Can you describe the scope of what you do at Catchy?
My work as a strategist on the consulting team really spans the gamut. Typically, we come into action at the onset of a project, working to understand our clients’ platform/product/service offering, goals, and desired outcomes from their engagement with Catchy. Following this initial groundwork is what we refer to as the “discovery phase.” During this phase, we are busy collecting and compiling information via stakeholder interviews, secondary research, and/or primary research. This discovery phase serves as an important opportunity for us to identify the key insights that will ultimately inform our strategic deliverable(s). The scope of deliverables we prepare for our clients is quite broad, ranging from basic market research, audience intelligence, audits and benchmarking, to comprehensive go-to-market strategies.
Which Catchy value do you strongly resonate with and why? (Collaborative, Fluid, Inclusive, Accountable)
Oh man, this is a tricky one as all of the Catchy values merit equal value. That being said, if I had to choose one that I most strongly resonate with it would be collaborative. Within Catchy, or any marketing agency, producing great work does not start and stop with one person. The strategy work myself and the consulting team conducts often serves as a roadmap for achieving a desired outcome. How we achieve that desired outcome varies from project to project, and this is where collaboration with other team members - such as account, content, creative, and media - really comes into play. In my experience, effective and resonant marketing seldom (if never) relies on a single activity but is highly integrated across various channels. Close collaboration ensures we’re hitting the mark and making the most impact for our clients.
What do you enjoy about working with Catchy?
Without a doubt, the people. I’m lucky to work alongside some seriously talented folks, all of whom bring a unique perspective that takes our work to the next level, and makes doing the work enjoyable. Beyond team Catchy, is our clients. We’re in a really unique position where we get to collaborate and learn from an impressive roster of industry leaders doing some really cool stuff to evolve the tech landscape.
What is your experience working with analytics and data-driven insights?
Almost all of the strategy work I conduct is grounded in analytics and data-driven insights. While we may have assumptions about how things operate, it’s critical that we can test and validate these hypotheses, to reduce risk and ensure efficacy/validity when it comes to the strategic recommendations we provide our clients. Beyond leveraging data-driven insights to validate existing ideas, we often lean on data to help us uncover new opportunities. The latter is becoming increasingly more important as we continue to engage with emerging technologies that are less understood. For example, we did some strategy work for a Web3 client seeking to better identify, understand, and engage with different developer audiences. While we have a lot of knowledge about Web2 developers, we knew (evidentially) very little about Web3 devs. This segment represented a fraction of the larger developer population, and the way they were engaging with Web3 was a relatively new phenomenon. We had to get creative with how we could design a study to collect primary data that enabled us to better understand the nuance between traditionally trained Web2 devs dipping their toes into the Web3 pool as compared with professional Web3 devs. The insights we derived from our study enabled us to better map the different developer journeys, identify their distinct needs and motivations, and were pivotal in directing our recommendations for how to drive reach, awareness, and engagement among these different developer audiences.
Any piece of advice for aspiring strategy directors?
For me, the best strategy work comes from an innate curiosity to understand and empirically explain the why of a particular occurrence. To take your work further, and continue to hone your strategic thinking you’ve got to constantly feed that curiosity. Lean into challenging situations, ask A LOT of questions, observe closely, and listen actively. Compelling consumer insights are rooted in human truths, it’s simply a matter of learning how to best extract them.
