As Performance Lead, my role predominantly involves managing and supporting both our clients and the internal performance team.

 What does a typical week look like for you as Thoughtful’s Google / Performance Lead:
That’s the fun thing about working in an agency, most weeks are different. In general, my week consists of optimising paid channels and strategies for our brands, as well as planning future campaigns with our clients.

What did you study or how did you get into the role:
I got into Performance Marketing following an internship with a PR agency. Whilst I enjoyed the campaigns we were running, I struggled with the limited data and proof points when it came to the success of our campaigns for the businesses we worked with.

Naturally, following on from this, the world of PPC and Performance marketing was a great fit. I started managing campaigns mainly on Google about 7 years ago, from there my interest in the world of performance expanded to the majority of paid channels and digital strategy.

What does success in the role look like? Client results / growth etc
Of course, in our role, the key metric is results. Be it Profit, Revenue, ROAS or New Customer Acquisition, ultimately to be successful in Performance, you need to be adaptable and dynamic in the pursuit of these north star goals.

However, we are a relationship-based industry; to really develop and grow in performance marketing, you need to be able and willing to have open and honest conversations with the brands and businesses you work with. The ability to understand where performance is weak or strong will make the difference in whether or not your marketing efforts are successful. At TTA, I think this is something that we do very well, building strong relationships with our clients, allowing us to have open conversations on areas that are or are not working about our strategies and pivoting quickly.

What are the 3 important areas brand should be leaning into to shape their new fin year digital road map 

• Focus on New Customer Acquisition; Paid channels are a great way to reach and acquire new customers, with specific targeting and options in terms of campaigns to help find new customers for brands. With the cost of advertising gradually increasing, brands should aim to focus their media spend on capturing these new customers whilst leveraging their owned channels like Email and Organic Search to help drive retention.
• Creative, Creative, Creative: This has been the biggest topic of conversation over the last year, with channels like Meta and Google leaning heavily into creative performance. Creative is the new targeting, by providing paid channels diversified creative and by leveraging Meta, Google and TikTok’s algorithms, you will be able to show your ads with greater relevancy and reach.
• Don’t Neglect AU/NZ: If 2025 has taught us anything so far this year, it’s that nothing is certain. Last year, a lot of brands here in AU looked to the US as a great opportunity to grow (still is!); however, over the past couple of months, we have seen the impact of tariffs on a oflot brands and manufacturers across the world. This has meant that a lot of businesses and brands have had to pivot and change strategies at rates rarely seen. This is no bad thing, though. I still believe that there is a lot of opportunity for most brands domestically, with the AU consumer supporting AU brands and businesses. Marketers and Brands should use the uncertainty overseas as an opportunity to reassess AU performance to see if there are any opportunities to grow further, both here and in NZ.

What are you most looking forward to in the coming months?
Internally, we have lots of exciting things coming up. As we come to the end of the Financial Year, we are starting to talk about all the new resources and opportunities at our disposal to help drive performance.

There is also something very exciting coming up at the start of Q3 for both TTA and our clients. Watch this space.