Five things I learned in my first five years at Open Media

September marks Fiona Ravlic’s fifth anniversary at Open Media. Here, the chief revenue officer looks back at her decision to join CEO Mike Smith at Open and her first five years in the business, explaining five valuable lessons she has learned during this period.

(L) The Open Media team in 2019 and (R), the current Open Media staff in 2024.

1. Believe in yourself and your business

Belief has been a recurring theme across the last five years, from Mike Smith (CEO) believing I could do a job for him to me believing I could help grow his business. I was at a crossroads when I approached Mike, with the company I was working for in administration. I knew at that point I wanted to have a new challenge, but it had to be at the right business.

It was my belief that I could make a difference to Open Media in London where they had little presence, as their focus until I was appointed was purely regional. I also really believed in both the business and product, and this was the fundamental reason why I approached Mike about joining.

I always believe in the number I commit to deliver, and I know my team see that and follow my vision and believe in it too. Missing a target does not come into my mind, I don’t ever give that thought any of my energy. Since joining Open Media I have increased sales revenue in London by over 900% and grown the team from one person (me!) to a team of seven.

2. Trust is fundamental 

The OOH advertising industry is, and always will be, built on trust and relationships. When I started at Open Media in 2019, the company was not widely known in the London market. This, however, presented me with the ideal opportunity to use my relationships to build trust and grow spend.

The connections I had made during my media career meant my clients were extremely supportive of my move to Open Media, trusting in my vision quickly. I also used this time to develop a mutual trust between myself and the team at Open, improving our decision making and how we operate as a business across London and Liverpool. This trust underpins the business from top to bottom. I also need to trust the people in the business, and I always want my team to trust me and my decision making. Once someone in my team breaks my trust it’s impossible to come back from that.

It was a big job to increase the profile of Open Media while simultaneously asking clients to trust me in spending their OOH budget, but I always knew our people-first approach set us apart in a very competitive market. We invest in hiring the right people and retaining them and pride ourselves on the quality of our product and excellent customer service.

I also believe trust had a huge part to play in building my team at Open. Most worked for big OOH companies but trusted in me. Joining my team takes courage, but they believed in me and the business which meant they took the leap.

3. Be resilient

I have always been a very resilient person, and this has been part of my make-up from a very young age as I lost my mother when I was 15. This made me grow up overnight, but I also developed a very resilient streak.

I have never worked for big companies in OOH, but working for smaller players makes you hungrier and more resilient as it’s so much tougher to win business.

I joined Open Media in September 2019 and the first six months were great. I was finally in a role I enjoyed - and then the pandemic hit. I was devastated, especially as I had found a role and business that I loved. I went into survival mode because I wanted the business to get through this challenging time and I could see how many firms were making cuts.

The pandemic in hindsight was the making of Open as it allowed us to pivot and really think about what we wanted the business to be. There were weeks when we had zero billings - and they were dark days - but we remained very present with our clients (albeit virtually) and this meant if there was any OOH budget we knew about it and most of the time won the business. The drive to make sure we came out the other side of this was there from the outset with Mike and me.

4. Use the power of your network

Anyone who knows me, or has worked with me, knows how important my network is to me. I am lucky to have built an incredible network across the industry and I am very proud to be a member of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications), which is a vital support to me professionally and personally.

I am always telling people to grow their network. Have that coffee, go to that event, make those connections. In my previous role, I had no choice but to start looking for my next opportunity and my network was a big support for me. At the time, I was being mentored by a very successful leader and she really encouraged the move to Open Media.

My love of networking started in 2016, when I launched breakfast events for women working in OOH. The catalyst came after working with Sue Unerman (CSO, Brainlabs) and Kathryn Jacob (CEO, Pearl & Dean) on their book launch for The Glass Wall. I could see there was a big appetite for events to inspire women in OOH and media. OOH has always been a male-dominated industry and I wanted women - especially young women - to know they can be leaders in our sector. Almost a decade later, the breakfast initiative is still so popular and it is something I always look forward to hosting. I learn something new at every event, but they also offer superb networking opportunities. There is nothing better than helping people and connecting with like-minded businesspeople.

5. Enjoy it

We are at work for such a large chunk of our lives. So how great is it when you find something you really enjoy? It is honestly the best feeling to come to work every day at Open Media. I love the people, I love the job and we have so much fun.

I love being with my team in London and Liverpool, and it is the incredible people who make this business. In OOH, we always look forward, but it is also important to look back, reflect and celebrate how far we have come and how much we have achieved. That makes you appreciate how much more is to come, too.

My final thought and thank you must be for Mike, who took a huge risk in hiring me back in 2019. I know what a big decision it was for him. I emailed Mike not knowing him or anyone at Open Media and basically asked for a job. I still have the email and I am so thankful that I sent it. Mike is the best person I have ever worked for. He has such a strong vision and entrepreneurial spirit and always backs me when I need him to. I believe our partnership is one of the strongest in the market. We have each other’s backs, always. Mike is a wonderful person who has always supported me, and he is fiercely loyal. He also makes me laugh a lot and we have lots of fun. I am very lucky to have him in my life.

What an incredible five years I have had at Open Media and I am excited for the next five! Thank you to all of my clients and team for everything.