Brandi Hunter

Right now, working in marketing is about finding ways to meet people where they are and engage them authentically. Millennials led the shift toward online shopping, digital activism and achieving work-life balance, while Gen Z is full of digital natives who can spot a grift from a mile away. Both generations value diversity and inclusivity and want to know brands’ stances on social issues To adapt to these new expectations, Kinesso’s Matterkind has implemented “ conscious marketing ” and launched Outcome Navigator (ON) — a suite of applications to help marketers navigate the changing landscape of the industry. Outcome Navigator’s offerings help focus marketing efforts on creating more thoughtful, respectful engagement with customers to achieve several key business outcomes vital to a marketing professional.

In the tech industry, the volume of conversations about startups and entrepreneurship is right up there with those around remote work and pandemic-driven innovation. Some of us are expeditiously plotting to leave the 9-to-5 and take our talents to our home office full time; others are planning an ascent to the C-suite. And some of us like to straddle the fence by choosing to work a day job while doing side projects. For those who haven’t decided one way or the other, another option is to try and get on with a company that offers intrapreneurship opportunities — the chance to move like an entrepreneur within the organization. IPG-owned Kinesso is one of the organizations that’s working to find new ways to support employees who want to ideate and create outside their normal roles. In 2020, Kinesso launched TheEngine+ , an in-house competition that empowers employees across the family of brands (Acxiom, Kinesso and Matterkind) to pitch ideas and develop them with funding and staff...

AfroTech talked to four women who are thriving in their tech careers at IPG-owned Kinesso and Matterkind and working to drive the companies forward in the areas of innovation and diversity. As important as it is to honor and learn from women who made history and enabled little girls to imagine new possibilities for their lives, we also need to make space for recognizing those who are doing big things right now in their areas of influence. Here are there stories. Renu Hooda, Global Chief Talent Officer, Kinesso, LLC Renu Hooda leads employee experiences across the globe at Acxiom, Kinesso and Matterkind. Her primary responsibility is ensuring that people leaders and employees embody the company values and have equitable employee experiences. Hooda started as an actuary with the company, then transitioned to the compensation team at IPG Corporate almost 15 years ago. She says her creativity is unlocked in her pursuit to make sure everyone has the same access to growth opportunities....

Just thinking about money — or a lack of it — can evoke some strong feelings, from anxiety and frustration to excitement and opportunity. Relative to the general population, Black people have faced many systemic barriers that limited or blocked access to capital, networks, resources, high-earning opportunities, and, as an outcome, generational wealth. Despite the persistent obstacles, being intentional and strategic, along with getting assistance from professionals trained to help make your money work for you, generational wealth is more of a possibility. MassMutual market strategist Darin Florenz, a veteran in financial services, believes holistic financial planning is an important step toward building generational wealth. Holistic planning means strategically managing your finances for the big picture — short- and long-term goals you want to achieve — rather than working toward only one goal or challenge, like buying a house or starting a business. The thought of working with a...

Even though we’re aware of how much we contribute to the culture as Black people, many companies are just now learning how much we impact the U.S. economy. Black spending power is projected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2030, according to a report released by consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Still, Black consumers are significantly underserved, and the reality is that these inequities lead to human development challenges and cost the U.S. economy about $300 billion each year. For companies in the marketplace that want to do right by us, the opportunity to increase loyalty, grow the bottom line and meaningfully impact Black lives is vast. The 2021 consumer report “Black consumers: Where to invest for equity” provides a blueprint on how organizations can work to better serve Black consumers, and it details the social and economic benefits of doing so. Here are some key takeaways from the report. We’re still working to overcome economic obstacles Systemic racism has been part of our...

In this pandemic economy, stretching a dollar as far as it can go is key. The mission of Wish, a worldwide mobile e-commerce marketplace, is to help people do that by enabling merchants around the world to sell products at prices generated for the value-conscious consumer. More than 500,000 merchants sell around 1.7 million products a day directly to 60 million monthly active users. And they sell everything from household goods to clothing and gadgets. Available in more than 60 countries, the Wish app provides an innovative, discovery-based mobile shopping experience that’s highly visual, entertaining and personalized so each user can find things they didn’t even know they needed. Merchants can benefit by selling outside their countries and accessing a range of data and business tools to increase sales. And the reason the mobile shopping mall can provide such an experience for both consumers and merchants is because Wis h empowers its team to share thoughts and ideas that can help...

When you’re on the outside looking in, people working in tech might have you thinking your skill set doesn’t have a place in the industry. Tamara Springle’s career journey proves that’s just not true. Springle is the global head of customer enablement at Qualtrics. Her team is responsible for creating customer education strategies and delivering solutions that teach customers how to use Qualtrics to build experience management programs. Her advice for people looking to get into tech but aren’t sure how they can fit in? “Focus on your transferable skills and just take the leap.” She can say that because she did it. Becoming a global lead at Qualtrics was not part of the plan when she was in college — or part of her family’s plan for her since childhood. “Growing up, my family told me I would be a doctor,” she says. “My only choice was what type of doctor I would be. I’m sure many first-generation college students can understand the pressure that comes with those types of...

Many companies talk about internal mobility. Others are built on it. Some organizations may use phrases like “internal mobility” and “supporting your professional development” to reel you in, but management isn’t necessarily concerned with any of that. However, global experience management leader Qualtrics ’ approach is a little different. At Qualtrics, it’s possible to make significant moves within the organization. Michaela Seferian-Jenkins’ career journey at Qualtrics is an example of how a company can support you while you’re learning and advancing in your career. Seferian-Jenkins is a global program manager in the engineering department. Her team bridges the gap between products and customers by helping incorporate the customer voice into new features at Qualtrics. “Mostly, I work with product teams, engineering and customer success managers to ensure customer feedback is being incorporated into our new developments. I also help lead our internal feedback process called...

A common challenge companies experience is having to navigate a disjointed technological ecosystem, and solving for it can add more difficulty when the tools being used aren’t in sync. That’s why Kinesso built Kanvas , a platform to help developers, brands and marketers craft adtech and martech solutions that complement what they’re already doing. This enables them to connect people with more relevant experiences. Kanvas allows teams to work within their existing framework with APIs that connect to Kinesso’s award-winning solutions. Here are some real-world examples of how Kanvas is helping companies create meaningful, effective customer experiences. Turning the Tide In the spirit of innovation and collaboration, Kinesso launched a beta version of Kanvas in 2020 with select partners The Trade Desk and Acxiom. The developer community was given access to proprietary tools and systems to help gain more understanding around audiences, data and reporting. The Trade Desk used Kanvas to...

You walked across the stage with your degree in hand and were fortunate enough to land a job right away. Now what? Or maybe you have several years’ worth of industry experience and you’re thinking about changing things up. Whether you’re new to the game or looking to level up, setting new career goals can be overwhelming, and it’s a lot easier when you have some help. The Blacks in Tech (BIT) employee resource group at Capital One wants to help all its members think through and navigate career elevation. In 2021, the group launched the Rise Up mentorship program. For six months, participants are paired with mentors based on mutual career interests, current job positions and professional goals, such as leadership or exploring another role. Eloise Hudgins, Chief of Staff, Budget and Labor at Capital One, was drawn to the program as a mentor and mentee. After two years with the company, she was looking for insight on the obstacles she was dealing with at work, and wanted to help others...

A common #NewYearNewMe goal is to take better care of ourselves so that our bodies and minds are fortified for the long haul of everyday life. We focus on things we can control, like exercising, clean eating or spending less time on social media. But we don’t always take into account the impact of situations we can’t completely control, like a messy breakup or a stressful project at work. While it’s possible to survive and even thrive during hard times, it’s much easier to do so when anchors in our lives are steady. That’s why Dr. Femi Olu-Lafe, SVP of Global Culture and Inclusion for Interpublic Group’s Acxiom , Kinesso and Matterkind , says the companies are prioritizing workplace wellness. Leaders at these three organizations, which collectively serve as the marketing intelligence spine of IPG, recognize the effect day-to-day experiences can have on our overall health. So they’re providing the tools and space to help employees establish or reclaim wellness. Dr. Olu-Lafe talked to...

Serving your customers and employees well means listening effectively and taking appropriate action when something’s not quite right. Qualtrics wants to help organizations better understand their customers and employees, as well as tighten up internal and external processes. The technology platform assists companies in fixing broken customer and employee experiences. It allows companies to listen to feedback on any channel, analyze thoughts, feelings and emotions and then take prescriptive actions to improve the experiences. You can learn about your customers from a range of platforms, such as social media, review websites or your company’s call centers, and even use the technology to gauge the #mood of a customer on a recorded phone call.

It’s one thing to find a job and a whole other thing to work at a place where you feel respected, appreciated and understood. Marketing professional Melsha Key found that sweet spot with Gap Inc. “I’ve had the opportunity to be seen, to be heard, to feel like I have a seat at the table and to feel valued,” she says. As a marketing manager at Banana Republic, Key creates strategies and campaigns to roll out customer products and programs. The project she’s most proud of is the integrated rewards program the company launched in 2021. It allows customers to rack up and redeem points when they shop across the four Gap Inc. brands: Old Navy, Gap, Athleta and Banana Republic. “This is a win for the customer because they can deepen their relationships. But also it’s a win for our company because we learn more about the customer and the customer’s journey, therefore meeting our business objectives: increasing spend, increasing frequency and building those lifetime loyalists.” In addition to...

Twitter might have you thinking college grads and young professionals are the only ones working in tech, but the truth is the field has plenty of seasoned technologists. Conrad Meneide, Vice President of Tech Ops and Cloud Engineering at Gap Inc., is one of those industry veterans. Meneide has worked in tech for more than 26 years. At Gap Inc., he’s responsible for managing and innovating foundational technology for the family of brands: Gap, Old Navy, Athleta and Banana Republic. “We are the builders of the interstate highway that gets features to our customers,” he says. At Gap Inc., the engineers and developers deliver best-in-class retail technology for teams and customers. The tech ops and cloud engineering team is responsible for leading the evolution, modernization and performance of tools and shared services. That means, if you work at Gap Inc. or shop at one of the stores, Meneide’s team enabled or created the technology you interact with. Meneide also uses his role as an...

The racial reckoning of 2020 was a catalyst for countless individuals and organizations to claim they want to dismantle racism. And now, enough time has passed for us to see who is following their public show of support with actual steps toward change. Medallia is one of those companies that made a commitment to both acknowledge and combat inequality , and it’s continuing the work . Medallia is a leading customer and employee experience platform. They empower brands around the world to create seamless experiences driven by the voices that keep businesses going – the employees and the customers. Take a page out of the Medallia playbook and do the work. Here are three ways you can make good on your company’s pledge to support Black employees.