Leading Watershed’s first(!) brand campaign
September 2022
It’s been an amazing opportunity to help build Watershed’s marketing program from the ground up. Marketing a B2B startup with a mission to rebalance Earth’s climate — given the notable policy, media, economic, and science implications that render the industry forever dynamic, its focus at any given moment prone to sharp detours and changes of pace — is a complex challenge, to say the least. I love it.
I was brought onto the Watershed team to lead their first ever brand campaign, focused on awareness, primarily among NYC Climate Week attendees. With a core campaign team of 5 marketers, I quickly got to work on a project charter that would accurately outline our campaign goals, wider business objectives, past challenges and learnings, our dream outcome, and each person’s role. Then we dove into logistics: timelines, budgets, meetings and reviews across functions, and a concise list of channels, outlets, and assets. After an official kickoff we were off and running, and soon settled on a co-marketing strategy that involved a week of our Director of Marketing and I talking up the campaign’s alluring, no-cost advertising opp to our biggest customers — and surprisingly, we ended the week with signed agreements from teams of the likes of Stripe, Boom, and Sweetgreen. Success! We completed the project development stage with a lengthy but encouraging executive presentation — and I then shifted my focus to creative.
On the creative side, our phenomenal design lead was knee deep in concepts and brainstorms. She worked tirelessly to pull together graphs, stats, obscure photographic references, and mockups in an attempt to translate our business goals + climate science into a compelling visual ad. A team of one, she was our saving grace and I saw my primary role as the focus-puller, idea backboard, brainstorm buddy, and protector of her process’ time and space (surprisingly the best creative ideas rarely emerge from a team’s micro-management or overbearing pressure). I helped shape the work into a concept that addressed our business goals and could be delivered on-time and on-budget.
I’m often asked what makes a producer different from a program manager and my reply is often: I’m in the trenches with y’all! My background in brand creative allows me to contribute as a creative collaborator when needed, and my background in leading and overseeing large crews allows me to communicate clearly across all levels and navigate tense situations with calmness and kindness. An in-house producer is a marketing projects’s publicist, coach, referee, editor, and teammate.
In the end, we managed to launch Watershed’s first, full 360 campaign, based on a brand awareness vision but involving many different channels, outlets, and goals, just in time for Climate Week 2022! It was a thrilling moment for the small team, and an optimistic, energizing start to my time at Watershed.
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