Olesh Piddubriwnyj is the Founder and Managing Director at Fifteen Design, an agency in the United Kingdom. He shared his opinion of how Brexit would impact his business, how much he loves “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and why personalization is a transformative change in the agency business. We asked him 26 questions. Here are his 26 answers.
1. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Herbalife shake! Pure Power, quick and easy!
2. What’s the last great thing you binge watched and why?
“The Wolf of Wall Street.” I’ve always got it on in the car! I love it so much that the guys at Fifteen even altered the movie poster, and PhotoShopped my face over Leo’s. I’ve framed it in the office.
3. Will Brexit have an impact on your business?
Not at all.
4. What’s the last great book you read? Why was it great?
I’m still in the process of reading The 4-Hour Work Week. It talks about such an interesting concept – having a strong work-life balance is totally an important way of thinking at Fifteen. (In fact, we’re having a big push on on mental well-being and work-life balance in the workplace.)
5. What’s your favorite vacation spot?
A city break to New York City. I love the vibe there, with all the shops, coffee and mix of cultures.
6. What’s the biggest change in the agency business since you started?
Personalization. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. If you still think like that, you’re doing it wrong. Every business is an individual.
7. How have you (and your agency) adapted?
If we see something new and interesting, we test it on us first. Once we get it right, we roll it out to our clients.
8. What’s your proudest moment in business?
It’s got to be when Fifteen was announced as one of the top 10 agencies in the UK in the Drum Digital Census.
9. In life?
For me, my business is life. I love both. I’m lucky. So, it’s got to be hitting the £1 million mark in my business.
10. What’s the most important way the rise of social media, from YouTube to Facebook to LinkedIn, has changed the way companies reach their audiences?
You have to offer value. You can’t just shout about yourself anymore. There’s so much content to consume online and through social, you have to focus on what customers or users want. It’s a noisy world online and you really have to stand out.
11. Digital ad spending is poised to surpass TV ad spending. Is this a problem for agencies or an opportunity?
The way the people are watching TV has changed. Everything is on-demand, or through channels like Netflix and YouTube. This opens up a massive opportunity for agencies to grow, because they’re part of wider digital experiences.
12. Is content marketing an evolution or a revolution?
Evolution. Everything in digital marketing has evolved from something else. Besides, content marketing has been around for decades — it’s just the digital side that’s been the revolution.
13. How has the availability of data changed marketing (or not)?
Everything is much more measurable, strategic and accurate. You can prove to your clients with a lot of accuracy.
14. How do you use LinkedIn — for networking? For content marketing? Searching for talent? For sales prospecting? For staying abreast of news?
Personally, I use LinkedIn for industry and business news. However, I know at Fifteen that we use it to promote our some of our thought leadership pieces, search for new talent and news within the company.
15. How do you use LinkedIn advertising for your clients, and what’s working well for them?
We have been recommending LinkedIn advertising for more of our clients, especially those in the B2B sectors, as it’s not saturated with waffle like many other social media channels.
16. What is your top-secret superpower?
Stamina! I’ve got endless amounts of energy and I never give up.
17. Who should play you in the movie version of your life?
Ryan Gosling or Daniel Craig.
18. If you weren't at Fifteen, what would you be doing?
I’ve always liked the thought of being able to save lives as a surgeon.
19. What is your favorite cartoon character and why?
Danger Mouse. He lives life on the edge.
20. What do you have an irrational hatred for?
Holes in socks. I literally cannot stand to see them on people.
21. Best movies ever. Go:
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (of course), “The Green Mile” and “Iron Man.”
22. What did you want to be when you grew up?
Pharmacist. Like I said, anything to do with helping lives.
23. What's your most annoying habit?
I keep saying ‘Do you know what I mean?’ at the end of sentences. It’s such a bad habit and I need to get out of it!
24. How long would you survive a zombie apocalypse?
I’d be there until the very end. I’ve watched World War Z – I know what to do.
25. What jobs did you have in high school and what lessons did you learn from them that you still put into practice today?
I cleaned maggots in a fishing tackle shop and then worked on the Deli at Morrison’s. I learnt to deal with people on different levels, from building customer friendships, to working alongside colleagues and management. Its this sort of stuff that sets you up for life. Essentially, I started form the bottom…
26. What are you most looking forward to in 2017?
A new office for Fifteen! We’ve been hunting for the perfect place for a while and we will find it and get moving this year.
You can see previous installments in the Agency Interview series here.
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