Eliette Cremer moved to Manchester to lead Space & Time’s programmatic offering there in 2020, just before the COVID pandemic hit.
Cremer, who joined Space & Time in 2017, has extensive programmatic experience and started her career at independent Parisian agency Keyade in 2013, which became part of GroupM in 2014.
She made the move to London in 2016 to work at atp.io before starting as a Senior Programmatic Specialist at Space & Time.
Space & Time’s Manchester location is based at Salford Quays, and its programmatic team utilises data-driven technologies to optimise campaigns for clients including Caffè Nero – alongside its other service offerings including PPC, content marketing, research and insight, and more.
We found out the lessons Eliette has learnt…
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
I like to take my time getting ready in the morning. No matter what time I leave the house I need at least an hour between getting up and actually closing the door.
Every day since I was a child we would put on the morning news in the background – radio instead of TV – to start the day with some context without being glued to a screen. It helps me to stay on top of what’s happening in the world.
During holidays and weekends, I swap the news for some music and yoga, but I still ensure I take my time so I have all the energy I need to kick off the day when leaving the house!
What’s been your luckiest break?
When I relocated from Paris to London, I moved from GroupM to a start-up of only three people. This was quite an adventure as the culture was so different I felt like I had a completely new start in my career.
I was only there for one year but I am grateful for the opportunity as it helped me define what I needed and wanted in order to develop my career, rather than following a ‘what if’ path.
What’s your best failure?
It would have to be timing! I quit my job in Paris two weeks before the Brexit vote. I moved to Manchester just before the pandemic hit.
While it’s not always been ideal, I do love a challenge and I think that if we wait for all the lights to be green, no decision would ever be made. Surely, a “failure” is just an opportunity to challenge our capacity to adapt?
I’m a strong believer that if everything was always easy, there would be no sense of achievement, so I don’t mind a bumpy road every now and again.
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
It would have to be my bike. As much as cycling is at the very bottom of my interests as a sport, I started cycling to work in 2008 during my first full-time job. Since then, it’s still my favourite way to commute so I am delighted to see that cities are becoming better equipped and more welcoming to this type of transport.
It’s great not to have to rely on public transport in the morning. It keeps you fit, it’s quiet, it’s green and it’s free once you’ve invested in the right equipment. Also, I think it can be faster in some cities like Paris compared to a bus or metro. It’s also a great way to clear your mind after a busy day.
Which book would you recommend others to read and why?
Reading is something that I do to unwind and develop my imagination. I would recommend ‘The Adversary’ by Emmanuel Carrère. There’s no happy ending but it’s truly fascinating.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Carry on asking questions and observing what’s happening around you. I think we learn a lot from other people, by listening, reading, watching the dynamics within a team or company, etc.
Oh, and don’t be scared of making mistakes – they happen and it’s not the end of the world, learn from them and it will help you grow.
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
I was lucky to have had really strong female managers when I was younger. This might be taken for granted in 2022, but when I saw two women launching their supply-side platform, Improve Digital, in the Netherlands 12 years ago when programmatic was at its very early stages in Europe, it was not so common.
For me, it demonstrated that you can be a serial entrepreneur while being a mother, and you can be a market leader even if you come from a small country. They showed me that hard work always pays off and I think of them often.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
I played tenor saxophone in a big band in my teenage years.
How will the COVID crisis change work for the better?
I still can’t quite believe what we all went through over the last two years. I think maybe the world became a little more caring as COVID put everyone in the same boat and we needed to look after each other.
It also showed that we’re able to keep in touch using technology and we can work remotely, which is great as I see it as a real chance to improve work-life balance. How did we do the 9-to-5 every day? I can’t recall!
What does success look like to you?
A healthy work-life balance. I really think that the more we have our own hobbies and a strong network of family and friends, the more confident, focused and perhaps even creative we are both in work and outside it. This is what makes the biggest difference at the end of the day.
