Episode 05: Sarah Salter – Global Head of Applied Innovation, Wavemaker (WPP)
Sarah and I worked together in 2017 at media agency MEC. Sarah headed up the innovation department and I worked in the partnerships and content team, unfortunately we never got the chance to collaborate. In this episode, Sarah talks through her journey to where she is now and how she became interested in working with technology and how she became the Global Head of Innovation for Wavemaker.
Sarah originally wanted to work in fashion but her parents advised her she should work in a broader industry that could possibly take her into fashion eventually but also give her something else to fall back on should it not work out. She decided to study marketing at university which included a placement year working for Wella which she said really helped her understand what she wanted to do after her studies and which helped her land her first job.
She worked there until she went to work for Casio on the brand, Baby G and G Shock. This move took her to New York and whilst she said she found the work interesting, working on projects and big events with major artists, she wasn’t learning anymore. It was this thought that took her to her next role and made her interested in new technology, she worked for a brand called Equinox and ended up help them launch a new content platform.
Sarah had her first child whilst working for Equinox and as she worked in the USA, their policy is to only have 6 weeks maternity leave and as much as I found that shocking, she knew no different. After having had her son, she realised she wanted to be back near family as working was very important to her but so was the support she would get from being around her family. Sarah worked with Equinox whilst she transferred her role back to the UK.
Sarah’s next role was working for a start-up, Vrumi, to help them get their product to market, further developing her interest in emerging technology. Sarah learned a lot working for this company but unfortunately, the product didn’t work out so it was onto her next move.
Sarah had managed agencies in her marketing roles for many years and knew they needed support in truly becoming innovative and understanding how brands can and should work with technology. Sarah started working at MEC heading up the innovation team and now connects brands with tech companies to solve brand challenges. Major campaigns include working with Public Health England and also Compare the Market. She says that the pandemic has brought companies along 5-10 years faster digitally.
Advice that Sarah gave to younger people wanting to get into advertising, marketing and technology is to be curious, take placement opportunities, get work placements and make contacts. If you are interested, then check out their apprentice scheme, The Splash, here: