Bernadette FITZPATRICK

1. What was your very first job? 
VERY first job was a babysitter - probably the start of my problem solving and leadership skills!

2. Please describe, in your own words, what your job is and what work it entails.
I am a brand builder, a storyteller with a passion for innovation and challenging the norm. I apply those skills to beauty and fashion brands and retailers to invite and engage consumers to be a part of their community and story.

3. How did you discover that the creative world was right for you? Was there a time in your life that you credit to this discovery? Was there a train of events that brought you where you are today?
I have always had a passion for creativity, from childhood through today. I went to college with an undecided “business major” and had to take “Calculus” sophomore year. When I failed, quite literally, and found myself crying in a pizza place on campus, a professor stopped to console me. He talked to me about what I loved to do and how to apply that to my education and career goals. He was the head of the Advertising Art Department. Needless to say I changed my major that week and the rest is history.

4. In your constantly growing and expanding industry, how do you find inspiration to keep your work fresh, innovative and relevant?
Staying in tune with all things culturally relevant: art, fashion, business trends, digital innovation, pop culture - everything. I believe in listening to people of all generations, understanding the new and next and applying it to all marketing and creative strategies. 

5. If you had to pick one piece of work or project that you are most proud of, more for the creative work and innovation rather than its recognition or industry “success,” what would it be?
 It would have to be my time at Sephora. I was the first Creative Director in North America. During this time my team and I defined the brand identity and expression for every interaction of the customer’s journey. We pioneered the brand’s digital footprint as SEPHORA became one of the first retailers to utilize content marketing to push beyond traditional limits and challenge the way consumers engage with brands, years before anyone was creating content for retail today.

6. Which creative disciplines do you commission most, and are most interested in seeing more of and why? Which of these disciplines are you most interested in seeing at CONNECTIONS? (ie photo, film, production, social, experiential, vr, cgi, animation etc)
 
The convergence of digital and IRL activations and how the two come together to engage the consumer going forward. The future of marketing will no longer be just about digital, print, or experiential alone, it will be a hybrid of all, and figuring that out is what gets me invigorated!