Denzel Kessie, BIMA Young Talent Council co-chair, sat down with Omari Green, Strategist at MullenLowe, and BIMA 100 finalist in the Rising Stars
category for 2023.
Congratulations! You made it into the Rising Stars category. One thing that stood out to me in your BIMA 100 bio was “Omari is a living example of understanding how she works best, and having her work reflect her best self”. As a strategist with ADHD, what adjustments do you make to ensure your work reflects your best self?
“It was a process. I’ve kind of known I’ve had ADHD for a while, but I’ve only recently been able to have the resources to be officially diagnosed. I’ve learned to accept that I don’t work the same way everyone else does, and just give myself a break for it. So, if we’re all working on a deck, sometimes I feel really embarrassed because I can’t just work from top to bottom, I’m jumping around everywhere. And I used to really hate working in the same deck as people because I find it really embarrassing, but then you just have to accept that your brain is different. You just hit a point. Sometimes your brain is not working on that task, and you can sit there and you can force it, but no matter how hard you try, you’re not going to be able to do it. When I hit that point, and it took me a while to, I know I have to stop. It doesn’t matter if it’s 3 pm or 10 am, it’s not happening.
At MullenLowe we also have flexible working and I really take advantage of that. Sometimes it’s productive for me to work outside the core hours, and my team is supportive of this approach. They understand that if I’m getting my work done, it shouldn’t matter when or where I do it. Sometimes I don’t sit at my desk, because I feel the need to sit somewhere else, and that’s ok.”
On your BIMA100 bio, you wrote down visual search and XR as innovations you’re excited about because they are creative, practical, and easily accessible. Could you elaborate on this?
“Yes, part of my job is to be looking at innovation and one big pet peeve I have is innovation for innovation’s sake, or just something new because it’s new and cool. Same as when NFTs were a thing. I absolutely hated them, I don’t like things that aren’t useful to people. When I joined the industry, my biggest goal was to make things that people are actually going to use or interact with. The thing that really excites me about XR is extended reality, which includes VR and AR. I’m also interested in visual search and the reason why it’s so interesting for me is that it’s accessible. People can just access it on their phones on a day to day basis. There’s been so many interesting AR things that we’ve seen recently. For example the Apple Vision Pro, but, this might sound controversial, it’s three and a half grand only in America, so it’s not applicable to a lot of people. So that’s why I think XR and visual search is really interesting because it’s accessible to the masses. And there are so many actual useful applications for them.”
I saw you were voted as employee of the year during your first year at MullenLowe, so it’s clear your team loves you. How was that year like for you?
“It was kind of crazy, to be honest, because as I said, this is my first job in advertising, out of uni. I think I definitely had a lot of imposter syndrome. When I first started, I had a whole thing of trying to appear in one way, but I think now I’ve gotten to a place where I just am how I am. I think part of why I’m doing well is because I bring myself authentically, where I’m from, having ADHD, and I also try to get involved in the culture at work. We have this quarterly inspiration day where we do talks. I’ve given talks to the agency on AI and on having ADHD. I also DJ’d at our summer party last week. I just think MullenLowe has got a really good culture and I try to be part of it. But I also think I’m good at my job. I just get stuck in a lot of things, especially if I think something’s interesting, and bring a lot of energy. I’ve also got a really good team around me that have understood how I work best with having ADHD and accommodated that, and, as I said before, a company that has a really good culture. So it’s an amalgamation of things that’s really bringing out the best of me. And I guess everybody else is agreeing.”
What does inclusivity in tech look like to you?
“I think it’s got two parts to it. The first is diversity in thought, which means we need to have diverse teams, diverse people coming up with the ideas, putting things out. But then also inclusivity in tech wouldn’t be a thing without inclusive design. At work, I work with a lot of UX designers and they’ve got a wealth of knowledge that I do not have.
When we do UX audits, you’d be surprised at how inaccessible some things are. So I think it starts with having a diverse team, and also having the right people that know how to make tech inclusive in the design of it.”
How important is it for you as a strategist to keep up to date with technology and trends?
“I think a good percentage of my job is just keeping up with things, technology, trends, new ads, the cultural conversation that’s happening on social media. I believe it’s so important to understand what’s happening in the world because you can apply that to your work.
At work, we have a Monday meeting where I tell the guys whatever I see on social media or on the news. So I’m always thinking, what’s the opportunity there? What’s happening there?
In terms of technology, things are advancing so quickly, so what are the possibilities? How can I take that on for my clients, or even just to expand my knowledge? What’s being done? What’s not being done? So a good part of being a strategist is just knowing what’s happening and what people are saying about it.”
Where do you what to be career-wise next year?
“When I had my interview to be a junior strategist at MullenLowe, they asked me where I wanted to be in the next year or in two years. I didn’t know what to say. I just said I wanted to win some awards, and they loved it because they thought I was really ambitious. So, in my first year, I won employee of the year, second year I’m in the BIMA100, so in my third year, I really just want to put out some work that is big. I’ve got some opportunities coming to me at the moment and a few ideas for some of our clients, and a new big campaign that I’m working on.
So what I want right now is for my work to start speaking for itself, because I know I’ve spoken for myself. Everyone knows I’m really ambitious, but now I want some cold hard, good work to back it up.”
As a member of the BIMA Young Talent Council, is there any advice you have for the next generation of tech professionals?
“The first piece of advice is just always to be curious, and, as I said before, know what the rules are so you can break them. Always know what’s happening in tech, in culture, and always expand your mind. It might sound cheesy, but being yourself is also important. As the industry progresses and gets more and more diverse, we’re all doing ourselves and the industry a benefit by bringing our entire selves. I’ve said it before, I tried to come in the way I am; I’m from Tottenham, I’m very obviously from a working-class background, I’ve got ADHD, I’m black and I’m a woman. It’s an urge sometimes to minimise those things about yourself, but I think as the industry progresses, we all need to be ourselves fully for it to become more inclusive and more open to the next people that are going to come in. Be a bit pushy at times. If you want to be on something, if you want to do something, you have to talk to people. You need to ask to be put on things if you’re getting left off stuff. Just ask, go for it and speak up.”
Learn more about BIMA 100 here.