Welcome (back) to the MIMA Blog
February 11, 2015We’re starting a new series on the MIMA blog today: Member profiles. The goal? To highlight just a few of our crazy-smart members and showcase who they are, and what they do.
Today, we’re starting with Preston Kelly’s Mark Jenson, who seemingly finds a way to make it to virtually EVERY MIMA event lately. Let’s meet Mr. Jenson.
How long have you been a MIMA member?
Almost 5 years
Why do you continue to renew your membership each year?
Curiosity. I’m a big believer in understanding how our business is moving forward. And MIMA provides another lens to see the big picture on all things digital. A chance once a month to hear some talented people talk about what they are doing and how they see the digital landscape evolve and change.
You’re a regular attendee at the MIMA monthly events–why do you proactively make time to hit these events each month?
I think it’s a great opportunity to hear digital thought leaders speak in person. You get so much more out of it than just reading an article or a blog. The human interaction and passion in their delivery is something that you have to be there in-person to get.
And, what’s been the most impactful MIMA event you’ve attended over the years, and why?
The annual Summits are terrific. So thought provoking and energetic. It’s a great day to re-charge your batteries. But a monthly program that really impacted me was Adam Singer a Product Marketing Manager from Google Analytics who spoke on modern digital marketing management. A subject so important to truly understand in today’s world.
Your day job has you playing a lead role over at Preston Kelly as vice president–account director. What does your job entail and how does it connect to MIMA?
The role of the account person is still rooted in strategic leadership for our clients. Setting the strategic foundation and then identifying the right platforms to get the brand messages out. Also I help provide agency training to enable us to better understand this complex and ever changing business. The MIMA connection is to help bring the learning and experiences back from the sessions with other PK team members and share with the entire agency. We do several brown bag lunches a year and we share what we’ve been seeing and hearing at the various MIMA events.
You’ve been in the creative industry for more than 20+ years in Minneapolis/St. Paul and Chicago. You’ve seen an awful lot of change when it comes to digital technologies. What’s the one big digital trend right now that’s changing the way you work with clients?
Has to be mobile. It is a tidal wave as people are moving to mobile platforms. The customer experience is being driven by mobile. So as marketers we need to make sure that we are delivering consumers an optimal experience on all the different types of mobile platforms. Whether it is insuring that content is optimized for mobile devices or the importance of site speed for websites, we need to invest time to make the customer experience the best possible each and every day.
Finally, you’re a big Minnesota sports fan. However, times ain’t so good right now. If fact, they’re downright horrible. How you keep sane during these darkest of days?
Honestly, it’s pretty hard to be optimistic being a Minnesota sports fans these days. Thank goodness for the Lynx and Gopher’s Women’s Basketball and Hockey programs. Otherwise as you noted it is bleak – but hey aren’t the days getting longer? That’s what I love about sports is the promise of the future. And most of these teams have some great young talent in the pipeline. So as a passionate Minnesota sports fan we always have to remember that there is always another game on the horizon. You just gotta have faith sometimes, albeit blind right now.
