Philip Jenkinson – Content Producer
This month’s staff snapshot features one of Team Orion’s most recent recruits, and he’s quickly made a name for himself as a talented word weaver, digital marketing expert and savvy chess player. Faced with an assortment of different projects on a daily basis, from email and social campaigns to radio and cinema ads and much more, Philip executes it all with ease.
When he’s not whipping up masterpieces with the written word, the self-professed pasta-lover likes to spend his free time with his family; kicking a soccer ball around and going on bike rides. When he’s after something a bit more subdued, Philip can be found reading history fiction from the Roman era while sipping on fine wines. Sounds pretty good to us!
How long have you been a Content Producer?
I’ve had a fair few titles over the past 25 years. I am a Copywriter, Marcomms Specialist and Digital Marketer, which all fit neatly into the role of Content Producer.
What’s your creative strength?
Tuning into other people’s emotions and remembering it’s all about you… not me.
If you weren’t a Content Producer, what would you be?
An Investigative Journalist or a Screenwriter.
How long have you been working at Orion?
I started at the beginning of November 2017. It feels longer, but in a good way.
What’s the best piece of work advice you’ve ever been given?
Always keep on learning and don’t be afraid to try new things. I’d been a Copywriter at a few boutique agencies and then two multinational advertising groups for over a decade before I started to broaden my skills to encompass marketing and marketing communications. Then four years ago I studied part-time for a year to get a degree in Digital Marketing and Social Media. Not only did I learn a whole lot more about digital and social, I love the immediacy and all the new possibilities.
What would an ‘average day at the office’ look like for you?
I’m fortunate to have a very short commute, which is great, so I don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn or return home from work when it’s pitch black. Right now I start my day by checking out and tweaking the paid LinkedIn campaigns that I manage for Oracle NetSuite Southeast Asia. Then it could be working on website content, an email campaign, landing page, brochure, scripting a ‘how to’ video or helping brainstorm for an ad campaign. I’ve also written a couple of radio commercials and a cinema ad while I’ve been here, so there’s a lot of variety – Orion Creative can handle anything!
What’s the most complex project you’ve worked on at Orion so far?
Definitely managing the Q3 and Q4 LinkedIn campaigns for Oracle NetSuite Southeast Asia. Creating and managing half a dozen campaigns across up to six countries for each quarter has stretched me and also broadened the existing skills that I have in this area. LinkedIn products I’ve worked on include direct Sponsored LI Updates, Sponsored LI LeadGen Content, and LI Text Ads. So far I have created and written over 60 posts, plus set and adjusted budgets and bids for each geo location and reported regularly to our client in Singapore. It’s big budget, quite complex, and pretty full-on at times, but I do love a challenge.
What are you watching and listening to right now?
I see a lot of kids’ movies and my favourite of recent years is Sing. As for grown-up films, I love everything Star Wars and don’t tell anyone, but I’ve been hooked on The Fast and the Furious films for years. As for TV, I loved Boston Legal and more recently Episodes with Matt LeBlanc and Tamsin Greig. My music tastes vary. I listen to a lot of jazz, 80s & 90s funk, chill out and The Presets. In my headphones at work I’m listening right now to Standing On The Top by The Temptations with Rick James, and the track before that on my tablet was the 2017 Café Del Mar Chillout Mix 16 – 52 very cool minutes.
Any funny travel stories you can share?
I went to England and Italy in 2017 for the first time, with my daughter and wife. In Rome I was in a restaurant for dinner and felt like a Fettuccine Arrabiata, but they only had entrée sizes on the menu and I was starving from walking around sightseeing all day. So I asked for a larger serve. ‘Are you sure?’ the waitress asked me in very clear English. ‘Yes’ I replied. When it arrived 15 minutes later I was gobsmacked to see a 30cm plate piled high. I only got through half of it.
Fun or little-known facts about you that would surprise us?
I’ll share three. I used to be in two inner-city rock bands playing gigs as a singer and bassist in the late 1980s. I have three children all with the same initials… CJ, CJ, and CJ, ranging in age from seven up to 25. And I DJ’ed my own wedding at our reception at Lachlan’s Parramatta in 2009 – not the whole night, mind you, just a 40-minute set.
