Get to know our newly promoted ACCOUNT DIRECTOR, Julia Nuara
Julia has been with us for over 10 years– ever since she was an Account team intern from Quinnipiac University. Known for her intelligence, humor, and immaculate organization skills, Julia has been leading work across our portfolio since near the beginning of her stint. Let’s take a moment to get to know her a little bit better as we celebrate her well-deserved promotion.
TELL US THE STORY OF YOUR FIRST PROJECT AS AN INTERN AT RESPONSE (OR WAS IT THE PROJECT THAT GOT YOU THE INTERNSHIP?)
It was actually part of the interview. That project was fun! They’d asked us to prepare a presentation for any brand and come up with a marketing plan. I chose a local beer company and I put together an entire presentation complete with a Powerpoint, a tri-fold foam board, and basically came up with an entire social media strategy for my friend’s company. He had beers with different flavor profiles based on every US state so we had a lot of geo-based tactics and ideas. I spent a lot of time on it and … it seems to have paid off!
HOW HAS RESPONSE CHANGED SINCE YOU’VE BEEN HERE?
One big thing is that we’re all remote now. The original office was a 3rd Floor walkup in New Haven with VERY steep stairs. I find it interesting seeing the business grow, and my teammates grow. Believe it or not, some of the clients are still the same. Team morale and culture has stayed largely the same, which is great!
LET’S BACK UP A BIT. WHAT WAS GROWING UP LIKE?
I grew up in the Jersey Shore/Central Shore/Little Silver area. We Lived about 10 min. from the beach at Seabright and went there all the time in the summer. We were close to town so my siblings and friends and I rode our bikes everywhere. I played a lot of sports. In middle school, I was in every recreational sport: basketball, soccer, dance, tennis, and softball. I got into field hockey in high school, was on the tennis team, and continued with softball which was my best sport. I played 2nd & 3rd base. Playing 2nd has a lot of ties to my job. You have to keep your eye on every other position (laughs).
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB EVER?
My first job ever was as a tennis instructor at summer camp.
WHAT DID YOU THINK YOUR FUTURE WOULD BE LIKE WHEN YOU WERE IN COLLEGE?
I didn’t really know anything when I was a freshman. I always knew I wanted to be in business, but didn’t know where I wanted to specialize. So I took all the intro courses as a freshman, and really gravitated towards marketing. I liked the creativity aspect. It was always something that came naturally. I went on to get my Bachelors in Marketing and Finance at Quinnipiac. I got my MBA there too, and yes, I played intramural softball in college.
WHAT’S THE PROJECT YOU WORKED ON THAT YOU’RE MOST PROUD OF?
The Hackable? podcast with McAfee. I’d listened to podcasts for quite a while. The original idea came from Carolyn. Going through that process with a client, it was a pretty new thing. We initially partnered with Pacific Content, got together, and had some amazing brainstorms. We were trying to make cybersecurity something people would actually be interested in, and make it fun. It was tough, but I think we pulled it off. And it lead to other clients of ours getting involved in podcast advertising. We won best branded podcast at the Shorty Awards and the Digiday awards.
WHAT’S THE BEST IDEA YOU’VE COME UP WITH IN A BRAINSTORM?
This didn’t end up getting executed. I feel like this was an idea for a restaurant. We wanted to recreate the long one-shot from the beginning of Goodfellas. You know, the one where we follow Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco’s characters coming from the back of the restaurant into the front with a table setting down just to seat them. We’ll get it done, someday. We actually have a client it would be perfect for!
YOU HAVE A HYBRID ROLE (ACCOUNTS & PROJECT MANAGEMENT). WHAT ARE SOME TRICKS YOU’VE LEARNED TO MANAGE BOTH ROLES?
Being hyper-organized is absolutely mandatory. I’m managing multiple clients at all times. I have to be able to switch gears into a client’s mindset in an instant. It really helps that I’m a people person. I’m bubbly. I stay real, stay honest, express my expertise, and assure all our clients how much we care about them (we truly do).
WHAT DO YOU GET UP TO WHEN YOU’RE OFF THE CLOCK?
I love to cook and bake with my husband. We printed out all these maps of regions around the world. We pick one out randomly and learn to cook dishes from that region for a couple of weeks. It really expanded our cuisine appreciation. We love to travel and hope to do more. Speaking of maps, we just got a massive travel map, super detailed, down the city. We’ve got push pins for those cities and we can’t wait to use them. We’re headed to Africa this year and we’re planning on hitting Japan in 2025.
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING LATELY?
I like darker shows. Anything by (beloved horror writer/director/producer/editor) Mike Flanagan. I loved his recent Netflix series Fall of the House of Usher. I also love American Horror Story (although it’s admittedly uneven). I can always pop in Grey’s Anatomy for a comfort watch.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE THINKING ABOUT HIRING RESPONSE AS AN AGENCY?
I would tell them we really do care about our clients and the relationships we have with them. We’re not a production house. We care about your business and your success. How can we help guide you there? How can we be your partner? There’s no assembly line. Every relationship is unique to each client.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Continuing to help grow the team. We’re getting more expertise, and more experience on board. I’m excited to see who might be our next client. (pantomimes looking at the camera) Maybe it’s you!