Dream Teams: The Unspoken Rule Behind Matt and Sara’s Dynamic
Sara Oteri’s background is exceptionally varied.
She began her career as a copywriter but eventually left the advertising world to compete on Masterchef Australia.
Six months later, she emerged as a finalist on the show and transitioned into cooking and collaborating with brands, but this time in front of the camera. Today, she divides her time between her culinary endeavours and her role as ECD at 303 Mullenlowe.
When she arrived at 303 Mullenlowe Perth, Sara Oteri made an immediate impression on her new colleague, chief strategy officer Matt Oakley. Her breadth of thinking, her confidence, and her conviction saw the new executive creative director’s star rise immediately after joining the team.
Sara remembers a more frantic start to life at 303.
“I was asked to work on a fast turnaround pitch, so as far as introductions go, it was brief and straight down to business,” she says.
When it came to presenting her thoughts, she remembers feeling really comfortable around Matt and his generous sense of humour.
“When I realised he wasn’t just laughing at my jokes to be polite, I knew he was a good egg.”
These days, her ability to generate ideas doesn’t quite blow Matt away anymore.
“That’s just an expectation that she’s set,” Matt explains.
What Matt has come to appreciate about Sara is her swift, lateral thinking, her collaborative attitude, and her values.
“I love her candour and the fact she really gives a shit.”
If you ask Sara, Matt’s doting praise reflects his warm, friendly nature, crediting his innate ability to quickly get on your level.
“He’s obviously very bright,” Sara says, “but doesn’t flex his smarts all over the place. He’s open-minded, light-hearted, and collaborative, which I’ve greatly appreciated since joining 303 MullenLowe.”
Fortunately, the duo is not only fond of each other, but their working styles are complementary, bringing the best out of themselves and their team — a good thing, given how closely the CSO and ECD need to work.
“Strategy without expression is a blueprint; creativity without strategy is art,” Sara explains. “We need our crafts to come together, or we’re not making effective advertising.”
Matt hopes he can give Sara and her team the focus and inspiration they need to do the best possible work.
Sara continues, “I always say, ‘Give me the freedom of a tight brief’, and that’s what Matt does.”
Matt emphasises flexibility and respect when discussing the collaboration between strategic planning and creative teams at 303. Their approach isn't strictly codified, but there's a concerted effort to quickly assess opportunities and determine where the most significant contributions are needed.
"We always try to firstly and rapidly assess the creative and strategic opportunity," Matt says.
This flexibility is coupled with mutual respect for each other's expertise, ensuring that strategic and creative thinking are shared across the agency.
Sara highlights the importance of vulnerability and authenticity to their approach, explaining that the pair have an unspoken rule to be themselves with each other.
"He can tell me where his head is at, and I can tell him what my gut says," Sara says.
Both leaders at 303 MullenLowe Perth are straightforward, prioritising transparent communication and mutual objectives.
They share a diversity of thinking shaped by global experiences and personal career paths. They also share similar values, work ethics, and ambitions for good work — crucial to their successful collaboration.
They have overlapping expertise but aren’t territorial about contributing to each other's work.
"We have our lanes, but we’re not precious about contributing to each other’s craft," Sara says.
Their recent public vaccination campaign is a notable example of navigating differences in approach or perspective.
According to Matt, no singular reason for vaccine hesitancy was identified in their research, and finding a clear starting point was challenging. The breakthrough came when Sara sent a comedy sketch highlighting Australians' inherent optimism, which helped identify complacency as the campaign's target.
"One day, she randomly sent me a comedy sketch... and I had the cultural truth I needed," Matt recalls.
Sara describes their occasional conflicts as an old married couple's tiffs.
"The key to success is being on the same page from the start and having mutual respect for one another," she says.
A clear strategy philosophy and early successes have been pivotal in fostering a culture where strategic thinking thrives. The goal at 303 is to build a team of thinkers from diverse backgrounds to bring provocative thinking to clients.
Sara rejects the notion that big-picture creative vision conflicts with commercial viability. She believes her job is to exceed client expectations by providing big ideas that convert commercially.
"For me, there’s no balance needed," she says.
For local and global brands like WA Tourism and Deakin University, Sara tailors creative deliverables by finding the common thread that unites diverse markets.
"Being human about what we do is integral," she explains, stressing that an inherently human platform can effectively address different market needs and challenges.
When looking to the future, Matt sees the continued development of original and inspiring strategies at MullenLowe 303, highlighting the need for courage, collaboration, creativity, and craft to address these challenges.
"I’m a strong advocate for short-term investment paying dividends for long-term growth," he says.
With Sara now at the helm, only time will tell what this team’s limit could be.
