One of the best ways to evolve as a marketing professional is to generate, collaborate, and nurture ideas among like-minded peers. This post is part of a blog series called “Marketing Minds,” where I solicit thoughts and ideas from cutting-edge marketing leaders and post them on PuzzleMarketer.com. Below is an interview with a true marketing thought leader.

Lizzie Schreier

Director Digital / Social Engagement @ Allstate

What brought you into the field of marketing (tell your story) and what makes you feel so passionately about it?

I was born into a family of 6 lawyers – I just couldn’t take the legal speak at the dinner table every night so I needed to do something more creative, something that gave me freedom and also something that would evolve and change all the time to keep my brain learning.  No matter what career I was in (it wasn’t always marketing) – I found myself having the innate ability to understand the consumer mindset and seeing how so many lacked that understanding and it showed in how products / services were marketed.  Since the start of the digital evolution and seeing how fast consumer mindsets are changing – it’s a marketers dream!!! My passion for what I do remains ridiculously high as I LOVE CHANGE, I LOVE CHALLENGES and I’m thrown those each and every day, now more so than ever!

We’ve all seen the influx of marketing technology that has been created over the last decade. Which technology has been most impactful to you as you plan, launch, or measure your marketing campaigns?

I cannot say one technology platform – it really is how you use the technology and how do you integrate into your other tools so you can really see the holistic picture of how a marketing program has worked or not worked.  If there was one technology platform that can do everything – I want to see that!  I struggle constantly with viewing a platform that shows you a few metrics – it doesn’t tell you the complete story.  There is so much around any marketing campaign today – online, offline, social, calls, visits etc. – it’s tying all those pieces and platforms together that is the key to understand your campaigns true success.

Looking forward… What forces (social,economic, political, or cultural) do you see having the biggest effect on your marketing in 2017 and what are your plans to address them?

For me in the digital marketing space – the biggest effect for 2017 will be consumer adoption of newer technologies.  Connected smart technologies has the ability to change how marketers will permanently engage with consumers – but it all depends on how fast the average consumer will adopt to those sophisticated tools.  We as marketers all use them – but we are not the norm!! We try to stay with one foot in the future and one foot grounded in today – constantly doing test and learns on how best to engage with users.  We will continue to enhance and expand those test and learns to make sure we are always at the forefront so as to not be left behind!

If you could give one piece of advice to a college graduate who just took their first job in marketing, what would you say to them?

It is just as important to know what you want to do as it is to know what you don’t want to do! A career doesn’t have to be a linear – try things you want to try – if it doesn’t fit – that’s ok – you have gained great experience and you are learning what you like and don’t like doing! Don’t be afraid to turn a corner and not know what’s on the other side! Be adventurous with your career!

Connect with Lizzie on LinkedIn, she’s a great marketing leader and someone to follow!