Be memorable. Be yourself, Be kind. Be friendly and be present. Make sure they remember you.
As part of my series about the things you need to know to excel in the modern PR industry I had the pleasure of interviewing Timur Tugberk of Designing The District.
After a decade and a half of experience in Digital & Traditional Marketing Strategy and Communication Development, Public Relations & Policy, Brand & Product Development, Social & Digital Media Consulting, Event Coordination, and Advertising, while working in fast-paced industries with distinct clientele, Timur has mastered the art of managing multiple and complex client accounts, launching and leading deadline-driven marketing programs and campaigns from conception to completion, and identifying and attracting the right target audience by fostering sustainable external and internal relationships through social, digital, and content-based communication. Through his unwavering commitment to only the highest standards, expertise in balancing the intricacies of communication with a signature creative approach, his inherent drive, and love for people, he has built and implemented dozens of strategic marketing and public-relations campaigns for B2B and B2C initiatives, go-to market brand launch and presence, demand-generation strategies, and user adoption — all with consistent and lasting success.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I like to say it’s kind of a natural factor of who I am as a person, always Mr. Social, always Mr. Creative, always paving a story of some sort, like piloting a narrative. It’s been like even when I was like a little kid in kindergarten all the way through college to 20 years after. My career is just based on my personality. I didn’t study public relations.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting?
The funniest thing was when I got my first corporate job. I still look back and remember my boss machine gunning a list of tasks. I would be sitting there like, I don’t know half of these words. I would go back to my desk and be like, what is SEO?
Somehow I managed to bullshit my way. It was a great job. But I still think back and I’m like, wow, how did I get there?
Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Know your shit. Always be prepared. Don’t bullshit, because the truth will come out eventually. If you don’t know something, that’s okay. Like just be ready to put in the work to learn..
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
It’s always fun to work on festival projects like Art Basel and Fashion Week because there’s so many moving parts. It’s a big part of how I actually got into the marketing world. I threw events. I love events. There’s a human component, an experience, something memorable that it requires like creativity and design which I’m very excited about.
Another project I’m really excited about is with an individual. He’s a celebrity and we’re trying to make a bigger story out of him. It’s always fun when the product is a person.
You are known as a master networker. Can you share some tips on great networking?
Be memorable. Be yourself, Be kind. Be friendly and be present. Make sure they remember you.
Lead generation is one of the most important aspects of any business. Can you share some of the strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?
Like I was saying about my marketing experience being rooted in event marketing, it really is the most translatable data points for marketing conversion into lead generation. You actually are physically calculating your outcome, you’re asking people to not only click to RSVP, but like to physically show up. It’s also hyper measurable.
Anything you’re doing as a marketing task in that sense is like human activation. It’s the most measurable element. It’s very helpful to be able to translate all of that in the variety of different marketing funnels, whether it’s social media, sales lead generation, retail lead generation, or political lead generation, like polling. That’s how I actually design. All of the strategies that I work on are reversed engineered based on the desired outcome.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
The most interesting story is the fact that I had no clue what I was doing, and then 20 years later I’m running a business doing exactly what I’ve been doing this whole time. At some point the switch flipped where I was like, oh wait, you’re the boss. You know exactly what has to be done and none of these like potential maybes.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
You’re never too old. I think something I wish someone would’ve told me, or maybe they did tell me but I wish it was clear was just because you think something doesn’t mean you know it.
And just because you know something doesn’t mean you can do it. It really does take experience to be able to deliver with hyper finesse and precision. Success should be measured in joy and happiness and not in money. You absolutely can have everything, but it’s hard work. Be able to understand someone with a completely opposite perspective. And lastly, do not take anything in business personally.
Because of the role you play, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would unlock how to make sustainability easy and fun for everyone. If we didn’t have to worry about the planet melting, I feel like everyone would have a much easier time.
This was really meaningful, Timur! Thank you.