I hope my first blog post doesn’t get me fired. But after eight years in the world of nonprofit marketing, I landed my “dream job” last year as a Creative Director for a cloud-based gaming company. My mind was busily challenged 110% of the time. I was able to freely create. And playing video games was actually part of the job requirement! As a bonus, my kids thought I had the coolest job in the world. Can’t beat that . . . or so I thought.
Enter mom. Now, you know how brutally honest mothers can be. When I was working at one of Masterworks’ chief competitors, I’d often show her my nonprofit projects. With tears in her eyes she would be taken back and so proud of the ultimate good my work was accomplishing. But, when I showed her my first “gaming” project, she was confused. What meaning did this have? Even as well laid out visually as it was – what possible good could these games produce, even if good was prevailing over evil?
Granted, my mother’s “non-plussed” attitude about my previous employment wasn’t the only reason I joined Masterworks. Actually, there were two critical components that confirm my decision.
1. The strength of the Masterworks Digital Team.
I’d never seen an agency devoted to Christian nonprofits that was so well staffed in the digital area. I came from an agency where I was the digital department — me, myself and I. Here we have a whole department of a dozen people. When I was introduced to Mark, the digital strategist, and Kris, the digital designer, and Josh, the digital writer, I was very impressed. But, what finally won me over was . . .
2. Masterworks’ top-down commitment to excellence in digital marketing.
During my first day at Masterworks, I was invited into the president’s office. Steve Woodworth shared his personal commitment to making digital work for MW clients. “We have to do this,” he said. “Digital is a critical component, alongside mail and other viable channels in direct marketing, having already proved repeatedly, the need for an integrated strategy. We need to lead the way, crack the code, and help our clients take advantage of these evolving channels that offer effective communication and easy response.”
Well, I walked out of Steve’s office sold on this place. Sure, we’re not doing all the digital work for every client that I’d like to do. In some cases, our clients aren’t ready. In other cases, we need to refine the process and test into learnings that will both protect our clients from failures and propel their communication as never before.
But I’m happy to be Masterworks’ first Digital Marketing Creative Director. While I’m not playing games every day, I’m working with some very significant causes and sometimes even making an incredible difference in the world. And, besides all that, my mom’s much happier!
Joel Markquart
Digital Marketing Creative Director