Monday
I start the week as I do every Monday morning, at the all-agency huddle. A quick check in with everyone to set up the week ahead, highlight any important meetings and events, say hi to new starters and share the news from around the floor.
Among this week’s highlights are a fund-raising drive for the Royal Marsden in support of industry friends (go Team George and the Giant Pledge) and a new business pitch taking place in the agency on Friday.
It’s a great way to connect as a team and get fired up for the week ahead. The agency buzzes with chatter as we disperse.
Back at my desk I organise the madness of my various lists: ideas; to-dos; notes; reminders and links. I’m a prolific list maker and they exist everywhere – on my phone, in notebooks and all over Post-Its. I’m also a magpie for the latest organisational aid – my current app of choice is Wunderlist.
I head over to a meeting with Laura Quinn, the head of data technology development for Dan (Dentsu Aegis Network). She’s leading the development of a suite of insight tools fuelled by social and search data streams.
I leave inspired and thinking about how we can integrate her stuff with the various planning product ideas we’re working on at Vizeum.
Tuesday
Our leadership meeting on a Tuesday morning is always energetic as the team discuss and debate the live issues in the business each week.
We check in on delivery of each of our areas of ownership. Designing and developing our planning product – to better and more accurately connect planning output to business growth – is the current task for myself and Charlie Ebdy, our brilliant head of strategy.
Our new t-shaped planning approach – part of this ongoing overhaul of our product suite – is simple, effective and already landing with our teams and their clients.
One of my 2017 resolutions is to make more of working next to Regents Park. So I head out for a run with one of our planners over lunch. This is a mistake. He’s a lot fitter and faster than I am. Still, I’m refreshed for (some of) the afternoon, and I manage to conceal the inner smugness that lunchtime exercise produces.
I meet with our executive chairman Karl Weaver to take him through the scope of a new business project. It’s an exciting prospect, which will involve diverse resource and skills from Dan companies getting their collective heads around a business opportunity.
Proper collaboration is needed, so it feels challenging and energising in equal measure. He gives me some great advice and tees me up with some useful new contacts from across the network.
Wednesday
I’m in a client briefing workshop all morning. We have a lot of lively debate around potential creative and media routes, and where we could take the thinking. It’s a great opportunity to litmus test ideas and be exploratory, and we end up with a much more interesting, albeit challenging, brief.
I have lunch on the hoof with Jem Lloyd-Williams, our MD. Walking and talking is the most productive way to share our challenges and we swap fresh perspectives on a few things we’ve both been procrastinating about.
Next it’s over to Google’s new building which I’m keen to have a look at – not sure about the glass-walled gym, mind. We’re taking part in a beta for a new insight tool that I’m geekily excited about and can’t wait to have a play with. It doesn’t disappoint.
Thursday
Breakfast is with Lucy Croxford from Channel 4. She tells me all about this year’s creative competition in their ongoing support of greater diversity in advertising. Such an innovative idea, I love it. It’s top secret until March, and I can’t wait to collaborate with our clients and creative partners and get involved.
After a desk-work intense morning, I am slightly relieved that my running partner can’t make it today… it’s literally freezing outside and instead I tuck into some Ted talks in our breakout area over lunch, landing on a wow-inducing look at the future of intuitive AI and the augmented human.
It’s not-so-media Thursday for me these days as I head to improv classes at the nearby acting studios. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years and – as a creative pursuit that occupies every inch of your brain while making you cry with laughter – I can’t recommend it enough.
Friday
This morning our gang of strategists, insight and data specialists get together to update about where we’re at with our NPD pipeline and bring together some of the individual work streams. This is the part of the job that is most meaningful, as we all bring our brains to bear on how to develop new and exciting growth opportunities for clients.
Slightly bamboozled with ideas and opportunities, I head for lunch at Shoreditch House with old friend and now Dan colleague Greg Grimmer. We discuss an upcoming joint project between Fetch and Vizeum but mainly we people watch and share our news.
Friday night entails a slightly raucous group trip to the cinema to see T2 Trainspotting, kindly organised by DCM and Mobsta. A great film, excellent company and a perfect end to the week.
The lowdown
Age: Old enough to know better
Favourite media: Quality telly or film on whatever platform, but I’ll always love going to the cinema.
My biggest inspiration: The people I’m lucky enough to work with everyday
Dream job: Kim Deal in a Pixies tribute band
Not a lot of people know this about me... I have no musical talent so the above is unlikely