The Faces Behind OOH: Niesha Happell

This month, we're talking with Niesha Happell, Investment Executive at OMD, to discuss her experience working in the media industry and what she loves about OOH.

How long have you been in your current role?

I have been in my current role as an investment executive at OMD Smith Street for 12 months.

What made you want to enter the advertising industry?

After completing a degree in Media Communications at RMIT University, I wanted to enter a role in an agency as it’s a great opportunity to learn about all the players in the media marketing game. My understanding of working at an advertising agency was that it would be a fantastic continuation of my media education.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Without sounding generic, every day is different. A lot of communication with both our audience team and media publications. If I’m not briefing in new activity, I’m working to get campaigns live, dispatching and instructing creatives, training new team members, and managing finances for my campaigns. Since joining the Coles team at OMD, I have leant heavily into the OOH channel, and I love learning as much as I can and refining my skills for any new briefs that come my way!

What do you love about working in media?

As I’ve already touched on, I feel that the learning opportunities are endless. I love coming into work and absorbing as much as I can every day. However, the best thing about media is the people, those from within the agency as well as our lovely representatives from each provider we get the pleasure of working with. It’s fulfilling knowing that each day I get to work alongside some of the best media minds in the country who are also some of the kindest and most funny people I’ve met.

What makes OOH unique?

Rather than being integrated into an audience’s everyday life, OOH stands out. With the right creative and messaging it captures an audience because it makes a point of difference and an impact. I think OOH has the power to enhance any campaign. I also think that OOH presents a challenge, it can seem like a puzzle at times, but if you put the pieces together correctly it has the power to captivate an audience in the real world. OOH is also ever evolving, with 3D capabilities becoming more present. Scent and sound triggered billboards have the ability to give more life to a campaign, and certainly more ad recall.

Proudest achievement in your career so far?

My proudest moment would have to be the role I played in bringing Coles Christmas to life in 2024. I worked across all offline channel’s managing a large TV buy, helping on the radio bookings as well as managing the retail OOH, not only at Christmas but for all of H1 2024. It was a successful campaign, and I was proud of how everyone worked together and came out of media’s busiest period knowing we succeeded in bringing our client’s vision to life.

Fun fact about you not many people know? 

A fun fact about me is that I host my own podcast. It’s an AFL podcast called ‘After the Siren’. I created this on my own with friends chipping in along the way. I needed a weekly outlet to chat about my favorite passion, so I turned it into a product to showcase my media and presentation skills and 4 years later I have a large portfolio of episodes. I always thought it would be cool to book an ad in my own podcast, but ironically, I need to step up my personal marketing plan to grow my podcast’s audience.

What are your goals for the next 12 months?

In the next 12 months I’m looking forward to managing integrated sponsorships. I’m well versed in managing and bookings for individual channels, however my goal is to take on more responsibility, by working across partnerships where a multitude of channels combine to create an unmissable and impactful campaign.

What is your favourite OOH campaign?

My favourite OOH campaign that I briefed and booked was for QuiteLike; it was the first time I booked Street Posters! Not only did I get to work with a new publisher in REV360, I learnt about a new OOH format and how well we could tailor it to our client’s needs. It was also this client’s first time investing in OOH and I really enjoyed guiding them through this process, and together we brought their vision to the streets of Melbourne. It certainly wasn’t the biggest budget or scale, but I believe we met our client’s needs. On top of that, seeing the creative in market was awesome, the QuiteLike pink is unmissable.