Katya Obolensky admits that it’s difficult to pin down her background. Her accent is mostly English, for sure, but there’s a grain of something indefinable in there. Maybe American, maybe not. It’s a legacy, she says, of her peripatetic early life. In short, she was born in London – she has a British passport – but her parents moved to Bermuda when she was five. Another five years later she was in the US, where she got a green card.
“When I turned 18, I’d been in America for about eight years, and I wanted to go back to the UK. I always felt inherently a bit different. So that’s when I decided to go and study in Edinburgh.”
By the time her studies were over, her parents were living in New York – which is where she joined JWT. “I was always quite creative growing up, and advertising had a glamour to it. I met some people who worked in the industry and they always loved their jobs. There seemed to be a lot of dynamism and interesting, funny, clever people.”
She started “on the lowest rung”, as an account handler on Microsoft: “It basically meant booking people’s flights and delivering USB sticks to Seattle now and then.” Still, she felt it was a charmed life. “I was 21 years old in an office in midtown. I was able to throw my life and soul into it, which at the time you had to if you were going to succeed.”
A relationship brought her to London, initially working at M&C Saatchi. Now she’s briefly visiting London again, huddled in a coat despite being in an office, finding the city chilly after adjusting to life in Singapore. Yet London was a happy place for her – particularly VCCP, where she arrived ten years go. “I don’t know where the time has gone,” she admits.
Experience and rigour
She was attracted to VCCP – and one of its major clients, telecom brand O2 – because she wanted to progress. “I’d done a lot of international work, where I felt I was essentially delivering toolkits to various markets. You have very little idea whether a campaign has performed or moved the needle in those markets, so I felt quite divorced from the reality of the work. I wanted to work on something big, something British, something fast paced. O2 ticked all the boxes.”
It allowed her to dive deep into digital, social, retail – the entire spectrum. “From its birth, VCCP has always been about integrated work. We have a motto, ‘It only works if it all works’, which is about ensuring every touch point on the journey is working towards your goal. I wanted that rigour – and it was hard work. It was a rude awakening coming from my toolkit days, but it taught me so much.”
As you may have discerned, Katya actively seeks out challenges. After Covid, she was ready for a new one. “I’d been in London for 12 years at that point – the longest I’d lived anywhere in my entire life. Covid was definitely a catalyst. With my husband, we’d both been working from home and it took its toll. We were ready for an adventure. Since our kids were still pre-school age, there was a bit of a time limit, too.”
She told CEO Julian Douglas – Dougie, as he’s known – that she wanted to spread her wings. Hence Singapore. “I’d literally never stepped foot in Singapore before. So it was a bit mad that I decided, ‘Yeah, OK, I’ll give it a go.’ English is the universal language there, so at first it feels familiar.”
Until it doesn’t. “Because I’d worked in New York and London, I bundled Singapore into that mix – just another cosmopolitan city. But I was wrong. It’s been a humbling experience, because I was used to always knowing how things are done. Now I suddenly had to learn the nuances of a very strong culture from the people around me. It’s allowed me to critique myself in ways that I wouldn’t have been able to if I’d stayed in the UK.”
The pace of innovation
What are some major differences in the way advertising works there? “Most advertising here is digital, social, e-comm – which was a real adjustment because TV is still a big part of our business in the UK and the US.”
Although each APAC market varies, she’s impressed by the level of innovation. “Things we feel are innovative from a tech perspective in the UK are miles behind some of the things they’re doing in China, for example. The speed, the scale and the cost, it’s a whole different ballgame.”
Being a smaller agency compared to others in Singapore – VCCP has a 25-strong team there – has proved advantageous. “Singapore is a thriving hub for small businesses: there are a lot of startups, a lot of fintech and some really interesting creative companies. Often they don’t feel they have the budget for a big hold co or a five year retainer and they want better, nimbler, more effective alternative options which we are perfectly suited for.”
With the backing of London, VCCP can compete on quality as well as cost. “We can tap into behavioural science, into AI, into the breadth of expertise they’ve built up in London, at the drop of a hat. I know exactly who to call.”
Not that VCCP in Singapore intends to stay small. “We’re hugely ambitious. We want to grow our capabilities and explore more markets. That’s top of the agenda for 2025 – how do we get bigger in Asia?”
Local knowledge
By now it’s apparent that Katya has resources of energy that are not available to most of us. Alongside running the Singapore office, she’s currently doing an executive MBA at INSEAD. But there’s time for relaxation too. On LinkedIn I picked up a hint that she might be a bit of a foodie. Any restaurant tips for visitors? She mentions hawker culture – big Asian street food markets.
“But then I would have to take you for a Korean barbecue, because our office is very near Little Korea. There’s a place called Guiga on the end of our road and I don’t think I’ve ever eaten such delicious food.”
It feels typical of Katya to immerse herself in a new food experience. “That’s what I like. To try different things, different cultures, meet new people, work on new brands. I just love to learn.”
