This one’s for all the creatives and marketers out there who’ve ever had people think that all they do is “arts and crafts.” As we know, it’s so much more. Design departments can no longer be underestimated as they touch nearly every aspect of a business. As brand touchpoints continue to multiply exponentially, each moment needs to be thought through on a visual and emotional level. Industry Dive’s creative director, Chelsea Ennis, has helped grow the design department to prove, with no uncertainty, how valuable creative output can be. In this episode, we talk with Chelsea about what it took to scale the design department, prove that it was worth the effort, and how she led her fast-growing team throughout the process. Having worked with brands like Target, Home Depot, Twitter, and IBM, Chelsea got her start at digital agency Group SJR as a graphic and web designer. She eventually found herself at Industry Dive, where she helped build up a talented design team that works with brands to tell better stories. Over her career her skills spread the gamete, from design project management, leading and scaling creative teams to and marrying the design strategy with business needs. All of which shaped her into the creative director that she is today.

Communities are built through little moments, genuine connections between people and the world around them. Building a community from a brand perspective means removing the self-promotion and putting the moment ahead of the message. That’s just a glimpse of what Kyle Skinner, social media engagement manager at Patreon, talks about with us. Tune in to hear how he goes above and beyond, not to win points for the brand, but just to show support for fellow creators.Having spent his early career helping to build the social media program at the Oakland Athletics baseball club, Kyle made the jump to Patreon to be a part of the company’s mission to get creators paid. There, Kyle focuses on engaging with artists, musicians, writers ​​— creators of all kinds — to keep doing what they love and find ways to support them, whether they’re on the Patreon platform or not. He is known for his work building communities, advocating for creators, and having fun along the way.

How do you build a brand? There are tactical, strategic and even philosophical questions that come into play when answering a question like this. Arguably every brand is working to elicit an emotional response and a cognitive attachment from its audience. But the avenues to do so are wide-ranging. In this episode, we dig into these challenges with Agency Fifty3’s creative director, Brianna Huynh, by discussing her passion: experiential marketing and the power it has to shape opinions and move the needle.  Brianna Huynh is a creative director who’s worked with brands like Nike, Gatorade, Nationwide and Salesforce to create experiences that both stand out from the rest and really sink in with an audience. Brianna's consistent leadership, creative prowess, competitive edge, and ability to execute is recognized by clients and team members alike. She honed her skills in design and brand management while working in sports and eventually made the leap over to tech. She’s built a reputation for original thinking and based on our conversation, we can see why.

A podcast about our favorite brands featuring stories from the marketers and creatives behind them. Here's a preview of what's to come!