[Behind the Selfie] with... Lauren Durant

Power dressing for a power day - or not?

1. Where do you live, work and play?

Durant: I am Cape Town-born and bred. I work in Cape Town, but travel a lot. So I am often working in the major cities around the country. I grew up and was schooled in the southern suburbs, but now live in the northern suburbs. I play at work. I also play at home, with my daughter. I'm not a big evening person. I gym every day - so that's my fun time. I also love a good TV series!

2. What's your claim to fame?

Durant: A claim to fame is something one is known for and proud of... in my circle, I am known to be a good business woman.

3. Describe your career so far.

Durant: Studentwise and then Isilumko, my whole sole career...

I've always said 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. So this has been my one and only true career. Staffing, promotions and activations. Fortunately I work in an industry that has evolved and been ever-changing... Thus I have been able to evolve and change. I have always enjoyed it and have never had a deep desire to look elsewhere - cos it ain't been broken!

4. Tell us a few of your favourite things.

Durant: My 6-year-old is definitely a favourite thing, or should I say being. I also love time with my dogs! Hubby comes third.
But if we are truly speaking of "things", I would have to say my iPad... which is the conduit to every book, movie or TV show my heart desires.

5. What do you love about your industry?

Durant: I love people. I have a wonderful team of colleagues and friends at work, and then lots of different and exciting clients. The industry is challenging and no two days are ever the same. So the diversity is great. Working on different projects means there are different objectives and different experiences and personalities that all come together.

6. What are a few pain points your industry can improve on?

Durant: Clients should never experience an activation's partners' pain points. We must suffer in silence and re-invent to overcome.

7. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.

Durant: I talk a lot and I listen a lot. The talking and the listening happens internally amongst the team and externally with the clients and the stakeholders in the business.

Communication on all levels is on the go constantly. So between WhatsApp chat groups, SMSes, emails and two telephones, there is a lot of backwards and forwards and lots of moving parts... It often feels like a big chess board and my challenge is to achieve "check mate".

But what do I really do? It's about understanding a client's marketing pain point and developing brand activation solutions to heal the pain, so I do this directly or help team members do the same.

8. What are the tools of your trade?

Durant: This is a services industry, so we are often as strong or as weak as the people in our organisation. A tool of our trade is therefore to build the culture in our organisation: team work, collaboration and high levels of ownership.

Other "tools" also include: smart strategy, strong concepts, outcomes-based project management, and a committed database of brand activators.

9. Who is getting it right in your industry?

Durant: Isilumko Activate. Nothing further to be said!

10. What are you working on right now?

Durant: What am I not working on right now?

11. Tell us some of the buzzwords floating around in your industry at the moment, and some of the catchphrases you utter yourself.

Durant:

• · Outcomes-based - hey, I just used that in a previous answer!
• "Sense check" - keeps you listening to your clients so you don't get stuck on your own ideas...
• Brand pairing - self-explanatory. This helps to unlock efficiency and create a more meaningful consumer engagement for the brands
• Digital activations - the art of real-world experiential marketing meeting digital solutions
• "Experiential - multi-sensory communication that hits the head and the heart

12. Where and when do you have your best ideas?

Durant: I am definitely a night-time 'wake up at 2am' thinker. I also create on the treadmill. So I tend to be the type of person who must sit with a problem. Often the answer doesn't just come to me - it will take 12 or 24 hours and I will ponder it and come into the office in the morning with guns blazing because I had an epiphany in the middle of the night. Or sometimes the epiphany happens on the treadmill at 05:30am.

13. What's your secret talent/party trick?

Durant: I am an incredibly successful arm wrestler. And any bloke, no matter the size of his biceps, will not see me coming.

14. Are you a technophobe or a technophile?

Durant: A bit of both...

I am happy to use technology and I want to and like to use it. But I don't want to have to figure it out for myself.

15. What would we find if we scrolled through your phone?

Durant: I like function so I use the work tools very well. That's limited to no social media play as I'm too busy for that...

16. What advice would you give to newbies hoping to crack into the industry?

Durant: Hard work and work ethic are incredibly important tools. Get the best possible schooling you can. And tertiary education, without a doubt. The rest we hope your mom and dad taught you and gave you and raised you with, because there are some things no business can teach.

17. Plug your contact details, punt yourself - list all the places people can find you/your work online...

Durant:
az.oc.okmulisi@nerual or 083 309 7556 or LinkedIn

You can read more about Isilumko by clicking here, and here for more from Durant.

*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews.