Adam Gowen is a strategist, writer, and frequent Wikipedia donor living and working in Brooklyn, New York.
What I Do
Research, analytics, and information synthesis
Communication journey orchestration and optimization
Creative brief development and presentation
Collaboration and coordination with creative teams
Creative strategy and test plan development
Discover Financial Services
Riverwoods, IL
2021 – 2023
Discover Financial Services, better known for its Discover credit card, is the second-largest independent issuer of credit cards in the United States, in addition to housing various business lines responsible for billions more in loan originations annually. At Discover, I work on the creative strategy team–a component of Discover’s internal creative agency–where I am responsible for leading the development and optimization of creative work delivered to 60 million card members.
After my time as a jack of all trades in a small agency setting, I sought a role at Discover where I could narrow my focus on strategy work alone, while also getting to experience a different work environment in a larger organization with more resources and greater internal complexity. In addition to allowing me to grow as a strategist, I also learned how to balance competing internal priorities and the art of aligning campaign-level goals to broader enterprise objectives.
My primary responsibility at Discover is to collaborate with campaign and product owners to understand their priorities, then use data, audience insights, and external resources to craft and present creative briefs to our creative partners. I’m also responsible for following the creative throughout the production process to ensure that it stays on strategy and adheres to best practices and brand standards.
Happy Medium
Des Moines, IA
2018 – 2021
Happy Medium is a full-service digital agency located in Des Moines, Iowa. I began my career at Happy Medium as a Content Specialist developing content across various media, including social media, digital media, and video–with a focus on creating and planning content for web and app development. I completed over 20 web projects, plenty of ad campaigns and rebrands, and run the award-winning Happy Medium blog as the sole copywriter at Happy Medium.
Over a year after starting with Happy Medium, my role was expanded to Strategic Communications & Content Specialist, making me the agency’s source for research and strategy. This gave me more experience in creating content grounded in audience and industry research.
Working at Happy Medium allowed me to work with national brands, such as Mattress Firm and Planned Parenthood, as well as regional staples, like Hy-Vee, Kum & Go, and the University of Northern Iowa. My experience with an array of clients, including B2B and non-profit organizations, gives me well-rounded skills in creating purposeful and compelling content for any business.
Sealaska, Inc.
Seattle, WA
Summer 2017
Sealaska is an Alaska Native Regional Corporation owned by more than 22,000 Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian shareholders. I worked as a Shareholder Relations Content Intern, which required developing engaging content across a number of media, including social, print, and web.
My primary task as an intern was to rebuild the quarterly shareholder newsletter from a bland, indistinct document into a publication with purpose. This project was my introduction to content strategy and message planning, while also being my first professional opportunity to build creative content around research and strategy.