Meet Alexander Theriault

 

A senior strategist in our media division, Alexander has three major skills that make him amazing at what he does: being people-centric, prioritising learning, and focusing on early adoption of new technologies and trends. Alex works on a variety of campaigns and projects in order to make sure our partners achieve and exceed their goals. Read on to hear more about what makes him tick, and what’s keeping him going during these strange times.

What is your current role at ZMS? How long have you been working with ZMS? 

I currently work as a Senior Strategist within the media division at ZMS, and joined the team in April 2020.

What were the main reasons for you joining ZMS?

Having the opportunity to tailor and create campaigns for some of the world’s largest fashion brands was a huge reason for me, but beyond that, being able to leverage actual Zalando consumer data to better inform strategic decisions was a unique and exciting proposition.

What team do you work on and how would you describe what you do and how you approach it? 

I work within the media strategy team, which means my role is to figure out the audience that is going to respond best to marketing strategies, and recommend where to reach them. 

Two things that are essential when it comes to strategy for me: What does the data tell us about the audience that we’re trying to reach, and if I were the consumer being targeted, would this be adding value to my life? By always trying to think of both the goal and the consumer, I feel that the strategies that we leverage at ZMS are able to provide much more value to our partners. 

How would you describe the working and team culture at ZMS?

Challenging, rewarding, and most importantly, dynamic! Each day I might be working on a completely different project, campaign, or partner and I’m constantly inspired by my co-workers’ talent. From crafting engaging content and ideas, to being able to translate my core strategies into campaigns, and into concrete results for our partners, I’m constantly proud of what we achieve together as a team .

Where do you feel you can have the most impact (on customers, partners, or our colleagues)?

Being people-centric has always been the largest impact driver in anything I do. The great thing about working in media, is that “media” really just means working on being able to create genuine connections, whether that’s connecting our customers and brands, or connecting with coworkers throughout the day and just being able to share in small moments of laughter alongside the great work that we do.

How do you think ZMS makes a difference? What was the most exciting challenge at ZMS that helped you grow?

Onboarding during 2020 was definitely one of the more interesting challenges, but it also helped me to realize early on that working at ZMS is exactly what you make out of it. If you’re an avid learner and willing to take the time to talk to someone about what they know, you’ll quickly learn what it takes and how to make an impact with a great network of people willing to help you along the way.

How do you stay up to date with the latest media trends?

Just by being passionate about technology in general and what it can do has always been how I’ve stayed ahead of the curve. I’ve always loved learning and using the newest gear and services: from being one of the first people around me to be using Spotify or TikTok to being one of the first ones to have an iPhone in Canada back in 2008. Being an early adopter allows me to see the potential in things and the unique ways it can be used to engage with consumers once it reaches mass appeal.

What was your favorite campaign or project that you worked on? 

It’s so difficult to pick just one, but working on some of the tailored large-scale campaigns for partners have been some of my favorite and most rewarding challenges since joining the team. Seeing how so many different teams can come together and create something great for our partners has easily been some of my favorite work at ZMS.

What are your go-to WFH tips and tricks? How are you taking care of yourself during these times? 

Embrace small little moments to take breaks and take care of yourself. Whether it’s taking 5 minutes to sit and enjoy a coffee between meetings, or 30 minutes at lunch to get some sun and exercise, working from home is definitely a marathon rather than a sprint. Learning to take these “micro-breaks” has definitely helped me to refocus my energy and accomplish what’s most important.