Page 15 - AdNews magazine Jul-Aug 2021

In his final semester, Long landed an internship at PHD, a small media agency of around 50 staff at the time that has since grown to more than 300 nationally.
“By this point my hands had gone from being in magazines to booking them for eBay’s ‘Fashion Gallery’ campaign at the time.
“Like most, I landed in the industry having no idea what a media agency does, but I was instantly struck by the fun energy, the smart people, and the warmth I felt.
“Quite early on I was instinctively drawn to strategy. At the time, Chris Stephenson was heading up the strategy team at PHD and he’s a superstar. Beyond a brilliant brain, he has that rare kind of energy and creativity that can transform a room.
“What drew me to strategy was the opportunity to fuse my crea- tive side with the part of me that loves to think deeply on things and do so in a way that solves problems simply. In a way it was the “Goldilocks zone” I’d been searching for that brought together aspects of all the things I had been drawn to growing up.”
Within his first six months, Long was competing at the national finals of Cannes Young Lions, returned to the finals again the following year, and spent the next four years hon- ing his craft through investment and planning roles on PHD’s Google account before eventually landing his dream job in strategy working across accounts including Google, Unilever and Volkswagen.
In the following years, Long was leading strategy for campaigns that won awards such as AdNews Media Campaign of the Year, Gold at the MFA Awards, Festival of Media APAC and M&M Global.
By 2017, these awards contrib- uted to 65% of PHD Sydney’s annual award wins and Long was travelling to New York, San Francisco and Tokyo as the Australian lead in Google’s global strategy unit for the coordinated launch of several of its priority products.
vulnerability. I’m truly excited to see where Mitch goes and feel exceptionally lucky to work with him. Alex James, PHD Australia Head of Strategy Melbourne
Often recognition of this sort goes to people who have moved around different organisations to gain wider experience. I’m especially proud of what Mitch has been able to achieve and experience both locally and globally by staying with PHD throughout his journey. From helping to strengthen D&I across our broader network as the co-chair of Omnicom’s Sydney
Chapter of Open Pride, to being our youngest head of strategy in any office globally and helping drive award-winning work for clients, including Unilever and Google, in collaboration with teams out of Sydney, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo, Mitch has crammed a lot into his career to date. It’s been a privilege to see Mitch grow and evolve during his time at PHD. He’s an amazing strategist that we and our clients are lucky to have, and I couldn’t think of a more worthy recipient of this award.
PHD Australia CEO Mark Jarrett
Left page: Mitchell Long and his family. Above: Long and the PHD team at the MFA Awards.
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