He’s been a familiar face in the local media and advertising industry for 25 years, more recently as co-owner of Dutch Media, but rather than head into early retirement, MICK RANDALL is putting his skills into a challenging new direction.
What’s your role at bordercafe.com.au?
It’s a Partnerships Manager role, where I not only look after the day to day advertising on the bordcafe.com.au platform, but look for opportunities to form editorial partnerships with local businesses, event organisers and tourism operators who I think can really benefit from what we’re offering.
We’ve already done some great work for La Dolce Vita Festival in the King Valley, helping get their message out, the Great Australian Beer Festival, Wodonga Racing Club, AlburyCBD and more recently Chryslers on the Murray who were really appreciative of what we were able to do to grow attendance at the event this year – editorial pieces, video stories and amplification on social media.
I’m enjoying working on a boutique site which has a loyal band of followers who really engage with and share our stories.
One of the things I’m also doing that’s close to my heart is helping out UMFC (Upper Murray Family Care) with their fundraising and community engagement. For an organisation that helps out so many families and children right here on our doorstep, it’s great to get the message out about the great work they do and help organise events to raise some funds.
What’s your background in the media industry?
I started out in the early 90’s in Shepparton with Ten Victoria which was part of the Southern Cross Broadcasting Group. I was then offered the North East Station Manager’s role for Southern Cross Ten in 1999 and remained with them until they merged with the Macquarie Group.
I spent some time in advertising sales at Prime7 before getting together with my good mate Benny Hollands at Dutch Media, where we were involved in offering the full gamut of services in media and marketing, design and production. Dutch Media continues to be a great success and I’m proud of what we achieved. I was there about eight years and was going to retire, so this is the shortest retirement on record.
Why were you tempted to stay in the media industry and become a partner with Border Cafe?
I’ve known Border Cafe founder and Editor Kylie King for probably going on 18 years now. We’ve had a good relationship and worked together on many projects.
I was inspired by what Kylie was putting together – a positive online media publication that you don’t have to pay a subscription for which has quality stories, photography and video, showcasing the best our region has to offer, with a real community focus.
It was a no brainer to come on board and help drive the success of this publication. It’s something I think Albury Wodonga really needs. It’s been a fantastic decision so far. I’m having fun, and retirement will have to wait a few more years yet!
To enquire about partnership or editorial opportunities contact Mick Randall: [email protected]
