In the latest installment of our Columbus Creatives: A Day in the Life series, we talk with Zach Gerber, an incredibly creative, energetic and active Marketing Director who has no plans of slowing down!
Hi, I’m Zach Gerber–avid skateboarder turned marketing strategist. I learned early on the importance of falling down and getting back up in both my professional and personal life.
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, I’ve been in some sort of creative endeavor since graduating from The Ohio State University. I began my career in healthcare advertising, starting as an intern and working my way up. Eventually that led into overseeing social media, partnering with some awesome local and national clients. I’ve sort of run the gamut of agency functions and I love the fast-paced nature of all the work I’ve been able to be a part of.
Currently, I am the Director of Marketing at Mindstream Interactive, a Columbus-based customer experience agency. At Mindstream, I bring together business and marketing strategy in order to pair the agency with clients who want to build meaningful experiences worth talking about.
5-year plan: Make Mindstream an even bigger part of the Columbus vernacular, start my own skateboarding-focused non-profit, and not acquire any more cats.
Morning
As a resident of the Battleship Building next to the North Market, I’m fortunate enough to take a quick walk to work in the Arena District. That walk is contingent on both a sock and shoe addiction that can sometimes take some extra decisiveness in the morning to get it just right. Headphones are a must for this brief, yet energizing walk. And they are either blaring The National, Kendrick Lamar, or something in between that isn’t country.
Afternoon
In my role, I am integrated into every single team at Mindstream. Some days you can find me collaborating with our strategy teams and others I’m working on big picture agency vision projects. A great afternoon is chasing a big opportunity or celebrating a new client partnership. Weekend afternoons are spent at the movies or exploring new restaurants with my girlfriend.
Evening
Evenings are never the same. I might be skateboarding, preparing for the rest of the week, plotting ideas on my closet’s whiteboard wall, reading the latest Seth Godin book, or learning about scotch at my monthly scotch club. I enjoy being on the move, with zero plans of slowing down anytime soon.
