This is the sixth installment of our ‘Rising Young Media Stars’ series, in which we profile the next gen media minds. Media pundits have been adamant that to succeed in the new mediaverse, agencies require new ways of thinking. Curious as to who these new thinkers were, and what they were thinking, strategy and Media in Canada canvassed the industry, asking media shops to single out their top innovative and strategic recruits. And we’re scouting for more of the same – so tell us about the hot talent in your shop.
Robyn Baldwin
Strategist, OMD Toronto
Claim to fame: After just three months in the industry, and at OMD, Robyn negotiated a creative, content-driven location buy for Wrigley Excel Extreme, which included wall murals and site-specific billboards in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. She cherry-picked optimum locations in terms of linking creative to what surrounded the boards. The Yonge and Dundas media tower in Toronto, for example, made use of the retail-centric placement with the line ‘More Intense than Chicks at a Shoe Sale.’
Background: Graduated in 2005 from Hamilton’s McMaster University with an honours degree in commerce and a strong focus on marketing. That’s where her love of advertising began. Last summer, she sold outdoor wall murals and from this vantage point into the media realm, decided to become a media planner, joining OMD in October.
Who’s getting it right? ‘What comes to mind first is a Special K TV commercial featuring Carson Kressley from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in which he talks about using the product to maintain your weight. It’s so specific and smart in terms of targeting women who are happy with their weight and want to maintain it. So many times, 30-second ads are fun theatre, but this one actually has a call-to-action to buy.’
What would you love to build into a plan but haven’t been able to yet? ‘Holograph projections. They’re being used in Europe and there are a lot of PR opportunities for it because it’s so new. We haven’t been able to go for that yet because of the high cost, as it’s such new tech to Canada. But it’s something really cool to do in the future.’
Is a radical media rethink required? ‘Radical no, but a constant rethink, yes. Constantly challenge yourself, constantly educate yourself. Don’t just sit at your desk and do the day-to-day work. Read. Go out and experience everything so you know what you’re talking about.’
What common industry belief would you love to whack? ‘All my friends who are accountants believe the advertising world still has liquid lunches. The truth is, we don’t even have time to eat lunch outside the office.’
