Monika Hesch
Marketing
Leadership
Strategist
Aaron Small
I grew up in the 1980s, when Nintendo was all the rage and karate studios had their heyday. Since then, I've been into books, reading, movies, graphic novels, and moving my body so I outlive anyone else.
I write for brands too.
I'm interested in connected fitness, big tech companies, startups, AI driven companies, and sustainability. Though not necessarily in that order.
Open to freelance or full-time after we seriously date each other.
Q
Can you share some of your notable projects and their impact on the industry?
Google Year In Search 2016. This EOY spot was nominated for an Emmy. The design solution, using the Google search box, was fresh and original. And it translated well across print and social. It also meant the video didn't need to be localized or translated, another plus.
LINK: https://aaronsmallwrotethat.com/work/google-year-in-search
Google Way of a Warrant. This friendly video helped demystify a complex legal process, in a Googley way. It's been viewed over 3.2 million times. LINK: https://aaronsmallwrotethat.com/work/google-way-of-a-warrant
Buycycle Anthem. This brand spot played during the Tour De France, and helped boost acquisition by 45% every time the spot played on-air. It also helped establish the brand to worldwide audiences, and was able to be localized across six different languages.
LINK: https://aaronsmallwrotethat.com/work/buycycle
Vitaminwater x Steve Nash. This spoof created a character out of an athlete, and helped drive sales and brand awareness for vitaminwater when they were still small.
LINK: https://aaronsmallwrotethat.com/work/vitaminwatermostridiculousman
Q
Could you please share with us a little about your background and family?
I'm from Los Angeles, the son of a lawyer and a family therapist. Reading, writing, and guitar were my bag. I grew up watching the Simpsons, doing crossword puzzles, and building computers before I entered high school. I wrote poetry before I knew that was a form of creative expression. I've always been curious – an experience seeker who believes in working with my hands and head.
Q
Tell us about what drives your personal projects.
Human truth. Finding the hidden gem, making the work feel personal and smoothly connect with readers or viewers, and working with a true sense of craft and professionalism.
Collaboration. There's only so much I know, and there's only so far I can get on my own. I think leaning in to the opinions of teams, partners, and clients generally serves to make the final product better. Clients know their world better than I ever could, and it's important to see them as friends not foes.
The final ten percent. A creative journey has lots of ups and downs. It's critical to stay on top of things until the very end, to catch loose ends and prevent problems or creative spirals.
Q
As a Creative, which project of your professional career, so far, reflects you the most?
Probably Google's Way of a Warrant. Along with my partner, we concepted, presented, and sold the idea in our first round of work with the client. We went through 7 versions of the script, fine tuning and editing. I helped lead production, and also performed the voiceover. Although it's an explainer video, I think it demonstrates the level of craft and fun I can bring to projects.
Q
How do you work with clients to ensure their vision is accurately represented in your work?
Great question! I dig into the brief, and I'm not afraid to ask hard questions so that I fully understand the goal and intentions. I also do my own research into the client, what customers are saying, and what they hope to achieve with a piece of communication. I also refer back to the brief, to make sure any work shown is on strategy.
Q
How do you see the digitalization of art? Apart from convenience, which important feature does technology add to your artwork? Which are your favorite technologies to use for work?
I mainly use perplexity for work, and use visual electric for comping or mocking up ideas.
Q
Please share with us your absolute favorite project from amongst all your work.
Google Year in Search: https://aaronsmallwrotethat.com/work/google-year-in-search
This project was a blast to work on. Once we had the idea the edit came together quickly. It's clever, stands out, sentimental, and cheeky all at once.
Q
Can you share your background and how you got started in your career?
I went to portfolio school in SF, then the Creative Cirus in Atlanta in 2009. After hitting Burning Man that year, I was contacted for freelance work for an LA agency working on vitaminwater commercials. I worked for free for a few months, writing dozens of spots. My work ethic landed me a job, where I worked there for almost four years. After that I worked for different agencies, working on Google and social impact projects. From there I worked in-house at Zwift, a cycling training game. This taught me tons about product releases, and working cross-functionally. I love working on tech brands and humanizing how they come across.
Q
Was there something specific about writing that made you realize it was the path for you?
Writing is good for my soul. Writing is how I think, process, and dream. It's been my outlet since I was a young kid. I also realized it when I worked at a coffee bean, saw a poster, and thought, "Hey, I could do that." That's when I looked into advertising.
Q
What project are you most proud of being involved in? What made it so memorable?
Zwift Academy films and campaign: https://aaronsmallwrotethat.com/work/zwift-academy
One year, we had the world film themselves at home, on their bike setup. We pieced together an edit using cyclists across the globe.
Another year, we reached out to local cyclists and crafted a story of diversity, struggle, and sweat. It was great to work hands-on with our production team!
