(P.S. Don’t forget to check out the Econsultancy jobs board if you’re looking for a new role yourself.)
Econsultancy: Please describe your job: What do you do?
Jade Garrow: I am the head of culture marketing at Wasserman – an agency that represents some of the world’s greatest talent, properties and brands.
A huge part of my role is ensuring that brands are present in the right spaces for their audiences, whether that be appearing at a music festival, creating fashion content or producing a brand-owned event. That means using behavioural insights to pull together a creative strategy that shapes how brands connect with today’s switched on consumer.
E: Whereabouts do you sit within the organisation? Who do you report to?
JG: I report into Cris Cicirello and Paul Saville, the managing directors of Wasserman’s experience division. I personally work across the account teams, focusing on how to dial up cultural thinking and use insights to their fullest.
E: What kind of skills do you need to be effective in your role?
JG: The most important is to have a genuine passion and interest in culture outside of work. You need to be both aware of and understand the wealth of cultural events that happen globally and locally.
Then it’s about understanding how you can add value to those spaces beyond just sponsoring them or being seen there. Being able to see how digital, social, PR and experiential marketing intersect is also a crucial skill to make sure you provide the best solution for your client while providing an unforgettable experience for consumers.
E: Tell us about a typical working day…
JG: There really isn’t a typical working day in the traditional sense as they vary greatly! I’d say a lot of my time is spent in briefing sessions to get under the skin of what my clients want, alongside creative meetings that focus on achieving their goals through methods that entertain consumers opposed to just traditional sponsorship of cultural events.
I also spend a lot of time getting out of the office to meet with contacts, as well being on site at huge brand experiences we’ve pulled together or on set filming brand content.
E: What do you love about your job? What sucks?
JG: The best part of my job is being at an event and seeing people having the time of their lives when interacting with your brand experiences. It means you know you’ve delivered something truly special. I also love working with artists who believe in your idea and bring it to life, followed by that content getting seven-figure views
The only part of my role that ‘sucks’ is when decisions need to be made by committees. There are so many people involved in marketing decisions now, it’s sometimes difficult when a great idea gets pulled apart slowly. Death by a thousand paper cuts!
E: What kind of goals do you have? What are the most useful metrics and KPIs for measuring success?
JG: It varies from project to project, but generally speaking one of the most important metrics for measuring success is change in brand perception and sentiment. We’re in the business of making people love brands so we need to see an emotional change to prove that we have built a positive affinity across both existing and new consumers. Of course, sometimes the most useful KPIs are footfall at an experience and content views.
E: What are your favourite tools to help you to get the job done?
JG: Definitely a big black book. In our industry, relationships truly matter and can help you move your campaign from great to incredible. I’ve also found being a part of the brilliant Women in Entertainment and Digital – a network comprised of incredibly switched on women – has also helped take my work to the next level. If they don’t know the answer to a question, nobody does.
E: How did you land in this role, and where might you go from here?
JG: I actually worked at Wasserman back when it was known as Ignite as a senior account director. After leaving the agency, I took on a number of roles across agency and client-side with a focus on culture. One role at Boxfresh saw me look after Boxfresh 25 – a series of 25 events celebrating 25 years of the brand, which featured pioneers of UK music, art and street culture.
A few years later, Cris and Paul invited me back to help dial up the cultural thinking across the business following a huge account win that had a strong music focus.
I feel my next focus will be to develop a women’s networking event for those working in the entertainment industry so we can share insights from across the board.
E: What are your favourite campaigns of recent times? (would be ideal if they weren’t all your own agency’s work)
JG: Dark social is really interesting me, given the fact that most brand content is shared via apps like WhatsApp yet we still don’t have the tools to track it.
I loved the dark social campaign Adidas pulled together a couple years ago. By building group chats on WhatsApp across major cities such as London, Stockholm and Paris, consumers could join these ‘squads’ to get inside information on upcoming sporting events.
While the idea wasn’t anything breath-taking, it did allow Adidas to engage directly with consumers on a platform they otherwise didn’t have a voice on.
E: Do you have any advice for people who want to work at a creative agency?
JG: Be curious. I often find that the best ideas can come from the weirdest places.
And of course, make sure you’re building your network.
For more on brand, creative and experiences, join us at the Festival of Marketing 2018, October 10-11 in London.
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