Creativity & Data, the Perfect Marketing Tech Combination

“My mum always said to me there is no money in arts and creativity – so I should get into technology”

Explains Billy Loizou when we sit down to chat through his career.

He’s been in the unique position of shaping a CX and Design career as the industry itself has emerged and progressed to a place that’s now in demand.

“I used to pull things apart when I was a kid just to understand how they worked, no one was very impressed when my Walkman was in pieces” he explains.

Billy has a successful twin brother, who studied engineering – he describes him as the exact opposite skill set to him, however creative in his own way.

So, we broke down the key stages of his career to find the perfect blend of data and design:

Phase 1: Pre-Career Days

In 2003 Billy studied Multimedia at Monash University, exploring all the software and platforms you could interact with customers on:

“That was my first introduction to digital and Flash was pretty cool back then. I learnt how to do everything that was popular during that time; video, radio, websites, audio and photo editing with the Adobe Suite.

“I liked that interactive space, and the design principles and methods behind it – from sketching with charcoals to using Adobe Illustrator for branding and vector art.”

“It was user experience before user experience was cool – looking at how people interacted with a device or a screen.”

Phase 2: Turning Curiosity into Career

University left Billy with interest in how people interacted with products and devices, for his first job he joined Digital Logic as a designer in the IT room:

“It was more of a front end design based role. Every time we had a cross-channel campaign, typically websites, email and print – I would do all of them. As a result, I learnt how to code.

“Being able to blend those skills and get hands on experience with HTML, Javascript and ASP.net was a fun time.”

Phase 3: Integrating Data with Creativity

Billy left Digital Logic after five years and joined ExactTarget, early into their launch he came on board:

“I wanted to become more client facing – ET had just moved from Doncaster to the city, and I remember they had a PlayStation room, I was sold.”

“I joined as an implementation consultant, helping clients get the platform up and running and quickly saw an opportunity for offering them design consulting.  I built that team, and three of us focused on user experience across email & web – I eventually moved into more of a solutions consulting role where I began to create technology leading customer journeys.”

After the acquisition of ExactTarget by Salesforce, the company became heavily sales focused, and a new opportunity opened up with Billy where he could continue his work in the customer journey space at Digital Logic once again. They became a Salesforce Gold partner within the first 12 months.

Phase 4: Looking to the Future

As we catch up with Billy today, he’s just stepped into his latest role after Digital Logic got acquired a few months ago. He says he was keen to keep focusing on customer experience in a creative culture, rather than just a technological one:

“My new role is all around CX & UX thought leadership. I walked into the building, and they immediately told me how they were investing in becoming an agency of the future, using data and creativity to solve business problems, rather than a traditional agency. I see some real opportunities in this space.

“I also just completed my IDEO course, which is all around design thinking. That’s something I want to immerse myself in.

“I’m pretty deep into machine learning too, data will become the compass that directs creative thinking.

“And then of course VR and AR – the game changing impact that will start to have on some of the larger industries is something I’m watching closely.”

Billy’s 4 Quadrant Philosophy

Looking for a new job? Billy’s top 3 tips on deciding the next career fit:

1. Follow your intuition: As much as I’m all about data guiding your choices when it comes to my work, intuition and gut feeling plays a big part in my next move. You should always listen to that inner voice that says if something is right or wrong.
2. Find a great CEO: You have to meet the leadership and buy into their vision. It’s also at this stage where I check that investment will be going into the areas I’m passionate about – I’m not looking for a static job.
3. Don’t rely on the business to progress your skills: This industry moves incredibly fast, and you can’t just assume your business will put you through all the training you need. Sign up to whitepapers, go to events and get stuck into Adobe, Salesforce, IBM, Marketo – be hands on.

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