2019-09-01 AdNews

CLAIRE AUSTIN • HEAD OF COPY

DONALD MARTINEZ • TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Whatmadeyouswitchfromaccount
managementtocreative?
ThewayCXLavenderworkshasalways
involvedexposureto,andcollaboration
with,differentguildswithintheagency.
Thismeantthat,althoughI startedout
inBusinessManagement,I waspretty
quicklyabletoseethatmyskillsetand
personalitywasbettersuitedtoCreative.
Encouragementandguidancefrom
managementmeantmakingtheswitch
wasn’tasdauntingasit couldhave been.

Howwouldyoudescribethe
agencyculture?
Hard workers are celebrated, regardless

oftheirlevelortitle.There’snotso

muchofa focusonformalhierarchy– if

youexcelatwhatyoudo,andhave

somethingmeaningfultoadd,you’llbe

heard,andgivennew opportunities to

pushyourself.

Whatdoyoulovemostaboutyourjob?

I lovethechallengeoffindingcreative

waystosolvecomplexbusiness

problems,ratherthanjustcreativity

forcreativity’ssake.It’srewarding

tocreateworkthat‘works’,andour

customer-centricity,andfocuson

testingandresults means that’s always

top of mind.

HowhasyourroleatCXLavenderevolved

overthepast 10 years?

Quitesignificantly,duetotheever-

changingnatureandcomplexityof

technologyandhowCXLavenderapplies

theseadvancestobenefitourclients,and

ultimately our clients’ customers. Our goal

istoprovidea genuinelyservice-orientated

experienceratherthanjustanadvertising

push.Westartedoutdevelopingtraditional

agencyprojectslikewebsites,mobile

applicationsandinteractivemedia,and

althoughwestillprovidetheseservices,CX

Lavenderhasevolvedintoa technology

consultancyworkinginpartnership

withourclientstoconnectandoptimise

theirexistingtechstacks,databasesand

workflows– especiallytheirMarTech

solutions.Totopit off,wehavecreateda

strongR&Dculturewithinthebusinessand

nowdevelopourownsuiteofsoftware

products.Tohavetheopportunitytowork

onsuchdiverseprojectsisrareinitself,but

tobeabletodoallofthisatCXLavender

hasbeenamazingformycareer.

Whathasbeenyourgreatestachievement

inyourrole?

no_code,thesoftwareproductwe’re

developing,isprobablyoneofmy

greatestachievementstodate.This

productwastheresultofyearsof

experienceindealingwithandoptimising

various MarTech platforms by knowing

theirworkflows,limitationsandquirksin

ordertomaximisetheiruse.It’sa software

asa service(SaaS)productformarketers

anddesignersthathugelysimplifies

thecreationofdigitalcommunication,

taskautomationandcollaboration– all

taskswhicharecomplicatedtoperform

inmarketingautomationplatforms and

requiretechnicalexpertise.

Whataresomeofthebiggestpainpoints

you’resolvingforclientsfroma tech

perspective?

Thecommonpainpointsweseewith

mostofourclientsarearounddataand

MarTechimplementations.Ourclients

engagebigtechfirmsfortheirset-up,

andareoftenlefttotheirowndevices

thereafter.Wehelpourclientsunderstand

whattheirmarketingdataandhowthey

canutiliseit intelligentlyandcreatively;

wehelpthemoptimisetheirworkflows

andautomations;andwebuildbespoke

applicationstofurtherautomatetheir

process.Asa result,theybecomefarmore

efficientandgettomarket faster than

their competitors.

http://www.adnews.com.au|September 2019 43