Becky Own is a renowned expert in creator marketing, boasting an impressive career spanning over a decade. Her expertise and dedication have led her to work with prestigious organisations such as Disney, Meta, and her current role as CMO at Billion Dollar Boy. Throughout her career, Becky has been at the forefront of advising some of the world’s most iconic brands, guiding them in the development of innovative strategies and overseeing teams to produce exceptional work.

Becky played a pivotal role in shaping the future of creator marketing across Meta’s diverse platforms as the Head of Creator Marketing for Meta EMEA. Her responsibilities included exploring the multifaceted roles of partnerships, from emerging talent to celebrities, all the way to the realm of Virtual Reality. Beyond her corporate achievements, Becky is a recognized thought leader in the industry. She is a regular guest speaker and consultant for the University of Oxford’s prestigious MBA program, where she imparts her invaluable insights and expertise to future business leaders.

Becky’s impact on the creator marketing landscape has not gone unnoticed. She is frequently acknowledged as a trailblazer, earning a place on esteemed lists recognizing her significant contributions. Her expertise even extends to national television, where she has been invited to share her valuable insights with a wider audience.

1. What was your first job in the industry? What did it teach you?

My first job was an account executive at a company called Go Viral, which is the first days of brands going viral on social media. It inspired me to focus on the impact social
media can have on the world.

2. What’s a creative risk you took recently? How did it turn out?

We have been experimenting in the world of generative AI and we took a risk on this unknown way of making content to better understand it internally – and then how we could apply it to our global client base of leading brands. We had some interesting failures but that was why we set up the experimentation – to understand how it works. The team worked really fast to learn and create the right creative assets. Luckily, we had some amazing brands that went on that journey with us and you’ll see the work very soon!

3. What project are you most proud to have worked on?

The project I’m most proud to have worked on here at Billion Dollar Boy has been our in-house innovation unit, which explores emerging technologies and the impact on the creator economy – starting with AI. I’m proud to have worked on the project as we brought a group of really curious people together who want to learn and experiment, and build with the integrity of knowledge, as opposed to rushing to be part of a hype. And so that’s been incredibly rewarding, because we’ve produced great work and the insight that we’ve gathered has been seismic.

4. What’s the best part of your job? What’s the most challenging?

The best part and the most challenging is probably the same thing. The best part is looking at how the business is growing from a global perspective because you get to see it evolve differently depending on the market you’re operating in. However, that’s also the most challenging because it’s different in every market. You have to adapt strategies, approaches and considerations for each market, which makes it difficult.

5. What do you look forward to most as a new Judging Council member?

I look forward to expanding my knowledge and breadth of this industry when judging. I find it very inspiring to see what’s going on in the industry in terms of award-winning work and I’m really looking forward to seeing work from different types of disciplines.

6. How do you unwind from work mode?

Recently, I purchased an acupressure mat, which is a bed of plastic needles that helps stimulate your body to relieve fatigue, muscle tension, and stress. It’s effective within 10 minutes!

7. How do you stay up-to-date in your industry?

I’m incredibly fortunate that Billion Dollar Boy has lots of systems that enable us to stay up to date with industry news. We have a Monday morning team meeting where we share the major headlines and a strategy team that offers the latest industry insights. In addition, because my team is responsible for the agency’s PR, by the very nature of this role, I find it easy to stay up to date because we’re in the heartbeat of it
all.

8. What inspired you to join the field and create the kind of work you do?

I joined the field of creator marketing around 14 years ago because it was new and felt like something that I could connect with as a consumer of that content, unlike the work I’d been doing previously. I’m inspired to create the work I do because it constantly evolves and changes, meaning we can be daring, be explorers and innovate.

9. When did you realize your worth?

I’m dyslexic and throughout school I often struggled as a result, because I faced many of the negative perceptions that come with it – like laziness for example. So when the University of Oxford asked me to be a regular speaker and subject matter expert, it was an incredible moment. At a professional level it was an amazing achievement – and personally to go from feeling unseen academically to being embraced by this academic powerhouse was a huge moment!

10. What’s a work tool you use every day and what’s one that is obsolete that you wish still existed?

I love Google Docs because I can immediately collaborate with my team – no matter where they are in the world and the timezone they’re in. The obsolete tool I wish still existed is the Blackberry keyboard because the speed at which I could fire out emails is unmatched by any of the phones today!