Get to know our senior media operations specialist, Emily Hayden.
HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN THE INDUSTRY?
I wanted to be Andie Anderson in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and work at a glossy magazine writing fun articles, so I started at Ball State with a major in journalism. The advertising classes were the most rewarding and interesting, so that’s where I stuck.
OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES OR PASSIONS?
On any given day, I could be obsessing over any random thing, but the most common threads are currently hiking, dancing, DIY home improvement, reading/podcasts and being an epic wife, mom, daughter and friend.
WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOLS OF THE TRADE?
Research. The more you learn about your clients and their businesses, the more you can help them grow. You can have the coolest creative development in the world, but you need to have the strategy to back it for it to be truly effective. I also have an ongoing love affair with Microsoft Excel.
WHAT PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE INDUSTRY?
Relentless curiosity. The people who do the best in the agency world are interested in everything, all the time, and always want to know more. If you are the kind of person who went to Hamilton and found yourself down the Google rabbit-hole that same night reading up on the fascinating life of Aaron Burr’s daughter, you may be destined for a future in advertising.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TIME OF DAY?
Thanks to a decade working opening shifts as a Starbucks barista, I’m at my best in the wee hours of the morning while everyone else is still asleep. My brain is fresh, and there is so much potential on the horizon. And there is always coffee!
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT THAT YOU’VE WORKED ON AT HIRONS?
City of Greenwood, by far. My husband and I are lifelong residents and own an 1800’s house right in the heart of Old Town, so it has been so fun to help share the story of our home and help others see why we love it so much!
WHAT IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL PART OF YOUR JOB?
At Hirons, we are the owners of the company, and our success or failure directly impacts our own bottom line. Because of that, everyone is always bringing their best effort. I’ve worked in other agencies where we occasionally felt like we really hit a home run for a client and left the office high-fiving each other, but at Hirons, that feeling is a way of life and a regular occurrence. It’s beyond rewarding and so inspiring to be surrounded by people who love the work we do and also have so much fun getting to do it together.
DID YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL JOBS BEFORE WORKING AT HIRONS?
Not really as a job, but I’ve done several traveling volunteer stints that helped me see quite a bit of the world while helping others. The longest and most interesting of these trips was nearly a month spent in Thailand after the tsunami of 2004.
WHAT’S AN ACCOMPLISHMENT YOU’RE PROUD OF, PERSONALLY OR PROFESSIONALLY?
I completed an MBA in half the usual amount of time during a global pandemic while working full time and lived to tell the tale.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF WORKING AT HIRONS?
At Hirons, I discovered that I really love math more than most people, and I have a lot of fun playing in spreadsheets and color coding and organizing things. Apparently, most people don’t enjoy doing that, so I love that Hirons has let me lean into my nerdiness and encouraged me to do these geeky things that make my heart so happy and help the rest of the agency run better at the same time.
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