Gayle While on How Putting One’s Hand Up Can Change their Career

Gayle wanted to be a marine biologist, but she soon figured out that she didn’t like chemistry and was in fact scared of diving. Fortunately for advertising,  that led to the beginning of an iconic career. 

“What I realised was I’m really interested in how people feel, people's behaviours, and the culture behind it. I was hugly fascinated by the impact that TV had on my childhood, how we would go away and be singing jingles. The way advertising influences our language and culture really fascinated me. So I applied for a grad scheme,” she said. 

Gayle describes her rise to one of Australia’s most influential advertisers as “a journey of luck, and a journey of having people push me rather than letting me toddle along.” She acknowledged the great story of clients that backed her along the way, clients that allowed her to explore a million different businesses, and in turn grow her imagination and creativity. 

“I think the greatest thing about my role is that you have the privilege of being part of these client's organisations. You learn a lot around how businesses function, and how they go through ups and downs. So outside of our own industry, I think I've been very fortunate to experience and work with people who have worked for amazing organisations going through so many different transformations and growth journeys, but that's helped me kind of push forward,” she said. 

Gayle also made a note of the moments in which she put her own hand up for opportunities and encouraged people, in particular younger creatives, to do the same. In order to foster  a company of creativity, culture and innovation, Gayle believes in the notion of ‘enabling people.'

“It’s about giving people a voice. To create an environment where people it's not just safe, but also provides inspiration to have a voice. As agencies are asked to do more with less, it’s about giving people freedom to express themselves in lots of different ways. Diversity of thinking, and diversity of problem solving is becoming more critical,” she said. 

Gayle strives to build a culture that removes itself from the ‘sea of sameness that's out there.’ While the industry continues to ask people to do more on smaller budgets, it’s important to Gayle to encourage innovative ways of thinking among her teams.

Adding on to the idea of different ways of thinking, Gayle is a champion for inclusivity. Not only in the ads being made and shown to the public, but within agencies as well. 

“‘I’m a huge advocate for the Unstereotype Alliance, and Shift 20, and Bus Stop Films and things like that. I think within my career, we have come forward so much in how we represent people and lifestyle on screen, but we're nowhere near far enough to how that needs to be. I still squirm sometimes when you see a car ad and it's still the man driving the car or the family construct in it, and it is so inherent in what we're doing. The legacy of advertising needs to represent the audiences and that goes for what is produced and who it’s produced by,” she said. 

Gayle touched on the fast-moving trend cycle that brands attempt to navigate everyday and how if one doesn’t stay on top of it, it will move right past them. Although agencies cannot predict what will and will not go viral, Gayle believes that the industry is more adaptable and agile when it comes to looking at brand platforms and choosing to participate in a trend based on what the brand can offer. 

“I think brands are now living in culture and the culture is happening around us, rather than us are actually trying to push culture or try and change culture. It’s a different pace, it's a different thing, which makes it more interesting and more exciting. We can’t predict it as much as we can just be part of it” she said.

Although Gayle's career hasn’t awarded her the ability to see into the future when concerning the rises and falls of trends, it has taught her the hardest lesson of saying ‘no’. She described moments where she has said ‘no’ as some of the riskiest decisions she’s made. 

“Whether that’s to new business, or a certain brief from a client, having the confidence to say no and help them find a different direction, or say no to clients who have sometimes asked for more of the same, to reposition it and reframe things as the opportunity in the right way, or to help them understand that there's a very different way of looking at it. It’s a brave thing to do,” she said.