Employee Spotlight: Kelly McMahon

As we wrap up the year, we’re excited to share our final Employee Spotlight—where we shine a light on one of our talented team members and offer a glimpse into what makes them tick.

This month, we sat down with Kelly McMahon, our Network Partnership Manager here at Publisher Collective.

Keep reading to learn more about Kelly’s role, her journey through the gaming industry, and the passion and perseverance that drive her every day 🎮✨.

1. Starting with your role, what does a typical day look like for you here?

It usually starts with the standard admin work— checking and replying to emails, drafting up contracts, helping publishers with optimization strategies, and planning time for any deep dives I need to do. I never want to rush anything, especially when it comes to partner revenue estimates. If it’s not a meeting-heavy day, I’ll spend an hour or two scouting the internet for sites and saving anything promising. The following week, I reach out to those sites and let them know what we can offer. For example, if a particular video game is launching, I’ll look for sites focused on that game and contact them. I feel confident doing so because I genuinely play these games myself.

‍

2. What’s your favourite part of your role and why?

Because I’m in the gaming niche, it’s honestly just really nice talking to other gamers. Even when we’ve onboarded publishers and handed them over to AdOps, I still enjoy catching up and chatting with them about games. For instance, I’m currently talking to a publisher who specializes in Pokémon cards, and we ended up chatting about whether they’d ever consider branching into K-pop cards.

‍‍

3. How has your career path evolved? Was this industry always the goal or has it been a journey?

I’ve always been in the gaming industry. My background is in building gaming arenas and community spaces. Before this role I had no advertising experience, but when I came across it, I realised my gaming background and customer-facing experience fit really well. It wasn’t something I expected to end up in, but it’s been really beneficial because ads are everywhere, so understanding what ads can do for publishers is incredibly valuable.

‍

4. Who or what inspires you professionally, or in general?

I’m really inspired by people who push themselves to grow. One great example is someone I used to work with who came from a retail background, decided to learn coding, and eventually became one of the company’s developers. English wasn’t even her first language, yet she jumped into a completely new industry and mastered it.

I also knew someone who completed a marketing degree while working full-time, which I found really motivating. It’s those people around me who achieve all these things outside of work that really inspire me to better myself and take courses to learn new skills.

‍

5. Is there a skill, habit, or mindset that’s helped you succeed in your role?

There are times when this role can be really slow-moving because you might reach out to publishers and never hear back. It’s just the nature of the job. What helps me is being transparent, open, and never pushy when building relationships with publishers. That mindset goes a long way.

‍

6. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone considering a career in your field?

Don’t be afraid of failure. You’ll get a lot of “no’s” before you get a “yes,” so persistence is key. Being enthusiastic about learning is also a huge plus. The more you understand about, say, the adtech industry as a whole, the more confident you’ll feel having those conversations.

‍

7. If you could describe your team in three words, what would they be?

Hardworking. Supportive. Collaborative.

‍

8. If you could trade jobs with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?

Within Publisher Collective, I’d love to try working with the marketing team, especially on event planning. I’d enjoy helping organize everything. Outside of Publisher Collective, I’d still choose event planning. I used to help organise events and loved the buzz: being around people who share your passion, making sure speakers arrive on time, keeping everything running smoothly. It just suits my personality.

‍

9. What personal accomplishment are you most proud of?

My personal growth. In my previous job, I juggled so many responsibilities across operations and social events without any formal training. Then, coming into this role with no adtech experience, I felt like I constantly needed validation to be sure I was doing things right.

Taking coding courses and learning the more technical side of the industry really changed that. It gave me the confidence to grow into my role and trust both what I’m doing and what I’m saying.

‍

10. What would your perfect weekend look like?

I’d ease into the weekend with a chill movie night on Friday. On Saturday, I like getting out early and getting things done so I can enjoy my evening. This Saturday we’re actually going to a festival, then treating ourselves to brunch, and later heading to a friend’s place for card games. Sunday is usually a nice walk and then spending the rest of the day reading and enjoying some “me” time.

‍

‍