It’s more important in today’s conscious society to directly connect with people rather than manipulate them through catchy subject lines, emojis, and flashy pictures. Consumers are becoming smarter and learning the industry’s new tricks everyday. We could always throw things at the wall and hope it sticks, but I believe in getting content and marketing right the first time and creating loyalty by incorporating cultural anthropology into the lifecycle.

I feel that it is the duty of marketers and creators to find the true identities of the people around us and beyond. Explore their cities, learn from their neighbors, embrace their stories, and discover new ways to bond with their communities. We are creative and aware by nature and tend to be social beings – even advocates of sorts, and I believe that this industry has become trapped into a homogeneous culture, while force-feeding that same culture to the masses, rather than doing our part in bridging products, services, and experiences to individuals in ways that they can each relate to – through the power of research, storytelling, and “intelligent automation”.

After living on both coasts in several states and cities over the past decade, I’ve been exposed to several regional subcultures, sat on diverse marketing teams for innovative products and brands. Through my experiences, good and bad, I’ve gained a unique approach to marketing and developing content:

• Discovering new ways to target niche audiences through identifying unique data points
• Connecting consumers to content, products, and services through THEIR community’s shared interests.
• Empowering people’s narratives instead of exploiting them for profit – you can still make a profit by doing this.
• Developing relatable copy and imagery that ultimately lifts engagement AND loyalty.