What Every Young Creative Marketer Can Learn From “Emily in Paris”

This year has been full of so many surprises, and most of them have been pretty horrendous. So like millions of others, my wife and I turn to Netflix for some escapism and fun. This brings me to one of the most delightful surprises all year: I’ve found some kinship with, and inspiration from one of the top streaming shows this season: Emily in Paris.

Now, I’m not here to critique the show itself, which has mixed reviews. It was a combination of nostalgia (my wife and I got engaged in Paris) and a low commitment (30-minute episodes) that got me to press play. But it was something about the main character, Emily, that kept me watching.

For the unanointed, Emily Cooper is a 20-something American who moves from Chicago to Paris for a social media strategy job at luxury goods marketing firm, Savoir. Since the show is by Sex in the City creator Darren Star, there’s plenty of aesthetic inspiration, from clothes to the actors and Paris itself, plus lots of soapy drama. None of that was the pull for me.

What intrigued me most is Emily’s curiosity, creativity, positivity, and perseverance. What she doesn’t know about France (and admittedly, it’s significant things like the language and customs), she makes up for with her enthusiasm for her work. When she arrives, she changes her Instagram…