Alumni
This Grad Works on Experiential Projects for Coachella and SXSW
Kylie Poppen, a 2014 Visual Communications valedictorian graduate, is an Experiential Project Manager at Hadley Media. The southern California marketing agency works with entertainment clients such as Nickelodeon, FX, Rent the Runway, Cartoon Network, AirBnb, and Levis, among others, and produces stunts and activations at events around the world, including Comic-Con, Cannes, SXSW, and Coachella. We recently chatted with Kylie to learn more about her exciting career in the entertainment and fashion industries.
How did you come to work at Hadley Media? I started working with Hadley Media last June. After a few years of working in LA and sitting in hours of traffic on Laurel Canyon, I was ready to expand my knowledge and have the opportunity to work in a new environment. Hadley Media’s body of work was so impressive – and to top it all off I got to go home every day staring at the sunset over San Diego. After meeting the rest of the team here, I knew it was going to be a great place for me to continue to grow.
What are your day-to-day responsibilities? It’s my job to create and produce engaging campaigns, events, and activations for entertainment, fashion, and technology brands. Day-to-day, I’m leading brainstorms and think tanks, creating proposals for clients, and managing creative direction and/or logistics of current projects. If I’m not at our San Diego HQ, I’m either on a plane or onsite making the magic happen with the team.
What are your favorite parts of this job and why? I absolutely love being onsite to execute the final product. We never clock out in this job and our team works so intensely to make every detail perfect. I’m in such a unique industry where we get to dream up seemingly impossible builds, stunts, technologies, and experiences and make them a reality for our clients and their fans. It’s so satisfying to see your wild ideas come to fruition and work with so many talented people along the way.
How did FIDM help prepare you for your career? I couldn’t be more thankful for choosing a school that truly prepared me to succeed. My courses in design and rendering programs, installation building, and brand marketing are absolutely essential to my career. I am in communication with our design, fabrication, and logistics departments for every project, and it’s vital that I understand the language of each field. Aside from trade knowledge, FIDM instructors were also constantly training us on interviewing, networking, and pitching techniques – essential to building and maintaining relationships with my clients.
What advice would you give to students who want to work in the entertainment industry? My best advice is to remember that your fellow students are not only your friends, but also your future colleagues, clients, and partners. We are so fortunate to graduate with an unbelievable network of talented individuals. Take the time to collaborate, listen, and be inspired by your peers and instructors. Push yourself and always be willing to go out of your comfort zone to make it work. You’ll be thankful for those all-nighters in the Annex when you’re able to produce something for your client in record time, I promise.
Categories: Visual Communication Alumni
