DMWF North America: Speaker Q&A, Jessica Spar – Senior Vice President, Social Media + Influencer Marketing, KWT

1) Please can you introduce yourself and provide a brief history of your digital?marketing journey?

I have over a decade of experience across paid, owned, and earned channels and developing integrated programs to drive business impact. I’ve scaled startups, developed award-winning campaigns across industries (even genomics!), and have driven significant ROI for clients through social and influencer marketing campaigns. I love using data-driven insights to drive creative strategies, and staying ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving marketing landscape. I now lead our social and influencer marketing team at KWT, overseeing a team of experts specializing in creator, influencer, and VIP relations as well as social strategy, content development, and paid media! I’ve worked across brands such as Liquid I.V., Four Seasons, The Botanist, Illumina, PNC Bank, Wegmans, Newman’s Own, and more!?

2) What aspects of the ‘Fireside Chat: Navigating the Creator Economy’ session at DMWF North America on the 26-27 September, are you most excited about as a speaker?

I look forward to discussing the role creators can play in helping brands break through, and the opportunities for brands to see creators not just as executors, but as experts in their own right. The more brands listen to creators, who understand the landscape, their audience, and what resonates, the greater success they can achieve.?

3) Which project from the past year stands out as your proudest achievement?

This year, I’ve worked with my team to formalize our Creator Collective offering here at KWT to address today’s high-demand social media landscape, where platforms like TikTok necessitate large volumes of content, and content production and influencer marketing costs are escalating. Our tailored program connects brands with top-tier creators who produce engaging, cost-effective, and platform-specific content, enabling scalable content creation and access to new audiences amidst these landscape challenges. These collaborations are designed to align with strategic business goals, facilitating powerful brand storytelling. Since launching, we’ve achieved remarkable outcomes, including engagement rates frequently surpassing 20%. I’m proud of the substantial success we’ve realized for our brand partners through this innovative solution.?

4) What marketing advancement and trend are you most enthusiastic about in the?digital marketing landscape?

This is probably going to be an answer for a lot of people this year, but AI is a big one to watch. It’s becoming a part of everything we do – from helping brainstorm and write copy, to generating unique and imaginative creative, to platforms integrating AI into their Search functionality (for better or worse), and even finding its way into the influencer landscape through AI influencers. And that’s just scratching the surface. AI is going to continue to have significant impact in the digital marketing space, and I’m excited to see where it goes.?

5) What single piece of advice would you give to a friend working in the digital?marketing space?

Stay on top of trends and updates as much as possible – the landscape changes so quickly, so t’s important for us to keep on top of (and ahead of) the latest and greatest. And if there’s room for it (given brand appetite), don’t be afraid to push boundaries and try new things. It may not always work out, but if it does, you can really make a splash! Too many brands are so afraid to take risks and they lose out on potentially big moments because of this.?

6) Lastly, could you share what is your favorite marketing campaign and why it?resonates with you?

I think Liquid Death has done a brilliant job with their marketing over the last year. For them it hasn’t been just one campaign, but they just keep coming out with one hit after another and have generated so much buzz. They’ve captured the market with unexpected and exciting partnerships (E.L.F. x Liquid Death Corpse Paint), capitalizing on timely moments such as the new seasons of The Boys, and even using lawsuits to their advantage, rebranding the “Armless Palmer” to “Dead Billionaire” in a clever move. They’re a brand that isn’t afraid to push boundaries and take risks, but that’s also because that’s at the core of their brand ethos and they’ve executed brilliantly time and time again.?

Make sure you get your pass for?DMWF North America on?26-27 September at?Marriott Marquis, Times Square, New York and catch Jessica on the Fireside Chat: Navigating the creator economy. Click?here?to get book your pass and we will see you in September!