We recently connected with Bianna Nikdel and have shared our conversation below.
Bianna , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
I came into advertising in a very conventional way. I graduated with a degree in Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology. I worked in labs and at the Sacramento Zoo before ultimately finding my way into advertising. I was lucky enough to be chosen for Wieden+Kennedy’s The Kennedys, a creative residency for people with untraditional backgrounds.
I believe that my background is my superpower, it helps me think differently than the industry and gives me the ability to look at things from a different perspective. Luckily, I had mentors and advocates that championed this and gave me a shot even though I wasn’t always the most qualified candidate on paper.
As I grow in my career, I also look to champion young, creative thinkers who come from untraditional backgrounds. Because the industry gets better when it better represents the audiences we serve.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi, I’m Bianna Nikdel. I’m a Brand Strategy Director at Wieden+Kennedy Portland. I’ve worked on brands like Lilly, HP, Coca-Cola, Ancestry, and so many more. As a brand strategist, my job is to help clients unlock the potential of their brand and how it can transform into a category of one. I help brands get to their truth, find their voice, and build a world in culture.
I had a very untraditional route to advertising. Having grown up wanting to be a wildlife veterinarian, I received my degree in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology. Before landing a creative residency in The Kennedys at W+K, I worked at the Sacramento Zoo and an entomology lab studying native Californian bees.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I went to college with a very specific goal: to become a wildlife veterinarian or biologist. As I went through school, I started to realize that this might not be what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I remember struggling with focusing in on a hyper-specific, niche area of research to dedicate my life to. I loved the work conservationists were doing, but felt like there was a huge gap between the work that was being done and the general public caring about it. This was what I wanted to do. Find a job where I could be a “translator”, figuring our how to communicate with people in a way that makes them care. Once I got clear on this goal, after graduation I pivoted from my scientific research jobs and took a leap of faith accepting a creative residency at Wieden+Kennedy.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
So many of us grew up with some version of the Golden Rule: Treat others how you wish to be treated. As someone who has had an incredible manager and takes a lot of pride in becoming a mentor to new members of my agency, I’ve learned that this is actually pretty bad advice for a manager. Instead, I’ve tried to treat others as they wish to be treated. This means really taking the time to understand the people I manage, to hear them, learn their styles of working, and what they need to be successful. It’s not always the easiest management style, but it creates teams that value each other with safe spaces for everyone.
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