On November 28th, AMADC will dive into experiential marketing and brand engagement with Fredda Hurwitz, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at RedPeg Marketing. We sat down with Fredda to learn a little more about our speaker before the event…

On November 28th, AMADC will dive into experimental marketing and brand engagement with Fredda Hurwitz, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at RedPeg Marketing. We sat down with Fredda to learn a little more about our speaker before the event…

What is your favorite part about being a strategist and marketer?

Hmm, tough one as there are so many component parts. To keep it simple, I’d say that being a strategist in the marketing space allows me to feed my insatiable curiosity, ask loads of questions without fear of being ridiculed and remain comfortably confident to say, “I don’t understand” or “I don’t know the answer”. Being vulnerable allows me to be human and being human allows me to reflect and advise my clients and my colleagues objectively because I’ve had a chance to mull things over rather than throw myself in without thinking.

Tell us about a brand or person that you follow because you admire their work and feel inspired by them?

There are many that I admire and check in on but I’m not religious about it, so with the risk of sounding cliché:

• I love seeing what Nike is going to do next, ditto for Patagonia
• With sports such a huge part of my life, I love how Common Goal has stepped in and up to encourage footballers around the world to give back, and mean it.
• I also love an Australian brand called Skins (in particular their CEO Jaimie Fuller) who never shies away from taking on organizations and individuals who aren’t above board, ethical or doing the right thing by others.
• As for individuals, Sheryl Sandberg is right up there. John Amaechi is probably the best speaker I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to and I also get to call him my friend.
• And Jonathan Mildenhall, formerly of Coke and Airbnb – great stuff!

What was the last book you read that left you feeling pumped up and full of ideas for your own work?

I’ve just started “You are a Badass” by Jen Sincero and I’m pretty confident this is going to get me pumped up and highly focused about making some important changes in my life. On the flipside, I recently finished “World in my Eyes” by Richard Blade, who has nada to do with marketing. He’s a 1980s DJ who chronicled his life and the bands from that time. I love the 80s so for me this was a bit of a walk down memory lane and made me want to dance (though sadly no smart ideas for work!). 

As a CMO, what is one piece of advice you’d offer to a brand new marketer in the industry? 

Listen, ask questions, be part of the conversation, share your thoughts, trust your gut, be considerate, don’t assume “the consumer” is any different than you are, because guess what? You’re also a consumer and often a member of that same demographic that brands are desperately trying to connect with, although clearly you’ll never identify yourself that way…And finally, find a mentor or two and have some fun!

Join us on December 17, 2018 to hear more from Fredda! Register here.