Maslow once said,\n\u201cIf the only tool you have is a hammer, you start to treat everything as if it\nwere a nail\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, fortunately,\nthe newest Brand Genetics recruit Lesley Salem has a tool for almost every\npossible situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her 25 years in\ninsight and innovation have seen her excel on both client and agency side, as\nwell as 6 years working independently with her own freelance business, Cultivation.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a child, it was a family joke that, at\nbreakfast, I would ask what we were going to be eating for lunch. I\u2019ve always\nhad one foot in the future and a fascination with \u201cWhat Next.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting out as\npart of Unilever\u2019s Graduate Marketing program, Lesley cut her teeth with managing\nImpulse bodyspray in the UK before progressing to lead the European Innovation\nprogram. Along the way, she also set up <\/strong>The Youth Board, a\nunit designed to better connect Unilever with the trendsetter-scene and youth\ntribes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Continuing to\nchampion new ways of working, including \u201cco-creating before it became a thing\u201d,\nLesley made her next move to agency Headlight Vision – where her passion for\ncultural tracking and emerging trends continued to grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI discovered how trends could be tracked,\nyears ahead of becoming mainstream, how they travelled and evolved region to\nregion and that, despite disruptive forces, there are some fundamental\npsychological drivers that remain enduring.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, began a\nhighly successful career that saw her spend time at The Body Shop and\nFutureBrand before a spell as an independent consultant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the time I was criticised by some for\njumping from job to job too quickly and having a meandering career path, but on\nreflection, I believe it’s been this hybrid pool of skills that developed my\nspecialism in Insight and Innovation” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What unites this diverse journey is a love of disruptive\nmethodologies – \u201cunbound by traditional research\u201d – especially when it comes to\nthe challenges of youth and child research. From Winnebago road trips around Europe at\nFutureBrand to establishing \u201cSprout\u201d, a kids\u2019 research unit at Spinach, Lesley\ncontinues to break new ground, wherever she goes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lesley\njoins us at Brand Genetics, off the back of 2 years at Razor where she\nspecialised in younger audiences and innovation, drawn by the cultural and\nskill diversity of our team, alongside a shared belief in storytelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen we are working on projects, there are multiple perspectives and inputs to bring to the table, but all derived from a human-first start-point. \u00a0Culturally, BG is experimental and always embracing new ways to update and add to our diverse toolbox. \u00a0Personally, I\u2019m really excited by the way we can use tech to further observe and immerse ourselves in people\u2019s worlds, in a way that is natural and without a research bias.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked\nabout what she is excited about in 2019 it is clear Lesley continues to tackle\nthe future head-on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPersonalisation is the trend that excites me the most.\u00a0 We’ve been talking about customisation since the ’90s but the way that personalisation keeps evolving is staggering. The impact for organisations is huge and challenging and is forcing our clients to rethink the way they operate, sell and fulfil customers\u2019 needs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With boundless energy and bottomless positivity, it is\nclear that the same passion and drive that started her on this journey burns as\nbright as ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Welcome to the team, Lesley. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Maslow once said, \u201cIf the only tool you have is a hammer, you start to treat everything as if it were a nail\u201d. Well, fortunately, the newest Brand Genetics recruit Lesley Salem has a tool for almost every possible situation. Her 25 years in insight and innovation have seen her excel on both client and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":1190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-forward-thinking"],"yoast_head":"\n