Adam is a Group Director at Activision Blizzard Media, now part of Microsoft. He has worked in the digital industry for 15 years, with previous roles at AOL, Unruly/News Corp and Reach.
Who is your digital hero?
I’m going to take the liberty of having two. The first being Maria Grivas, CEO at Mindshare Australia & New Zealand. The second, someone that I haven’t been lucky enough to work with or meet; bona fide creative genius Walter Campbell.
What have they done to win hero status in your eyes?
The Guinness Surfer masterpiece was the first ad I ever wanted to re-watch, and I have Walter Campbell (among others) to thank for that. I vividly remember waiting for the ad breaks in the hope it would come back on. Walter’s involvement with Guinness and many others including Kiss 100 FM, Mercedes Benz and Adidas, sparked a genuine interest in Advertising for me.
Maria helped turn that intrigue into something that could actually become a career, albeit selling Ads rather than making them. I worked with Maria in my first ‘proper’ job from 2007-2008, at little known Insite Organisation in Sydney.
Her natural ability to inspire action taught me valuable lessons in how to get on at work; take on the daunting task, use that courage to fuel plans for personal growth and know your sh*t but don’t take any.
How has their heroism helped drive digital?
Maria’s leadership at the C-Level in roles across IPG and now GroupM has had an incredible impact on numerous people, teams and businesses right across the industry. I’m extremely grateful for the generosity of spirit and advice she’s offered on a number of occasions, whilst simultaneously delivering growth for her clients down under.
Taking positive action is key with Maria, and to quote my other hero Walter Campbell “half an hour spent doing something is better than half an hour spent talking about it”.
What are the biggest challenges in digital we need another hero to solve?
Quantity over quality of digital content. Content that’s been rushed out in order to meet increasing page view targets, littered with poor ad formats, propped up by adtech that often provides no benefit to anyone but the vendor who makes it.
It’s great to see quality-adjusted reach planning coming through. Not just for brands to more accurately measure the effectiveness of their media, but also to deprioritise the flood of low-quality content that clogs up our daily lives.
The fatigue is real.
What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital?
I wouldn’t describe any of my achievements as heroic. But I am proud of the grit that went into navigating work between 2017-2022, before being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition that’s thankfully now under control.
Kudos to anyone dealing with hidden health issues whilst pushing forward at work.
