At just 24, Coordinate’s “allrounder” Payton Gregor has been nominated for one of marketing and communication’s most coveted titles, B&T’s Top 30 under 30. She is, proudly, the only Canberra agency representative to make the cut.

Her nomination is hardly surprising. Payton has been an energetic and, dare we say it, omnipresent figure in the agency where she goes under the title of Client Manager but has sought to make her mark on all aspects of our output.

Indeed, she has managed to shine in multiple roles­ – as a social strategist, project manager, data strategist, copywriter, and content strategist.

Payton came to us from Orange, via the University of Canberra, where she originally applied to study Law before moving into the PR and Communications sphere.

While studying, she showed the sort of discipline and hunger for hard work that has helped her succeed at Coordinate, working several jobs at once, getting promoted to management within her hospitality role and also balancing the needs of the not one – but two – families for whom she was nannying.

“That’s where my ability to manage 15 different things at once really developed. We were running after-school activities, my study, the kids’ study and all the fun stuff!,” says Payton.

This well-honed sense of organisation and efficiency is invaluable in her current role.

“It really helps with client management because I have built a relationship with a lot of clients where they know they will get a response out of me pretty quickly and that I am generally on top of what they need/where their campaign is up to at any given minute. Internally I think that has led to a lot of our team knowing they can rely on me to get in and get tasks done, which is great at the pace some of our clients like to work at!”

Applying for an internship one year ahead of time, Payton recalls arriving at Coordinate willing and able to learn and open to taking on any task. She started in the social media space doing basic research and running a social media campaign for Ginninderry called Belco Buzz.

“Warren and Jamie must have seen something in me because they asked me to stay on and a few months later I was helping manage the launch of Zango from a project management and content point of view which was terrifying and exciting all at once!

“I love being able to get my hands dirty with different things daily. One minute I am doing a social media content plan for the next month, the next I am reporting on media campaigns for clients like the National Institutions for Cultural Icons and then I am sitting in meetings with new clients or helping plan events on social committees and writing pitch documents. The diversity is exciting and keeps me engaged because no day is the same and I love that – I’m never bored!”

This diversity of responsibilities has seen Payton “float” within the organisation somewhat, in that she has followed the demands of the workflow rather than stayed within a silo of responsibility.

While it has been a busy and enriching journey, Payton has also questioned herself, wondering whether the lack of a clearly defined boundary around her skill set may work against her.

“With my ‘floating role’ may come an assumption that I am not good enough to stick to one particular thing all the time and I guess that is one of the biggest challenges. But the reality is I am strong enough in so many roles that I can be a touchpoint across everything for a project and have a valuable input at each stage.

“Diversity in roles and skills is something that should be widely embraced and utilised for the strength and possibility that it holds rather than shied away from in our industry.”

The nomination has been a proud moment of reflection that maybe by refusing to be boxed in, Payton is charting her own unique path to success.

“It’s made me step back and reflect on what I have achieved at Coordinate over the last two-and-a-half years. You don’t realise how much you have achieved until you are forced to think about it.

She is also thrilled to be flying the ACT’s flag amid a national talent pool.

“I’ve always been told that Canberra is quite different in this space (particularly in agencies like ours) to places like Sydney or Melbourne, and while that’s true I think there is something really special and powerful about marketing in Canberra that deserves to be recognised!”

You can read more about the B&T’s Top 30 Under 30 and vote here.

The awards will be presented on 31 March.