Awesome People - Ep 67
Awesome People - Ep 67
marketing campaigns, creative strategy, brand
Hi fellow founders and VC Friends!
Each week we deliver one awesome person to your inbox. These are the people you need to know—the marketers, sales gurus, engineers, ops wizzes— who give your startup superpowers 🚀. The best part is, everyone is hireable on a part-time basis.
Please meet Juani, Your Creative Producer for Marketing Campaigns 🎥
Juani was referred by my good friend Artia, a prolific angel investor who also runs Special Projects at Dfinity (blockchain co backed by a16z). I had the distinct pleasure of getting snowed in with both of them during Austin snowmageddon. Juani's work ethic was next level. She brilliantly re-strategized all her Sephora campaigns due to nationwide shipping delays and kept things on track.
Most recently, Juani worked on campaigns for Sephora, Adobe and Google. She's trusted by Wieden + Kennedy (Nike), 72andSunny (Adobe, Google, Adidas, Vital Proteins, Pinterest, Dolby, Tinder, Ugg, See’s Candies, amongst others) and Sephora for multi-million dollar marketing campaigns. Over the course of her career, she’s helped brands create their personal identity and won multiple advertising awards for her work on Tinder 🔥
You can hire her to help you with the creative direction and execution of your next marketing campaign.
Fun fact: when she’s not working, she’s interior designing. If you happen to be in the market for an interior designer, you can hit her up for that too 😉
Want an intro to Juani? Lmk and I’ll connect you!
She was gracious enough to share some pro-tips with us here 🤩
Take risks to evolve as a brand
As a brand, the worst thing you can do is blend in. The way you show up matters. You need to create something that will help other people remember you. It’s important to take risks on vendors, talent, and creative execution. These brands are great examples of how those risks translate into rewards:
Gucci Beauty – Gucci pushes boundaries. While most beauty companies conform to “traditional beauty” standards, Gucci celebrates imperfection. This makes them more memorable, authentic, and thoughtful.
Nike Lab x Martine Rose - Nike’s campaign took a risk and left an impression on me. The campaign’s films and ads are designed to look like Craigslist ads. It’s not easy for big brands to take risks, but even Nike understands the importance of standing out from the crowd.
Tinder Swipe Night - Our team brought this campaign to Tinder to bring a little fun into online dating. Users opened the Tinder app, interacted with our campaign, and matched with potential dates. We broke the mold by doing something no other dating app had done.
Always make a Plan B, C, D, E, and F for production.
Things will go wrong when you’re creating a marketing campaign. Whether it’s wrangling 25 animals and making sure the bunny doesn’t die of fright to making sure you have enough ice cream to create the “world’s tallest scoop stack”, things you don’t even expect to go wrong will. Here are some tips to help you expect the unexpected:
When I’m given a budget, I always try to keep a little padding ($$$) for things like: running over on a production (time is literally money on these and the longer you go over your allotted production time, the more expensive it gets), additional requests, unforeseen expenses, etc.
Triple bid. Get quotes and have creative conversations with at least three artists, photographers, or directors. Explore different options before choosing a direction that best suits the campaign. Triple bidding ensures that you’re spending your money wisely.
Avoid saying “we’ll fix it in post.” Once you’ve reached post-production, you’ve either shot or created the initial illustrations for the campaign. Now the focus is on retouching, editing, or animation. Most people don’t realize that post is just as expensive as the productions themselves. That’s where that padding comes into play.
Collaborate with all types of creatives.
The best ideas are born when different points of view come together. Hire people who inspire you, challenge you to think outside the box, and often disagree. Leverage those ideas to create a sense of self and something that will be memorable. One of my favorite campaigns ever was born out of some of the most challenging collaborations I saw at 72andSunny.
Looking for some artistic inspiration? These people inspire me every day. NFTs are cool, but check out this old-school art!
Gabriella Sanchez: Up and coming LA multidisciplinary artist whose pieces are vibrant and a remix of the world around us.
Erin D. Garcia: An artist that takes us on a beautiful intricate ride of color.
Camila Falquez: A spanish photographer who’s pulling inspiration from the people and culture around her into her work.
Andre D. Wagner: A photographer showcasing the beauty of the people around us - reminding us of the beauty of the places and spaces in everyday life.
Amber Pinkerton: A photographer who’s heavily influenced by her roots - bringing us feelings of nostalgia and elegance.
Alex Gardner: A painter that leaves the details to your imagination.
Looking for a creative producer? Email me for an intro to Juani 🚀
As always, let me know if you have any questions and if you want an intro to any of the folks in this email (including the PS section 🎉).
Stay awesome,
Founder of Awesome People Talent & Awesome People Ventures (join the syndicate)
If you liked this, ❤️ it below. If someone forwarded this to you, sign up here 💌
Most Recent Awesome People 🙏
Manav - Product marketer. Manav is a funnel marketing guru who founded Subziwalla, the leading online Indian Grocery Delivery co. The average online grocery store has about 30% customer retention and captures 39% of their customers’ total grocery spend. Subziwalla has 70% retention and captures 60% of their customers’ spend!
Dylan - Growth engineer. Dylan has helped spearhead revenue and user growth at Casetext (USV, Susa Ventures, and YC Continuity-backed co that’s raised $40M+) and Quizlet (Series C co that’s raised $62M raised and valued at $1B+). He recently worked on onboarding experiments for Quizlet’s 60+ million monthly active users.
Lily - Product designer and content creator also known as Designalily. Lily has worked with companies like Twitch, Zendrive (Series B co backed by Signal Fire), and Curtsy (Series A co backed by Index) over the course of her career. She was just featured on Business Insider for her product design work!
Want intros to anyone here? Lmk and I’ll connect you
Part-Time Opportunities 👀
Want to make some extra $$$ and work on interesting projects? Our new Awesome People job board is filled with awesome flexible roles. They’re perfect for full-time freelancers and moonlighters! We’ve collected some of the highlight roles here 👇
Marketing & Growth
Freelance Marketing & Social Media Manager for Aether - Aether is making diamonds out of thin air. They’re an Awesome People Ventures port co 😉. Apply here!
Part-Time Content & Social Media Manager for Better Ventures - Better Ventures backs mission-driven founders to build a more sustainable and equitable economy. FWIW, I love collaborating with them. Apply here!
Engineer Growth Hacker for The Beans - The Beans is automating personal finance for the American middle class. I’ve known Melissa, the CEO, for ages and she’s a real gem. Backed by Precursor, Relay, and Swing Ventures. Apply here!
Community
Interim Head of Community for Scout - Scout inspires empathy and connection through content, community, and screenshare-based social experiences. Zack, the founder (and friend), used to run product at Loom. Backed by Unusual Ventures, the CEO of Loom, and awesome angels. Apply here!
Engineering
Freelance Full-Stack Engineer for Upfront Ventures - Upfront Ventures invests early in world-changing cos. This is a good opportunity to work with a VC firm! Apply here!
Engineering Advisor for Momentum - Momentum helps build recurring donation infrastructure for nonprofits. Backed by On Deck, Elizabeth Yin, and Mark Cuban. Apply here!
Freelance UI/UX Developer for Core to Coeur - Core to Coeur is a marketplace democratizing access to wellness and self-care. Backed by Coast to Crest and Angels. Apply here!
Design
Freelance Graphic Designer for LOOM - LOOM offers inclusive, empathetic, and science-based health education. They’re backed by GSV, General Catalyst, Precursor, Slow, and Moxxie Ventures. Apply here!
Freelance Branding Expert for Poise - Poise is improving the world’s spoken communication with personalized coaching. Backed by Slack Fund, Brianne Kimmel, and Awesome People Ventures 😉. Apply here!
Interested in sharing a role with our network? Fill out our free part-time talent request form here 😎
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