much going on and to get the best value for clients usually means using multiple tools, platforms and channels at once. For example, even though I work for Outbrain, I need to know how clients operate on different platforms.
Whose job have you set your sight in the future?
I love the product side of my role and would love to have more influence on which products are prioritised, what their capabilities are, and how they can be utilised by our clients.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
I like watching historical war movies/shows. I pretty much rewatch Band of Brothers/ The Pacific/Generation Kill on a yearly basis. It’s insane to me what people have to go through and what they’re capable of surviving. It always adds perspective to any ‘problems’ I have, and reminds me of how fortunate I am.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you
I still burn CDs for use in my car, though I did retire the iPod last year.
In five years’ time I’ll be:
Probably not where I expected.
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