Vale Michele Elliott (1943-2012) – one of the true greats of Perth’s advertising and media industry

January 10 2013, 3:27 pm | BY Kim Shaw | 13 Comments

Michele Elliott_1.jpgOne of the greats of Perth media planning and buying, Michele Elliott passed away December 26, 2012.

Michele has lived in Koror, Palau, near son, Ymal Uludong, who also worked for many years in the Perth industry

Michele (pictured left standing with colleague Val Yeo in the early DMB&B Perth days) joined Dick Baynham & Friends when she first arrived in Perth in 1979, and spent quite a few years there before joining McCann-Erickson and then DMB&B. She then helped form Strategem with Robbie Stewart, John Gill and Warwick Barraclough. Then she had a break before starting Larsen Media which became The Media Shop in 1993. She left in 1995 and started Elliott House which later became AIS Elliott Matthews. Her next move was to Department Head and Senior Lecturer for advertising at the School of Communications at Edith Cowan University, Perth. She then retired and moved back to her home town in the USA.

She was a great supporter of the industry in Perth and helped train many of Perth’s media professionals. Campaign Brief remembers in the early 1980s her forming Mediation – a 10 week media buying and planning course – with Debra Neve, Steve Pretzel and Kim Chng. The first year of Mediation saw 120 students sign on for the course.

Dick and Mary Baynham were the first people in the industry to meet Michele when she came to Perth. Below is a personal account of Michele’s life written by Dick Baynham:

Back in 1979 our newly formed creative boutique had a vacancy for a media manager. When we couldn’t find anyone locally, we agreed to sponsor a young media planner from America sight unseen and a few months later Michele Elliott walked into our office.

 

Media planning in Perth took a big step forward that day and a few media reps found themselves taking a step back.

 

Michele didn’t suffer fools and at that time most people in advertising thought a ‘tarp’ was something on the back of a ute, but those who were up for it soon gained an education in accountability.

 

Like everyone else in the Western Australian advertising industry we gradually became aware of Michele’s early days.

 

Michele Elliott 2.jpgAfter being inspired by President John F Kennedy as a student she enrolled as a volunteer in the Peace Corps and was sent to Palau, which turned out to be a small collection of dots in the Pacific Ocean. It wasn’t long before she married a young local man and gave birth to their son Ymal, but shortly afterwards she chose to vary from the script of Blue Lagoon by moving back to the States with her son.

 

Back in America Ms Elliott segued into the advertising industry, rising through the ranks at three advertising agencies (Fessel, Seigfriedt & Moeller, Bandy Carol & Hellige) and a radio station in Cincinnati (WUBE). Shades of Mary Tyler Moore and like Mary, Michele proved to be a great role model.

 

This was the Mad Men days before the dawn of computers and it was here she learned her trade doing manual assessments on media plans using a math’s formula developed by Westinghouse to measure reach and frequency.

 

At this point Michele decided it was time for another adventure. Her mother was originally from Perth and still had family here, so Michele asked one of her Australian cousins to find her a sponsor and that is where we came in.

 

After many years with us (Baynham) she heard the siren call of the multinationals (McCann Erickson). Then she joined forces with Alan Matthews to form one of Western Australia’s first media buying companies (Elliott Matthews – now part of Aegis Media Australia), before branching out on her own as Elliott House where she worked with Ymal.

 

In her late fifties Michele wound down Elliot House and opted for another twist in the tale by joining the School of Communications at Edith Cowan University, where she was a Senior Lecturer and Department Head.

 

When her students were coming up for graduation everyone she knew in the industry would get a call from her to see if they needed trainees or had any vacancies. That was Michele. Committed, direct and hands on in making things happen to help people she cared about.

 

After retiring from advertising she left Perth and returned to her roots with her beloved dog Meg, in time to become part of the campaign that saw America elect its first black president, something that moved Michele greatly.

 

Never still, she got into real estate (Remax and Prudential) just as the bottom fell out of the American housing market. Her timing was lousy, but she loved being back in Kentucky, catching up with her family and friends, and seeing the seasons change.

 

After his mother’s departure Ymal went back to the islands of his birth to rediscover his own roots and he now lives there with his family.

 

The ties of motherhood and becoming a grandparent eventually proved too strong and in time Michele also returned to Palau.

 

When her friends heard that a hurricane was about to hit the islands we all worried about her, but it was just another adventure. Michele spent a night on the roof with her family and they all thankfully escaped unharmed.

 

Feeling unwell last year, Michele went for a health check in Koror the town she lived in on Palau and discovered she had advanced cancer.

 

After returning to the States for treatment Michele died on December 26, 2012. She was a week short of her 70th birthday.

 

There are not many people who are genuinely larger than life, but by universal agreement Michele Elliott was one of them. She was a strong independent woman who lived life to the full.

 

Those of us who had the privilege of knowing her will always treasure her friendship and miss her, but we know our lives are that much the better for having shared part of it with her.

 

Rest in peace Michele. The stories of your deeds will continue to be told and your legend will become even greater with the telling.

 

With much love.

Dick & Mary Baynham.