In an interview with Anna Kertesz, Managing Director of digital agency Guerrilla, Women Loves Tech uncovered some insights into what it’s like to lead digitally-focussed CX agency Guerrilla working with some of the industry’s best. Anna also spoke about the recently launched 11th series of Doctor Who which stars a female lead and the role the agency played in its online brand.
What is your role within the agency?
Day to day I take care of business development and the agency’s commercial wellbeing. Of course, I invest time in marketing and strategy but it’s the relationships we have with new clients, keeping existing clients happy and working with our client service team to identify opportunities, that consumes most of my time.
Tell us about the work Guerrilla did for BBC Studios’ Doctor Who project.
This has been such an exciting project for the agency. Now eight years into the relationship, it’s been crucial for me to support the team working across scoping, quoting and providing direction to manage the project’s successful delivery. We basically created a central place online where all 40 of BBC Studios programme brands watched globally can be managed from a multi-user hub. It’s a great example of problem solving that benefits the customer.
Culture, mentorship and getting the right team
This is probably one of my favourite topics. Culture is an extremely important part of Guerrilla. While I believe great culture develops organically, we work hard on the elements we can influence to give it the best chance of flourishing. Compliments from new team members are the best feedback we receive. I’ve consciously tried to build a team that genuinely supports each other so everyone can perform at their best and cope when the pressure’s really on.
Can you share three key learnings from Guerrilla’s work?
- Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis having spent a tonne of money with nothing to show for it. A lot of this stems from digital marketing strategy coming from agencies that weren’t born digital. Hiring digital staff isn’t the same as thinking digital as an organisation.
- Don’t underestimate what a huge and all-encompassing part of the business your website really is. Brand leaders need to understand what this means and its impact on the business. Provide a roadmap showing where a client is headed and the first step to implementation.
- Be clear on how people are using your website. Take time to understand where the problem areas are, and identify the pain points in managing the website. How can you make it more efficient? Are you creating great content? When was it last reviewed? Have you got management buy-in on the role of your website and its importance as a marketing tool?
Your site has launched. Keep a close eye on those measurable objectives.
Collaboration is key. All stakeholders internally and between client/agency need to work openly and collaboratively to progress. And don’t be fooled – the end is really just the beginning. While the end of a big development project feels like a sprint to the finish – and the project fatigue struggle is very real – there’s no time for complacency. Gather data from your live site. Monitor, measure, tweak and maintain. Keep your team actively involved.
More About Anna Kertesz
Anna Kertesz is managing director of digitally-focussed CX agency Guerrilla, based on the Gold Coast. Anna runs a team of digital experts. She brings a rare combination of cross-sector management experience that delivers strategically creative CX projects both on time and on budget. Working closely with Brand and Strategy Director Rob Bare, Anna and her team have completed projects for BBC Studios, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Daifuku, Mirvac, Destination Gold Coast and Queensland Airport — amongst others.
