Can you walk us through your journey to HYPE10?
Yes! I was on the job hunt during my senior year of college. On a one-off lunch, a family member mentioned that he knew someone who was starting an agency. As it turned out, it was Max Langlois, who was looking for his first employee at HYPE10!
I ended up interviewing with Max, getting the job, and becoming the first full-time H10 employee.
I knew I always wanted to try paid media. The ability + speed to push content to millions of people and scale brands is super exciting. My previous experience was focused on organic media at an art gallery in San Diego. I liked it, but I realized it was slower than what I was looking for.
As the first member of the H10 team, how have you seen the company evolve?
The main thing that sticks out is the level of growth over the course of 2 years! Crazy to think that we’re at 16 full time employees now.
Also, seeing our book of business grow from 5 clients to 35+. That’s really a testament to how talented the entire team is. We’ve spent a TON of time building out training programs to teach new joiners how H10 works with clients and approaches paid media.
You’ve progressed quickly through the ranks at H10 - what advice would you give to people just starting out?
My biggest piece of advice is to step-out of your comfort zone and be comfortable with making mistakes. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re probably not growing as fast as you could be. I like to think of these learning moments!
I know it can be nerve-wracking, but the only way to really grow is to feel that nervous, uncomfortable feeling that comes with doing something new. Eventually, you’ll realize that what was once uncomfortable for you is now your new ‘comfort zone’.
Is there a particular component of digital marketing that excites you the most?
I absolutely love creative. I enjoy putting myself in the mindset of my client’s target audience and thinking through what's going to move the needle for them. It's satisfying to come up with an idea, have the Creative team bring it to life, and then watch it perform across different channels.
What aspects of your personality shine through the most in your work at H10?
I'm a social person and I really like building relationships with my clients. It's nice to have a little fun and get to know your clients beyond their KPIs. Allowing my personality to shine through is what has helped me build strong relationships across my portfolio!
What key trends have you observed in the paid media space recently? How have you adapted your strategies to stay ahead?
I’ve seen user generated content become increasingly more important in the paid social media mix.
I’m always sharing creative mood boards with my clients through Foreplay (a creative inspiration tool!) and often include UGC-style content as examples.
I constantly look at what other brands are doing from a creative perspective (both through paid and organic content). One of the things I love about this job is that it’s ever changing, and the creatives that convert are always evolving.
How do you change your approach when working across different verticals?
At a high level, the two main things to consider are target audience and consumer journey.
The audience and consumer journey for an apparel brand is going to be quite different from a telehealth brand. It’s important to understand the differences and tailor my media strategy accordingly.
As an example, I typically observe longer consumer journeys for more expensive brands because these goods/services require more thought prior to purchasing (ex. Luxury goods, telehealth services, etc.). Really, I’ve found that these consumers just require more information about the product, and thus the creatives for these brands tend to be longer or more educational.
Can you share a success story from one of your clients?
Definitely! I’ve been working with a telehealth brand for over a year now. Proud to share that they’ve seen huge growth over the course of the H10 engagement. When I first took over the account in May 2021, our CAC was hovering around $340… fast forward to today, we are hitting a $240 CAC or below with a budget increase of 44%.
I think what makes this so special is that the telehealth vertical can be notoriously challenging. Similar to what I mentioned earlier, the consumer journey is much longer than that of an apparel brand. Telehealth products/services generally require more thought, time, and deliberation from the end consumer.
At a high level, we focused on running ads with informative creative content, whitelisting, and making tactical improvements in the ad account (like implementing dynamic UTMs).
I’m also really proud of the trust I’ve built with their team. This engagement is one of my favorites!
What are some things that excite you about the future of digital marketing?
I'm excited to see how AI interacts with digital marketing in the future. I'm envisioning virtual try-ons and shopping that will change the way we reach consumers. I feel like it's not as far off as we think and I’m excited for what’s to come.
How do you think H10 sets itself apart from other performance marketing agencies?
We take a holistic approach to paid media. Rather than focusing solely on the individual channels we work on, we build our strategy based on business-level objectives (Yes… we look at Shopify data)!
Also, when you work with HYPE10, you’ll have one manager for all paid media channels. This allows us to apply learnings from one channel to many. This is a stark difference from the traditional method of media buying where you have one manager siloed to a single channel.
What’s been your favorite H10 memory?
It’s definitely our 2 year anniversary party. It was surreal being in that room and seeing how many people were there. We had clients, employees, family, and friends there! It was a great celebration of HYPE10’s success.
What are some things that excite you about the future of H10?
Lots of things! Onboarding and training up our new hires, working with new brands, and helping the company grow.
I’m also excited about how our service offering is expanding. There's a lot of exciting things that are in the works here. Obviously, I can't share our top secret plans just yet, but I know our clients will be very excited.
