On The Leaders' Lounge with Mylan Vu
If you’ve got big goals and they feel years away, you’ll be surprised how accelerated that process becomes when you know exactly what you need to work on and why you need to work on it.
Mylan Vu is Managing Director of communications agency, Hotwire Australia. Mylan’s a highly respected industry leader so we thought we’d ask a few questions and get her advice on what it takes to make it!
So what does a Managing Director of a communications agency do on a day-to-day basis?
My time is split across managing the business, the team, and our client work, so every day is different. I could be discussing the 3-year business strategy and the team structure required for that in the morning, and be ending the day with a messaging workshop for a cybersecurity company. As part of a global business with lots of international clients, early calls with the US and late calls with Europe are also part of the day-to-day, meaning I’m often working non-traditional hours to balance things out.
There seems to be a lot of communications agencies around. Are they all the same?
Yes, there are a lot of agencies these days! The more I talk to others in the industry, the more I learn about how significantly some of these agencies are growing and shrinking as well. Marketers today are looking for an agency that can push and challenge their branding and sales activities, while also future-proofing them against changing consumer trends and behaviours.
At Hotwire, we aim to be ‘the best agency you’ll ever work with’, and don’t take lightly the growing expectations of clients around what that now means. For us, it means never being complacent, constantly investing and re-investing in training so our skills are at the forefront of the industry, and prioritising our people and culture to ensure our clients are always working with fresh, creative, and open-minded professionals. Even with all the right skills, I truly believe that a stretched and burnt out team is the fastest way to becoming ‘just another comms agency’ and the smart agencies are putting their people first.
What type of person does a communications agency like to employ? Do they have to fit a particular mould?
It’s important to find people that match the culture, values, and vision of the agency, but there is rarely a ‘mould’ that defines this. Traditionally, the ‘mould’ has taken into consideration the number of years of experience, university and degree titles, and the names of brands the person has worked on. These things just aren’t as important these days in comparison to, for example, attitude, resilience, and openness to change. Diversity of thought is more valuable than ever, and it’s in agencies’ best interests to be bringing in different types of thinkers and attitudes to reflect what marketers need and what best resonates with consumers.
In your mind, what is the future of the industry? And what gaps in roles/skills are there?
The future of the industry is integrated. PR and comms agencies, including Hotwire, can no longer rely on just having ‘PR and comms’ experts. We’ve got creative directors, designers, content specialists, crisis comms professionals, and more. This reflects marketers’ needs for end-to-end marketing strategies and services that reflect the seamless end-to-end customer experience consumers are increasingly expecting of brands. The PR content needs to align with the digital messaging, which needs to match the channels and behaviours of each individual the brand is targeting – if not, the risk is no longer just a lack of market advantage, but can easily and quickly lead to significant loss of brand clout, sales, and trust.
Secondly, both agency and in-house comms professionals are experiencing an influx in technologies that enable us to do our jobs more efficiently. For in-house professionals, this could include email marketing tools, website and content management systems, CRMs, and more. For agencies, there are collaboration tools, project management tools, content sharing and editing tools – and they’re often different for every client! Traditionally, comms professionals weren’t considered highly tech-savvy but this is changing, and a common trait we look for when hiring these days is whether the person can pick up new skills and self-learn new tools quickly.
What advice do you have for the next generation of industry professionals?
Ask lots of questions and embrace feedback like each piece is a rare diamond. Surround yourself with people who are happy to answer all your questions while also giving constant and constructive feedback. If you’ve got big goals and they feel years away, you’ll be surprised how accelerated that process becomes when you know exactly what you need to work on and why you need to work on it.
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