#DentsuAegi5 - Sam Cousins, dentsu X Australia
As we celebrate five years of Dentsu Aegis Network, we hear from the people who have been here since day one about their personal journeys and what they’re looking forward to in the future.
We spoke to Sam Cousins, National Head of Planning at dentsu X Australia about her experience over the last five years.
Tell us a little about your journey at Dentsu Aegis Network since its foundation in 2013…
When Dentsu Aegis Network was founded I was the Strategy Director at Mitchell & Partners, then the largest media agency in Australia. I was pregnant with my first baby, so by the time I came back from maternity leave we had shifted into a far more collaborative way of working with the whole network.
Since then, DAN has supported me through a second child and promoted me to a senior position now as National Head of Planning for dentsu X in Australia. I’m very proud to work for an agency that has such strong female leadership and a culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion in all areas of our business. We’ve come a long way.
Having been a member of the network since Day 1, which have been the biggest milestones for you?
Seeing the Mitchell and Partners business through two re-brands from Dentsu Mitchell to dentsu X and working with our senior leadership team to bring this brand to life and deliver on its values.
What are you most proud of?
Personally I’m honestly proud of managing being a single mum of 2 young children at the same time as striving for excellence in my position here at dentsu X. I’m proud of all the relationships I have throughout the network. Having been here so long people here are like family to me, and you can always rely on family.
What do you think are the key challenges & opportunities that lie ahead for our industry?
Transparency is an ongoing issue and opportunity for us. It’s forced us to look at the way we operate and challenged us on how to be profitable. But it has also opened up more honest relationships with new and existing clients.
Why is DAN best positioned to win over the next 5 years?
I think our move into a fully addressable future through developing M1 is very exciting. That, combined with the other automated tech that we are developing to streamline the planning process. I think the way we’ve centralised buying has helped push the media brands further up the marketing funnel into our clients businesses and we’re definitely developing our skill set and our staff better to be able to deliver this.
What are you most excited about when it comes to the future of DAN?
Just the continued development of our people. Growing female leadership roles. Understanding millennials and how we can grow and shape them into future leaders in a way that keeps them in our business for the long term. Developing better ways of working through workplace flexibility and striving for excellence for everyone.
