Nic Owen, managing director of 72andSunny in Amsterdam, reflects on the importance of trying to think like a consumer – and talking too much about cats and Game of Throne.

What have been the most notable changes in the advertising industry since your career began?

The biggest thing now is that the ‘launch’ is just the start. It used to be head down the boozer when the ad played out; now you are able to monitor how the idea is playing out socially and identify what needs tweaking. I think it’s more fun today. Every campaign is like a political campaign – we can shift, nudge and improve things in real time. We can make stuff better live.

What has been the biggest challenge of your career?

Doing what we’re doing now at 72andSunny Amsterdam. We’ve been going three years, so we’re still a start-up. We’ve worked with some great clients – Benetton, Google, Samsung and Diageo to name a few, and have created famous, effective work, but the hardest thing is to keep the momentum going while growing at pace. We are committed to inspiring and developing our people and protecting our culture first and foremost – everything else is secondary.

How would you describe your leadership style?

I’ve been lucky enough to have never had a bad boss and I’ve learnt something from all of them. I try to be passionate, inspiring and protective. I think you enter into an unspoken contract with the people you work with – they work hard for you, so you work hard for them. Hopefully I do that. Although I probably bang on about my cats and Game of Thrones a bit too much.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your career?

On my first day of working life, Richard Alford at M&C Saatchi told me that from that day on, my knowledge of advertising would diminish because I’d start to care about it more than consumers do. We should always think deeply and yet always remember our initial reaction. What will consumers feel in a fleeting second? Will our stuff make a visceral connection? Never stop thinking like a consumer who has too much on to study our marketing. Unless we hook them early, they’re gone.

What advice would you give to people starting out in the industry?

Be excited and passionate about it. Love the people you work with, love your brands, love learning a craft, love getting pizza for people, love breakthroughs and dumb conversations at 3am, love making things better together, love doing, love making, love your mum telling you she loves what you made. If you don’t absolutely love it, do something else, because it’s pretty hard work. And don’t be an asshole!

What are clients looking for in their advertising and media solutions in 2014?

Effectiveness and efficiency. As they always have. The great thing being that we can deliver these two things more powerfully than ever through creativity and innovation. Simply, really great stuff works and is rarely the most expensive way in. What a brilliant time to be in this industry.

If you could pick one media platform that currently offers the greatest potential, which would it be and why?

The internet on a phone. And it’s ability to make you laugh and buy things at the same time.

Facebook and Twitter are currently driving a very healthy ad market on mobile, is 2014 finally the year of the mobile? Are clients finally taking advantage of its offerings?

Hopefully. We are doing crazily intuitive and useful things with mobile banners in partnership with Google. Context is absolutely king.

What are your passions outside of work?

Cats and Game of Thrones.

What’s the most exciting thing about being in the advertising industry today?

Hanging out and learning from great people. Old heads giving you sage advice, young turks telling you how it is, and very often, a flip of the above.