In the latest in our regular new feature, Rob Shaw, CEO UK & Australia for Jaywing, runs through a week in his working life. To suggest a senior media or creative figure for A Week In My Life, email david@prolificnorth.co.uk
Monday 19th September
It’s an unusual start to the week as my Monday actually started on Saturday evening at 10pm when I boarded a flight bound for Sydney. I’ll be spending this week with our recently acquired search agency over there.
6am on Monday, I’m in Sydney and soon in meetings with the MDs of Digital Massive. We’re catching up on developments since we last spoke over Skype. Discussions are around new wins, new hires and the need for bigger offices.
In the afternoon, it’s lunch with the editor of Mumbrella, talking to them about our longer term plans for Australia and Jaywing’s acquisition of both Digital Massive in Sydney and Bloom in the UK.
Tuesday 20th September
Another early start (4:30am) so that I can call home and say goodnight to my daughter in the UK before my day really begins.
Breakfast is spent with members of the Bloom team who are working in Sydney supporting their recent win of Anytime Fitness. They were in Sydney when their acquisition was announced at the beginning of September so it’s nice to see them face-to-face and share more about the Jaywing strategy.
The afternoon is the main reason I’ve travelled and something I’ve been looking forward to since we announced the deal back in July. We have arranged an all agency meeting for the Digital Massive team and the existing Epiphany team (which has now been integrated into the wider business in Sydney) to talk about the history of Jaywing, our culture, our values and our ambitions in Australia – a great day!
Wednesday 21st September
The key focus on Wednesday is working with our COO Ade Lingard, who has also travelled over, to take the joint MDs of Digital Massive through our commercial reporting schedule and budget planning process. We’re also sharing more about the other elements of Jaywing in more detail, as well as planning their visit to the UK to meet the other MDs across the company.
The evening is reserved for a long awaited celebration of the deal in Sydney. It’s always a complex process completing an acquisition but dealing with a company on the other side of the world adds its own complexity!
Thursday 22nd September
Today is spent with property agents in Sydney looking at new offices. In the words of the MDs here “we’re going to need a bigger boat!” It’s a great problem to have following some strong business wins and more new hires. I’m very proud of our offices across the UK (we are currently building a new Head Office in Sheffield and significantly expanding our offices in Leeds) so it’s important we maintain those standards in Australia.
In the afternoon I’ve been given a ticket to attend a digital marketing conference, which is a great opportunity to see first hand the similarities to the UK market and also the opportunities for a company like ours.
Last meeting of the day is to discuss the new Australia website.
Friday 23rd September
My final day in Sydney is spent wrapping up with the team and arranging meetings for them with the wider Jaywing team back in the UK to understand more of our offering and the support we can provide. We’re particularly discussing how we promote our new products Almanac and Whisper, which was developed by Bloom.
I manage to squeeze in a run down to Circular Quay to take a final look at the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House before clearing down my last emails and boarding an afternoon flight that will see me back in the UK on Saturday afternoon.
Not exactly a usual week but an incredibly rewarding one!
