Sometimes you find yourself fulfilling a checklist of stereotypical actions that signify your quarterlife crisis. Being disheartened by the digital marketing industry: check. Not knowing what role you want to play in said industry: check. Looking up corny quotes on travel to find an eloquent way to explain to everyone why you quit your job: check. And sometimes these, albeit oddly specific, checklists aren’t a mark of a life crisis, but more so the beginnings of ingenuity fueled by ambition and creativity. In the summer of 2016, Samantha Ruiz, cofounder of Well Traveled, quit her job to travel the world. Although she had been recognized by the marketing industry for her data-driven strategies, including being the MediaCom finalist for a Cannes Young Lion, she felt there was more to digital marketing and knew she could provide it. Ruiz traveled to a coding bootcamp in Bali where she met Well Traveled’s co-founder, Isaac Martin. Through continued travel and sharing her experiences on social media she became a micro- influencer (#blessed). Ruiz worked with travel brands from all over the world and found they all had one thing in common: they struggled to reach the right consumer at the right time. Ruiz and Martin aspired to help travel brands better market themselves. Knowing the answer was in data, they realized that by looking at travelers earlier, they’d have a better understanding of traveler preferences and intent. These conversations spiraled into a tangible solution and became what is now Well Traveled. Well Traveled uses machine learning to translate big data into audience insights for travel brands and content creators. By equipping marketers with better data, Well Traveled is making travel smarter. Ruiz now uses her experience from ad tech and influencer marketing to lead the Well Traveled team as CEO and was even featured as one of AlleyWatch’s NYC Women in Tech.
Founded data company, Well Traveled, focused on using NLP to increase value of data points and go beyond clickstreams; resulting in 43x number of meaningful data points vs current data approach
Developed data partnerships across individual publishers, corporations and travel brands
Hired and managed data, marketing and management teams
Digital Media
Digital Associate Media Director (Freelance)
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Jul 2016 - Feb 2017
Led digital team for Serta, Simmons & Beautyrest (SSB) across, PR, social media, search, programmatic and creative teams leading to a decreased planned CPM by 18% for display and 25% for video - Assisted in creation of over-arching brand strategy for 2017 and differentiation approach across individual brands - Developed bi-weekly cross-agency reporting structure for SSB clients enabling campaign optimizations - Managed platform and partner recommendations including cross-device strategy, trading desk vs. programmatic partner analysis and digital KPI/business goal alignment
Quantcast
Sr. Account Manager
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Dec 2015 - Jul 2016
Led programmatic efforts for biggest US account (Toyota) across multiple agency partners (regional, direct and multicultural teams) - Managed client services and agency relationships across Quantcast teams, agency partners, and clients - Planned programmatic efforts for regional and national buys, increased QoQ spend by 15% from Q1 to Q2 by implementing upper funnel media tests and increased viewability for account by 28% while maintaining DR goals
MediaCom
Sr. Digital Media Planner
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Apr 2014 - Dec 2015
Worked on various verticals including entertainment (Universal Music Group) and home furnishing (Tempur + Sealy) • Planning lead with agency media trading desk to develop new tactics and approaches, resulting in a 35% increase in conversions YoY • Worked directly with traditional media team, creative and PR agencies to plan and execute integrated campaigns • Oversaw implementation, tagging and creation of DMP with the agency trading desk • Trained and mentored multiple planners and assistant planners on a day-to-day basis • Experience with programs such as Nielsen OBE, eTelmar, Conversant Ad Server, Google Analytics
MediaCom
Digital Media Planner
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May 2013 - Mar 2014
Worked on a variety of verticals including finance (Discover, Grant Thornton), CPG (ConAgra) and beauty (Revlon) • Created and executed custom content strategies around key events such as the Discover Orange Bowl and Red Carpet Events • Managed relationships with the agency trading desk and various creative and PR agencies • Monitored campaign performance and implemented optimizations to ensure all campaign KPIs were met • Led video strategy to reduce waste by increasing online GRPs to increase reach of younger audiences and decrease frequency of older audiences • Experience with programs such as DART, Prisma, MediaTools, ComScore, Kantar and Nielsen OCR, MRI
Education
Michigan State University
Master of Arts (MA) Public Relations
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2012 - 2013
Michigan State University
Bachelor of Arts Interdisciplinary Humanities
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2009 - 2011
Activities and Societies: Competitive Cheerleading - President
Institut de Tourraine
Study Abroad French Language, Literature and Culture