Tell us a little about yourself!
I consider myself a lifelong learner, over-communicator and a champion for data-driven decisions! My life currently revolves around my puppy, Titan, the cutest Pomeranian in the world. As a resident of Orlando, I love the beach and can’t imagine living anywhere that I couldn’t drive to the beach in an hour or less.
What’s your role at WorkReduce?
I’m a Senior Manager at WorkReduce. My role is comprised of setting campaign strategy through data-driven insights, as well as acting as a project manager for all the different media channel teams.
How do you explain to your Mom what you do for a job?
I work to place ads online for brands.
How does your work impact our business and our client’s businesses?
My role creates the link between the different channels (and teams) and the overall business goals of the brand (my client).
I’m charged with recalling details that link execution with strategy and it’s my responsibility to call out how changes will affect each channel individually and the brand as a whole.
I also relay important changes back to the WorkReduce client team to ensure everyone is working towards the same goals.
We can barely do justice to list all six of your higher educational achievements including an MBA in Business Administration & Marketing, and a Doctorate in Business Administration & Management (2022). What motivates you to keep learning and strive for this level of excellence?
I come from a family of educators (I’m from Jamaica). Almost everyone on my father’s side is a teacher, principal, administrator in a school/university or working in financial sectors at a university. Even my half-brother in New York works with the college board. So, learning comes naturally to my family. I would go so far as to say learning is the one thing in life I’ve always been good at.
Getting a terminal degree (PhD) was always a dream of mine that I never thought I could make a reality. I honestly only applied for the DBA to see what would happen after not being taken seriously in a prior position. Once I was accepted, I felt that I had no choice but to go! And I am very glad I did. The program has given me greater insight into executive level thinking and deeper understandings that I don’t believe I would have gained in the workplace.
You’ve worked for busy digital agencies and directly within corporate marketing teams. What do you think agencies and brands can learn from each other to better achieve their marketing objectives?
I think the most important thing to remember, for the most part, is that it’s an educational opportunity for both parties. On the agency side, I see a lot of frustration from middle managers and executionary positions when they feel they are being questioned too much. Or when their recommendations aren’t being adopted swiftly enough -or at all. On the client side, frustration is felt if they don’t feel the agency is flexible enough, transparent enough or is unable to meet their exact requests.
The basis for all of this, that I have seen, is each side doesn’t take the opportunity to learn from the other side because everyone wants to keep their intellectual property or trade secrets secure. The agency’s fearful that if they share too much, the client will think they can do it on their own. The client thinks if they share too much, the agency will take that information to competitors. So, they each pick and choose what to share to their detriment.
My belief is that if you can‘t trust your agency –or your client– to set you up for success, then why do business together? Both parties should look at this as an opportunity to enrich the other and when the agreement has ended, they should both be better than when they started working together.
You’ve been involved in media planning and buying since 2012. We’ve seen a lot of advances during that time with automation and self-serve platforms. What do you think is the secret sauce that humans still bring to media to make the most of our tech stacks?
Automation and self-serve platforms only provide numbers and data, they can‘t provide insight. They don’t have the context that humans can provide, nor can they make everything easily digestible for the CEO as well as the coordinator on the team. Agencies and clients still need humans to make sense of the information and craft actionable recommendations on next steps.
What’s the craziest job you’ve done before, and what did it teach you?
The craziest job I’ve had was also my most favorite. While working in my first role as a digital media buyer, I was pretty much thrown to the wolves. Training consisted of reading an extensive manual and then being told to go make business happen!
But that experience taught me how resourceful I am, that I am intelligent (for a while I questioned my capabilities in this fast-moving environment) and that I love challenges!
There’s nothing I can’t do if I have the proper support from management (within reason) -and it’s something I really pride myself in.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
If I’m the smartest person in the room, I’m in the wrong room. ~ My Mother 🙂
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