Melanie Mack is currently an independent digital marketing consultant, with years of experience working with big brands, including Casual Dining Group, Tesco, Wickes, MediaCom, Steak and Microsoft.
Who is your digital hero?
My digital hero is the one and only, inimitable Mary Keane-Dawson
What have they done to win hero status in your eyes?
In my eyes, Mary is a mentor, a leader, a challenger of the status quo, a supporter of the under-represented and a powerful sign that sheer determination and tenacity can win over anything the world throws at you. So dear to me and to many, she has smoothed the way for an entire generation of brilliant clever women
How has their heroism helped drive digital?
Having known Mary since our early days in digital, to me she is the personification of the ever changing world of digital media and communications – always at the forefront of the new dawn, sometimes risking her career and reputation to follow her gut instinct that tells her where the direction is heading.
Search and display? She’s right there.
Performance? She’s at the helm.
Exposing the opaque layers of programmatic? Ask Mary.
It does not surprise me that now she is Global CEO at Takumi, leading and shaping the world of influencer marketing – once again earning her spurs as not just part, but the advance scouting party of the industry – discovering and sharing where we all need to follow.
What the biggest challenges in digital we need another hero to solve?
In my view, the business world is still too siloed into “business” and “digital”. I’m bored of CEOs getting glassy eyed when I talk about attribution and how that translates to their bottom line. I’m bored of having to explain what technical acronyms mean. If C suite execs still don’t get the fundamentals of how digital technology can make their internal and external operations and comms better, they need to get out of the way and let the rest of us make it happen.
What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital?
In digital and in life, I am proud of being the passionate straight-talking Yorkshire lass who stands up for the truth, no-matter how unpalatable it may sometimes be. I care deeply about the people I work with, and the quality of the work they and I do. Business is personal for me. Over time I’ve come to understand the true value of this authenticity and there isn’t a company I’ve worked with whose teams and digital operations haven’t been improved by my involvement – even if they sometimes didn’t realise it at the time.
