Decoding consumer culture, coordinating brand messaging, and rapping about coworkers
Editor's Note: "Meet a Media Planner" is our series of Q&As where we find out what's on the minds of media planners at agencies across the country. Today we're hearing from Miguel Mora, an associate media planner for Digitas in Chicago. After spending a year-and-a-half practicing law, Miguel's fondness for interactive marketing and social media led him to a new career in advertising. Now, nine months later (or a full-term pregnancy, as Miguel jokingly refers to it), he services the media needs of wireless provider Sprint and also takes part in the Digitas Cross-Cultural Team, which helps align brands with consumer passion points.
Yahoo! Ad Blog: You've just finished your "full-term pregnancy" as a media planner---what's been the biggest surprise about your new career?
Miguel Mora: I usually say how social the job is, but that's just my water-cooler answer. My real answer would be how many different publishers, networks, and vendors there are, and how they're working tirelessly to set themselves apart and get to the front of the pack. It's like a gold rush in this space.
YAB: Tell us about the Digitas Cross-Cultural Team and how it relates to your work for Sprint.
MM: The cross-cultural team is growing, and we serve as a resource for the entire agency. Our goal is to inform and provide insights on how to effectively message to and activate programs for the wide array of audience segments that make up the total market on behalf of all of our brands. On Sprint, cross-cultural team members are embedded across the account team, and we execute total market, and in some cases, more narrowly targeted plans across the brands we support (Sprint, Boost, Virgin, and Assurance).
YAB: Do you have a favorite campaign from the last year or so?
MM: I love what Chrysler has been doing with the "Imported from Detroit" campaign. I first saw the campaign on the Super Bowl TV spot, and I think it's pretty great. I also like what Peapod is doing by combining digital and out-of-home approaches to allow customers to shop while waiting for the train or bus, things like that. I would say the Nike "Find Your Greatness" campaign is pretty inspiring. The "Jogging" ad was apparently controversial, but I enjoyed it.
YAB: Are there any particular concerns or issues you're hearing about from your clients right now?
MM: One of the things that's unique about working with a large brand like Sprint is managing the entire brand portfolio. Sprint has other brands like Boost, Virgin Mobile, and Assurance, so I have to make sure that if I'm working with a publisher on behalf of the B2B team and someone on another Sprint team is also working with that same publisher, we're delivering a consistent message to the consumer. We have to make sure we're not crossing messages or bombarding people with something that isn't relevant to them at that exact moment.
YAB: Yeah, that could get hairy. How do you de-stress from the job?
MM: I started a clothing line with some friends called City of Win, so that takes up a lot of my time and I really enjoy it. I also go to a lot of shows and concerts, and make my own music.
YAB: What do you play?
MM: I actually write and I rap. I rapped at our Digitas all-staff event.
YAB: Was it a rap about Digitas or the ad biz?
MM: Actually, it was all about team strength. It was fun. We're a close-knit group, so there were a lot of shout-outs to our team and some inside jokes and things like that. I was up late writing it the night before and was running on about 3 hours of sleep when it was time to go. I was backstage, feverishly reviewing what I had written and making sure I had it committed to memory. Thankfully, it turned out okay, and I didn't flop.
