Dial Up the Data: Up & Comer Vlad Petrovic

Vlad Petrovic

Crafting a cool customer experience is what Vlad Petrovic does well, and he does it with heaps of data. Mollie Edwards chats with this Up & Comer about why brands should be embracing data-driven tech to improve their marketing efforts.


Vlad Petrovic has always thrived on solving problems. He says there’s rarely a problem that can’t be solved with passion and half decent tech. A techie at heart, his passion for data and connecting brands with their customers has led him to his current role as a data and tech consultant at FCB. 

Following his Business Commerce studies at Auckland University, Petrovic was lucky enough to score an entry level role at a small digital agency as a project manager. It was in this role that he knew he was in the right industry. 

“I knew I was hooked when I saw my first click tracking report, and how ‘creepy’ it was. From there, it was just about building cool experiences for customers on shoestring budgets and trying to get invited to as many awards nights as possible,” Petrovic says.

Since taking up his role at FCB, he says it’s been great to be a part of a data-driven decision-making group who engage with personal insights with the aim to improve the overall customer experience. The massive advancements made within the tech space over recent years has, however, seen many brands playing catching up with technology. Petrovic says that although MarTech and AdTech have been around for years, businesses are now democratising data and undergoing digital transformations to leverage these tools accurately. 

With all of this data and technologies available to access even more data, he says that there is a need for companies to focus on data for a purpose as opposed to data for data’s sake. “Whether it’s change for the sake of it, or aggressive sales tactics from tech vendors, I feel like companies end up playing musical chairs with these enterprise platforms yet repeating the same mistakes that made them want to change in the first place.”

He adds that he’d like to see companies not fall into the trap of perfecting the accuracy of a data model that has long lost its relevancy. A lack of investment in usable internal data and tech resources has meant he has seen his fair share of neglected technology. A mistake Petrovic often sees being made, is companies who pay extreme amounts for access to the latest enterprising forms without fully utilising them. “Companies often integrate it with the rest of their tech stack and don’t use 90 percent of its features. A good rule of thumb would be to expect to spend at least twice as much on enablement, training, hiring resource as you do on licensing cost.”

As new and easy-to-use tech becomes more accessible, and an integral part of marketing teams, Petrovic suspects his role will soon be less about building tools and more about coaching teams on how to leverage them effectively. 

Personally, within the next 10-years, he sees himself either running a tiny agency or working as an independent consultant. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give up getting to work across different kind of businesses and meeting new people,” he admits.

Over the course of his three years at FCB, Petrovic says that he has worked with several memorable brands on incredible campaigns. His favourite being the Water Safety NZ’s Swim Reaper Campaign. “Using a predictive model, which would be traditionally used for something like ‘Customer Churn’, allowed the team to predict where and when drownings will occur,” he enthuses.

He adds that being involved with such important work, and the opportunity to work with different people across multiple businesses is what keeps his job exciting. “From a personal development perspective, I believe you accumulate experience faster through this kind of exposure.” 


This article was originally published in the June/July 2020 issue of NZ MarketingClick here to subscribe.

Mollie Edwards

About Mollie Edwards

Mollie Edwards writes across ICG business titles, NZ Marketing, StopPress and The Register.

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