Who are you and what is your role at Fox&Co?
Hi! I'm Melissa and I'm a Producer at Fox&Co.
How did you end up working at Fox&Co?
Well, my partner and I decided to moved to New Zealand from North America (me from Portland, Oregon and him from Vancouver, B.C.) in search of new adventures and a change of pace. We always kind of had our sights set on Wellington, however, we traveled around the country for two months to see the sights and choose a place to live. Needless to say, we stuck with our initial feeling and moved to Wellington. I had been doing freelance social media marketing for a while at this point and realised that I missed the whole #agencylife office vibe. So, I applied to Fox&Co through LinkedIn, had two interviews and started a couple days later.
Photo courtesy of Madison Abernethy
Where do you look for inspiration?
For motion design and industry inspiration as a whole, right now I'm very into scrolling through Instagram. It's a quick and easy way to see some of motion design's best work and to also see what different designs are capable of. In terms of inspiration for my role as a Producer, there are some really great resources out there. From articles and blogs, to project management tools and Pinterest boards, it really just takes a quick Google search and I've found something that's not only inspiring but valuable as well.
What does a typical day at Fox&Co look like for you?
While it might sound cliche, my day doesn't start until I've had a fresh cup of plunger (read: french press) coffee. Pretty sure the rest of the team feels the same, so it's rare for me to come into the office without a pot being already brewed. But after that, I check my emails, have a quick check-in with the team and come up with a game plan for the day / rest of the week. But it really just depends what projects we have going on at that time – some days might include a creative brainstorm and location scout while others might have me Ubering all over town to client meetings or holding a project kick-off meeting.
What does make working at Fox&Co special?
The fact that Fox&Co is made up of a team of six really appeals to me. As such a tight knit group, you rely on one another and you realise quite quickly that your input and ideas not only matter, but are necessary for the company to function at its best. It's a special thing to work at a place where you know you are heard and in many cases see parts of your ideas come to life.
What about Marketing appeals to you?
Initially, marketing appealed to me because it was such a broad topic and could be translated over the majority of (if not all) industries. But after years of working in this field, I've found that the thing about marketing that appeals to me the most is the ability and range to tell stories. Marketing is so much more than just selling a product, it's an avenue for storytelling and it's fascinating to see how it adapts and molds to do its thang throughout vastly different industries.
What would you like to learn while working at this company?
As I mentioned before, since I don't have a background in motion design, anything I can learn about the industry would be a win for me. However, I would be really interested in learning how to illustrate in Adobe Illustrator though I've dabbled in it before, I love seeing the rad artwork that the team comes up with and would be keen to learn how to do it myself. In terms of being a producer, I'm looking forward to learning the in's and out's of all things production, timelines, creative strategy, motion design and, of course, learning to walk the fine line between advocating for both my team and our clients.
If you could be any animated character, who would you be?
Kim Possible. She's a cheeky, low-key badass who wears a black crop top – need I say more?