At Addison Whitney, our people are our most valuable resource. We are lucky to have such a talented group working throughout our offices, and in our AW Spotlight series we wanted to spotlight our employees, finding out more about who they are, and their thoughts on working at Addison Whitney.
This edition of AW Spotlight features Maya Babish, who recently joined Addison Whitney in our Seattle office as Account Director. With extensive experience in the branding and marketing industries, Maya has been a very welcome addition!
What has been the most surprising aspect of working with Addison Whitney so far?
I’m not a morning person and you guys schedule a lot of meetings at 8:00 AM! Seriously though, I knew Addison Whitney had a wealth of experience, but the client list is huge! It’s exciting to be part of a team 
who named the Escalade. Also, the company’s experience in pharmaceutical branding is incredible.
Give us your elevator speech – what do you do at AW?
I collaborate with companies to build strong brands by consulting with them to understand their customers and business needs. I work with a talented team of strategists, naming experts, designers and researchers to develop solutions that help move businesses forward by defining (or redefining) their brand position and customer experience.
What is it about branding that gets you excited to come to work in the morning?
Branding to me is the ultimate high when it comes to a marketing profession since it demands analytical, strategic and creative skills. I get to help people solve real business problems. The exciting part for me is showing people what branding is and the power it has in shaping a business’s direction.
What is something about you that would surprise people?
When I lived in Boise, Idaho, I launched a restaurant franchise. It was called Mountain Thyme Pasta. I developed the business plan, marketing plan, branding, packaging, in-store retail design and all the recipes. You should have seen my kitchen while I was in product development mode – somehow I needed to translate years and years of experimentation into set recipes for others to cook. It was a blast!
Where do you see the branding industry going in the next few years? What are some trends you think we should be on the lookout for?
The traditional methods of developing brand strategy need to evolve given the increasingly dynamic environment driven by digital and social media. This has been true for some time now for consumer brands but is becoming more profound in the B2B space. I can see a discipline around social branding evolving as well as new tools to integrate real-time social conversations into the strategic process. Gone are the days of putting in place a brand pyramid that will drive the business for years. We are now challenged with developing models that create a distinctive position and experience for a brand while integrating the ability to evolve and change fluidly in direct response to customers.