Even wonder what the day-to-day at Condé Nast looks like? Yeah, me too! Read all about Kate’s experience working for one of the biggest names in publishing.
When I tell you Kate and I got back, we go way back, having known each other for just over 8 years now! Kate is such an inspiration to me, having taken the working world by storm after graduating from Tufts University in 2017. She has worked on marketing campaigns for the magazines that we all know and love, including Vogue, GQ, and Glamour. Yes, you have 20/20 vision I wrote Vogue! An incredibly kind, driven, and hard-working, powerhouse woman, Kate has kindly offered to share with our blog community her experiences working at one of the biggest names in publishing. Take it away Kate!
Kate, tell us a little bit about yourself!
My name is Kate Sienko and I’m a twenty-something navigating the trials and tribulations that accompany adulthood in New York City. I work on the post-sale marketing team at Condé Nast, specifically producing branded content for brands such as Vogue, Glamour, Allure, GQ, Bon Appétit, and more. Prior to working at Condé Nast, I attended Tufts University and The Pingry School.
When did you first start working in publishing and how did you end up at Condé Nast?
I graduated from Tufts in 2017 with degrees in English and Communications/Media Studies. Throughout my internships at Bustle and Time Inc. and college experiences, I connected with colleagues, mentors, and leaders alike, who shared insights and learnings about the media industry and continued to connect me with key contacts that would lay the foundation for my career at Condé Nast.
Perhaps the most formative experience was a series of courses that I took at Tufts entitled “The Future of Magazines.” The instructor during my senior year was the most chic, sophisticated, and all-around brilliant woman who had worked at Condé Nast for many years (and was also an alumna of Tufts!) – as she spoke about the magic that transpired between the walls of Condé Nast and brought in guest speakers from the company that shared similar experiences, I knew that I needed to experience that for myself: to experience the power of storytelling so deeply with the brands I had loved my entire life.
I graduated without a job, as the media industry is different from other industries and often only hires within two (2) weeks of start date – but I worked diligently within my network of mentors, who connected me with the people I needed to know to interview and ultimately secure a job at Condé Nast during July of 2017.
What was your first role at Condé and how does it differ from what you do now?
For the past three years, I have been on the marketing team at Condé Nast, specifically working with beauty clients such as L’Oreal, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Estee Lauder, and many more. I was first hired as a pre-sale marketer and have since transitioned to a post-sale role. As a pre-sale marketer, I was the brains behind the idea, strategizing with teammates to craft stories across platforms: branded content, experiential, video, print, podcasts, and more. As a post-sale marketer, I am the quarterback working cross-collaboratively to bring campaigns to life. Internally, I partner with sales, talent, and creative counterparts to ensure that we produce the best content possible. Externally, I manage all communication with our agency and client partners to ensure that the creative vision is coming to life as it should.
Although hard to pick a favorite between the two – I will say that I am tremendously fortunate to have learned about the campaign process from conception to completion so early on in my career. With this holistic experience, I feel well-prepared and poised to address anything that comes our way in the branded content production process.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
No two days are the same – especially during quarantine. Every day brings a new insight, challenge, or ask and it’s my responsibility to keep everything going, no matter what. In post-sale, we are continuously problem solving (I often joke that I’m a firefighter), and no matter how difficult a situation may be, we always strive to be as positive and solution-oriented as we can in order to ensure the success of a campaign. From sourcing last minute product for a next-day shoot to learning back-end technical logistics for a virtual event to negotiating with edit and clients to achieve a balance of client + brand POVs, we do it all and apply our problem-solving skills to whatever is thrown our way.
What does a typical day look like for you?
During the pandemic, keeping to a routine has been key. My day-in-the-life goes like this:
7:30 AM Wake up
8:00 AM Work out with my mom (Monday & Wednesdays = Cardio, Tuesday = Arms, Thursday = Legs, Friday = Kickboxing)
9:00 AM Start the work day while eating breakfast (eggs, Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast, and fruit) and having coffee: read emails, write out the daily to-do list (I’m old fashioned), prep for meetings
10:00 AM – 5:30 PM Zoom Client and internal meetings to review status of current campaigns. (Some days we’ll have shoots – these are a full-day occasion!). Review rounds of creative and route for approvals. Although I do miss the serendipitous nature of the office and seeing familiar faces in the halls and elevator, I will say that my team and I have managed to be quite productive. (Note: As great as Zoom is, I am actively campaigning to bring the phone call back).
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM Walk around the neighborhood to get some fresh air
6:30 PM Help my parents cook dinner. I’m extraordinarily lucky that both my mom and my dad are excellent cooks and we’ve been eating quite well these past few months.
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Dinner with my parents and my younger brother who is also home for the time being. Although I do sometimes feel like I’m 18 again living under my parents’ roof, I will say that I am cherishing this extra time we all have together as a family.
8:30 PM – 10:00 PM Read or watch TV to wind down from the day. Recently finished reading The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer and watching Love on the Spectrum on Netflix – both excellent!
What is the most compelling project that you have worked on in your career?
The times that I have felt most alive during my time at Condé Nast have been at our tentpole events, such as Glamour Women of the Year and Teen Vogue Summit. They are a celebration of each of the brand’s ethos – who we are, what we stand for, and what we believe in.
At Glamour Women of the Year, we honor the game changers, the rule breakers, and the trailblazers who have paved the way for women across the country and around the world in their respective fields. Over the past three years, we’ve honored:
- Megan Rapinoe
- Margaret Atwood
- Greta Thunberg
- Emma Gonzalez and the women activists from the March for Our Lives movement
- Tory Burch
- Chanel Miller
- Yara Shahidi
- Kamala Harris (Fun Fact: I was her seat filler when she went up to accept her award!)
- Viola Davis
- The Women’s March Organizers
One of the most special moments from WOTY 2019 was when Chanel Miller accepted her award on stage. Glamour had named Emily Doe, the anonymous sexual assault victim a WOTY honoree in 2016, and unbeknownst to the team, she had been sitting in the audience all along, listening to every word. For Chanel to come forward to the world, and then later on the stage at Glamour Women of the Year to publicly accept her award was awe-inspiring. As she emerged on stage in her golden gown, she immediately received a standing ovation – and when she proceeded to recite her acceptance poem: “I Don’t Give A Damn” and there was not a dry eye in the house. I still get goosebumps thinking about that very moment and thinking this is what it’s all about.
At Teen Vogue Summit, we engage in conversations and live workshops with leaders from fashion, politics, beauty, wellness, and activism for the next generation. I love being on the ground with these young people and hear firsthand what they’re doing in their own communities to change the future. At Teen Vogue Summit 2019, Demi Lovato made her first public appearance post–break and the energy in the room shook when she made her way to the stage.
WOTY and Teen Vogue Summit are two of my favorite events of the year because the spirit of empowerment is absolutely tangible and awakens everyone sitting in the room to go out and do good for themselves, for others, and ultimately the world.
How has your role needed to adapt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
The names of the game in media are speed, creativity, and agility – and this is true now more than ever. So much of what we do is people-driven – be it photoshoots, video shoots, events, traveling, or client dinners where we’re interacting, collaborating, and partnering with producers, directors, videographers, clients, talent, and more. And although things may look a little different now, the show must go on. And if there’s a will, there is always a way.
In May, we worked with a client for Teen Vogue Prom and we filmed three videos with teenaged talent. Since this was the beginning of the pandemic, the shoot was entirely remote. We shipped product and equipment to the talent across the country and the director, producers, program managers, and clients all sat on a Zoom directing each talent as they captured their getting ready looks. The casting was incredibly important for this particular program because we needed to enlist talent that were skilled in capturing their own content – and they did beautifully!
Teen Vogue Prom was the following week and we had the time of our lives. Teen Vogue was the first brand to publicly announce that we would host a “virtual prom” for high schoolers and we had exactly one month to pour all of our passion into the program to bring it to life. We curated an evening with hybrid programming, allowing time for attendees to hang out with other classmates from their schools within individual Zoom rooms – and then we would broadcast the national livestream that featured drop-ins from celebrity guests like Charli & Dixie D’Amelio, CNCO, Emma Chamberlain, Lily Collins, Madelaine Petsch, Chloe x Halle, Becky G and more. Nearly fifty members from the Teen Vogue team volunteered their Saturday evenings to “chaperone” the prom, work the back-end technical logistics, and create a night to remember for thousands of high schoolers across the country – all while dressed to impress. I even squeezed into an old prom dress!
Most recently, we had a branded Vogue video shoot. Although finally able to get back on set, our video team had mandated strict guidelines to ensure the health and safety of both talent and crew. We were only able to have three people TOTAL on set – talent, director, and cameraman – (when there are usually 20+!) and thus took an incredible amount of preparation and coordination both before the shoot and during the shoot. On shoot day, the rest of the crew and clients dialed in from across the country, providing feedback while viewing the livestream link.
As the mantra goes, teamwork makes the dream work –– and as we continue onwards in this new normal, it is as important as ever to have a team that is both conscientious and committed to bringing a vision to life, no matter the circumstances – and I couldn’t be more grateful to have just that.
If you could choose anyone or any company to work with, who would it be and why?
My dream client would have to be Nike. I grew up playing pretty much every sport – basketball, swimming, soccer, water polo – and the values of hard work, competition, perseverance, teamwork, and leadership have served as a foundation for all that I do, both personally and professionally. I grew up with a pinboard in my room with pages of old Nike advertisements from magazines and even today, they never cease to inspire, invigorate, and empower me to be the best version of myself.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone interested in working in publishing?
Change is inevitable. The media landscape is evolving every single day – and even over the past three years, I’ve experienced those shifts firsthand. Although countless headlines declare that “Print is Dead,” I’d argue that perhaps the more accurate way to position this is “Print is Changing.” The golden age of traditional publishing was marked by plentiful paging across books – particularly in September issues. I still have an archive of old issues of Glamour, Teen Vogue, Bon Appétit, Vogue and more – and some of them are as thick as phone books. While print issues may look a bit different now, especially with several titles shuttering their print editions (i.e. Glamour and Teen Vogue) – it’s important to understand that print is only one component of a brand. With the introduction of technology advancements across digital and social media, print is no longer the sole star of the show; each brand that we work on within the Condé Nast portfolio consists of print, video, articles, social, podcasts, events, and so much more.
So yes, print is changing, but the tactile and immersive experience of print is so unique that print will never fully “die” in my opinion. As audiences and consumers alike continue to change how they consume content, we have a responsibility to continuously adapt and evolve to not only reach them, but perhaps more importantly, to resonate with them, too.
What do you think the future of publishing looks like?
Mark my words: the future of media is bright. Print may be “changing,” but media and publishing are not going anywhere. The media industry is fueled by the power of storytelling – and as human beings, we crave stories that tell the experiences of ourselves and each other. My hope is that the media industry continues to work to be more inclusive, sharing real and raw journalism from people of diverse backgrounds – across race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, identity – and that technology helps us tell these stories in the most innovative and creative ways possible.
One change in the industry that Tom notes is the way in which consumers wear and purchase jewelry. In the early 90s, Tom cites that clients had extreme brand loyalty and would invest heavily in expensive, statement jewelry sets. Now, however, consumers are more willing to purchase a myriad of pieces from different companies. Tom mentions that he often sees American consumers, specifically, dawning a range of different brands on one wrist even, Cartier love bracelets and Hermés Clic H bracelets stacked side by side. That being said, Tom does mention that he has noticed more mature American buyers will tend to stick with their trusted brands and have more brand loyalty. Additionally, in the U.S., he has noticed that consumers purchase jewelry for everyday wear, the majority of it being delicate and small. Tom references how this might align with the more casual customs the U.S. has adopted over the years, where a dark denim might appear as “dressing up” and sweats are appropriate outerwear. Tom shared that the hot new jewelry designs coming from Rosanne Karmes’s company Sydney Evan are fun, edgy, and delicate, pieces that everyone is looking for nowadays. Apart from Sydney Evan, Tom has a tried and true love for Cartier and Chopard, especially Chopard’s Happy Diamonds collection. 
My last question for Tom was what he thought the future of the luxury industry will look like? Tom mentioned that, first and foremost, it would benefit luxury brands to stay true to themselves and what the brand’s history promises. Heavy discounting and coupon codes can dramatically hurt a brand’s image, especially a luxury one. If discounts can be avoided, they should be at all costs. Tom also notes that coupons and discounts within the luxury industry have contributed to buyers putting off their purchasing until the discounting occurs, which can have drastic implications. This is, especially, a popular practice for many department stores, like Neiman Marcus and Lord and Taylor, who are now seeing the effects of such regular product reductions- one of many factors of course. 
Ursula D. 