Each month we'll share the profile of a digital professional so that you can find out how they work in the interactive industry and what motivates them. If you would like to be profiled, please contact us.
Name: Melanie Lindquist
Role: Head of Digital (Avalde Digital) and President (AIMIA Queensland)
Organisation: Avalde Digital and Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA Queensland)
How did you get into digital marketing? My background is in “traditional” marketing (print, radio and television). Digital/web/Interactive has always been part of my portfolio of responsibilities. In 2008, I made a decision to step out of media after 16 years and focus on “digital” as a discipline.
What does your current role involve day-to-day? My Head of Digital role with Avalde Digital involves meeting with clients and potential clients, analysing their business needs, developing digital strategy and working with my team of Account Managers. Being President of AIMIA QLD is a culmination of several years of being on the Committee. AIMIA supports digital education, knowledge sharing and industry networking to help build a strong digital community in Queensland.
What is the best thing about your current job? Designing a digital strategy that transforms a business. With AIMIA, it is talking with business leaders, digital industry members and students and forming long term relationships.
What was your biggest challenging with digital marketing in 2013? Keeping abreast of developing trends and translating this into usable information for clients. There is so much information, new developments and devices however the biggest challenge is to cut through it all and identify what is important and relevant for a client’s business.
What do you see is the biggest opportunity in the industry at the moment? Data is an obvious choice ... if you know more you can make better decisions. However the idea of agnostic screen development has always been on my radar. The technology is developing rapidly towards lifestyle and device integration so much so that digital design and development must shift significantly to keep up. We should not have the mindset of “web development” but shift to “screen development” thus creating product (apps, sites, video) that present seamlessly from TV, tablet, mobile, desktop, to notebook, laptop or even Google glass. It is a far more lateral way to design and develop but one that users will demand in the future.
How do you stay up to date with the digital marketing industry? I’m a major news consumer and read news several times a day as well as subscribe to digital news including mUmBRELLA, AdNews, B&T, Huffington Post (Tech), Pulse, Wired, CNET, AIMIA white papers. Whenever possible, I’ll attend a meet up including mUmBRELLA 360, Interactive Minds Digital Summit, Ad:Tech, O’Reilly digital summits, AIMIA events. SxSW is on my wish list for 2015.
Who or what do you use for inspiration?
1. My business partner. Charles has an amazing business and technical mind. We challenge and educate each other every day and even when in disagreement, respect each other’s opinion.
2. Reading books. I’m fascinated by the thoughts and backgrounds of successful and interesting people. Latest biographies were about Coco Chanel and Steve Jobs. I’m currently reading “The Tipping Point” and “Freakonomics” at the insistence of a business colleague who loved both books.
3. Meeting people. I like to listen to people’s stories and share knowledge as much as possible. I’m often at networking functions, meet ups, business events.
What is your favourite work related phone app? Hootsuite for business and Beat the Q for my coffee ... they’re both work related right?
What was your work highlight for 2013?
We had an opportunity to design and develop a mobile game about the Angkor culture – Angkor Kids, the first game ever produced in the Khmer language. Avalde launched the first version in May 2013 and it was the most downloaded app beating Facebook on the iTunes Store for several months. We are about to launch the next installment in April. Games are only part of what Avalde Digital develops, but it is pretty fun.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing? I’d be a travel and food writer, posting on my blog from every corner of the world.