Life in Adtech: Brainstorming and Building Creative Strategies

In our blog series “Life in Adtech” we’re showcasing the different ways in which StackAdapters are driving innovation in adtech, and creating a progressive tech culture. From using modeling and data to create advanced algorithms to building stylish and robust user interfaces, everyone at StackAdapt is contributing to evolving the StackAdapt platform and providing the best product and service to our clients.

This month features Benedict Wong, a Creative Strategist at StackAdapt. Benedict shares her journey into adtech, what her role entails, and how the Creative Studio team at StackAdapt supports the success of StackAdapt users.

Can you share a bit about your journey into working as a Creative Strategist?

Before I was at StackAdapt, I worked in a startup and agency environment where I had a bit of a hybrid role as a designer and coordinator. I knew this experience would be a great segue into adtech, and I was interested in programmatic because I’ve always enjoyed working with different brands. I decided to apply to StackAdapt because I wanted to work in a growth-oriented and adaptable company. I could tell before applying that I would relate to StackAdapt’s core values, too.

I got the job, starting out as a Production Designer. At that stage in my career, I wanted to do more design work with Adobe Creative Suite and strengthen my design skills. However, I found myself gravitating toward working on my communication, pitching and strategy skills. That was my cue to switch into a client-facing role as a Creative Strategist!

What was your experience of transitioning from a Production Designer into your current role?

The idea of getting to pitch creative ideas to brands and agencies was a step outside of my comfort zone, and it excited me! The whole transition lasted almost two months. My managers and pods were all so supportive throughout the process, and because it was so gradual, the transition went smoothly. I was slowly exposed to more areas of my new role, so throughout the transition I had plenty of time to work on the areas that I needed to improve in.

For example, I had to get used to juggling multiple tasks at once. There was also a mental adjustment for me, since I hadn’t been in a client-facing role in quite some time. I felt supported the entire time and I think that’s what made the experience so positive.

How do Creative Strategists contribute to the success of campaigns run on StackAdapt? 

Creative Strategists build the creative assets for campaigns. This includes HTML5 banners, native ads, or video ads. We ensure that the creative assets for our client’s campaigns are eye-catching, and use messaging that’s informed by overall campaign strategy.

We’re an important team at StackAdapt because we support the users on our platform who don’t have the creative resources they need in-house. And, we provide them specialized expertise in creative that helps our users bring their campaigns to life, and achieve the campaign results they’re looking for.  

What is your process for building creative strategies and concepts?

Before we come up with a strategy or concept, we hop on a creative kick-off call with our clients. We gather all the information we’ll need, like their campaign goals and their pain points, then leverage that information to develop a personalized strategy for that client. For example, a sample full-funnel strategy for an e-commerce client could look like a connected TV (CTV), carousel, in-banner video and dynamic retargeting ad.

Depending on the type of campaign, we do in-depth research and ideation to tailor the ad creative to a specific audience. Creative strategy is super team oriented, so I’m often hopping on calls with my pod. We’ll usually collaborate on every aspect of the campaign from messaging to how we’ll retarget an audience. 

How do you and your colleagues brainstorm fresh ideas for engaging creatives?

We do it through lots of collaboration! We meet up twice a week for either creative coffee, or team huddles. Sometimes a member of the team will present a new creative format or process, and other times we brainstorm together on a problem that a team member has been struggling with. The creative coffee session is truly a free for all!

Our weekly team huddles are a little more formal. We share our creative concepts, design trends and creative strategy decks. I find these meetings really inspirational because we talk about everything from design to strategy. I usually walk away from team huddles with lots of fresh ideas.  

What is the most rewarding part about working as a Creative Strategist at StackAdapt?

The most rewarding part of being a Creative Strategist at StackAdapt is being able to work in a supportive environment where I’m given constructive feedback, as well as the space to grow my ideas. My team is always willing to give me a hand when I need help troubleshooting a problem,  or need to hop onto a call for a quick brainstorm session. Our team is really emblematic of the saying that two brains are better than one! 

And lastly, I’d say the Creative Strategy team is really rewarding to work on because we’re such a unique team to exist within an adtech company. It’s fulfilling to see how much we’re able to positively impact the success of StackAdapt users. 

Interested in joining StackAdapt? See our open roles and apply here.

In each new addition, we will be highlighting our teams and team members in our “Life In Adtech” series—stay tuned for more!