A conversation with Bronte Macpherson, CBWA’s Marketing Executive of the Year
Following her recent Marketing Executive of the Year win at the Oasis Ball & Campaign Brief Awards, WAMA sat down with Forrest Chase’s Bronte Macpherson to hear more about her journey in the WA marketing space and what she’s learnt along the way. Read on to find out what her biggest challenges have been, what campaign she’s most proud of, and what advice she’d give to marketers wanting to set themselves apart.
Let’s start with the basics – where you started, where you are now, and what you’ve learnt!
I’ve been in the industry for seven years, beginning with an internship back in 2016 which turned into a real job. I started out at Magnetize which was part of a compulsory component of my degree at the time. I asked to stick around and it got me the job. After that I spent a few years agency side before switching to client side, which after a couple of years and a couple of promotions, led me to being the Senior Marketing Manager of our CBD shopping centres. I truly think working at an agency in the early stages of my career set me up for success in my career – it makes you highly adaptable!
Tell us about being nominated for the Marketing Executive of the Year Award.
My fantastic agency – Trilogy Advertising and Marketing nominated me for the award. I had read about the award itself but typically speaking we normally only enter our campaigns into awards so it wasn’t on my radar of things to do. I knew the award itself was a fairly new category, being only in its second year. I remember I looked at the criteria and thought “wow this would be amazing to win”. But in all honesty, I was keeping my expectations low!
To win, it was such a high. I was amazed by the talent of the other finalist and proud of what great talent we have in WA.
What is the campaign you’ve been a part of that you’re most proud of?
The biggest highlight for me was after year one of Covid, our retail campaign during Black Friday/Christmas. It was called “7 Wonders of Forrest Chase”. A multi layered campaign that celebrated all things Christmas on steroids! We had Christmas windows, sales driving elements, plus WA’s first anamorphic screen as part of the City of Perth Christmas lights trial. This was a big piece of the trail in 2020 and doubled as a billboard for Myer during the day. The campaign was out there, bright and traffic stopping. I think it also just was so special because WA was really out to spend that year, people had been locked away, couldn’t go anywhere and as a result they were looking for somewhere to have fun and experience. Forrest Chase delivered that for them.
What is one of your favourite WA campaigns (that you didn’t play a role in)?
Queens on the Edge. Four Queens. One road trip. Zero fucks. It was just such a fun campaign and I loved the storytelling. I also really loved the Trilogy X City of Stirling campaign “Dumped Electronics”. Such an unsexy topic, but highlighted in a tongue in cheek way!
What has been one of the biggest challenges of your career?
I’d say it would’ve been when I was promoted from Assistant Marketing Manager to Marketing Manager. While I was always confident in my ability to do the work, sometimes imposter syndrome creeps in. I was fortunate I had an incredibly supportive team that helped me along the way! Sometimes you’ve just got to remind yourself you can do it.
WAMA is working towards a future where Western Australia is regarded as a centre of marketing excellence – what do you think this looks like?
I think it involves a lot of advocacy. Dealing with the eastern states frequently, I find that sometimes people forget about WA. However, the quality of work that is produced out of our state is second to none. We are the most isolated city in the world and I think that counts for some freaky creative activity!
What advice would you give to people entering the marketing industry in WA?
Be hungry. If you aren’t hungry for it, it’s a tough journey. Because sometimes you’ll be in the trenches just trying to get shit done and it’s not sexy. But it all pays off eventually. I think it’s also important to know your boundaries. At the end of the day, it’s marketing, we aren’t saving babies.
What do you think sets a strong marketer apart from the crowd?
Be authentic and build meaningful relationships. Being a great marketer is about team work, whether that’s your immediate team, stakeholders or agency partners. I also think it’s really important to continue learning, you need to push yourself, test boundaries and seek out new innovations.
