Meet Adrian Watkins, Growth & Marketing Director APAC, working out of our Singapore office! Adrian balances many time zones along with his marketing, sales, and growth activities. Adrian is from the UK and has also lived in Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. Adrian loves to explore Singapore, try new foods, and develop his professional network. He also used to be a DJ! Get to know him better in this week’s AdColonized employee spotlight!
What exactly does a Growth & Marketing Director – APAC do at AdColony? What’s an average day like for you?
I’m fortunate to wear multiple hats at AdColony APAC, which means my days are varied. Living in Singapore, I straddle multiple time zones, often aligning activities with the Global Marketing Team in the U.S. at 8am before switching attention to supporting the Australian Sales Team with commercial entitlements, then liaising with Asian teams and partners, before connecting with the teams in India in the evening. My day will then often end with a networking dinner or client drinks, where Covid-19 regulations allow!
Typical Growth discussions might include aligning commercial entitlements around our more custom products with our partners, liaising closely with Sales to ensure all collateral is up to date and looking sexy, and managing some of our more complex campaigns.
Marketing discussions revolve around communications, with tasks (loosely) relating to aligning communications around our APAC business framework (ensuring it supports our sales efforts and managing our PR Agency to amplify this), managing and participating in events, working closely with our super Strategy Team to explore new data to extract the latest awesome nuggets of information, ideating and executing on exciting secret APAC projects, like our upcoming Game Academy (watch this space!), and ensuring we are fully supporting our amazing clients and partners in market and through industry award submissions.
Tell us a little about your experiences prior to joining AdColony and how they have prepared you for your role here.
Although I’m from the UK, I have been fortunate enough to live and work in many countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore, which has helped me truly appreciate being a global citizen and understand the strong local cultural nuances that each country offers. I have worked on the agency and publisher side, once leading commercial for IGN Entertainment (the world’s largest video game digital destination), and was Chief Strategy Officer of theAsianparent, which helped me glean extra insights on how to shape the AdColony APAC strategy of connecting brands with female consumers in APAC via gaming. I also worked on the launch of UK’s VirginMedia, so I have a strong understanding of Customer Acquisition and Lifetime value, which are important metrics across many businesses.
What makes AdColony the right fit for you?
As a commercial and marketing professional who is also a gamer in my spare time, I can’t think of a better fit than helping AdColony fulfil its mission of connecting brands with consumers across gaming and in newer innovations like the metaverse.
AdColony values employee development. How do you keep growing and learning in what you do?
I am a firm believer in growth and development, and I am active in helping teams which I lead or interact with to continue to grow, and I really welcome the Future Leaders program which allows departments to shadow each other in order to up-skill. I also participate in several networking groups where industry peers share great and passionate ideas, such as The Drum Judge’s Alumni Club, and I also act as an advisor/mentor for business programs such as e27’s Accelerator programs.
How do you act as a resource for the rest of your team?
I won’t ask anyone on my team to do a job that I won’t do myself. This said, I encourage members of my team to take initiative, and I’m there to guide and support them along the way.
Is there someone you turn to personally or professionally?
I am fortunate to have a strong support network of industry peers who I connect with often and whose desire it is to help each other grow. These range from start ups to leaders of MCNs, and this type of knowledge sharing is invaluable in order for us to keep growing both personally and professionally.
Many global AdColony employees are still working from home. Do you have any work-from-home tips for success you can share?
Be regimented, but also have breaks when you can. Where Covid allows, change environments, or take calls on walks rather than staying tethered to the dining table all day. Also, invest in a good pair of bluetooth headphones for endless Zoom calls (but have a backup handy in case the battery runs out mid-call!).
What are your hobbies or activities that you look forward to doing on the weekends or after work?
I’m an avid gamer and love getting lost in open world games – I just wish I could get my hands on a Playstation 5 here in Singapore! I also love exploring new areas of Singapore and their restaurants and cafes on the weekend, when regulations allow.
Which app is keeping you engaged lately? Why?
Monument Valley 2 — a fantastical adventure set in a beautiful and impossible world.
Tell us one or two fun facts about you.
I am an ex-DJ, I have flown a plane, and I’m in the Top 10 global food and drink reviewers on Google.
What is your favorite moment you’ve had with the AdColony team so far?
There are already too many to count! Our Leadership team works hard to connect us often via fun activities, and last year’s Halloween Party is a definite highlight — not only was there some amazing fancy dresses on show (I’ve never seen such a spooky Zoom call!) it was full of laughs, and the team building/quiz allowed us to discover surprising facts about our coworkers.
What are you listening to lately (music, podcasts, etc.)?
For work: TheDrum, The MadTech Podcasts
For fun: the Athletic’s TIFO Podcast and TheUnitedStand
What are you looking forward to most in the next 5 years?
5G: it has the potential to literally change the world and advance societies by making them safer, transforming industries, and elevating experiences (especially within the gaming metaverse).
About AdColonized
Each AdColonized feature shines a light on a different member of the AdColony team. From favorite apps and hobbies to fun facts, we cover it all! Who do you want to see on the next AdColonized? Tweet it to @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on LinkedIn.
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