As part of an ongoing series highlighting young talent in the industry, Branding in Asia presents “One Under 30: Young Creative Spotlight”, a feature focusing on up-and-coming individuals in the ad world.
Next up is Nicholas Duron, copywriter at Digitas Australia.
The Basics
Name: Nicholas Duron
Age: 27
Agency: Digitas
Position: Copywriter
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Current Location: Sydney, Australia
Education: Bachelor of Communications, University of Notre Dame Australia
Seven Questions
How did you get your first break in the industry?
I started my career on the SEO team at Digitas, which taught me the importance of brand voice in the age of the ad-blocker. Using data, I would work to create cross-platform content strategies that leveraged existing behaviors across multiple touchpoints. This opened doors to the creative team, who embraced the opportunity to work on projects designed to align with the user journey, rather than interrupt it.
Looking back, it was the best creative experience I could’ve asked for, as it forces me to ask the question, “will someone actually seek this out?” That is a great filter for all creative ideas.
What is your personal mantra?
“Just do it.” – Being lazy is my favorite pastime, so I do my best to tackle tomorrow’s problem, today.
From what person, place, or thing have you drawn your greatest creative inspiration?
Seinfeld. The show about nothing taught me that anything can be something if it’s written right.
What do you love about the job?
I love making things that people actually enjoy. Last year, I worked on an alternate reality game for EA Games called Operation Enigma, which was designed specifically for a sub-culture of hardcore Battlefield players. By using transmedia storytelling, we were able to keep an audience of 40,000 gamers engaged for a five-month period leading up to the new Battlefield title launch. We loved making it, fans loved playing it and the results were unreal!
What about your job are you not so crazy about?
I could live without timesheets.
What is some work you’ve done that you’re most proud of?
I’m extremely proud of Operation Enigma and its results, but Tigerair’s #golikealocal campaign is another personal favorite of mine. For this campaign, we used search data to understand what people were struggling to find when traveling across Australia. Using this data as a guide, we created a cross-platform content series that followed everyday people around their home towns. From hidden lookouts to hole-in-the-wall cafés, viewers were given the inside scoop on where to go and what to see in every major city in Australia.
Since its launch, the series has inspired thousands of travelers to rediscover destinations they thought they know and reconsider domestic travel in favor of overseas getaways.
If you had to choose another career what would it be?
Comedy writer.
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