When people think about the marketing industry, they might think of the commercials they watch during the Super Bowl game or the pop-up ad they see while searching the web or scrolling through their social media feeds. But what about the marketing technology experts running the show behind the scenes and making all of this even possible? We thought this was the perfect opportunity to get to know Isovera’s leader of technology innovation and tech guru, Jim Rich, Partner & COO. During our conversation with Jim, we got the inside scoop on how Jim went from oceanographer to marketing technology expert, his 20+ years of experience within the marketing industry, and so much more. Come with us on this journey to learn from the expert himself. 

Isovera

How did you get into this industry, and what specifically intrigued you about it?

Jim Rich

Initially, I graduated college with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in marine science. I was involved in oceanographic research for many years. So I’ve done a lot of polar work. I met my wife in Iceland, who was also an oceanographer. While my wife was completing her Ph.D., I reached a fork in the road. If my wife and I had both stayed in the same industry, we would have faced challenges finding job opportunities in the same area. While facing this challenge, and though I loved the scientific research I was doing, I had an equal interest in technology, and the technology landscape started to change with the introduction of the early web. There happened to be a job opening at the College of Marine Studies to provide within their IT department to provide technical support to the students and faculty. This was an excellent opportunity to combine my love of science and technology, so I took the job. During this time, I supported all hardware and software needs and taught multiple seminars on computing and applications. I spent time understanding and teaching the students and faculty about this new thing called “The World Wide Web.” As I continued my learning and exploration within this industry, I worked for the Louisiana Universities of Marine Consortium by leading and supporting the technology needs of the college. Here I developed one of the first weather station websites that displayed real-time values in both graphical and tabular form. I also built a web-based instrument inventory and maintenance system on a Microsoft platform and architected and managed to build a Distance Learning Classroom that connected the facility to many universities in Louisiana. Following my university career, my family and I moved to Boston, MA. A small creative agency recently merged with a technical partner to build a full-service digital agency. I found the combination of both these industries very fascinating. This would be an excellent opportunity to combine my technology experience with marketing as both industries rapidly grew. This was also the beginning of digital marketing, so I embraced the challenge that this brought me.

Isovera

What are some of the major brands you worked on before joining Isovera?

Jim Rich

I’ve worked with Campbell’s Soup, Comcast Cable, Mini Cooper, Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, Greater Boston Food Bank, Pabst Blue Ribbon/Colt 45, Aruba Tourism Authority, Converse, Harvard Magazine, Bed Bath & Beyond, Deutsche Bank. I’ve been very fortunate to work with these brands throughout my career and have had the opportunity to help elevate their brand through advanced technology.

Isovera

Can you talk about a project that helped change the future of technology?

Jim Rich

One that comes to mind is when I worked with Mini Cooper, a subsidiary of BMW. They were looking for a feature on their website where users could build and customize a Mini Cooper to the way they wanted. The only solution was to build a car configurator, which was a huge accomplishment as it was one of the first to be online. But this was a very challenging project. It was a very long and complex project because we had to ensure the imagery was realistic and aligned with the Mini Cooper customizations while making the website fast and responsive. We needed to design all the images that captured all elements of the car, like shadows, reflections, colors, and other essential features. Once we had realistic designs, we needed to overlay images layer by layer so that any user could make their customizations in the blink of an eye. It was also important to implement communications to coincide with the customizations to confirm if users did or didn’t want to make those changes. This was not only a huge success for Mini Cooper, but it also laid the foundation for other car brands to build similar systems for their websites.

Isovera

How is the future of technology affecting marketing?

Jim Rich

We’ve seen a significant change in technology over the years. In the early 2000s is when web and digital marketing came to life. Over the years, we’ve seen how technology and tools improve as time goes on. For example, web developers used to write custom codes, but now we have tools to do much of this. That advancement alone saves web developers a lot of time, allowing them to focus on developing new coding. So now, we’re seeing more advanced tools helping us with digital marketing. For years, one of the biggest goals for digital marketers was creating a more personalized approach. That ability to say, “Hey Jim, welcome back.” and to show “Jim” products they’re interested in rather than products they’ll never purchase. This is all possible due to databases that track a user’s interests through their website searches, social media accounts, and other trackable data that helps provide marketers insight into users’ interests. Creepy, I know. The point is to give people exactly what they’re looking for while helping them find a company’s product or brand being advertised. For example, when I’m reading CNN, I see ads promoting camping equipment because I searched for a new tent online. This is great because I see ads that pertain to my wants and needs. This brings advertising to that level of personalization where you’re talking to individuals about your product, and they respond because it’s something they’re interested in. And that’s the future of marketing and the significant influence of how technology will continue building the success of personalized digital marketing.

Isovera

Will virtual reality make a more significant impact on marketing and on an individual’s daily life in the years to come?

Jim Rich

The problem with virtual reality (VR) is there’s no killer app. There’s no reason why someone would walk around with a virtual reality headset or even wear one every day, right? If they come out with a killer app for VR that makes it such that person doesn’t want to wear their glasses or contacts anymore, then that person would put on VR glasses, and that’s what they’ll use most of their day. Then think about what that does for marketing and advertising. Because now, people are interacting with VR and are always in a digital environment. Virtual reality has great games and is a lot of fun, but why would someone use it every day, and how will it help make their day easier? And that’s the key. To make VR more influential, it needs to make people’s lives and completing tasks easier. Until that happens and people need for it, then it won’t have a significant impact on the marketing industry,

Isovera

Why did you decide to join Isovera?

Jim Rich

I left the agency world for a few years and worked at a company helping clients manage their marketing data. While working there, I started to miss agency life’s dynamic nature and speed. Being able to work on so many different accounts every day within so many other industries makes each day new and exciting. With this in mind, I started looking around a little bit, and that’s when I found Isovera. Isovera was looking for someone to manage their operations and technology teams. This immediately piqued my interest since it combined technology and marketing and allowed me to get back into the agency world. After I applied for the position, Matthew Naffah, Partner & CEO, contacted me immediately, and we scheduled an interview. During this interview, Matt and I hit it off and found that our goals aligned very well with one another. I’ve been here almost three years, and we’ve been an excellent team.

Isovera

What role does your team play when interacting with clients?

Jim Rich

My team and I aren’t just here to help clients with technology solutions. I also consider ourselves as client liaisons. Many times we’ll have clients who come to us and say, “We can’t do anything with our website. Our technical team runs it.” or “We need these things on our website, but this team said it can’t be done.” This is where my team comes in. We’ll coordinate a joint meeting to get all client teams together, discuss the challenges and then tailor our solutions to meet all team members’ needs. It’s not an easy process by any means. Still, with our help as the liaisons for clients’ internal teams, we can accomplish our goals and satisfy the needs of all client parties involved.

Isovera

What is one thing you try to bring to every client engagement?

Jim Rich

I always bring a sense of calm and control to all client meetings. People are sometimes afraid of technology, or they don’t understand the technology, and when they don’t understand it, it raises anxiety and concern, right? For example, a client may come to me and say, “Oh my gosh, there’s something broken on the website. What are we going to do?” I immediately reassure them not to worry and that it’s not really broken. Let me look into this issue, and I’ll work with you to resolve this. My background brings a lot of problem-solving skills and a sense of calm, especially in high-pressure situations.

Isovera

At Isovera, you’re not just managing yourself; you’re managing a team. How do you keep their energy up?

Jim Rich

When you’re managing a team, you need to pay attention to the group’s needs. We all want to do great work, but to do that, your team has to be happy doing the work, excited to come to work every day, and know they are valued. I’ve worked in agencies in the past where if you weren’t there till 7 p.m. and weren’t there at 8:30 a.m., you’re not really working. That used to be the expectation, and it’s simply not true. As a leader, you need to shift that thinking to say, “No, it’s about doing great work. It’s not about the number of hours you put into your workday. It’s about working efficiently.” I live by an old saying: “Work hard, not long.” And so when I work with my team, I want to ensure that they feel good about what they’re working on. Of course, this can be challenging when working in an agency because if you’re good at what you do and a client likes you, you might stay on an account for an extended period. With this, employees can become bored and feel they’re not getting that diversity and that agency experience they were looking for. So I am always trying to make sure that my team has the opportunity to work with different clients, work on various projects, and to be able to work with other team members within the agency. The other important piece is making sure people are feeling good about the work they’re doing. Again this means listening and having one-on-ones with each team member, giving you time to connect and have open conversations. It’s important to me to hear how each team member is doing. And more importantly, is there anything I can help you with? I lead with the servant leadership philosophy, built on the belief that I’m not behind you telling you what to do; I’m out in front of you, leading you into what we need to get done together. And this is critically important because we are all working on the same team; we’re all in the same boat, so if one floats, we all float.

Isovera

What is the most enjoyable part of your daily life at Isovera?

Jim Rich

Honestly, it’s that I get to interact with the client and team members daily. With the remote Isovera team, I love connecting with everyone during meetings we have. You know, not just talking about work but getting to know the people you work with daily. At the beginning of every team call, I talk about how everyone’s doing, what they did over the weekend, how the kids are, and things like that. And I’m genuinely excited to hear and learn about them. These interactions are what build relationships, trust, and honesty.

Isovera

What do you like to do outside of work?

Jim Rich

There are a thousand things I love to do, but I have gotten into woodworking. For me, it’s almost more manufacturing than woodworking. I build designs in CAD, a three-dimensional design software, on my computer. Then I have a CNC machine that I control with a computer to do all the carving. So I’ll design my pieces within the software, render them so it looks natural, and then publish it to the CNC to carve all tut I enjoy combining my love of technology and woodworking to create excellent work that I cache wood I need to build it. It’s more challenging than just pushing a button on display. Besides woodworking, I enjoy spending time with my wife and three sons, camping, hiking, and backpacking with them. It’s become a part of who we are, and I love every minute of it.