Morgan Browne

Social and Content Manager – IAG

Bachelor of Communication 2013

I’m forever grateful for my studies at Massey. I chose a Bachelor of Communication because I was excited about the broad prospects and opportunities in communications. Knowing I could enter the world of Public Relations, Advertising or Journalism (just to start!) gave me hope for a diverse career that would enable me to flex my love of people and creativity with business acumen.

Massey had a well-rounded approach to teaching communications in totality, unlike other institutions which seemed very niche. Covid-19’s impact on certain industries has taught us that having a wide, broad skillset is always beneficial. The theoretical elements to Massey’s learning combined with the real-world case studies and projects made me excited for a thorough overview, where I could then decide how to focus my career after exploring all the possibilities in communications. I’ll never forget my open day in 2009 where I got to have a go at news reading in a news anchor set up – this gave a great overview of the opportunities that would arise.

The study experience at Massey was full of absolute highs for me. I made friends who’re now like family, I still keep in touch with some of my lecturers, and I felt I had a great work/life balance in relation to study. The Wellington campus was perfect for this work/life balance, with a great library, gym, good value eating spots and quiet areas to study. I particularly and genuinely loved the challenges presented by the outstanding lecturers. Getting challenged opened up my perspective, allowing me to grow my experience and apply a wide worldview to the application of work and study. The business world beyond study is full of interpersonal moments, and Massey gave tangible, practical experiences to allow me to arrive ready for the corporate environment, such as group assignments on presentations, how to give constructive feedback, and how to critically examine your own work and others’.

I was fortunate to be a recipient of a Massey Captains’ Club scholarship, which gave me great leadership opportunities that I couldn’t get elsewhere. In my creative papers, we did theatre performances, which I poured all my time into and loved (how many people can say they acted out scenes about Oedipus?!) because they were so fun. Skills from drama papers will help any grad to be confident and able to present and talk to anyone in any workplace, or when working with talent in advertising or film, and the literature/writing papers will set any grad up for future success with reports, writing radio, TV or social media copy, or press releases. These courses provide unique, personal skills, and from my perspective as both an employee and a previous employer, these skills are harder to teach in the workplace. So grads who come ready to go, with cultural, interpersonal skills and a strong grasp of written and verbal communication, have a real advantage. Trust me – you have no idea how much enhancing your written and verbal skills lends itself to workplace success, even if your workplace is corporate and seems far removed from drama and literature.

In Media Studies, I made short films, interviewed interesting people, and made lifelong friends. A broad Media Studies approach proved really useful to my career too, as I had looked at media in all forms. As my career moved to specialise in social and digital media, the context of the broad Media Studies knowledge I gained was really helpful.

I was actively involved in the student magazine Massive, initially as a casual writer, to then being appointed a campus reporter, then moving to Wellington as the editor full time. Massey provided great extracurricular activities and opportunities if you were open to putting yourself out there and trying them!

After graduating I worked, initially, for the students of Massey as the Massive editor. This gave me a good overview of balancing journalism with the business acumen needed to run a successful magazine. From there, I decided that I loved the creativity of advertising and wanted to work in brand and communications. I’ve enjoyed roles in the marketing teams at Spark, Kiwi Property (NZ’s largest-listed property company), and 2degrees, where I managed social and digital media for six years.

After 2degrees, I lived and worked in London at O2 and Virgin Media. I got to oversee a partnership with Love Island UK, work with England Rugby on the Rugby World Cup in France, worked on a campaign with Dua Lipa, and more. Some highlights included being a judge in the global Social Media Buzz Awards for The Drum, and a speaker at AdWeek Europe Social Media Week. I’m now managing the social and content team at IAG, New Zealand and Australia’s largest general insurer.

I'm also passionate about supporting non-profits and small businesses and volunteer my time to help them grow their communication achievements. I’ve been a judge for New Zealand Youth Week, a subsidiary of the New Zealander of the Year Awards, recognising the achievements of extraordinary young people.

Social and digital advertising is always changing, which presents exciting opportunities to grow and adapt the knowledge that comes with this. I hope to continue working with businesses whose values align with mine, are community minded, purpose-driven and meaningful. Working in companies that put humans first will always be my goal and exploring new ways to give back to my community alongside my career and my ever-growing skills will be too.