BY MARY HOFFMAN
Some might compare life at a marketing agency to a zoo. We prefer the term marketing menagerie.
In fact, our agency has affectionately adopted the animal metaphor to inspire our four teams within Hencove: Bees (marketing generalists), Blobfish (creative), Ligers (marketing specialists), and Echidnas (operations). Quirky? Sure, but it works for us.
With that in mind, Kerrianne Sullivan, a Bee, and Amy Hollshwander, a Blobfish, sat down to discuss their perspectives on work, life, and creative collaboration during their eight-plus combined years at the ‘Cove.
Into the Marketing Mix
Amy: Have you always wanted to work in marketing?
Kerrianne: I think so. My mom worked in marketing, so when it came time to pick a college major, I was eager to learn more about her job and what she did and to dig into some of the specifics. It caught my attention, so I went to college as a marketing major and stayed the course. What about you?
Amy: Yes, ever since I was young I’ve loved short-form videos, and there’s always been a spot for that in the marketing world. I began my career at a video advertising agency and I really enjoyed it, but I didn’t feel like I had a lot of control over the strategy or the decision-making. That’s when I realized I wanted to contribute earlier in the creative pipeline—as early as scripting and strategy—rather than just technical execution. I think I’ve ended up in the right place; it just took me a little bit to get here.
Amy: What advice would you give to individuals on both sides of the client–agency relationship for building and maintaining healthy, productive, collaborative relationships?
Kerrianne: This is such a good question. I would say overcommunicate and be honest. For clients working with an agency, my advice is to overcommunicate what you’re looking for, what your goals are for the project, and what success looks like to you. For the agency team working with the client, remember that your client put their brand in your hands, which can be scary, but overcommunicating can ease some of that stress. Do you have any?
Amy: That was a great answer. The only other thing I’d emphasize is having trust. For clients, the more you can collaborate and have faith that the agency is going to do right by you, the better. You’re both on the same team and working together to achieve the same goal.
Busy Bees and Bustling Blobfish
Kerrianne: If you had to switch to the Bee team for a day, what is one thing you would want to do or learn?
Amy: This is a hard question to answer because in a lot of ways being a Bee sounds scary! It plays to so many of my greatest weaknesses, so I think it would be challenging. But I do like to write, so I’d dive into a blog post or take the lead on the scripting side of a video so that I’m not too far from home.
Amy: What is the best professional advice that you’ve ever been given? Do you have any to offer to Bees in training?
Kerrianne: I think the best professional advice I’ve received has been to trust my gut. I’d been known to overthink things, but trusting my instincts, sharing my ideas, and being confident in myself has had a positive impact on my skills. In giving advice to Bees, I would stress the importance of asking questions. If you’re not sure, ask questions. If you’re curious about something, ask someone. What about you?
Amy: For Blobfish, creativity and curiosity are unlimited resources, so my advice would be to make the most you can out of them. And when you’re working with people on cross-functional teams and people with different skills, you just have to ask questions. Be open to the fact that you don’t know everything.
Kerrianne: As a Blobfish, what marketing trends do you have your eye on?
Amy: Short-form video is really sticking and landing. It’s fun to work on and it’s rewarding to see the trend carry on. A cap on length can feel like a guardrail, but it also opens a bunch of doors to finding creative solutions for how to make an impact in seconds, not minutes. What about for the Bees?
Kerrianne: Well, building on the video theme, lately we’ve been doing a lot more animation and short motion clips for clients on LinkedIn. Using shorter clips to promote pieces of content or just adding a different medium as a new way to engage their audience has been great.
In the Hencove Habitat
Amy: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about marketing since being at Hencove?
Kerrianne: I wouldn’t say this is marketing specific, but I think from Hencove I’ve learned the importance of collaboration. Whether it’s collaborating internally with different members of the team or collaborating with clients, it makes our work product stronger and improves the process of getting to that desired end result.
Kerrianne: Do you have a favorite Hencove memory?
Amy: There are so many to choose from, but I really enjoyed going to Chicago with you, Kerrianne, to oversee a video project for a client. We worked closely with another videography agency, which, as an animator, was cool for me to see. I had a few similar experiences at my previous job, but in this case I felt valued enough to ask questions and be a contributing team member, which was definitely a Hencove highlight for me.
Amy: If you were Daniel Black for a day, what would you do, Kerrianne?
Kerrianne: This is a fun one. There are endless opportunities! I think if I were Daniel for the day, for the benefit of my local colleagues I’d bring puppies into the office: call it puppy therapy. And of course, as a pug lover I feel there would have to be pugs in the mix. If I were really pushing my boundaries, I’d also adopt a dog and have it be Hencove’s mascot. What would you do?
Amy: I do think getting involved in new business and “selling” Hencove to prospective clients could be fun. I love to brag about our team’s strengths, so being able to go through all our wins and successes and speak to those sounds fun.
Kerrianne: Great! Now we have puppies, and you’re switching to Team Echidna. I guess we’ll add some clients and get some team bonding out of it, which sounds like something that Daniel would be proud of us for doing.
Speed Round!
Favorite season?
Kerrianne: Summer.
Amy: Fall.
Favorite food?
Kerrianne: Sushi, specifically the place in Watertown that we always get for lunch in the office.
Amy: Ice cream just always hits.
If you could be a character on any TV show, which would it be?
Kerrianne: I’m tempted to be a character on a reality show because I love reality shows, but I’m not cut out for reality TV, so I would like to be a guest star on Law & Order: SVU.
Amy: I would be the Avatar on Avatar: The Last Air Bender. If I have to be anyone but myself, I’m going to get superpowers out of it.
What animal best represents you other than a Bee or Blobfish?
Kerrianne: A dog, because they’re loyal, friendly, and strong willed.
Amy: That’s so funny, because I was thinking of going with a house cat. I like to do things on my own time, and I’m very affectionate and friendly but it takes me a minute. And I love a good nap in the sun.
What’s your food and drink order at a cafe or coffee shop?
Kerrianne: Probably a latte, either hot or cold, and a pecan roll.
Amy: The sweeter, the better. I’ll go with chai latte, and I have a strong preference for iced drinks. And then any pastry I can get my hands on, usually something chocolate.
Long Story Short…
Like a jungle, Hencove is an ecosystem, made up of various people, processes, and activities. And every healthy ecosystem requires balance. As demonstrated through Kerrianne and Amy’s conversation, our four-team structure plays on each colleague’s unique skill set to achieve harmony and alignment.