What's your story?

Kia ora, I’m Ella! I was born in Christchurch (go the mighty Crusaders!), but I grew up in the sunny Wairarapa – just one winding hill away from Wellington.

I’m low-key a bit of a nerd, with a passion for art history, feminism, true crime, and The Sims franchise. However, art is the essence of my being. I grew up surrounded by family who are all incredibly talented artists in their own way and was lucky enough to not be half bad myself when a paint brush is put in my hand.

Initially, I started University in 2020 studying towards a Bachelor of Design, but I decided a Bachelor of Commerce was more my scene and ended up majoring in Marketing and minoring in Art History.

Then, I ended up here at Hemisphere! While I’m not playing around with the paint brush in Adobe Illustrator or editing away in Photoshop like I had initially planned, I get to put my creative energy into building impactful media schedules and researching the most effective ways to reach people, something I find much more rewarding.

What are you most passionate about outside the office?

Is it bad if I say shopping? I’m a bit of a fashion nerd and love finding new pieces to add to my wardrobe. However, I’m all about shopping sustainably and I’m a sucker for high quality, New Zealand and Australian designer pieces. You’ll almost always catch me in something Ruby, Caitlin Crisp, or Kowtow, whether I buy new or second hand. I do love shopping smartly and am the queen of finding dresses that would cost $400 brand new, for $50 second hand!

Describe yourself in three words.

Bubbly, creative, and inquisitive!

What do you love most about working at Hemisphere?

The people. Not only the one’s I work with in the office, but everyone I work with on a day-to-day basis. Working in media I get to interact with a whole range of people, whether that be clients, suppliers or people from other agencies. It’s great getting the chance to build strong relationships and speak with so many different people from a range of backgrounds.

However, it’s the in-office vibes that make coming to work every day all the more enjoyable. My coworkers have become some of my closest friends which is incredibly special, and you can usually find a few of us down at the pub all together on a Friday night. A highlight was going up to Auckland and experiencing Laneway with some of the crew. How many jobs can you say you’ve made friends for life?

What has been your favourite project at Hemisphere so far?

FamilyBoost is my baby. This was the first big project I took charge of less than six months into me starting at Hemisphere as a recent graduate. It’s shown me how the influence of real world challenges can shift a campaign, and that the process is not linear. This campaign developed significantly over a year, and this meant learning how to quickly adapt to changes and delivering a strong line of communication with the client.

What's your office catchphrase?

Um, Katrina… *insert question here*

It’s no secret that Katrina is an amazing leader of the media team. She is incredibly smart, and her years of experience means she has a totally different way of seeing things than I might. I appreciate that when I do need support, a different perspective, or it’s just one of those moments you’ve been staring at a data report for too long and the numbers start to go blurry, that I know she is always there to lend a helping hand.