We were lucky to catch up with Leslie Llewellyn recently and have shared our conversation below.

Leslie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

Without being too predictable, AI is tricky. On the one hand, we’re all trying to celebrate it given its power. On the other hand, we’re also trying not to be deathly afraid of it. In my house, this is especially poignant given I’m a marketer/advertiser and my husband is a software engineer. Both trades are have huge benefits using AI, but also our livelihoods are at risk. So what can we do to AI-proof of jobs? There is no cookie-cutter approach but I’m noticing (especially since COVID) that people are yearning for human interaction and brands that are attune to their human condition. In marketing, we can no longer throw some social and programmatic ads out there and hope for a response. We must be more thoughtful about the human receiving that message. “The medium is the message” has never been more impactful. As a brand or firm, if you spend time with your audience in their world, they will be more likely to remember you, regardless of how many digital ads you pay for. If you use AI too much to develop your content, you will sounds as homogenous as your competitors. As marketers, what we can do more than anything is remind our clients that the reason they hired us in the first place was to think through the eyes of their target and no AI platform will do this as well.

Leslie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Leslie Llewellyn, fractional CMO & principal strategist at Selo Studios, a marketing strategy practice. I have 20+ years of experience developing brand positioning and go-to-market strategies for global brands in Canada and the US. I have guided numerous clients—ranging from startups to established enterprises—through category-defining brand strategy, integrated marketing execution, and customer journey design.

The original intent for my practice was to launch a small creative and advertising practice that focused on brands that celebrated the human collective. Doing good for the planet and or our community. This inspired my company name–Selo means “Village” in slavic languages.

Launched before the pandemic in 2016, I noticed the most talented creatives from my advertising career in NYC were going free-lance. I wanted to hand-pick them for suitable projects so I launched my consultancy to take advantage of my network.

My ICP is small to medium sized businesses. I work with both BtoC and BtoB clients looking to create a new brand or refresh an existing one. I then develop a go-to-market strategy, and help create an annual marketing plan that can be supported by existing company resources.

Original intent was to focus on TOF brand awareness initiatives, but my clients needed bottom funnel support first.
So I dig into my client’s needs and develop unique plans for each client that suit their industry, target, and existing resources.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first launched my business, my intent was to develop brand and communications strategies for clients which was what I had focused on for 15 years of my advertising career. Starting at a big global shop (Ogilvy) gave me the training I needed to really understand the science behind audience segmentation, data analytics, and media buying. This was a great intro to the industry. When I moved to a smaller shop of 50 people, I had to wear many hats and that allowed me to side-step the “cog-in-a-wheel” element that big-agency life can pigeon hole you into. So when I started my first advertising role in New York, the global agency I worked at was looking for someone that had this unique experience. Years later, when I launched my marketing practice, working for enterprise level clients to smaller client gave me the skills I need to understand more of the onion layers that my client was experiencing so I could work out solutions that best fit their unique scenario.

The pivot was when I found my clients wanting a person who would take the time to know their brand, and also how to communicate with, and direct their creative partners. So when I thought I would start a small creative practice, I was really starting a fractional CMO practice and I had to change my perspective and my structure.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The lesson I had to unlearn was to stop changing my demeanor to suit my employer. Sometimes I would be given feedback that I was too assertive and other times I was too timid. I was changing myself to suit the culture. I realized, (even if I had to leave that role) that I just had to be me. That is when I started to find my fit.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://selostudios.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-t-llewellyn/

Image Credits

They are all of my own personal images