What I Learned as a Boomtown Insider:
Being a part of the Boomtown Insiders program has genuinely been one of the highlights of my career. While I joined to learn more about regional media, build my skills and bring new thinking back to my agency, the biggest takeaway was the people (Boomtown really do know how to pull together a pretty great crew!). Over the course of the program, I had the chance to connect with planners, buyers, publishers and media partners from across the country, each bringing a completely different perspective to the table. Those conversations challenged my thinking, broadened my understanding of the industry and reinforced just how much we can learn from one another!
As a proud Novocastrian, I’ve always been passionate about regional Australia, so I loved having the opportunity to learn more about different regional markets and hear how others approach them for their clients. One thing that really stood out was just how often regional audiences are underestimated. The scale, diversity and influence of regional Australia is incredible, and it was fascinating hearing how different agencies and media partners talk about engaging those audiences.
What surprised me most, though, was how many of our conversations went beyond regional media altogether. We talked about client challenges, measurement, budget pressures and the reality of working in an industry that never seems to slow down! It was fascinating hearing how different people approached the same challenges, and there were plenty of moments where I’d leave a conversation with a completely new perspective!
That’s probably what made the program so valuable! It wasn’t just the learning, it was the opportunity to understand where other people were coming from. Spending time with agency people, publishers and media partners gave me a much broader view of the industry and reinforced just how important strong relationships are. The more we understand each other’s priorities and challenges, the better we can work together and build meaningful connections!
The regional media insights were incredible, but the experience overall, was career changing! If you get the chance to be involved in something like Boomtown Insiders, take it!! You’ll meet some incredible people, gain a fresh perspective and probably learn a lot more than you expected. Who knows, maybe you’ll get to visit some cool Boomtown places like Newy or Cairns!