With the rise in popularity of UGC ads, we initially dipped our toes into creating these ads. When Aditya joined our team, we went all in and now manage actors, editors and the production entirely in-house thanks to his creativity and keen eye for detail. Aditya’s passion for high quality content ensures that our creative and growth teams are also cognizant of the fact that good content takes time to build.
The work at Rocketship HQ
Q1. What are 3 words that you would use to describe yourself?
Curious, empathetic, easygoing.
Q2. What drew you to RocketShip HQ originally? How has the company changed since?
After working in content marketing in traditional brick and mortar setups, Rocketship HQ provided the perfect opportunity to delve into the world of mobile marketing. Additionally, any marketing role at an agency promises an exponential learning potential and exposure due to the variety of clients and their individual requirements.
I was curious to explore a remote-first, flexible and asynchronous work culture that went from being an outlier to the norm, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. So far, it’s been a fantastic experience.
Q3. What do you like about your job?
I’ve always firmly believed that content is the most important facet of marketing. However great your sales pitch or data analysis is, all of it rests on the foundation that is meaningful, high-impact, well-researched growth-focused content. And that’s what makes my job amazing – building content (in any format and for any channel) that drives engagement and business growth for brands across industries and geographies.
Q4. What has been your proudest moment at RocketShip HQ?
Being given the responsibility to build and drive our UGC production capabilities. Having worked in video production in my earlier roles, I did bring some experience to the table, but it was heartening to be entrusted with the responsibility barely a month into my role at Rocketship HQ.
Having recently started out at the company, I’m looking forward to many more such moments in the future.
Q5. What is a typical workday like for you?
I start with setting up the day’s plan, which helps me make my time productive. Then it’s all about studying our clients’ competitors, creating landing pages for various clients and campaigns, crafting UGC ads, liaising with actors and influencers to create catchy and impactful videos, working with our superstar team of designers to produce and refine creatives, studying our creatives and analyzing wins and fails, and any other general odd-job that comes along.
Unlike many others, I don’t set aside a specific time for interfacing with team members – given the highly collaborative work environment at Rocketship HQ, I prefer to keep those interactions going throughout the day.
Career journey
Q6. What was a key inflection/turning point in your career?
When I was told that I had to focus on the business side of content.
After about 5 years as a journalist, I took up the role of editor of an in-house magazine for one of India’s oldest education companies. About 2 years later, an amazing opportunity with the biggest news network came knocking, and I jumped back to mainstream journalism. Unfortunately, it was the most toxic workplace I had ever heard of.
That was when my former boss at the education company encouraged me to return, but with a caveat – I would have to work on the business side of things, in a marketing role that was directly associated with revenue generation and growth.
I returned with trepidation, but it was the best decision I could have made. Not only was I now in a role that added business value, but I was also seeing a direct, quantifiable impact of my work.
Q7. Tell us about a mentor or a person who has inspired or influenced you significantly.
One of my managers at a previous company, Durga Sankar. He has always inspired me with his staunch work ethic, an acute attention to detail, an overwhelmingly positive attitude to even the most disheartening circumstances and an infinite amount of patience. But most of all, his unmatched and unfailing care and attention to his customers and team.
From an abstract perspective, I’m also greatly influenced by writers like Neil Gaiman, Phillip Pullman and Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, who never fail to make you think of the most obvious things in the most bizarre ways possible.
Q8. What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned over the course of your career?
First and foremost, it’s all about outcomes. This might seem obvious, but learning to define an outcome and then working towards that outcome has been the biggest boost to the quality of my work and my productivity.
Quality always trumps speed in the long term. There’s absolutely no point rushing to finish a task if the quality of the end output is sub-par.
Let everyone have their voice. It doesn’t matter if they’re junior or from a different department. Allowing others to voice their thoughts brings variety and perspectives to the overall decision-making process, whether you’re a team member or leader.
Behind the scenes: Who is ADITYA?
Q9. Tell us about your favorite travel & food spots or experiences (feel free to include more than 1).
My favorite travel haunt is Lakshadweep Islands, in the Arabian sea off the west coast of India. Untouched by tourists, you have everything there – kayaking, snorkeling, sea diving, and there’s a 4 km lagoon that’s as blue as heaven!
Another amazing experience was traveling to India’s North Eastern states – surrounded by the Himalayas, with ancient monasteries and the best thukpa I’ve had in my life!
Q10. What do you do for fun?
I’m a gamer who doesn’t really get the big deal about MMORPGs. All time favorites include The Witcher 3, Spec Ops: The Line, Max Payne, and anything with a great story. (See? It’s all about content!)
You’ll also often find me noodling away on my guitar and DAW (FL Studio FTW). And then there’s always the next book to write!
Q11. What are the top 3 items on your bucket list?
1. Get published – I’m done with my first Sci-Fi novel and at work on my second.
2. Travel to Svalbard (thanks to Phillip Pullman and the panserbjørn)
3. Release a cover of a Bob Dylan song and an original on SoundCloud – all produced at home.
Q12. What is a fun fact about yourself that not many people might know?
I recently started experimenting with beatboxing, and although it’s difficult, it’s very satisfying when I can come up with a sick beat!
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Connect with Aditya on LinkedIn.
