Why I Started Victoria & Co. Digital
Why I Started Victoria & Co. Digital
“There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.” - Simon Sinek
I’ve spent the past twelve years learning the ins and outs of marketing for social good. It started at Boston College as an undergraduate student where the Jesuit motto of “men and women for others” first resonated with me. In every professional and personal opportunity since then has driven me towards starting my own practice to help mission-driven companies and non-profit organizations inspire action through creative marketing and communications.
The Quick Recap
After graduation in 2008 (at the height of the great recession, mind you), I was fortunate to secure my first “real” job at a Boston-based website design and development agency. A significant amount of their clients were nonprofit organizations and it was those types of projects that I gravitated towards.
This was at a time when social media platforms were just starting to be used by businesses. Facebook opened its doors to more than just students, Twitter was steadily gaining popularity even among the 140-character skeptics, and blogs were starting to become a household name. The “new media” of 2010 was quite different than the new media now.
I jumped at the opportunity to apply for a ‘new media specialist’ position with a nonprofit organization whose headquarters were in Boston. I wanted to apply my early-stage marketing skills to a global humanitarian organization. There I had the chance to be part of a large communications team that drove advocacy and fundraising campaigns on major issues such as climate change, hunger, and poverty. I worked at this organization for about four years, learning as much as I could about social media, digital content, video, and website initiatives.
Eventually, it was time to move on and I made the leap to the world of higher education, working for one of the most well-renowned institutions in the world, which also happened to be nearby. While their mission was quite different from my previous employer’s, the focus of the office in which I worked was to recruit the brightest students from around the world, regardless of their socioeconomic status, ethnic background, nationality, or other demographic factor. We sought to attract the most promising young people from around the world to join us in discovery, innovation, and change-making.
In the roughly six years in higher ed, I had built a social media strategy and presence from the ground up, oversaw email marketing, redesigned the school’s main website, managed a team of digital content producers, and worked with many vendors and colleagues to manage and optimize our entire digital presence.
Making the Leap
The cumulative experience from the digital agency, an international development and human rights organization, and higher education gave me the foundation that I needed to start my own consulting practice for mission-driven companies. I had this deep sense that I couldn’t shake through the many years of working a traditional 9-5 marketing job - that I had to start my own business. I wanted to gather other creative and technical professionals who could collaborate on marketing and website projects.
This urge to help other small but growing organizations clarify and communicate their purpose has been with me since the earliest days of my career. I’m so grateful for the people I’ve met along the way who have supported and encouraged me to continue on this path, who have connected me with other like-minded people, and who have shaped my career (there are too many to list).
I am beyond excited for this next step and I hope you’ll follow along.
Sincerely,
Victoria
