Meet the Author

In too many organizations, UX and Paid Media are distant departments. Sure, they bump into each other in the kitchen, and maybe they work together on a landing page now and then. But for the most part, these two teams are seen as separate entities - and major opportunities are missed. 

When UX and Paid Media come together, magical things happen. In fact, the combination of razor-sharp targeting strategy and human-centered user experience just might be what keeps advertisers steady through the ever-evolving, rapidly changing landscape of marketing that’s unfolding today. 

Businesses compete. It’s a basic assumption most of us make. And the idea of businesses cooperating usually stems from a direct self-interest of the cooperating organizations.

However, always being in a competitive, me-versus-them mindset is riddled with short-term thinking and inherent flaws. The reality is that even in the best of times taking a competition-and-cooperation mindset is usually better and healthier.

To say 2020 has been different is an epic understatement. It started with COVID-19, but that's only the beginning. 

The Black Lives Matter movement, the Stop Hate for Profit campaign, our current political environment and more have all forced organizations and brands to reevaluate their place and role in society.

It’s not enough just to have a good service or product at a fair price. It’s not enough to just not offend. Staying silent isn’t an option anymore. Even if organizations and brands wanted to stay silent and bury their heads in the sand, society simply won’t let them.

People are demanding to know where brands stand. What they’re doing to make the world a better place. How they’re fighting systemic racism internally and externally.

In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, we are participating in #BlackoutTuesday.

We are taking this time of disruption to reflect and educate as we hold ourselves accountable to take action and support our community, and we encourage you to do the same.

To say that these are incredibly tense and uncertain times is a massive understatement. Stress is high. COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on our world.

Recently I was talking to a client that happens to be in an incredibly stressful industry given the current public health crisis. The decisions they make during this time are bigger than just marketing or finance — they could literally save or lose lives.

They, like many of us, are under intense pressure to make perfect decisions. Not only do these decisions need to be perfect — they need to be made lightning-fast, often without enough information, by a team working entirely remotely for the first time. 

We’re all working in a pressure cooker.