What you need to know about the new direct marketing guidance note
Nadine Mather and Chloë Loubser
#BrandManagerMonth [Behind the Selfie] with... Kevin Welman
This week, we find out what's really going on behind the selfie with Kevin Welman - managing director of FleishmanHillard South Africa.
Welman and family
1. Where do you live, work and play?
Welman: Jozi, Jozi and everywhere.
2. What’s your claim to fame?
Welman: I once had lunch with an African president, in a deserted house, eating with our fingers out of a polystyrene box.
3. Describe your career so far.
Welman: A frenzied blur.
I started my career as an intern at FleishmanHillard 20 years ago. At the age of 30, I was made managing director of the Johannesburg office. Over the years, I have encountered many different clients, I have experienced many countries and cultures, and have dealt with numerous issues and crises.
4. Tell us a few of your favourite things.
Welman: Some of my favourite things include… Obviously my family, the ‘off’ button on my laptop and my running shoes.
5. What do you love about your industry?
Welman: The diversity of people, of clients and tasks, as well as the fact that there are no real rules.
6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.
Welman: It starts early, using social to take in as much news as possible. It includes a lot of meetings, planning and clients.
7. What are the tools of your trade?
Welman: Anything with a screen.
8. Who is getting it right in your industry?
Welman: More agencies than people think… and of course, FleishmanHillard!
9. What are you working on right now?
Welman: Right this very moment – not at the time of publishing – I am working on a new business pitch while I travel back from a meeting in Botswana.
10. Tell us some of the buzzwords floating around in your industry at the moment, and some of the catchphrases you utter yourself.
Welman: Buzzwords: Integration, storytelling, creativity.
Catchphrases: If you can measure it, it’s management, not leadership.
11. Where and when do you have your best ideas?
Welman: While I run (that’s why I run).
12. What’s your secret talent/party trick?
Welman: When I dance, people think I’m doing my party trick.
13. Are you a technophobe or a technophile?
Welman: Techno – pardon…
14. What would we find if we scrolled through your phone?
Welman: Beyoncé and Obama’s mobile numbers (haha).
15. What advice would you give to newbies hoping to crack into the industry?
Welman: Read everything you can get your hands on, and respect experience.
You can read more about the FleishmanHillard by clicking here, click here for more on Welman and interact with him through the following social media accounts:
*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews
About Leigh Andrews
Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.
Related
