5 Minutes with… Tara Ford

“No guts; no glory”, says Tara Ford when asked what’s her life motto. It’s a simple statement that hints at a driven woman who goes for what she wants, with success in mind. LBB last caught up with Tara in her role as ECD at DDB Sydney. Fast-forward three years and we speak to this fired-up mother of four boys in her new role as CCO at The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song.

Tara shares that the best advice she was given when she moved into a leadership role was to “make a decision, and if that’s not right, just make another decision”. “That was very liberating at the time,” says Tara. Making confident decisions and important delegations have certainly been pivotal in keeping aspects of her life organised and productive as well as focused on creating award-winning works. 

“I have always taken chances to push outside my comfort zone and into the unknown. There really isn’t any point being mild in this business, or in life,” affirms Tara. True to her conviction, she has blazed through an amazing four-year tenure at DDB Sydney where she has gone from ECD to CCO and picked up well-deserved accolades and awards. 

Raising her family on top of her career has meant testing her limits.  “I have won a few awards, but ‘Mother of the Year’ isn’t one of them! It’s getting easier now that my children are getting older. I can honestly say that I don’t quite know how I did it when they were all small. I can’t remember sitting down much. It was either ‘go’ or ‘sleep’ (and not much of that). When your limits are tested, it’s surprising what you’re capable of. I always loved what I was doing, so that helps bring the energy and motivation. The thrill of talking about great ideas never gets old,” says Tara.

Recounting the highlights of her career, Tara cites winning her first Grand Prix at Cannes for ANZ Bank’s GAYTM campaign as one of the turning points. “It was a campaign and cause that I passionately believed in and I had poured heart into it for many months,” says Tara.

“Also, being promoted to CD, to ECD and then to CCO; these are all steps to a dream come true. I hadn’t personally been exposed to such recognition as a woman before, so it had another layer of electricity for me.”

Working at The Monkeys, Tara is excited about working with “some of the smartest people in the industry, both here and globally in our Accenture Song network”. “We are at an exciting time in the industry. So, I like to think the best is yet to come,” asserts Tara.

LBB> From ECD to CCO, how have you seen your responsibilities evolve and how does that influence your perspectives as a creative?

Tara> As CCO, it’s very important to be able to see the bigger picture and anticipate what’s coming. It’s about the business as a whole. It’s still about the creative but also very much about the people. Making sure the environment is right for an amazing group of creatives to flourish. Setting the vision and direction for them to head. And protecting them from things they don’t need to know.

LBB> As an experienced judge at major award shows, what do you expect to see of submitted entries? What do you like and what don’t you like?

Tara> On a basic level, I love to see innovative, original ideas beautifully crafted. But I also look for relevance, not only for the brand but also to the people it’s made for. Does the world really need this? Do people really want it? Will it make their lives better and move things on? Is the problem real? I don’t like to see work that claims it’s solving a problem that doesn’t exist or nobody really cares about.

Of course, sometimes a piece of work simply entertains, and that’s great too. Because the world could do with more of that. And a laugh in the jury room is always a welcome relief. 

LBB> With the hindsight of your experience, what advice do you have for young creatives? How do you think future talents can be better nurtured?

Tara> Be unreasonable in your thinking, energy and actions. Go further than anyone else. 

I love to see the point of view of young creatives; how they look at their world and think about what could be done better or differently. Things don’t have to be how they’ve always been. The idea is still just as important as it always was, but the delivery and output feels more expansive than it ever was. Future talents need to be given the time and space to collaborate and let their voice develop and unfurl. I try to give them the widest canvas possible for them to apply their problem solving and creativity. 

LBB> What does the Equality: Our Final Frontier campaign for UN Women mean to you? 

Tara> I am passionate about this. I’ve spent much of my career fighting for equality and trying to support the many great women around me. It’s disheartening to know that we are still so far away from reaching gender equality.

As mentioned before, I have sons, and closing the gender gap will absolutely mean a better world for them too. Equality benefits everyone so it’s important for entire generations to come.

LBB> How did the idea come about?

Tara> We’ve talked about the timeline to reach equality before, and Australia’s complacency towards issues that matter being a barrier to making change. When we talked about how people would be living on Mars before we would have equality, we were all chilled at the thought. 

It gave us such a visceral feeling that we knew we were onto something. We then researched all the innovations that are predicted to be a reality before gender equality.

Putting such innovations on a timeline, along with the projection for gender equality, told the story of the absurdity of the situation. And importantly, shows where our focus should be. 

LBB> What kind of projects gets you excited?

Tara> The ones I’m not quite sure how we’re going to pull off. 

LBB> Looking forward, what are the exciting projects we can expect from The Monkeys?

Tara> We are looking at some projects that break categories and utilise the capabilities of Accenture Song. Which is the perfect mix of creativity, data and technology. 

LBB> Creatively, what is important in order for one to continue growing, improving and evolving?

Tara> Know that you don’t know what you don’t know. Ask questions. Collaborate with people outside your ‘tribe’. Get outside your comfort zone. Don’t keep repeating yourself. Have an open mind. Ask some more questions