Todd Gillman Latest Addition To We Are Unicorns
We Are Unicorns, now in our 5th year, continues to look at ways to expand our offerings and expertise. We’ve added a new asset, Todd Gillman, to help us with the creation of even more unicorn magic! While Todd’s personality has certainly helped him secure positions with household brands from Yeti to Red Bull, it’s hardly the extent of his talents. Long before becoming We Are Unicorns lead Client Manager, Todd asserted himself in the marketing world as a motivated, ideas man. In this new position, Todd will explore his creative toolkit far beyond brand management and into full scale strategy. To give you a closer look at the man behind the horn-rimmed glasses, I took the opportunity to sit down with WAU Founder-Molly Hawkins, WAU Senior Strategist/Partner Chris Dickerson, and Todd to find out what they’re looking forward to in this creative fellowship.
Molly, what is Todd going to be doing here at We Are Unicorns?
Molly: “As our lead Client Manager, Todd will be at the forefront of nurturing and developing healthy communication with our clients and managing relationships. He will basically be our eyes and ears. Because of his experience, I believe that he will not only bring great ideas, but new processes and discipline to our young and growing business.”
Chris, What are some important attributes or skills that you believe Todd will bring to the WAU team?
Chris: “I am a big fan of the fact that he refers to his dog Henry as Henry Dog or HD and his hashtag is #henrydogofficial. Aside from that, I am really excited about how he rounds out the team here at We Are Unicorns. His past work with Yeti Coolers, New Belgium Brewing, and Red Bull, three incredible brands; you’d be hard pressed to find just one person with experience with any of the brands, but all three, it is the trifecta. I am excited to have him bring that expertise to our clients, partners, and the WAU crew. We will all be able to learn a ton from him due to his thoughtful approach to marketing and his understanding of how to build and activate a brand.”
Molly, since each Unicorn brings something unique to the table, what element of Todd’s skillset/personality are you most excited about working with?
Molly: “Todd really embodies the spirit and attitude of We Are Unicorns and all of our employees. He seems to have found that ever elusive balance between work and play. I’ve been lucky enough to work with brands and co-workers that I would first and foremost consider friends, and Todd is someone I’m excited to play alongside.”
Todd, it sounds like you’ve worked with some pretty big names, how do you think your past experience will be relevant to WAU?
Todd: “Yes, I worked for Airwalk and Red Bull as a field marketing manager while living in Colorado. When I moved to Seattle, I worked for New Belgium for 9 years and after I worked for Yeti designing and building infrastructure. At Yeti I did non-profit outreach, marketing strategy, field marketing, micro events, and media relations. From their Instagram account to their social footprint, I was a one man creative shop. I think all of my past experiences will help me with future WAU projects. ”
Molly, how do you think Todd’s skill set will apply to what WAU has got going on already?
Molly: “Todd brings wisdom that will really round out our leadership team. Coming from years of experience with outdoor and lifestyle brands, we look forward to drawing on him for fresh new ideas and perspective that will complement the team. Todd has a special way of of managing relationships with his warm personality.”
Todd, what are you most excited about accomplishing at WAU?
Todd: “Because I’ve been doing this for 5-7 years now, I see this as a huge learning opportunity to legitimize my content marketing approach in a structured setting. I hope to learn from the WAU team and broaden my experience and skills in marketing. I'm good at collaborating, brainstorming sessions, and picking out strategy. I think as a part of this team, I can accomplish a lot.”
Molly, In the past we were mostly women and now we are balancing out the sexes, do you think this dynamic will be beneficial?
Molly: “I never sought out to hire men or women. I’m looking for good people that can contribute to the work and get the job done. Almost all of our employees have come to us via word of mouth and I feel very lucky to be connected to a strong base of females in the outdoor and creative industry. I do believe that it has been very natural and organic for our staff to be female dominated but my goal is to create work opportunities for women and men alike. On that note, I do hope through WAU that we can help create more of a balance of women in business. The pool is too narrow right now.”
Chris, you’ve been here for about 5 or 6 months now. Any advice for the newcomer?
Chris: “Has it been 6 months already? WOW! Time has really flown by. I feel like I am just starting to get into the groove of things. I have learned that the crew here prefers pretzels to apples and somehow we tend to all agree on the music selection playing in the office. I’d say just take it all in, try to learn from everybody and dive in!”
Todd, if you had one weekend to go anywhere and do anything, what would it be?
Todd: “I’d gather a big fun posse of friends and charter float planes to Tofino during the longest days of summer, bringing with us all our surf and camp gear. Once there, we hire a boat and captain to drop us on a remote outer island where we spend a couple days camping, surfing, fishing, crabbing, hiking, reading books, drinking tequila around a beach bonfire, etc. The boat will come back to get us and on the way back to the float plane, we'll do a quick side trip to Hot Springs Cove for a soak before boarding the plane and returning to the real world.”
Weekends aside, since Todd’s debut on the West Coast, this weekend warrior/beer aficionado has made quite a name for himself in the marketing world—and amongst his peers. We can’t wait to see what Todd will bring to the WAU team! If you’re in the neighborhood or out for one of our First Friday Art Events, be sure to say hi!
Written by We Are Unicorns copywriter, Sarah Bauchner.