The Publicis Groupe Connected Careers program gives its employees across its agency businesses job opportunities and career paths across Australia and overseas.
Jack Telford, group SEO business director at Zenith Media Australia, took part in the offering, moving to Sydney from Publicis Groupe agencies in the UK.
Telford spoke to Mediaweek about falling into digital marketing, being part of the Publicis Groupe family and his goals for the future.
Telford on his start in the industry
Telford has been with the Groupe for six years, starting as an SEO senior executive at Starcom in London in 2017. He spent three years at Performics, another Publicis Groupe agency, before moving to Australia and joining Zenith’s SEO team.
Telford revealed that he started in the industry “completely by chance” after completing a journalism degree at Cardiff University.
“I worked temporarily at a café near my family home in Hampshire. After a professional-looking customer told me that digital marketing was worth exploring, I found a small but well-run agency down the road and decided to chance my luck and ask for some work experience,” he recalled.
Over a few weeks, he was hooked on discovering SEO’s amalgamation of data, brand marketing, web development and content.
“Nine years later, a lot has changed in SEO, but the discipline still fascinates and challenges me,” he said.
Taking Zenith’s SEO to the next level
As SEO group business director at Zenith, Telford oversees building best-in-class SEO capability for Zenith. This includes strengthening its performance offering and enabling clients to experience the website and the broader marketing benefits the channel can bring.
“I’m responsible for establishing our product set, building a team, and introducing our clients to our unique SEO proposition,” he explained.
“We’re looking to grow fast, so I’m focused on making sure this growth is sustainable. This means offering a top-tier service to clients while bringing in great people and building products that place us at the forefront of the industry,” Telford added.
Being part of the Publicis Groupe family
Telford has been with Publicis agencies for six years and worked for three different agencies. He noted that he has felt nurtured in a forward-thinking environment focusing on high performance and employee wellbeing.
“Since joining, I’ve seen a constant stream of innovations within the Groupe, from our flexible working model, Publicis Liberté, to The Connected Platform, our custom-made AI platform, Marcel, and most recently our partnership with OpenAI and PublicisGPT,” he said.
In the UK, all Publicis Groupe media agencies relocated to the former BBC Television Centre in West London in 2919, a vast conglomeration of agencies, specialities and approaches to marketing.
Telford shared: “Working across six massive floors was on a totally different scale to what I’ve experienced before, and an amazing environment for learning. Seeing celebrities walking in and out of the still-used TV building next door was a nice perk, too!”
In contrast, he noted that Publicis in Australia has a more connected and personal approach. “Good work is powered by amazing inter-agency and client relationships, as well as a positive vibe that incubates brave approaches,” he said.
“I chose Zenith because of the agency’s leading credentials in media, data and technology, as well as the central focus on ROI. While interviewing for the role, talking to our head of digital, Josh Lee, filled me with confidence in the agency’s direction and expertise. Since then, Jason Tonelli’s appointment has supercharged our proposition and approach,” Telford added.
Telford on his goals with Zenith
Looking ahead, Telford shared that he hopes to cement Zenith’s position as a performance media powerhouse and build an industry-leading, happy team.
“I believe that high performance and job satisfaction are inherently linked and want to facilitate a culture where we’re continuously doing work that we’re proud of, incrementally refining our existing products while building out new ones in areas like user experience and holistic search,” he said.
“When it comes to client ambitions, I want every business we work with to achieve more than they thought possible through SEO. This will mean not only improved performance but higher overall digital maturity and efficiency,” Telford added.
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Top image: Jack Telford