As advertising undergrads, we seek out people in the industry to look up to. One of these is Dean Vowles, QUT’s ‘Man in Hong Kong’ and star of the recent TVC. When I met him during our Hong Kong Study Tour, it was like finding a soulmate. Brisbane bred, quietly spoken, with an interest in planning and a passion in technology. So how had he been transformed by his work in the digital industry and his life in Hong Kong?
Dean gave us his first-hand account of leaving QUT and Australia to expand his advertising career internationally in Hong Kong and how his life had changed. Dean further explained how this mirrored the positioning of the agency that he worked for, DigitasLB, the transformation agency. The purpose of a transformation agency is to completely overhaul or create a bespoke marketing strategy for brands, through this unique offering the agency was able to retain large clients such as Cathay Pacific, through continually fine-tune and adapting their marketing strategies to new opportunities and threats. Through their unique market offering, Digitas is able to stand out amongst competitors, and win multiple Cannes Gold Lions by creating successful campaigns.
We were being given a front-row experience of the inner workings of an international advertising agency, all of us bombarding questions and attaining experience that would enhance our employability in Australia, and abroad. But that wasn’t all. The team at Digitas also gave us their personal stories of how they ended up working in Hong Kong, who came from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Rachelle, account strategist, used to work in Finance before moving into the advertising field, moving to HK from the US . A successful ad strategy is “part logic and part magic”, where successful strategists are “capable of finding a human insight, and elevating it for the creative”, digital strategist Rachelle explained.
“The soul of a creative person, in any field, is adventure,” explained Dave. He transferred to Hong Kong from Canada, seeking new experiences to expand his career and mindset. The role of a creative is to create and convey new ideas to consumers; immersing yourself in new environments is a fantastic means of experiencing new ways of thinking. International experience on your CV is also desirable, alongside the continual train of job openings makes HK a desirable destination for advertising graduates. “Hopefully, this will inspire you to become creative geniuses yourselves,” Dave, copywriter from multinational agency Digitas LBi mused. The Digitas team continued to detail the key functions within the multi-Cannes Gold Lion winning ‘digital transformation agency’
However, the ultimate transformation comes 30 floors up. When the busy working day in an advertising agency, changes to the incredible views, twinkling lights and crazy cocktails. Students took full advantage of happy hour cocktails, all while watching the sunset over the skyline. “I can’t believe I came all this way to Hong Kong to drink a Peroni,” mused Danielle, public relations student.
Hong Kong is an outrageously futuristic city. Outside Digitas office complex, Tesla had set up charging stations and a demonstration car. Professor Gayle Kerr quickly took the driver’s seat, I took some footage for the video blog and found more inspiration to climb up the corporate ladder (because a Ferrari just ain’t hardcore enough). We’d seen more Tesla’s in HK than Toyota Camry’s, the metro system was unbelievably efficient compared to the Translink system in Australia. Not only that, the airport train had phone chargers for every seat, a luxury compared to a standard commuter trains in Australia!
Hong Kong has been an incredible experience so far, we’ll continue visiting more agencies and gaining more experience over the tour. The phrase “Real World Advantage” honestly comes into play here, as we’re walking into international agencies and viewing their advertising work and client strategies.
This is Jimmy Tarbit, signing off for the University of the Real World.
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