Jules Hall: Industry leader of the year
Our Founder and CEO, Jules Hall, has been shortlisted for Mumbrella's Industry Leader of the Year.
The category is aimed at recognising leaders who have made a significant contribution to the industry over a number of years, consistently inspiring others and portraying the industry in a positive light.
Entering an award under his own name does not come naturally to Jules, his focus being resolutely on our clients and helping to grow their businesses, while making The Hallway a great place to work. It should be noted, the decision to enter this category was made under considerable pressure from our leadership team!
Having started The Hallway ten years ago, with a laptop and some borrowed office space, Jules has been a leading figure in Australia's independent agency scene over the last decade. He is also an active member of the Global Entrepreneur's Organisation, consistently delivering insight and leadership inspiration from outside the world of advertising and marketing.
Jules Hall at The Hallway's launch event in 2007
From the outset, his vision was simple: create Australia’s most valued communications company.
After only two years in business, The Hallway won two Cannes Lions for our campaign for Zuji Beans - with Jules celebrating the accolades "on his frickin' laptop in Bondi", proof that running your own agency isn't always that glamorous!
Since then, he has spoken at a multitude of conferences on topics ranging from mobile-first marketing to getting the best out of cross-functional marketing teams. He has contributed to research, most recently an ADMA White Paper on Marketing in an AI-First World. And he has helped the agency win business from brands like Google and ANZ. while picking up more awards (in person this time) for NSW Agency of the Year and the ADMA Grand Prix.
Jules Hall and business partner Simon Lee
Together with business partner, Simon Lee, Jules is a tireless campaigner for proving the value of intelligent data-driven marketing by linking all marketing initiatives back to our clients' business metrics, ensuring every piece of communication is created with a consistent brand tone around an organising creative idea.
His philosophy is that marketers need an agency who can "straddle the line between optimisation and creative thinking as programmatic and digital become dominant ways of engaging with consumers".
This approach to data-driven marketing has underpinned The Hallway's growth and the kind of people we hire. Speaking at ADMA's Digital Town Hall, Jules explained “It requires macro thinkers, but also micro thinking, and being able to think down to details, nuances and form factor. And you need to move very quickly”.
In addition to running The Hallway and sharing his experience and ideas with the industry at large, Jules regularly donates time and (considerable) energy to supporting charitable causes, including this weekend's White Lion Bailout and last year's MS Sydney to the Gong bike ride.
While it remains to be seen who will be awarded the ultimate prize on June 28th, it felt like we should make a bit of a fuss about the shortlisting. We are already tormenting Jules with threats to commission a life-size statue of him to be unveiled in Martin Place, while an aerial sign-writer takes to the skies to promote his campaign!
Needless to say, there will be no such self-promotion from Jules. So this will just have to do.
