CB Hot Suit Takes: Storm Day, CEO, Droga5 Aotearoa + NZ Lead, Accenture Song
CB Hot Suit Takes is our new Q&A series for extremely busy CEOs and senior leaders across the industry ~ covering careers, creativity, challenges and the song that sums it all up. Next in the hot seat is Storm Day, CEO, Droga5 Aotearoa + NZ Lead, Accenture Song.
1. What made you get into advertising?
I was in Form 3 at high school and went to a career’s expo. Justin Mowday was running the Saatchi & Saatchi booth, and honestly, he was impossible to ignore – loud and wildly enthusiastic. I walked in curious, and walked away hooked. The power of great marketing!
But what’s kept me here is the mix of creativity and problem-solving. I love the idea that you can take a commercial problem and approach it like a creative challenge, finding a way to make people actually care about it.
2. Which piece of work are you most proud of, and why?
It’s not a traditional advertising campaign, but in my younger days I was lucky enough to work on New Zealand Story when it was first formed. Working alongside Tourism New Zealand, Education New Zealand, and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, we helped create the first cohesive narrative for New Zealand, essentially a platform and growth engine that Kiwi brands could leverage internationally. What makes it special for me is that it was about shaping how a country shows up in the world. It wasn’t just a single campaign that ran, it became a long-term story and toolkit that exporters could tap into.
And now, I’m very proud of the work that our Droga5 team have done for Asahi Hard Rated. What better way to solve the brain drain? Launch Aussie’s top RTD drink right here in NZ.
3. What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role right now?
Helping brands close the gap between what they say and what they actually do for their customers. Through our Brand Experience Gap research, we spend a lot of time identifying the space between brand promise and real-world experience. That gap is often where the biggest creative opportunities sit, but it’s also where the hardest organisational challenges live. The real challenge isn’t just spotting the opportunity; it’s getting businesses to act on it. That means aligning leadership, marketing, product, experience around the promise so the work isn’t just a message, it’s something people can genuinely feel and experience.
Read more about the Brand Experience Gap in Day’s article here.
4. What’s the most recent thing you’ve learned – professionally?
That reinvention, supercharged by AI, is no longer something you can watch from the sidelines or pilot in one department. Organisations need to be moving now: defining their future North Star, reimagining the work, the workforce, and the workbench. It’s a genuinely exciting moment, but also one that needs careful stewardship. As Kiwis, we have a real duty of care to help people navigate the change.
5. What song best sums up your career so far?
Definitely ‘Once in a Lifetime’ by Talking Heads. The industry moves fast, things change constantly, and sometimes you look back and think, how did I end up here? (in a good way). It captures that mix of chaos, curiosity, and momentum.
Read Luke Farmer’s Hot Suit Takes here
Read Elizabeth Beatty’s Hot Suit Takes here