Staff Profiles: Maggie

Agencies are all about people—or Folk as we like to say. Each month we’re featuring one of the many faces behind the Folklore name—who bring their incredible backgrounds, ideas and energy to our work, clients and teams every day. Next up: Maggie LaNasa,

Well it seems like forever ago and a crazy time to get into the business, looking back. It was 2007, months before the infamous crash and recession of 2008, and I had accepted an internship at Periscope (now Betty). It was both a stressful and incredibly energizing time. I had been trying to decide on the right career path for me. Right turn and I’d be in account management learning all about working with clients. The other way, and a path in the fast growing world of account planning. Of course I didn’t know the real difference at the time but I was doing a presentation to agency leaders to secure the internship spot and they said right away “yeah, you’re a planner.” I was the intern candidate who focused heavily into research and campaign strategy. So I guess the path was set and I’m very thankful.

It was busy. We were a small team with only two planners so I got brought into a lot of projects as well as new business pitches, jumping in headfirst so I had to figure it out fast. There was also a sense that planning was still undergoing change. It had come out of the UK but wasn’t the discipline it is today. When I first started it was very research focused but over time shifted and became about real business insights and finding creative solutions for brands, campaigns and platforms. Then of course data and analytics became integrated and planners became this indispensable tool on any team. It was a really fascinating time to be a planner - everyday seemed to be a small evolution.

I was at Periscope for five years and saw incredible change. They went from not hiring for years due to the recession, to growing insanely fast. That made for a very dynamic, intense career ride. I moved on to Digitaria (later to become Mirum, then JWT and then maybe several other things). We had offices in San Diego and Minneapolis and were way more focused on digital, and while similar at the core, very different teams and execution. There wasn’t a dedicated brand strategist on staff at the time, so my role expanded again and I began to lead strategy, research and planning for clients. It was really the start of what I do today at Folklore, developing CX by bringing a data, research and strategic eye to developing solutions to fix challenges for brands and clients. Because of that I feel there are very few problems out there that we can’t figure out how to solve.

I think they’re trying to solve the same issues. How do I build brand awareness and truly connect with the people? Where do we invest, where do we divest? How do we become efficient but impactful? How do we align internally and/or take risks when needed? The trick is the marketing mix is so expansive now and at the same time everything can be connected. They’re asking for real partnership to navigate all of this – an expert in their corner to connect the dots and solve problems. And honestly, it is my favorite part of the job!

In a way the advice probably hasn’t changed to what I was told. You need to be able to move quickly while diving deep into the landscape. AI tools can give anyone quick answers, but the key to being a strategist or CXer is to go beyond the initial answer, listen to real people, and mine data from multiple touchpoints. We don’t want just quick facts, your agency team and clients need deep insights. Take our clients right now for instance. You have to become an expert on recreational boating, understand the complexities of the start-ups in the medical device landscape, and help enterprise clients as they live through some of the biggest model changes in modern healthcare. There’s no other way to operate other than being a person who embraces both the discovery and distillation process. So if you’re curious, value customer input, and are determined to answer lots of “whys” then you will find that this industry can be very rewarding and impactful.

I’ve got nothing to hide! Right now it’s likely a lot of Chappel Roan and Post Malone. I tend to create seasonal playlists and these two make for a great summer road trip soundtrack, especially as I head to the cabin with extended family. It’s the same cabin in Wisconsin I visited growing up, so although there’s a ton of change in the world, some things stay the same.