What’s your role at TBG?
I lead the Strategy team, which includes strategic planning and analytics.
Uh, cool, what does that mean?
To say it simply, we bring together an understanding of people, culture, media, brands and business into a smart, core idea and framework that will get our clients from point A to point B. So when a brand says to us “people don’t know what we stand for”, or “we want to grow our share of the market from #3 to #1”, or “we need help bringing our brand to life on the Internet”…It’s our job to try to see the whole picture around the situation and focus everybody in the best possible direction.
So we lead the early stage of most projects and try to create and moderate a super collaborative approach by sitting down with everyone on the team that first time and saying, “ok, so what should we do and how should we do it?”. We do a ton of research. Throughout the process we are part of the core team that works through creative ideas, builds them out and puts together a program. It’s also our job to hold our work accountable and make it smarter. So we spend a lot of time looking at data, helping refine ideas, monitoring our work out on the Internet, and making sure it’s accomplishing what we set out to do.
We have an awesome and growing strat team. My role in general is to lead the group and help us be as good as we can be. I’d say our style combines the best of the traditional Account Planning you’d find at general creative agency, digital strategy, and comms planning. We are definitely not just digital strategists – we aspire to bring the same level of rigor around consumer and brand thinking in the traditional world, but coming at it from a digital-centric point of view, and hopefully a fresh and forward thinking approach to strategy in general.
How’d you end up as the Executive Director of Strategy?
I basically grew up in a family sports apparel business, and have been in love with business and brands since I was a wee little tween. The Internet came along at a perfect time for me – I was about 13, and was living in a pretty remote area of Ontario Canada, so the Web became my window into a bigger world, and an obsession. I’ve been lucky to be able to put those interests to use at some great agencies – the last two being Anomaly and Droga5 – working on clients like Puma, Activision, Converse, Jawbone, Virgin America and such. I loved all those experiences but always craved being with a creative group obsessed with the Internet, and there’s no better place than The Barbarian Group for that.
How’d you arrive at TBG? (and no, we’re not talking transport)
I’d known and for years just through the ad and tech worlds, so we started talking when the opportunity came up, and then I met everybody and we all liked each other.
Who’s your main sidekick when it comes to getting the job done?
I’m lucky in that I get to literally work with everyone here in some capacity. We have a killer strat team that’s pretty amazing to work with everyday.
Most exciting project you’ve worked on here?
Everything we’re doing on GE and where that is headed is very exciting. And I’m excited about a lot of the stuff in the pipeline that is top secret.
Best thing about your job?
I mean it’s a pretty awesome job – I spend a lot of time trying to understand what is happening in the world and think about ideas that will do something new to it – that’s fun.
Not-so-best thing about your job?
We’re surrounded by amazing opportunities left and right and generate a lot of ideas that we all really want to make happen. They don’t always get to become a reality and you have to stay strong and keep moving.
First blog you check every morning:Twitter. When was this question written, 2006?
Favorite apps?
I liked Instagram, then got tired of artful shots of breakfasts, then have recently totally fallen in love with it again. Instapaper of course. Pretty much anything Insta seems to appeal to me.
All time fave thing you’ve ever found on the Internet?
I remember really clearly the very first time I used the Internet. A family friend took me to a wacky Metallica fan site, and the page took about 10 minutes to load. But we sat there watching, totally transfixed, and I’m not sure I’ve yet been able to match that level of pure excitement about this awesome new thing.
Which decade produced the best music?
I’m not very nostalgic, and tend to listen only to music of the now, which some people think is weird. So I think this decade is already the best and will prove to be the best (if the world doesn’t end next year).
What’s the last furry thing you touched?
found this weird furry faux rock that we brought to meetings for a few days as a good luck rock. It seemed to work pretty well.
Bowie or Blondie?
Robyn
