Tyra Douyon - April 3, 2023
We are excited to have Digital Marketing Manager, Abbey Hays, as part of our Rearview Advertising team!
Abbey has always been a highly creative person. She remembers taking career assessment exams when she was younger and scoring in the highest percentile for any careers related to artistry and invention. She found her passion for marketing soon after and she says it combines her love of art, strategy, and skill into one profession.
As an undergraduate from Birmingham-Southern College, Abbey earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. After she graduated, she wanted more hands-on experience in the marketing industry so she interned at a company while completing her master’s in Digital Marketing and Design at Brandeis University. There she learned about digital media production, the psychology of user-centered design, optimizing marketing campaigns, and developing B2B and B2C marketing strategies – all of which are tremendous assets she uses in her professional portfolio with Rearview. Currently, she enjoys testing the waters in a lot of different areas and remains concentrated in paid media and social ads.
When she’s not analyzing marketing campaigns and running ad statistics, you can find her going on walks with her dog and husband, watching cooking shows, or booking her next flight. Abbey sat down with Digital Content Editor, Ty Douyon, to tell us more about her favorites outside of the office.
AH: [laughs] I use a lot of apps, but I’m on Amazon, Zillow, and Pinterest mostly. I also like Apple podcasts!
TD: I notice a lot of these are shopping based. I use Pinterest as well.
AH: I use Amazon like how some people use Pinterest. I have a “Future Hays Home” board and insert ideas. Basically, I window shop on Amazon [for the things I want to buy] like how people create boards on Pinterest [for the things they like].
TD: Now Pinterest started being better with how users can buy things and find them. More people are commenting where you can find them too. I created a board last month called “Things to Buy” because the links are actually there.
AH: Good because everything you used to click on was a scam. (laughs)
TD: Right or it was just the picture that was posted with no link and people would be asking for information in the comments with no response. But now people actually respond with the information.
TD: You mentioned a few here.
AH: Yeah, Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign and Self-Esteem Project. I remember I did a project on the reverse selfie video. I think it was all related to the same campaign about body image, self-confidence, and just being a girl in our current climate. It’s interesting because they address it in a delicate way – what it’s like to be a female– particularly on social media. Working in social media you see a lot of the vulnerabilities there and there is a need to do things ethically, so I appreciate companies that talk about it in a kind way. But also empowering people to talk about it and make it a better place for everyone to be.
I loved recently how Fenty Beauty did all their advertisements related to the big game. That was super fun. And very just –
TD: Smart!
AH: Yes, I saw everything match perfectly and it went to a whole new audience. Even like Rihanna powdering her nose at the performance…
TD: I know, genius!
AH: You can hardly call it a campaign. It was definitely marketing and advertising but a part of it was in her performance.
TD: I can only imagine how many people looked up ‘What did Rihanna use to powder her face?” online.
AH: Yes, I know! It’s not really influencer marketing, but celebrities… the ones that actually understand that it’s not just their name… it’s really cool when they get it right. I don’t remember the other one I mentioned to be honest.
TD: Umm, Duolingo’s Tik Tok?
AH: (laughs excitedly) Yes, I thought let’s talk about a traditional campaign and a fun one. They just have a very quirky mascot. It’s their logo and they have a battle with Scrub Daddy…the sponge.
TD: (laughs) Really?
AH: Yes, go check it out. It’s very entertaining. They have a way to fit every niche. Duolingo just has almost a cult like following on Tik Tok.
TD: That’s really cool and it’s different because usually for language learning apps they just show a person. Pimsleur has this really popular influencer who is doing it for the German language and she’s really funny. I watched the whole commercial, but it’s interesting that Duolingo is using mascots and logos.
AH: They seem to be using a gaming approach. People are so fascinated with what they are going to post next. They’ve created a whole following just in that. What a world, I mean three years ago Tik Tok wasn’t even a thing and now there are full-blown marketing campaigns that are just on Tik Tok. I just get geeky about that stuff.
TD: This reminds me about the fast food restaurants on Twitter when they were going back and forth.
AH: I think Wendy’s was a part of that.
TD: Arby’s started it with the hat when Pharrell wore a similar one to an awards show or something. I don’t know if it’s still as crazy and funny as it was before, but for a couple of months, it was like ‘What’s Arby’s going to say? And how will McDonald’s respond?’ It’s hilarious.
AH: I love all of the people that have gotten behind these big companies and humanized them a little bit. Seeing people being witty and funny reminds everyone that there is a human running that. I think that’s a cool shift that we’re seeing because everything doesn’t just have to be an ad. Marketing and brand perception… I can go on about this all day.
TD: It’s interesting to speak with you about this too because it makes you realize how many ads you remember after all these years…what sticks with you, what’s funny, what’s working, what isn’t… advertisements really are a big part of our lives. If you are in any way tapped into the digital world, even if you’re not on social media, it can just be driving down the street and you see the same billboards, ads really are around us all the time.
AH: It’s so hard for me to pick because I’m a foodie girl.
TD: Same.
AH: Well, I worked at a local deli called Doug’s Deli Downtown in Rome Georgia where I grew up. I always love going there when I go back and they have really good salads and sandwiches. They also have my favorite cookie on planet earth. (laughs)
Fast Food is Wendy’s without a doubt. And I don’t really have a specific one and I need to find a staple but I love anything hibachi or sushi. But if anyone wants to go out to eat I’ll be there.
TD: I’m down for that! I think everyone has that one restaurant they love from childhood. For me it’s Three Boys from Italy. It’s a pizza place in the Bronx where I grew up. Best pizza ever.
AH: Hmm, I bet, I bet!
AH: My classic is Ms. Congeniality. I love a good rom-com. The other one… I have pride issues about this one (laughs) but The Princess and the Frog. It’s my Disney favorite.
TD: No, that’s a classic! And people don’t talk about that one enough.
AH: Criminally underrated.
TD: She’s never walking around at Disney, and she’s never in the stores… so I respect it.
AH: They are actually opening a restaurant for her in Disneyland.
TD: Oh, really! That’s great. I’m actually mad that that wasn’t there before because she cooks. That’s her whole thing in the movie.
AH: Yeah it took them a while.
TD: Over a decade, but okay.
(Both laughing)
AH: New Girl is my comfort show. I’m very upset with Netflix that it’s leaving at the end of April.
TD: I’m a comedy show person too. When someone suggests a drama I always put it in my list to watch, but when you come home from work you just want to laugh. On the weekends you just want to laugh.
AH: I understand. I have all these real-life documentaries to watch and [people say] you can handle it, you just have to be prepared, but there’s never a time when I actually want to sit down and be sad and reflective. (laughs) I just want to enjoy myself.
TD: I get that. (laughs)
AH: Georgia Bulldogs! Raised in the peach state and I’m a loyalist.
TD: That surprised me because you went to school in Alabama, so I thought you would name a sports team there.
AH: I grew up with some toxic fans. (laughs) It’s nice that my team is actually doing good.
TD: Yes, they’re really knocking it out of the park lately. The one Georgia team we can be proud of on a consistent basis.
(Both laughing)
AH: Never thought I would see the day, but it’s got to be Hulu! I appreciate some of the Netflix stuff, like have you watched The Circle?
TD: Yes, I watched the first two seasons, it was really good.
AH: Yeah, it’s also good in the background. They have some great cooking shows on there too. I also love the show Survivor.
TD: Well, I told you about Peacock. They are coming up strong with the $5/month deal.
AH: I’m a dog girl. They say that dogs are a man’s best friend and diamonds are a girl’s best friend… no it’s my dog. (laughs) I love the little puppies.
TD: I couldn’t choose personally because I have both.
AH: I’m also deathly allergic to cats, so that doesn’t help. They don’t really like me either.
TD: Oh, well I guess I won’t bring my cat here then (both laughing).
AH: I’ll stay in the loft all day.
TD: My cat is so sweet though, you’d love her.
AH: I had to look this one up but it’s Serif! I use this one on Instagram all the time. It looks like an old-school typewriter and I think it’s a classic. It has a simple vibe to it.
TD: I love Cutive on Google Docs, but I’m an old-school girl. I like Times New Roman. I worked with that for 15 years.
AH: Yes, all my college stuff was Times New Roman and Georgia.
TD: Right, and then you start working and it’s all Arial. (laughs)
AH: People just don’t want to change it. It’s the automatic one.
AH: My go-to is Instagram. They are really versatile with all the things they try to do and I still enjoy looking at pictures.
TD: Do you think that their marketing strategy is working for them because they shifted to video and then we were seeing people that we weren’t following more often. Now they are trying to shift back.
AH: I don’t know. I think that whatever they do they need to commit to it longer than they have been. I’ve seen a lot of pushback on the video concentration from the standard user. People would rather see their actual friends and I agree because you shouldn’t have to go through so many hurdles to see the people you’re actually following, but also working in advertising I know that’s just not going to go away. You’re not going to get rid of video because it’s where the world is moving with attention spans and all of that. It will be interesting to see what they do with it, but in general no one is going to disappear because of it. I would hope to see them branch out more with their customer service and be more transparent. It’s a lot easier to get behind something when people just tell you. I think that’s where they can grow a lot more as a company. They don’t have a public customer service number.
TD: Yes, that’s like Spotify. I always have to work through the chat and it can be difficult.
AH: Instagram is doing a new system with the blue checks and it will come with customer support. I think they are trying to get rid of the bots so eventually everyone that is a real person will be verified. It will take away the elitist thing with the blue check.
TD: One thing I love that they did was taking off the number of likes. That was so good for my–
TD & AH: mental health! (both laughing)
TD: I do not have it on anything and now I can just enjoy the photo or the video and not care about what other people will see. This got 15 or 20.. does that even matter? 15 people liked a photo of you or a video and that’s pretty significant.
AH: It’s not an active part in my brain anymore. But I will say working behind the scenes it is still good to have those stats available, but they don’t have to be front and center.
TD: Yes, I think that’s great for companies, but for any regular person that just wants to use this as a fun photo album or video diary no one needs to know.
AH: Yes, I like that.
AH: Dr. Pepper. I’m a Dr. Pepper fanatic. My backup answer is any candy I’m craving.
TD: You do always have candy. Skittles today, Nerds last week.
AH: Yes, I’m accepting that I’m a candy person.
TD: Me too, more than chocolate.
AH: Yes, candy and soda…everything that’s bad for you. (laughs) It makes me happy, life is too short, let’s just enjoy it.
TD: Agreed!
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