Get to Know Josh Williams
To learn more about Josh, from the best advice he's received in his shopper marketing career to the one thing he'd want an unlimited supply of, check out his interview below!
I love shopper marketing because...
Every day is different. Especially in our industry, shopper marketing is constantly evolving, and it evolves so quickly. What’s relevant today might not be relevant tomorrow, so you’re always solving for new challenges, developing new creative campaigns for those challenges, and finding new ways to reach your audiences.
The best advice I've received in my shopper marketing career is...
That you directly impact the dinner tables of those you collaborate with. What I mean by that is, when we all close our laptops for the day, did you make someone's life more challenging or unnecessarily difficult, or were you helpful, a leader, and did you treat others with empathy and kindness? At the end of the day, our jobs are already incredibly stressful, and that stress has a tendency to bleed into life outside of work. How can you help remove those challenges so that your teammates can recharge at dinner or at home with their family and friends? Everyone has lives outside of the day-to-day and making sure we live those to the fullest extent is really important to me.
The coolest or most important trend I see today in CPG is...
The flipping of the script on holistic campaign planning. To me, that’s the biggest trend that’s already happening. Instead of starting with a big idea that is moving from awareness on-screen all the way to purchase on shelf, you’re actually going to start with the idea that begins at the shelf/purchase, and then keep building on that support all the way through to awareness driving. And that’s because our retailer media networks are demanding more and more budget from us. Shopper marketing can no longer be second fiddle, it needs to be front and center of our marketing strategies.
If I weren't a shopper marketer, I would be...
In another life, I would be an architect. Outside of work I really enjoy design and would have wanted to be a leader in the city architecture space. When I travel to Europe, I see all these wonderful historic buildings that have been restored, and we just don’t do that in the United States. I would’ve loved to have had a job preserving old historic buildings while relying on sustainable resources and building practices to help drive a better and more sustainable future.
If I had an unlimited supply of one thing, it would be...
Money, but I would use it towards becoming a philanthropist to really make a difference in the world – that would be very meaningful to me. I would love to be a male MacKenzie Scott (an American novelist well-known for her philanthropic efforts). She’s doing so many great things for the world by donating dollars to charities and causes that need overarching support. While every dollar counts, it’s those big donations that help make sizeable and meaningful changes for our culture.
In the past week, I learned...
If you walk the entire 2,000+ miles of the Appalachian Trail, the amount of elevation gain and loss you experience is equivalent to climbing Mount Everest 16 times. Isn’t that crazy?
If Hollywood made a movie about my life, the person I would like to see cast as me is...
Daniel Craig. I would say, we kind of have a passing resemblance in terms of our features –blonde hair, blue eyes – although he would definitely need to have a few pints of Ben and Jerry’s to play me in a role. But, I just like him as an actor and a person. He was a terrific James Bond, he has great comedy chops, and he does a lot of great things outside of acting to support initiatives around the world. He’s just a good human being.
I'm happiest when...
Traveling – to anywhere I can get some good food and museums. Paris is absolutely one of my favorites, but there are so many great places to go. I get a ton of my personal inspiration and perspective on life when I’m traveling to new or familiar places. I generally prefer a week or two to immerse myself in the culture and fully remove myself from work, but I’m also happy to just take an extended weekend to recharge at a favorite spot.
I love Breaktime Media because...
Our Breaktime campaigns are clearly always created by people who care about not only what they do, but about our brands as well.
I truly appreciate the authenticity of the people, the creativity of the campaigns, and the partnership that you get every time you work on a program with Breaktime. It’s not a company or a team that is just churning out work that doesn’t have much heart to it. Our Breaktime campaigns are clearly always created by people who care about not only what they do, but about our brands as well. Everyone takes a thoughtful approach to making engaging content, and I really appreciate it.