CB Hot Suit Takes: Georgie Frampton, Executive Director, KWP+Partners

CB Hot Suit Takes is our new Q&A series for senior leaders and senior suits across the WA industry ~ covering careers, creativity, challenges and the song that sums it all up. Next up in the hot seat is Georgie Frampton, Executive Director, KWP+Partners.

1. What made you get into advertising?
I fell into it. I was on a break from uni, picked up an admin job at a small (at the time) Perth agency, and got pulled into client work, meetings and all the fun and games of the ad world. That was it. Never looked back.

2. Which piece of work are you most proud of, and why?
Hard one. Two stand out.

Recent: RSPCA’s brand campaign. The whole thing leans into the reality that love is hard. You take the good with the bad, and without RSPCA the animals don’t get their happy ending. What started as a WA campaign is now rolling out nationally, because the message resonates in every market. Plus, it still makes me tear up every time I watch it.

For sheer scale and an absolutely mental process: Huawei connected products. A 2 million pound strategy and production through to final delivery in just three months. Unreleased products carried onto set James Bond style, case literally handcuffed to the head producer. 200 people on set, a 5-day shoot, fully produced using the entire budget all before the head honcho saw a single frame. Luckily they loved it. Phew

3. What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role right now?
The balancing act. Small business with big attention needs. Small child with big attention needs. Love the job, love the child… who needs sleep anyway?!?

4. Was there a moment, a course, an experience, a mentor or advice that really kick-started your career?
A pretty important first mentor, Cal Mackenzie (don’t get a big head). He spent hours with me when I started out, helping me focus on my development, how to build good relationships, think strategically and commercially, and setting me up with the knowledge I needed to fly. He pushed me to get involved with industry committees like Youngbloods and Oasis early on. I was 20 when I joined Oasis and had the privilege of being on the committee with some of WA’s most respected industry leaders. I’ve been lucky to work with a string of great leaders since, from various backgrounds in Australia and London, and I still pick up the phone to most of them. You can never have too many.

5. What’s the most recent thing you’ve learned, professionally or personally?
The art of caring just enough. Not too much, not too little. Sounds simple. It’s a daily juggle.

6. What song best sums up your career so far?
Red Hot Chili Peppers, ‘Can’t Stop’. Addicted to the shindig. That’s basically the job description. Plus this career feels like it’s still warming up, and the song has the same energy.

Read previous Hot Suit Takes below:

Jo Bulline – Trilogy
Brendon Lewis – The Brand Agency
Nicole Lennox Gray – Wildlings Creative Agency
Hannah Muirhead – Chapter
Silvana Visinoni – Workhouse Advertising
Nat Green – Block
Kelsey Fraser – VML
Simon Stewart – Rare
Kate Kenyon – Berlin 
Nita Davey – Trilogy
Magda Wood – Gatecrasher Advertising
Amber Martin – Hypnosis Creative Agency