Behind every out-of-home campaign there is a network of teams across adland that have spent months working together to make it happen. From developing the creative, to buying the spot, and activating the campaign. This industry depends on strong collaboration between people.
We’re highlighting some of these faces here. Each month, 'The Faces of OOH' will spotlight a person that contributes to OOH campaigns so we can get to know the people that keep this sector running.
Today, we speak to Mai Trong, senior partnerships trader at UM.
How long have you been in your current role?
Seven months as a senior partnerships trader at UM and more than 1.5 years as an account executive at Omnicom.
What made you want to enter the advertising industry? I have always been interested in the psychology of the user purchase journey into services and products. I’ve found it fascinating how brand messaging can influence individual choices in their day-to-day life without an individual realising. With a society that is constantly busy and distracted quite easily, advertising must find ways to capture small moments that stick to individuals for over a long term.
What does a typical day look like for you? A lot of collaboration, communication and problem solving with publishers, clients, and team members. Every day is quite different and there are always new surprises that arise. Even though it sounds like a headache, I love challenges, problem solving and finding solutions.
What do you love about working in advertising? I love the chaos and every day there is something new. Even though there is a lot of problem solving in the chaos, there is always something new to learn and ways of working to help team members. It is also very fulfilling to see the hard work come to fruition and the madness become worth the hard work.
What makes OOH unique? OOH is one of the channels that has been available to the advertising industry for a very long time. It is very interesting to see OOH, an offline channel, adapt to digital technology and become both an offline and online channel.
Proudest achievement in your career so far? At my previous agency, I worked on an automotive account. During the period, there were a lot of new car launches including electric cars. One of my proudest achievements is being able to plan and implement the launch which resulted in the model being sold out in Australia half way through the campaign. Additionally, with the car industry having a lot of COVID-related logistics issues, it was great to see the campaign go live despite these hurdles.
Fun fact about you not many people know?
If I don’t take my hourly walking breaks, there is a high likelihood that the left side of my body will become paralysed!
Goals for the next 12 months? In 2024, I will begin my career path as a planner on a multimillion dollar account. My goal is to plan exciting new campaigns that will be well known across Australia. Favourite OOH campaign It’s not one that I worked on however, I love the Johnnie Walker Blue Label campaign. It was one of the first 3DOOH campaign to go live with oOh!media. Was very exciting to see my friends work out in the wild.
Want to be part of our 'Faces Behind OOH' series? Reach out to mariam@veridooh.com.