CB Hot Suit Takes: Paul Den, Co-Founder, Banter
CB Hot Suit Takes is our new Q&A series for extremely busy CEOs and senior leaders across the industry ~ covering careers, creativity, challenges and the song that sums it all up. Next in the hot seat is Paul Den, Co-Founder, Banter.
1. What made you get into advertising?
For some bizarre reason, I was drawn to advertising from a really young age. So much so that I vividly remember desperately wanting a pair of Royal Elastics as a teenager. One day in Year 10, while I was supposed to be paying attention in class, I got distracted and started writing a script for an ad about these shoes I so badly wanted. At the time, I think I genuinely believed they were the key to being cool. Spoiler alert: they weren’t. Ha. A few years later, I went to see a career advisor and she told me I should work in advertising. Weirdly, the rest was history.
2. Which piece of work are you most proud of, and why?
Qantas Flight Mode.
We were briefed by Qantas and Tourism Tasmania to help promote Tasmania’s Western Wilds. So we took three well-known Aussies in Xavier Rudd, Taj Burrow and Marny Kennedy and challenged them to holiday without their phones. We called it Flight Mode.
The content rolled out across social, digital and in-flight, and absolutely worked its butt off. For me personally, it was a real highlight. Not just being on the shoot, but actually watching the talent properly commit to the experiment. I was paranoid they’d secretly sneak a few scrolls here and there, but they genuinely switched off and embraced it. You could actually see the difference in them by the end of the trip.
3. What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role right now?
Every challenge feels like an opportunity to me. Right now, the biggest one is making sure people see us for who we are today, not who we were 10 years ago when we first started. Banter has grown into a genuinely integrated agency across experiential and events, sponsorships and partnerships, content and social, innovation and digital, plus PR and media relations. But more importantly, it’s all connected by a framework that’s genuinely interested in culture, people and how brands show up in the world in a more meaningful way. For me, the challenge is making sure we don’t miss out on opportunities simply because people have an outdated perception of what we do.
4. What’s the most recent thing you’ve learned – professionally or personally?
How to change a nappy ridiculously quickly, with minimal chance of leaks. If you ask my beautiful wife, she’ll tell you it’s been a journey and there’s still the occasional mishap. But with my daughter turning one shortly, it’s funny the random life skills you suddenly become weirdly passionate about mastering.
5. What song best sums up your career so far?
I’m going to be a bit cliché here and say Started From the Bottom by Drake.
About 20 years ago, I walked into an office wearing a suit that was genuinely about three sizes too big for me. I got interviewed by the legendary Justin Ladmore, who I still think took a little bit of pity on me and hired me. Three months later, I almost didn’t pass probation. Then about nine months after that, I ate a massive tablespoon of rock salt in front of a room full of News Corp execs because I thought it was some sort of crispy rice (I was clearly a sheltered kid). Look at me now, Mum. Ha.
But honestly, I think the song resonates because it reminds you that where you start and where you end up can be wildly different things.
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