September 15, 2021
Billie Media’s dynamic duos
In this week's Dynamic Duos, co-founders of New Zealand based specialist outdoor media agency, Billie Media, Ben Poole and Rohan Prasad, share how a few chance meetings brought the pair together, eventually leaving their roles at JCDecaux to take a leap of faith and start up Billie Media, whose client portfolio is now made of 80% of Australian brands to date.
In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two members of the same organisation with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.
Ben Poole: I first met Rohan in a classic Kiwi way – knowing someone, who knows someone’s friend’s sister’s friend… It wasn’t quite like that, but a mutual friend of ours organised a group of school and university friends to head down to the magical Marlborough Sounds for New Year’s Eve.
I vividly remember meeting Ro. We (the university friend group) arrived later in the day and first laid eyes on the ‘other’ school friends. There’s always a little bit of tension when the ‘new’ friends meet the ‘old’ ones, but it was like Ro and I had been mates for years right off the bat.
I could tell he was a bit of a larrikin and very confident, but equally welcoming. We spent five or so days together as a group, fishing, swimming, drinking plenty of light beers, and finding ridiculous ways to fill our time. So as a first meet and greet, it was a bit of a dream start. As all summer bromances go though, it had to come to an end, and we parted ways for a number of years.
Fast forward a few years and we both ended up working in the media industry and eventually sitting next to each other at JCDecaux in Auckland. It was this three year period working together that really set the foundation for us going into business together.
We’ve spent a weird amount of time together, to the point where both of our partners often felt like third wheels, but I quickly learnt that Ro was someone who was always thinking about the future and what’s next. He is enthusiastic, exceptionally loyal, and as much as I hate to say it, I do find him one the funniest people I have met. Although some days he does have a lower strike rate then others.
The past 11 months (and counting) of forging Billie Media together has done nothing but cement my view that going into business with your mate can work. In the early days when we were discussing the potential of what an outdoor media specialist agency in New Zealand looked like, Ro was a driving force and believed in the demand for an agency like that. And as we’re about to hit our one year business anniversary in September, it’s one of the many reasons I’m thankful for a mate and business partner like Ro.
Rohan Prasad: I met Ben through one of my oldest friends who invited a group of us down to spend New Year’s Eve in the Marlborough Sounds. If I’m being honest, I didn’t instantly warm to the guy because he came across as over-confident and was friends with everyone instantly. That was until a friend who I was with pointed out I am exactly like that too.
Years later, after many run-ins working in the media industry, I started at JCDecaux, sitting within a stone’s throw of Ben.
From that moment on, we learned that there wasn’t much we didn’t have in common. And what we didn’t have in common we were always interested in hearing more about.
That common ground has undoubtedly helped us get Billie Media to where it is today. If we run into conflict or disagreements, we always know how to tackle it with each other. That has meant there’s been no resentment that gets in the way, ensuring whatever work we produce has the best of both of us.
I’ll put my hand up and admit that I was definitely more blasé about leaving a good job to give Billie Media a go and I wasn’t really thinking of the risk that comes with launching a media business.
Despite my initial thoughts about Ben in the old days, I’ve learnt that he’s extremely humble. He was in a much more senior position and had a lot more to lose from leaving his role. He could easily have taken his pick of jobs at another media specialist or set his sights on a dream international role. Instead, he chose to take a leap of faith with me to launch New Zealand’s first outdoor media agency. But here we are – nearly 12 months in operation with 17 clients, 39 campaigns in New Zealand and in major international markets, with a whole lot more to come.
Ben on Rohan:
Most memorable moment with Rohan: Landing our first ever client and major campaign with iconic New Zealand fashion brand, Maggie Marilyn, and delivering the sustainable fashion label multiple outdoor campaigns across New Zealand, Australia, and New York.
Describe Rohan in one word: Enthusiastic.
Rohan’s most annoying habit or endearing behaviour: Ro has a brilliant ability to make people laugh and alleviate stress and tension from situations. The experience of building Billie Media together is a heck of a lot more enjoyable thanks to him.
Rohan on Ben:
Most memorable moment with Ben: We’d just launched Billie Media, which happened to be in the middle of a lockdown in New Zealand last September, and we were going through the process of zoom presentation after zoom presentation, letting prospective clients know about Billie Media. We presented our concept to a potential client based in Australia, who said they might have some work for us in three months time. Later that evening, the same client called and invited us to respond to two live briefs with a two-day turnaround for both! That’s a moment I’ll never forget. There was an overwhelming feeling of ‘we’re really doing this – Billie Media is taking off’!
Describe Ben in one word: Polished.
Ben’s most annoying habit or endearing behaviour: This is going to sound cliché, but Ben is a perfectionist. The amount of time he spends on adjusting the orientation of the logo on a presentation would be mind-boggling to most people.
