Note: Included in this article are images created in collaboration with Jan Kelley for a national brand that produces sheetrock for both industrial and residential use. This photo shoot focused on lifestyle images of the product being installed in a house.

To listen to the audio version of this interview go to Creative Wonder on Spotify

Tae: Today I’m interviewing Lauren Kavanagh who is an account manager at Jan Kelley marketing agency. She reveals the little-known daily habits that keep marketers on top of their game, and their clients happy.

Tae:

Glad I could steal you away from your job to chat a little bit about what you do. So what I’m doing is interviewing people about marketing, about advertising stuff, and you play a role in that because you deal with accounts at Jan Kelley Marketing Agency. And I just want to dive a little bit deeper into what you do and some of the strategies you might have. And maybe people will find it helpful to hear your perspective on things.

Lauren:

Yeah, absolutely.

Origin Story

Tae:

Yeah, let’s just dive right into it. I want to hear a little bit about your journey to where you are right now. Like, how did you get there? Did you have schooling? Did something prompt you to go into this sort of business? Or did you just fall into it? How did you end up where you are?

Lauren:

So, I did not go to school for this. I actually studied international development, which was kind of a mix of politics and economics. I think there are lots of things that I learned in school that have transferred really well into what I do now. But kind of when I wrapped up school, I was happy to get my degree. But I think at that point, I had figured out that that area was not the next step for me. I was super interested in digital space and what I was seeing on social media and keeping up with trends. And I will say I’m a chronically online human being. Marketing kind of seemed like a natural fit for me. And then when I was exploring some places in the GTA, I came across Jan Kelly. And right away, I was super drawn in by what I saw for the culture, the work they had done, and then doing a little bit of reading up on the humanology work, which is combining creativity and the tools and tech that are available to us, felt like a fit for me. And I knew it would be a great learning experience. So, I am super happy with how it all worked out.

Work Culture

Tae:

That’s pretty cool. Can you tell me a little bit about the culture at your work that makes it different?

Lauren:

The culture is a huge part of Jan Kelly. I feel like when I step into work in the morning, I’m seeing my friends and I’m seeing people that I really love to work with and respect and they’re all great, talented individuals. Honestly, our leadership team does an amazing job of keeping up the culture. There’s a really strong focus on eating lunches together every day and finding opportunities to work with people that you don’t always get to work with and in-person time together. We also do lots of fun things. Like we have a loaf baking competition and we have a time away in the summer that we spend together collaborating at a cabin retreat, which is super fun. So they do a really good job of fostering that culture, I would say. Yeah.

Tae:

That’s pretty cool. I like that. I know I don’t have a large crew of people that I work with, but there are a few people that I do work with, and it makes all the difference when you get along with people and you enjoy being around them. It’s almost more of a family sort of situation or a friend situation in some respects. And I know there’s something really nice about it being such a positive atmosphere to work in. It makes a huge difference.

Daily Work Strategies

Tae: What does a typical day for you look like at work?

Lauren:

I start off every day with coffee. That is essential. But then it’s kind of sitting down and prioritizing what my day or my week might look like. I am a big advocate for a physical ‘To do’ list. So I have my notepad in front of me. I’ve got all my boxes to check. Usually from there, I jump into my morning meetings or my team meetings, but a typical day is a lot of client communications and then also internal team communications. I’m really involved in keeping our campaigns moving, project management, making sure everything is moving smoothly. So, I would say prioritizing and time management is a huge part of my day and probably the most important part of my day.

Protecting Creative Vision

Tae:

So when it comes to projects that you’re working on, how do you manage to balance, you know, protecting the creative vision that you or your group comes up with while still keeping the client happy?

Lauren:

This one’s tricky. But I think our team does a really good job of being intentional about our choices and being open and honest and over communicating. I think it’s super important when you work with clients who really see you as that strategic advisor, or an extension of their team. It opens the door for a lot of trust and understanding. So I think sitting down and having those conversations and being like, we chose to do this for this reason or best practices or if you want to see results that you’re hoping to see this would be the best next step. So while it is tricky to have those conversations I think establishing that trust with client and really being honest and intentional is super important.

Tae:

Oh, that’s fantastic, because that goes right into my next question about how do you approach building strong and trusting relationships with clients? Like, what are your strategies there? Just being honest and authentic or just giving them the facts?

Building Client Trust

Lauren:

Honestly? I would say I’m a people person. So even before that, just getting to know them and who they are, who they work with, what success looks like to them, what their day looks like is super important. I think that kind of opens the door for a stronger relationship and stronger trust, which then paves the way into having those conversations about intention and why we chose to do the things that we do. But yeah, I would say for me, getting to know them and their life and what they’re passionate about is super important and it’s helped me create really strong relationships along the way.

Tae:

That’s good. I know it’s super important in my line of work as a photographer that establishing those relationships with clients is so important because you want them to be loyal. You want them to come back because they enjoyed the experience and they were able to get a great product. So I understand that. That makes sense.

Approaching Challenges with Clients

Tae: What’s the most challenging client project or problem you’ve helped solve? And how did you approach it?

Lauren:

I’ve had some crazy ones. I mean, I’ve only been at Jan Kelly for three years, but just with how fast pace and how quickly things can change in the industry, there’s been a few that have come up. But I would say one that comes to mind, I think it was a few Christmases ago, was we were in the middle of working through a campaign that was set to launch early in the new year. And last minute we had a new stakeholder come in and ask for a creative concept change after work had been created. And we were kind of right in the middle of asset production.

Tae:

No.

Lauren:

Yes, so that caused us to spiral a little bit, but also kind of come back, reconnect, and create a new strategy. And it taught us a lot about working quickly and working well with each other. So that was a challenging one, but a great learning experience.

Dealing with Stress in the Workplace

Tae:

I only know the agency work secondhand, right? But from partnering with agencies and doing photography work for them on behalf of their clients I have noticed that it seems very fast paced. It seems very stressful, very last minute. How do you go about dealing with that stress and pressure? Like how do you personally manage it?

Lauren:

Time management is huge for me. That is the key. Like blocking out holds in my calendar to make sure that I’m getting the things I need to do done, or having my checklist beside me. When things start to feel super fast paced and maybe overwhelming, I’m a huge advocate for taking a short break. I’ll use my lunch, I’ll go for walks outside even in the winter, just to clear my head and kind of get some fresh air and reset a little bit. So I would say, I’m a big advocate for kind of those wellness moments and self-care moments, but then also being organized and making sure I have my day set up well is also super important.

Tae:

Sounds like you’re a very organized person and I love that.

Lauren:

It’s definitely key for this role.

Unexpected Wins

Tae:

So what does a win look like for you that maybe other people wouldn’t recognize from outside of your perspective?

Lauren:

I feel like anyone in marketing would say a first round approval with no notes because that is just like the ultimate win. I think people, especially in the digital space, often only see the final product on Instagram or LinkedIn, without realizing how much time, planning, and strategy happens behind the scenes. For me, being involved from the very first briefing call all the way through launch and reporting makes seeing the work come to life incredibly exciting. There’s always that sense of relief, and it’s even better when clients are happy and the results are strong. Seeing something you’ve put so much time and effort into finally come together is a really huge.

Satisfying Work

Tae:

What is the most satisfying campaign you’ve ever worked on? And why did it stand out for you?

Lauren:

We did one recently actually that comes to mind. It was for a US based flooring company. And the creative we did was, I think, some of our team’s best work. It was super smart. It was catchy. It was really visually engaging. We’re still working on it right now, so I can’t say too much. But I’m really excited to see how it fully comes to life and seeing it in market. Yeah, we were all super proud of that.

Tae:

That’s exciting! So when does that come out?

Lauren:

I think it’ll be in the new year. It’s gonna be live. We’re still working through finalizing assets right now.

Tae:

Hopefully there aren’t too many last minute changes from the client. All right, so here’s a silly question for you. If you could ban one buzzword from your industry, what would it be?

Banned Buzzword

Lauren:

I think my friends and family would have a better answer to this. But for me it would be ‘circle back’ because that has snuck into my vocab in all areas of my life. So yeah, I think the people around me would probably say circle back and I think for their sake, I would say that one too.

Secretly Loved Ad Campaigns

Tae:

Ha ha! Okay, what ad do you secretly love, even if it’s cringy? Or it doesn’t have to be, but what do you love?

Lauren:

I don’t know if it’s cringy, but I’ve been loving all of the out of home activations I’ve been seeing lately. I think it’s been really cool to see more traditional forms of marketing coming back into the focus and really making an impact. I saw one on LinkedIn last night that I really liked and it was for Ralph Lauren Ralph’s Coffee. And they did a really cool kind of holiday market in London and I saw pictures of it and I was like, “I want to go there!”

Tae:

Nice.

Lauren:

Ya, big fan of the activations I’ve been seeing.

Tae:

I mean, I didn’t even know Ralph Lauren did coffee, to be honest. Maybe I’m not on the right platforms to see it or whatever. I don’t know.

So, going into the future, do you have any like wish lists of the kinds of projects you would want to work on?

Project Wish List

Lauren:

Right now I’m super ingrained in the B2B building materials space. So I think eventually I’d love to kind of work with a B2C business model client. I think that industry is super cool because they have really fast buying cycles and you can really have the opportunity to do some bold creatives and push boundaries. And I think it also really taps into trends and cultural moments we’re seeing. So I would love to get into the B2C space at some point.

Tae:

Yeah, I imagine it would be a quicker season for campaigns in the B2C world.

Lauren:

Yeah, yeah, even what you see on TikTok, Instagram, everywhere. It’s sometimes just like for one week. Something’s the hot new thing and then the next minute it’s something else. So very fast paced, but cool for sure.

Favourite Marketing Trends

Tae:

So are you seeing any trends that you really like?

Lauren:

It kind of ties into what I said, but I’m loving the out of home activations. Like I said, I’m chronically online, so I’m seeing lots of influencer content, lots of UGC content. And I think some brands, especially in the U.S. are working with influencers by doing these really cool brand collabs. Like, especially around Christmas time, they’re delivering advent calendars or having team members go to people’s doors and deliver things to them. Big brand trips. I think they’re really working with their audience in cool ways.

Tae:

Can you explain to me, because I might not know the lingo, what ‘out of home activation’ would be?

Lauren:

So it’s kind of any type of like campaign or scene that you would see that isn’t digital. I’ve seen one (I forget what brand it was for) and it was a car that was on the street that was crushed with a bunch of drywall. And that was part of the brand’s activation is having people walk by and be like, wow, what is that? They just had really cool stopping power. It’s really sort of any like scene that a brand is putting on in person that you would walk by and see.

Tae:

Yeah, like something that would really grab your attention that’s not normal, that is out of the ordinary, that’s physical, right? In the physical world. I like that.

Lauren:

Yes, physical. Even like billboards would be an easier example to think of. Like you drive by those all the time and there’s cool, interesting ones. So that would be an out of home tactic that a brand would use.

Tae:

I love hearing about all these different kinds of marketing strategies and all the different ways that you can reach people in different platforms and stuff like that. It’s very fascinating. So just to wrap up, what would be some advice that you would maybe give to someone who might potentially be interested in a similar job to yours?

Life Advice for Newbies

Lauren:

Honestly, have an open mind and be curious and be ready to dig in. Being someone who didn’t go to school for this, really, it was a big learning curve, but I think staying open-minded and eager to learn and keep up with things was what really helped me kind of push to the next few steps in my career. It’s a big thing that we say at Jan Kelley, but you know, be curious and be excited to learn more. I would say that that’s crucial for sure.

Tae:

I like that advice. That’s good. Well, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for chatting with me, giving me a little bit of insight into your world. That’s pretty cool.

Lauren:

Awesome. Yeah, anytime. Thanks so much.

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