Embrace Your Inner Brand Nerd with Jess Gutman

We Built This Brand

In this episode of We Built This Brand, Chris is joined by Jess Gutman, Creative Director at Big Slate Media. Jess reveals what it’s been like to see the company grow from its early days (she’s employee #3), and is able to share unique insights on how building a brand from scratch is an ever-evolving process. If there’s one big lesson you can take away from this conversation, it’s to embrace whatever it is you’re weirdly passionate about because that’s your superpower. Jess is a self-described “brand nerd” and it’s clearly paying off.

Highlights
(00:00) Intro
(01:53) Chris introduces Jess Gutman, Creative Director at Big Slate Media
(02:38) Jess describes the early days in her career and what led her to a career in PR & Marketing
(07:25) Jess explains how a drone started the Big Slate Media brand and how she joined the company as one of the first employees
(12:47) The approach Jess took to building out the Big Slate Media brand and how she has scaled that into a branding workshop
(15:42) Jess describes the challenges of managing an evolving brand
(19:38) Jess & Chris discuss Upcoming initiatives at Big Slate Media
(23:37) Jess explains what the B-Roll Bank is and why Big Slate Media is so excited about it
(25:47) Why Jess is so passionate about her role and the brand she’s helping to create
(27:10) Jess’ thoughts on AI and other technologies as they relate to creative industries
(34:50) How a water brand captured Jess’ heart

About Jess

Jess is a storyteller at heart – from sitting in front of a screen crafting content for various brands, to bringing others’ words to life on a stage, to posting about her day on her Instagram Stories. Her passion has always been to communicate with others, tell stories that inspire emotion and really, just make people laugh (her mom thinks she’s hilarious).

Professionally, she enjoys telling brand stories through captivating images/graphics/video, digital content, and social media. Jess currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the American Marketing Association Knoxville and on the Community Engagement committee for the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation.

When not at work (actually, sometimes at the office, too), you can find Jess singing along to Broadway Cast Recordings, binging Netflix/Hulu/YouTube, snuggling her cat Aaron Purr, or hanging out with family and friends. She loves traveling, fresh flowers, and sour beer.

Links Referenced:

• Big Slate Media: https://bigslatemedia.com/
• Big Slate Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigslatemedia/
• Big Slate Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigslatemedia/
• Big Slate LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/big-slate-media/

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