Marcy Shinder

Chief Marketing Officer
WorkMarket, formerly Nielsen and American Express

What was your first job?

Waitress. Waiting tables taught me about the key to efficient revenue growth: proactive customer experience. When food servers were proactive and gave guests a special experience tips exceeded 25%. Conversely, when servers simply took orders and delivered food, tips were 10-15%. Those early learnings about the value of being proactive and delivering a personalized customer experience inform me to this day about marketing and PR.

Most exciting campaign you’ve seen in action recently.

The “Girls DO Code” campaign by McCann as part of ACT Responsible and AdForum. I hope this campaign inspires parents and girls into computer science through programs like New York Design + Code Academy, Code Academy, local college courses and other great programs.

Best line or phrase you’ve heard at an agency meeting.

“Bam! I just got smacked in the face. It’s emotional, logical — it is exactly right.” That was WorkMarket CEO’s reaction when our agency WE presented “From the Cloud Up” as our tagline. Reactions don’t get better than that!

Who is an influencer you admire and why?

John Battelle, founder of Wired Magazine and most recently NewCo. John was instrumental in my success at American Express OPEN with OPEN Forum, and is a big part of our momentum at WorkMarket. He is an iconic influencer in business, media and policy circles; he drives business outcomes; and most of all, he is a genuinely good person.

Best new tech innovation you are most interested in learning more about.

Cybersecurity is a key focus for me. It is fundamental to the integrity and trust of brands and its importance should not be underestimated.

Favorite social media platform.

Twitter. It is efficient and effective for business advertising, and I like it personally as a news source.

What’s on your reading list.

Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future Joi Ito.

It is incredibly eye opening and informative for marketing into the future.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I meet with Startup CMO’s at their offices. It is the best source of inspiration I know.

What keeps you up at night.

Nothing keeps me up at night. I practice meditation and find that it helps me to have perspective on my business life, and balance in my personal life. It makes for a good night sleep!

Best advice for someone working in PR today?

Be proactive versus (just) reactive. Proactive thinking and pitching by our PR Agency M Booth yielded the legendary and enduring campaign Small Business Saturday for American Express OPEN. At WorkMarket, our web design firm Green Stone suggested we call our platform “Work OS” which we adopted and are running with. Take risks and bring great ideas to the table — it will enhance the relationship and help you drive spectacular work!