My career story began when I joined Ketchum PR straight out of Rutgers University. I learned the ropes, including how to build professional relationships, pitch media and sell ideas to clients. I often recommend to recent college grads to join an agency first. They are masters at training and molding their staff. Thank you, Barri Rafferty, Dale Bornstein and Kiersten Zweibaum!
In 2007 while at Sony Electronics I began to see other companies create something called a “corporate blog,” and I decided to pitch the idea to my boss, who then asked me to pitch it to the CEO, who was very receptive. From there, we launched on Twitter and LinkedIn and the rest is history. This meeting was highly nerve-wracking, but it was a great lesson in believing in ideas and articulating the benefit in order to gain approval.
Chris Brogan, an early influencer and “daddy blogger” who interviewed me at CES in 2009 about building an online community for Sony’s biggest fans. He gave me the confidence I needed to be creative and innovative in a new space that didn’t have many benchmarks back then.
Make it shorter, tighter, and simpler. Our attention spans are limited, and we are being bombarded with messages every minute. If people want to know more, they can always click through for the full story.
Don’t get too comfortable. Our industry is changing rapidly with new channels and new technology all the time, so we need to stay nimble, no matter how old we are!
Marcy Cohen is Senior Vice President, Global Digital Communications at Mastercard. She is responsible for developing and implementing digital content strategies to drive the company’s corporate reputation. She launched storylab, an in-house content studio infusing storytelling with creativity, color and authenticity. At the core of storylab is the Content Exchange, the company’s human-centered storytelling site, launched during the Covid-19 pandemic. She conceived the company’s first branded podcast, Fortune Favors the Bold about the role money plays in our lives. Prior to her current role she was head of social media at Sony Electronics.
