Derry Simpson is surely one of Perth’s busiest people as Group Managing Director at 303 MullenLowe, Perth, and mum to three young kids. She’s here at ADFEST judging the Media and Effective categories as Jury President.

 
We asked her to share the secret to being a good strategist, and explain why Perth – one of the world’s most isolated cities – hits above its weight creativity.

 
Is there a secret to being a good strategist?
 
I’ve always told my strategy team that our job is to be able to see great work. Look at a wealth of ideas and know which one is going to work for the client and work for the brand. From that point of view, it’s all about being open-minded and learning and reading and always being interested – making sure you’re totally obsessed with consumer behavior.

 
Perth often hits above its weight creatively. How does the city inspire you?
 
Perth absolutely hits above its weight. Perth’s always been this isolated city, not so much anymore, but there are benefits to being isolated. One of those is an amazing creative culture. We have so many talented individuals that come from Perth – artists, musicians, creative, directors. They’ve really made Perth their own, particularly in the past five years. People aren’t leaving as soon as they finish university anymore. It’s a thriving little town and it produces great work.

 
Can you tell us about 303 MullenLowe’s culture & legacy?
 
It’s pretty unique. We’ve been around for 30-something years. Three founders started the agency and left big agency networks with the desire to work differently and be different. They created a culture that’s designed to work interactively with clients all the time, hand-in-hand. There are no departments. We work in what we call cells; we’re totally integrated. We’ve got media, digital, PR, creative, programmatic – everything’s in-house and all of those skillsets work together as a team on a piece of clients’ business. It just produces more collaborative, better work that way.

 
You judged Media & Effective this year.  Do you have any advice for agencies entering next year?
 
Enter, enter, enter! We should have had hundreds of entries in Media, but I don’t think agencies are looking at the category as an opportunity. Those that did, did very well. So when agencies are entering best print or best outdoor, they should also think about entering on the media side.

 
It's your second year at ADFEST. What makes the festival unique?
 
I love ADFEST – it really is one of the few that’s truly unique. I know a lot of people say that, but it’s truly regional, and there are no two people from the same country on a jury. You learn so much in terms of culture and insight. I love the idea of recognizing local culture and acknowledging and rewarding work that is proudly local. I love the Young Lotus project that’s been going for a while now. They got a great brief and it’s great to watch them grow and be inspired.

 
www.303mullenlowe.com.au