Data love, constantly evolving technology, and decompressing poolside
Editor's Note: "Meet a Media Planner" is our ongoing series of Q&As where we find out what's on the minds of media planners at agencies across the country. Today we'd like to introduce Celina Gomes, a media supervisor for The Garage/Team Mazda in Costa Mesa, California. After a five-year career in media planning, Celina joined The Garage team eight months ago, excited to help shape the still relatively new agency. Along with the rest of The Garage crew, Celina's engine revs for one client alone---Mazda.
Yahoo! Ad Blog: What part of your job as a media supervisor makes you feel most satisfied?
Celina Gomes: Getting to work as a team to put together presentations; being involved in the campaign process from planning to presenting to implementing---and then monitoring it to make sure it's successful. It's great working with different departments to make it all come to life.
I would also definitely say launching the Mazda CX-5 was exciting. It was cool to build the awareness before the launch and then watch it increase during the launch as we built customized programs around it.
YAB:What do you think sets your current agency apart from other places you've worked?
CG: Because we're only two years old, we really have a little family here. We're all very close and very excited to be working together building this company. When you start somewhere so close to the beginning and you're helping to mold it, it's way different than when you walk into an environment where everything is already established and change is difficult.
YAB: What are some of the top priorities or concerns you're seeing from Mazda right now?
CG:They're one of the smaller OEMs out there, so getting data and boosting brand awareness is huge. They need people to think of them in same category as Toyota or Honda, so we're looking to make sure we're doing a lot to build their brand.
YAB: Are there any new trends or technologies you think could be exciting for them to use?
CG: I definitely think the mobile space will continue growing and becoming more versatile. I'm looking forward to seeing how tracking and targeting will get even better for mobile. I also love the idea of the console and smart TV, because they'll be a great way for us to reach people like we normally would with regular TV, but we'll be more connected and able to get more data from them. I love data!
YAB: Does your mom understand what you do for a living?
CG: Oh my gosh, no. I'll say things like, "You see that ad? That's what I do. I sit down and plan how to get that ad there so you'll see it." And she says, "Okay…" There's obviously a lot more to it, but it's hard to explain to someone who isn't the most Internet-savvy person.
YAB: What do you think is the most challenging part of your job?
CG: Work-life balance! Actually, every day holds different challenges. You could be trying to implement a campaign and make sure everything goes off without a hitch, when some giant fire comes out of nowhere and leaves you scrambling to make sure everything goes correctly.
YAB:Speaking of work-life balance, what do you do to de-stress from the job?
CG: I'm very much about being poolside and being outdoors because I spend so much time indoors at work. I love sitting by my pool and reading a good book.
YAB: What are you reading right now?
CG: I'm almost finished with The Help. I just watched the movie version and thought, "Let me see how different the book is."
YAB: Looking back on your media career, what do you think is the most surprising part of the job?
CG:The constant changes in technology. Every time you think you've learned one thing, something brand new pops up and you're like, "Wait, what just happened here?" Some other mediums are pretty much standard, but digital media is evolving every year, so you're constantly learning. Luckily, that's something I love.
