Confessions of a Marketing Nerd: An Introduction
Hi everyone my name is Kianna Hawkins, I am looking forward to blogging this summer through our Digital Marketing course. Welcome to my blog, here’s a little about me as we get started.
I was born and raised in Houston, TX, I moved to Washington, DC for undergrad and earned my BBA in Supply Chain Management from Howard University in 2020. I lived in DC for seven years prior to moving to NYC in the fall of 2023. I currently work full time as a Client Marketing Analyst at Visa.
Hobbies & Interests
Prior to being a full time student and full time professioal I ran a book blog on instagram called @BlackGirlBookBar where I shared video reviews of books that I read by Black Women authors — if you have a moment feel free to check it out and follow — I’ve put the bookstagram on pause while in school but I look forward to returning to it soon after I graduate! :) When I’m not at work or in class I enjoy crocheting, live music, pottery, reading, museums, and exploring new restaurants with friends in the city. I love spending time with family, my dog, and all things leopard print and anything related to Beyoncé
I am a Manhattanite currently residing in the Heart of Harlem! I am loving calling New York home so far!
Current Experience
My role as a Client Marketing Analyst currently consists of delivering Marketing Strategy recommendations to our community issuer clients at Visa. Community issuers consist of local banks and credit unions all over the country who operate at a smaller scale than national issuers like Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, or Wells Fargo or super regional banks like PNC or TD bank. We leverage the access we have to consumer data at Visa and provide data analytics and marketing services solutions to our clients to help them address performance challenges like aquisition, retention, engagement, and digital capabilites as a way of strenghtening and maintaining our realtionships with them.
Marketing Nerd Origin Story
I have loved marketing since I was a little girl and always knew I wanted to work in Marketing. I fell in love with a brands ability to communicate products that resonated and connected with consumers long term, whether it was through magazines, TV & radio advertisements, Billboards, or through social media — I’ve always been captivated by the psychology of it all, both on the consumer side and as a brand. I studied Supply Chain with the intention of understanding how businesses get their products to consumers so that it could best inform my own strategy as a Marketer when it comes to product design, manufacturing, package design, distribution, and brand strategy. The Cosmetics & Beauty industry is what initially peaked my interest into Marketing and encouraged me to learn and study more about it throughout high school and college, but working in Financial Services has exposed me to many other facetes of Marketing that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about like Sponsorships, Co-brand deals, Activations, and Experiential Marketing. I enjoy being a student of it all!
With so many digital platforms, applications, and interfaces, I think this is the best era of connectivitiy to be studying Marketing, and to be critiquing it as well. I’m looking forward to what we will learn thorugh this course by the end of the summer.
