Yewande Sokan is the senior strategist at global media agency Maxus UK. Here she tells us how fascinating and creative her job can be…
What do you do day to day?
I have to understand what makes people tick and understand how they live their lives. This means that advertising campaigns and where they appear can be founded on proper research. My clients are big-name household brands and my job is to help them connect with their customers. I come up with strategies to do this, determining when and how the message will be seen, be it through TV, radio, sponsorship, social media, posters, or online.
How did you get into your line of work?
I studied economics at LSE and loved this, but I wanted a career in an industry where I could be creative. I joined the global advertising group WPP’s Fellowship scheme, which is a three year graduate trainee placement. I worked in New York, Singapore and London – an amazing experience to have but I wanted to come back to London – which is home.
What’s the most rewarding part of the job?
Finding or identifying something out about people, their lives and their behaviours and understanding why they do what they do.
A recent strategy for a charity involved texting women at airports, asking them to donate and help the charity prepare in case of emergencies. We know women love to be prepared – just in case – and use their time in airports to stock up on supplies and so this was the perfect time for the charity to reach them.
When you can find a connection between what you’ve found out and something your brand can offer to make peoples’ lives better, more interesting or entertaining – that’s really rewarding.
And the most challenging?
Putting yourself in the shoes of people who are not like you at all – dumping your own preconceptions to understand how and why people behave in a certain way is tricky.
