24 Hours With… Carolyn Bollaci, managing director, APAC, at Innovid

Rise and Shine

7:00am: I wake up to my son tapping me on the head. When you have a six-year-old, there’s no need for an alarm. I pick up my journal on the nightstand to quickly jot down three gratitudes: my family, the time we get to spend together, and the fact that summer is coming.

I find my phone hidden under the pillow. It’s there in case I feel the sudden urge to email someone in the middle of the night or jot down a thought that has spontaneously entered my brain. I should really make the bedroom a no phone zone.

I quickly scroll through Instagram. ‘Tasty’ via Buzzfeed has a timelapse video of the perfect Thanksgiving dessert—a caramel apple upside-down cake!—which I heart. I’m hosting some American friends for Thanksgiving (so our son can appreciate U.S. traditions), and this recipe might be exactly what I need.

On to some market research. The current buzz by marketers on Twitter is over what effects HTML-5 will have on the industry. I share Innovid’s most recent blog post on the matter and head to the kitchen.

Family Time

7:30am: I have a Pac-Man pancake breakfast with my son, Teddy, and partner. We try to keep meals fun and healthy so, we add a nice sampling of mixed berries and have our Pac-Man pancakes attack them. We run a few lines for his upcoming school performance, which is a rendition of the new Trolls movie, before rushing out the door for school.

Phew, we’re not late. This week’s book for family reading session is Koala Lou, a classic. We pick a spot on the reading carpet near the window to take in some sunshine. 30 minutes in, I give my son a big hug followed by a whisper: “I love you,” before slipping out.

Morning Ritual

10:00am: I hop on the train where I’ll take an international call with Innovid’s New York City headquarters, working to catch my colleagues before the end of their day. I make sure not to get stuck in the Quiet Car.

On the call, we cover conversations we are having with some of our top accounts to ensure we are on the same page and providing a truly global approach to our servicing. We also talk through any product needs or feedback we’ve gotten in order to better our offerings and any upcoming announcements.

I can’t believe it has taken this long, but now it’s time for coffee! I’d like to say that I don’t NEED caffeine, but let’s be real, who doesn’t require a coffee in the morning? This is also my little treat before arriving to the office. I stop by my favourite local cafe on King Street and order a skim flat white.

The barista knows my name and my order, so it’s a quick stop. It’s been said that U.S. coffee is not as great as Australia’s, and although I’m American, I think this is absolutely true. Local cafe coffees in Australia are the best!

My Other Family

10:30am: The office is very energetic at the beginning of the day. Catching up with my Innofamily is always a highlight of my morning. We laugh over some funny ‘Mean Girls’ gifs and pick a Pandora station. I saw a great quote on Instagram last night that read: Throw on some gangster rap and handle it. Today, we are handling it!

We vote for the Kendrick Lamar station and crank it up. 

10:45am: I plan my schedule for the day – down to the minute to ensure I take a few breathers in between meetings. This week, I’m headed to Singapore for Spikes Asia—a festival of inspiration and celebration. I love hearing about new developments in places like China—this always helps get my creative juices flowing.

Jeez, there’s a lot to get done before I leave.

11:15am: I meet one-on-one with our new sales director, Alex, a Texan who does an insanely accurate imitation of Stewie from Family Guy that always makes us laugh. He only joined the team a month ago, but he’s already working on our pitch to launch an over-the-top (OTT) offering into the Australian market. It’s going to involve everything from certifications and testing with the main media owners and creating a go-to-market plan with demos and pricing.

It’s this drive and initiative that makes me confident in the future-proofing of the company, especially in APAC. We run through our action items and roll out a plan. No easy feat, especially for someone new, but I know he’s up for the task.

Sushi Stories

12:00pm Quick salmon nigiri for lunch. I’m usually eating on the run as I catch up with our country manager, Adam Natiq (he’s a machine!) and we’ve got a lot to cover with very little time. We always get a bit side-tracked swapping stories. Our children are around the same age so we share their latest shenanigans. One of his kids locked themselves in a bathroom and couldn’t get out!

Namaste

1:45pm: It’s Thursday. Our treasured yogi comes to the office two times per week to help us rebalance, unplug, and practice mindfulness—almost impossible when my desk is only 15 meters away!  I manage to clear my head and have a really great session. Still in zen mode, I catch a cab and review the agenda for my meeting with an agency in Surry Hills.

3:00pm: As I walk through the agency hallway, I offer hugs for the familiar faces and sort out time to have a drink with a past co-worker, Luke. Our meeting turns out to be long, but productive. We cover the best ways to incorporate interactive, programmatic creative (say that five times fast) into their current tech stack, then map out an actionable plan.

4:30pm: I hop in another cab, and text my partner to let him know when I’ll be home so we can coordinate what time we’ll sit down at the dinner table together.

By the time I get back to the office, I need to peel my staff away from their desks to have cocktails at the world famous Innobar. Four years strong, it’s a well-stocked bar within our office walls, complete with colourful marquee lights.

I grab a full-bodied red and start playing bartender for the team. Our client services coordinator is hiding at his desk. We perform a sneak attack, offering an old Tooheys. Then it’s time for a group toast after a long day.

7:00pm: Dinner with my family. Our au pair saved me the trouble of cooking and prepared a healthy meal for us of roasted brussel sprouts and salmon. Our son Teddy tells us about his newest role in the play at school. He’s been promoted from second townsperson to assistant mayor, a speaking role with a monologue.

Apparently, the drama today was that the student playing assistant mayor had to back out because he was too tall for the costume. What a way to win a promotion. We’ll take it though!

8:00pm: One-on-one QT with the boss, my son, continues. Bath games, bedtime stories, and then sleep for the kiddo. He lost a tooth at school, so he’s eager to fall asleep. “The Tooth Fairy won’t leave me anything if I’m awake,” he reminds me.

My partner and I have already agreed to what the Tooth Fairy should leave. Being the entrepreneur my son is, he’s aiming high at the $50 mark. In “USD” he clarifies, “not AUD”. Amazing. How does he know about exchange rates?! This kid is a sponge.

An Affair to Remember

9:00pm:  My partner and I attempt to binge watch Arrested Development on Netflix, but we can’t sit quiet for more than 10 minutes. We put our heads together and pull out our calendars. We schedule a date night, an outing to the Taronga Zoo, slate in time for Sculptures by the Sea, and plan which one of us will pick up our son from school each day next week.

We chit-chat about finalising the endless renovations on the house and when we might be able to take a trip to the U.S. and, perhaps Africa, next year. I know, we are so romantic with our calendars.

10:00pm: I spend the next hour or so reflecting on my day to get in the right headspace for tomorrow. Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?

Oh, Singapore tomorrow! I can’t believe I forgot. I gather the essentials. Passport, check. Tickets to conference, sorted. Business cards, I’ve got plenty. Workwear, a bit of a trick to plan as Singapore is sweltering this time of year. I go with layering pieces and call it a day. I delegate a few new responsibilities to my partner because of my planned travel.

Power Down

11:00pm: Shower, slip the phone under the blanket, head hits the pillow, and I’m out. Falling asleep was easy today.