There is a popular thread on social media where people post “I was this day old when” and they go on to tell their followers what they had learnt for the first time on that day. From interesting events in history, to personal facts and life hacks, it makes for some light-hearted reading. I’m also reminded by a quote often used by my mother as she goes about her daily business, “you’re never too old to learn something new!” As often as we disagree, she can’t be faulted here.
In our daily business of activating, captivating, and amplifying, MediaHeads 360 loves the idea of learning. Learning about each other as staff, our clients, their products, audiences, brands, and goals. We actively seek to let our staff grow and develop through continual education, mentorship, and structured courses.
In the last few years, we have been fortunate to be able to extend our passion for learning to several industry partners and professionals with the MediaHeads 360 Women’s Month bursary, in honour of Women’s Day. As we have grown and learn, we love that fact that we can assist those who work with us to grown and learn too!
In 2021, Palesa Tsele, was one of our industry colleagues who entered our bursary competition. Currently a Junior Strategist at FCB – Johannesburg, Palesa jokes and says that people often say that strategists are the accountants of creative agencies. Palesa’s creative journey was fuelled by her love of brands, their positioning, and the way they communicate with their consumers. This led her to study Strategic Communications at the University of Johannesburg. It was here that she became interested in the psychology of how people think and how insights help drive campaigns.
Currently working at her second agency, Palesa says there is not enough opportunity to learn as a young industry professionals and juniors often face challenges with renumeration. She believes the empathetic leaders can shape the employment journey of young professionals. From mentorship, to creating healthy work environments and understanding people’s personal situations, junior staff thrive in environments of great leaders.
On continual learning Palesa says, “The world of advertising and marketing is continuously changing, it is challenging and volatile. Education helps us find ways to respond to these changes and challenges. At agencies we experience frustrations in the digital space, the only way to navigate this is staying on the pulse and keeping up to date.”
Palesa completed a digital marketing course at Red & Yellow in 2021 with the MediaHeads 360 Women’s Month bursary she won and she believes that the opportunity widened her scope on how digital functions and its reach beyond social media. It also allowed her to better understand how digital media translates into strategy, a key component in her work with brands.
After completing the course, Palesa says that her thinking had been stretched and that she had gained learning and insight into several aspects she had never been exposed to. She was particularly enthused that she could immediately incorporate the learning into her daily tasks and job.
Further to this, she believes that cultural nuance is always present, and it is essential to understand how we make people feel and how they relate to the brand. Digital can be centred around people, the real and relatable things of everyday. Digital uses sound, video, movement, local nuance, and language. “I’ve learnt to see how people tell their stories through user generated content, and better understand the dilemma of choice faced by consumers.”
At MediaHeads 360 we are so pleased to have been a small part of Palesa’s continual growth as she becomes a leader in our industry. We look forward to continuing this opportunity to learn and hope to expand our learning footprint by extending our annual bursary campaign again this year.