Today we’d like to introduce you to Janaye Roberson.
Hi Janaye, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always been infatuated with music since I was a kid. And I know that everyone loves music, but for me, it felt slightly different. I was interested in not just the songs, but the stories, the arrangement and the production behind it. I’ve been playing music since I was in elementary school. I started learning about actual career paths in music, that wasn’t just performing, in Middle School. Originally, I started off on the audio production/engineering path. As I keep dabbling around the Alabama music scene, I realized that, I enjoyed helping local artists in promotion/marketing. I wanted the world to know the artists that I cared about, in hopes that they would feel the same. So while learning/doing audio work, I started dipping my toes into booking, marketing and artist management. My first big kid job was as a agent assistant the great New Frontier Touring (love you guys!), which I absolutely loved. Slowly, but surely, I realized the marketing itch was too strong to deny. From assisting, I transitioned to a marketing coordinator at Outback Presents. The whole time, I was still doing some audio and management work on the side. From Outback Presents, I moved to Grayscale Marketing as a Media & Marketing Specialist, due to an opportunity from my mentor Tim Gray and my friend Matt Alese. This opportunity allowed me to be more hands on in the digital advertising (ad creation, strategy, budgeting, etc.) and I’ve been here ever since.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I’m grateful for the road that got me here nonetheless. From moving to Nashville from Alabama, with absolutely no contacts or anything, to dealing with a very tough personal situation in my last semester at MTSU, it definitely wasn’t smooth. I almost gave up honestly. I couldn’t see how I was going to make it. Thankfully, my best friend and my mom are a large part of the reason that I didn’t go home and give up. But also looking back, I had found such a strong community via my job at Daddy’s Dogs (the old daddy’s before the shop) and my MTSU phamily (ODP for life!!!). My professors at MTSU were also extremely understanding when I explained what was happening (not to go too deep, but at one point, my bed was my friend’s couch). Finances of course were an issue, as it is for most students. Thankfully, the summer after I graduated from MTSU, I received an IEBA scholarship and the Street Symphony scholarship from MTSU, which allowed me to fully dive in to my summer internships, without worrying about rent/car payments/etc. That summer lead to me getting a job at New Frontier Touring. So yeah, I definitely experienced hardships, but I truly believed that God rewarded my leap of faith by taking care of me. It was tough, but everything worked out better than I could have ever expected.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
So, at Grayscale Marketing, I’m a part of the advertising department. I work on creating ads for our clients, that show across various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, CTV and Google. We also work with traditional media, so executing ads with local print and OTT partners across the country. I work with our creative team to produce top performing videos & static graphics that we use in our ads. I also work on preparing ad strategies based on our clients budgets, I love being able to test new ideas, various ad copy and strategies across different platforms. I love that marketing is always changing and shifting, so there’s no stopping – there’s always something to learn and grow from. So, if you’re seeing an ad from one of our clients, just know that’s me – from creative direction to all the copy on the entire ad. That’s what I do.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
While I definitely understand the need for being conservative when it comes to marketing, risk taking is a necessity in getting our message across. It’s easy to hide behind budgets and metrics, but pushing the needle always yields the greatest results. You have to get comfortable with trying something new, especially as what marketing looks like, changing every week. Risk taking has to happen both online and offline. I think it’s easy to get sidetracked with digital marketing tactics, as everyone exists in the digital landscape. However, people are still people. They are real. They exist outside of the various screens that they interact with daily. So while we definitely aim to be in their feeds, to stay top of mind, I believe that capturing people outside of their screens is just as important – if not more. This requires you to go against the grain and step outside of comfortability. That’s where the true treasure, engagement and community, exists.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.grayscalemarketing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supernaye
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janaye-roberson/
