Pioneer in a shifting media landscape
Helene Lindsay is the head of strategy and marketing at a multiplatform marketing agency. She tells Margaret Harris that formal qualifications are important in her field, but it takes experience in the job to develop the necessary gut feel
What does your job involve?
As the head of strategy and marketing at New Media Publishing, I have diverse areas of responsibility that can be focused into three key areas: driving the strategic approach at the New Media Publishing level, how this plays out externally at an industry level, and how to add value to the work we do on client brands.
Although head of strategy might seem like a vague and amorphous title, it is actually a critical role in the rapidly changing media industry.
The job is equivalent to a tracker alerting the organisation to any shifts that might make an impact — from new legislation to cultural needs, technological innovations and consumer sentiment.
When it comes to involvement at a client level, my role is to ask the difficult questions, challenge assumptions, interpret how to use market sentiment and target audience needs to inform how we craft our delivery of branded content so that it delivers the client’s strategic visions.
As head of marketing, my role is to define and enable what makes New Media Publishing different and special and then communicate it to the wider public.
New Media also has a responsibility to help grow and build the industry. This falls under my remit as head of marketing.
For instance, earlier this year we organised the Content 2013 conference. Instead of using it as a platform to promote New Media, we intentionally downplayed our role to position the event as a catalyst for a greater gain for all. What do you do on an average work day?
Working across such a wide range of responsibilities, it is difficult to define a typical or average day. But if I were forced to pick one thing I do a lot of, it would have to be attending meetings during the day.
The day part is only the beginning, though. More often than not, on a typical day it rolls over into the evening, which is when I do my real work answering masses of e-mails, shaping proposals, assimilating trends and coming up with the big ideas.
For example, if a client presents new ideas or developments during the day that affect their long-term strategic goals, it means that on that night I’ll be interrogating how these changes affect current projects, our role and strategic focus.
In short, it is a position that requires me to juggle long-term goals with short-term deliverables while also managing how those two interact with each other. What about the world of media drew you to this career?
I’ve always been involved in the media, marketing and communications industry across all mediums, so the job I have today is, in hindsight, a brilliant opportunity to use the combination of skills and industry know-how I’ve accrued over the years.
In a career that has spanned more than two decades, I’ve met, worked with and learnt from some of the best brands and minds in this industry. What did you study and how does it help you do your job?
I have a number of qualifications in business and marketing. But, honestly, they only provided the foundation of theory, rationale and methodology. What is more important to success in this industry, in my opinion, is an intrinsic gut feel for what will work and what won’t.
This gut feel can only be honed to become an invaluable weapon in carving a successful career by putting in the time and effort to build experience across numerous elements in the media, marketing and communications industry.
Too often today I see graduates or interns who have an innate talent for media and marketing, but they forget that academic knowledge is no
substitute for practical experience. What did you want to be when you were a child?
I wanted to be an astronaut, which is rather interesting. There is no obvious correlation between space exploration and my present career.
If I think about it now, whether it’s having been present at the adoption of digital as a communication channel or the transformation of print-based publishers into multichannel content experts, my career has still managed to put me in the position of being a pioneer. What have you found most difficult about the work you do?
How incredibly tough it is to be a change agent. The tenacity, patience and conviction required are indescribable. There have been occasions when an idea I proposed was only adopted two years later.
It’s tough, but so worthwhile in the end, which is another life lesson I’ve had to learn. It’s not about what I did — what matters is that I was fortunate enough to be in an environment that allowed me to contribute to something amazing. What qualities do you need to do this job?
Perseverance. Change is difficult and resisted. You need to know in your gut that it’s the right direction.
You need the ability to synthesise, predict and interpret rather than react. Too many companies make the mistake of having knee-jerk reactions and emotive responses to key factors that will have a huge effect down the line. You need the ability to envision the bigger picture as well as the tactics to make things happen.
Finally, a sense of humour to cope and the ability to be a chameleon to adapt to various audiences, styles and needs. What would you change about your work if you could?
Not a thing. I love it. What would you do if you couldn’t do this?
Without a doubt, I would be a radio talkshow host. It’s another great communications career. Plus, I’d get to ask all the questions everyone else is too afraid to ask.