Liz is the creative director responsible for leading all things copy, voice, tone and messaging at Genuine. She started her career as a broadcast copywriter, and has come to embrace digital as a truly contemporary storytelling medium. “I’ve always worked at agencies where we thought ‘television, down.’ Now, it’s ‘brand, out.’ Looking at a brand as an overall experience, a series of touchpoints, has really expanded my sense of the work.”

She will admit, though, it took a minute. “I was worried I wouldn’t understand or have the technical knowledge. But what I learned by doing is that on a human, storytelling level, digital is no different. I’m always looking for one thing that everybody, regardless of experience, can understand, imagine or relate to. Something that hooks, sticks. Emotional Velcro®.” (She worked on the account, she knows you have to do that.)

Building and leading great creative teams is a huge part of what drives Liz day to day, and helping our talent develop their personal style. She strives to lead by example, but not to be imitated. “I don't know how I have necessarily shaped them – except to say, this is my style. You can watch me do what I do – but I'm going to help you do what you do. Not more like me, but more like you, and better. Of course, they have to have some voice to start, but my job is to help them find it, hone it, and make it ownable.”

Of course Liz has loved stories from a young age (“The Illustrated Shakespeare was like my baby book”), but above all, she loves a twist. Her favorite story from childhood? “That Sesame Street book with Grover, There’s a Monster at the End of this Book. Grover spends the entire book begging you, don’t turn the page! Because there's a monster at the end. He tries to stop you, he creates obstacles, but you keep turning pages, getting closer to the end until you’re both there, and he realizes he’s the monster. I freaking loved it. I mean, I loved lots of books, but this book made you interact with it.” Kind of like digital!

The Genuine value Liz most identifies with? Courage. “Courage is, I think, required for creative leadership. It’s not about you; courage isn’t the same thing as confidence. You don’t always know if you’re right. But you have to pitch like you’re winning. You have to make decisions and keep working.” And that goes for creativity as well as leadership. 

“You have to take responsibility. You have to make decisions that might make you unpopular, that you might not make in a different role. You have to advocate for things people may prefer you didn’t. And you have to be ok if people don’t get you. It takes courage. But that’s what we do.”