We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jaclyn O’Reilly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jaclyn below.
Jaclyn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
As the co-founder of a marketing agency, it’s funny to reflect that I never studied marketing in school—not directly, anyway. I was a broadcast journalism major in college and have two Master’s degrees: one in linguistics and the other in digital media. School equipped me with many skills, but application came only by learning on the job. Writing, storytelling, photography, video editing, graphic design, web development, and publication layout are all subjects I studied at one time or another in the classroom. They also happen to be valuable skills for marketing a business or organization. I started as a marketing assistant during the advent of social media and jumped into a digital marketing position after that. I may have been out of my depth, but anything I didn’t understand, I just Googled later in my office. I boldly lived out the mantra “fake it ’til you make it.” Although I was very green, that digital marketing role allowed me to work with other, more experienced marketers exposing me to strategy and sales. I began to see that I could make a good living doing work that allowed me to be creative and strategic. I went on to work for marketing agencies, in-house as a marketing director, as a self-employed contractor, and finally launched an agency of my own. Sure, I could have studied marketing in college, and maybe I would have been a little more prepared for my eventual career path—but I don’t think I would have gleaned such a wide breadth of experience if I hadn’t struggled and explored a little in the beginning.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a creative marketing professional with more than a decade of experience delivering a broad range of communication services. My skills include branding, web design, photography, copywriting, campaign strategy, public relations, and digital marketing. In 2020, I co-founded the marketing collective Mix Creative Group with my long-time professional collaborator, Stephanie Boer. Stephanie is an experienced project manager and marketer with a background in corporate branding, strategy, database administration, and product development. Our combined expertise allows for a comprehensive approach to the storytelling process, from thought organization to original design and, finally, to completed project launch. As Creative Director at Mix, I provide project execution and creative oversight, contributing to company strategy while ensuring high-quality output for each client we serve.
Mix Creative Group is a full-service marketing firm working to creatively and strategically empower growth for our clients. Our services include branding, web design, marketing strategy, social and digital, copywriting, graphic design, photography, video, creative direction, and more. At Mix, we bring the knowledge, credentials, and industry experience of an established marketing agency to a more personable company. Our structure keeps us flexible. We work with a diverse group of contributors to provide custom services to our clients. Depending on the profile, target audience, needs, and budget presented by the client, we are able to hand-pick a team of creatives to support a successful outcome. Mix has continued to grow and, today, we utilize the talents of many contract team members, including graphic designers, digital specialists, photographers, and expert content creators. Each of these contributors is carefully selected for their quality of work and understanding of the vision we have for our clients.
One of the things that makes Mix Creative Group unique is our approach. We ask questions, pushing to understand our clients’ overarching goals. It’s never our preference to simply execute a job—we always start by asking “why?”. We’re all about the big picture. Thorough research gives us the ability to strategically map out each step of the project, constantly moving toward the client’s specific definition of success. This approach enables our team to deliver the most effective end result. We exist to be valuable partners for our clients, excellently supporting their vision and goals.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Stephanie and I began working together in 2014, but we knew each other long before that. We went to the same high school and were both members of the swim team. Steph was a friend of my little sister. She was one year behind me but ended up marrying a friend I’d been in school with since kindergarten. Fast forward ten years, and we were partnering on our first web development project. We worked together on many client jobs from 2014 until 2020 when we decided to launch our marketing firm, Mix Creative Group.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
We’re three years into building our business, and our number one source of new work is still existing relationships. These include our personal networks, past professional acquaintances, and client referrals. We spend very little time or energy on traditional marketing for our firm (the irony of which does not escape me). This reinforces for me that people want to work with people they know and trust. It also emphasizes the importance of being kind, ethical, and considerate in every area of life! Whether in a business meeting or at the gym, you never know where future work may come from. How we live and conduct business directly impacts whether others want to work with us—or feel comfortable referring us to their friends, family, and co-workers. In short, what goes around comes around. For real.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mixcreativegroup.com/
- Instagram: @mixcreativegroup
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaclyn-visbeen/
Image Credits
Jill DeVries Photography