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Marketer Studied: Vol 1. Insights from Starbucks’ VP of Global Creative
Insights from Starbucks’ VP of Global Creative
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Meet Jayanta Jenkins
Welcome to Marketer Studied, where each week, we sit down with a marketing leader to learn more about their careers, insights and accomplishments.
This week, that marketing leader is Jayanta Jenkins, VP of Global Creative at Starbucks. Jayanta went from developing award-winning campaigns at renowned agencies to shaping the creative vision of global brands like Disney, Apple, Twitter, and Nike.
Here are the need-to-knows about Jayanta:
In his current role at Starbucks, he leads a team in developing the brand’s marketing campaigns, product packaging, and in-store experiences, ensuring consistency in brand identity across all touchpoints.
He executed the launch of Twitter’s first branding and marketing efforts, which, at the time, consisted of educating people on how to use hashtags (more on that below).
During his 7-year run at Wieden + Kennedy, he worked hand-in-hand with Nike overseeing high-profile campaigns and executing long-term strategy.
Lessons in agency and brand work
After getting his start in the agency world, Jayanta made the classic transition to brand side. But contrary to what you might think, it was a very smooth switch.
“During my seven years at Wieden + Kennedy, I was able to focus on a singular brand: Nike. I got to really connect with teams at Nike across different categories and work towards yearly common objectives. Without me realizing, it began my journey into just being very singular, as having a singular approach—which really got me to where I am today.
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When I did transition to brand side, there really wasn't this disconnect between working in various accounts at an agency to then going to a brand to work from the inside.”
Jayanta’s first role on the brand side was with Apple, where he focused on Beats by Dre and worked in areas he loved: music, sports, and product. But it was a relatively short stint.
“An interesting thing happened in my first year at Apple that I wasn't expecting: I got a call from Twitter. And it was such an interesting opportunity. At the time, no one in my peer group would have ever have touched an opportunity like Twitter as a creative because they hadn't really done anything as a brand, but everyone knew what the platform was. I took the opportunity because I'd done sports marketing for about 15 years at that point and I did not want to get typecast as a sports person. And so I joined Twitter and that opportunity literally changed the course of my career. And it was some of the most fun I've ever had in my 20ish years of working in the industry.
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You know, I have friends who are creative officers and chief creative officers at agencies, but they're doing the same things over and over again. With my move to Twitter, I really chose to get outside of myself because I just wanted to challenge what I thought I knew and explore what I didn't know. And it has put me in some very vulnerable situations.
It created a lot of uncertainty, but it has more so given me tremendous growth.
It's really the lessons that I got out of the moves that I've made beyond the brands and the work that's on my portfolio. I am very much a leader, an operator, a strategic implementer and a builder of teams.”
Having worked in both arenas, Jayanta forges a unique dynamic between his brand teams and the agencies they work with.
“Every internal team that I've worked with has always had this disdain for agencies because they feel that work is being taken away. And I have come into every place that I've been and basically dismantled that thinking. Ultimately a good agency partner is one that is an extension of a creative team, of a marketing organization. And I think it's really overly traditional thinking, when an agency is hired, to think they're coming in to do better, do more, or to prove themselves against the internal creative team.
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The best relationships are those where it's highly collaborative, and you're working together to make each other better. When that hasn't existed, I just haven't found that those relationships last very long. But I think it's also really up to the organization's internal creative teams and creative leaders to really build those relationships with that in mind versus the dynamic where you're both thrown together to try to take something from each other. It's building together. And I've often used the agencies my teams have worked with, to help learn from each other fundamentally.”
A standout campaign
Of all the impactful work Jayanta’s been behind throughout his career, there’s a pretty legendary one that stands out.
“The hashtag campaign that I did with the Twitter team definitely stands out. The job to be done was to help people understand “the why” of Twitter.
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The mission was to show sides and not take sides and invite people into a conversation. One of the things that I identified (which Twitter had literally put into the world first) was the hashtag as a means to categorize conversation or to bring attention to a conversation.
And that social media lexicon became the visual identifier for how to invite people into understanding the why of Twitter. So a lot of that work was just taking the hashtag and putting it next to visuals of things that were happening in current events.
It was simplistic, but incredibly powerful and pointed for the why of Twitter.
And that work opened up this huge understanding and opportunity for the company that I don't think had existed so powerfully before from a marketing perspective.
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So I'm very proud of that work and the work that happened after that. The teams came together strategically, executionally and as an organization to launch that. And to be able to talk about it years later is something that’s really one of the highlights of my career.
Advice and takeaways
Jayanta’s insights, career, and accomplishments offer a lot of learnings. Here are a few:
1) Embracing Career Transitions for Growth
Jayanta Jenkins’ career trajectory demonstrates the value of embracing new opportunities and challenges, even when they seem unconventional. His move from Apple to Twitter, despite the platform’s lack of established branding at the time, proved to be a pivotal moment in his career.
Don’t shy away from opportunities that may seem unconventional or outside your expertise. These experiences can broaden your skill set, provide fresh perspectives, and potentially redefine your career path. Be open to roles or projects that challenge your preconceptions and push you to learn new things.
2) Fostering Collaborative Agency-Brand Relationships
Jenkins emphasizes the importance of viewing agency partnerships as extensions of internal creative teams rather than as competitors. He advocates for dismantling the traditional adversarial mindset and fostering highly collaborative relationships.
When working with agencies, focus on building relationships based on mutual growth and learning. Encourage open communication, shared goals, and a collaborative spirit. This approach can lead to more innovative and effective marketing strategies, as well as opportunities for professional development on both sides.
3) Simplicity and Relevance in Campaign Execution
The standout Twitter hashtag campaign mentioned by Jenkins illustrates the power of simplicity and relevance in marketing. By using the hashtag as a visual identifier and connecting it to current events, the campaign effectively communicated Twitter’s value proposition.
When developing campaigns, focus on distilling your message to its essence. Look for simple, powerful ways to communicate your brand’s value or purpose. Connect your message to current events or trends that resonate with your audience. Remember that a straightforward, relevant approach can often be more effective than complex, elaborate campaigns.
Think long-term: What could help make your campaigns more successful over time? The right agency partner. And Vendry can help you meet yours, for free. Get started.